Chapter 34 First Encounter
The elf and Fay came into view, surrounded by beasts who were desperately trying to secure their next meal.
“How does the saying go… “Nothing is more dangerous than a starving beast… cornered beast?” whatever…”
Fay had bound a few of them in vines, and the elf fended some of them off with his dagger, but they were far too many to handle, at least for them.
“They should change the saying to “Never piss off a cat!””
I poured down on them a nice shower of hail.
The sharp and pointy kind that slices through flesh like butter!
Never heard of it?
It’s my own invention after all!
“Ahem…” I cleared my throat and thoughts and checked on Fay and the elf, who looked at me in relief as I strolled over to them.
“Are you two hurt anywhere?” I scanned them with my eyes, looking for potential injuries.
“We are fine; you came just in time.” The elf replied as Fay rushed towards me, sticking to my face, “Waaah! I thought I’d end up as a snack! A way too tasty snack! A delicacy! I’m too tasty and young to die!”
I gave the elf an annoyed look, meaning, “Please remove her from my face…”
He, understanding my plight deeply, plugged her from me.
“Sigh, we should hurry. If this continues, the entire ecosystem will go down the drain.” I sprung on the elf’s shoulder as he looked at me puzzled, “What is an ecosystem?”
“Right, they don’t know…” I thought before putting my paw on his cheek, making him look in the direction of the main elven village. “Doesn’t matter.” I replied curtly, too lazy to explain.
***
*Rumble*
We were almost at the main village when we felt the ground shaking like an earthquake.
The author's content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.
*thud*
The elf had fear written all over his face and quickly hugged me and Fay tightly while hiding behind a large root.
*thud*
*thud*
I poked out my face, through the leaves and the glowing moos, I could see a giant shadow that looked like a pillar in the distance.
*Whimper*
I could hear the pitiful screams of some unlucky beast and a crunching sound that followed…
*Thud*
Obscured by the thick foliage, the giant pillar moved again, and another giant pillar followed, and another two…
“Don’t tell me… that this is just its legs…”
While I calmly observed it, thinking about whether I could even freeze such a giant thing, I could feel the elf and Fay shaking from fear.
As the mysterious monster slowly vanished back into the dark of the forest, I looked up at the elf, who had sweat running down his forehead. Fay didn’t look any better; she clung tightly to the elf’s arm, shaking like a leaf.
“Is it that scary?” I thought as I tapped with my paw against his arm, which held me tightly.
“Can you let go? It’s long gone.” I looked at him, who came back to his senses as he heard my voice.
“Sorry…” He quickly loosened his grip, and I jumped to the ground.
Both of them were still as white as a sheet of paper. “Time to take the lead.” I thought and turned around. “Let’s quickly go to the village before it comes back.”
They both nodded strongly and followed me…
“Were they this terrified that they can’t even speak?”
***
Shortly after we arrived at the barrier, which looked like a bubble, translucent with different colors swirling and moving around, the elf, slowly having regained his composure, spoke up, “Elves and spirits can pass through it freely.”
He stretched his hand out, which smoothly went through the barrier. The colors, disrupted, swirled around like oil in water, mixing and creating new colors.
As he and Fay went through completely, I asked, “Will Alfdís know that we are coming?”
“Yes, every disruption, whether it be someone entering or a beast attacking, will be noticed by the caster.”
He looked at me as I went through the oversized bubble, “This barrier was created by not just my mother but all of the elves that have strong magic and a few spirits that were willing to help.”
While we continued our walk, he explained further, “But with every attack from the monster, a lot of mana is needed to maintain it, and because of that, they can’t leave the barrier.” He looked disheartened.
“So you are fighting a losing battle; that’s why you need my help.” I said, accidentally making the elf feel worse.
“Was I too direct…?” I mumbled to myself.
“You are right; first we tried to beat it ourselves, but everyone who went never made it back. And as more and more beasts fled from it, resulting in our villages being attacked, mother decided to gather all elves at the main village and activate the barrier.”
“And then we got sent to find you!” Fay added, being her energetic self again.
*Rustle*
“Álfur!” Two elves emerged from the trees, bringing our conversation to an end. One carried a bow, and the other a kukri.
“I’m glad you made it back safely!” The kukri-wielding elf said in relief and blushed slightly.
I looked at her and him as his face went red in response as he called out her name, “Alva!”
“So that’s how it is.” I smiled smugly.
The other elf interrupted them. “The leader sent us to escort you and our honored guest.” He looked at me and bowed slightly.
Upon seeing this, the female elf quickly followed, “It’s an honor meeting you.”
From there on, it was smooth sailing, and soon the dark forest revealed an illuminated cityscape far bigger than I remembered.