Past Dragon’s Peak was the unbound wilds East of the main complex of cities in the region. The two of them still knew little of the world above and only a small deal of what lay below. From the maps and histories within Ren’s lavish cell, he had found tidbits of information about the world. He had mainly ignored what had not interested him, but a map lay on across one of the walls, attached to metalworking inlaid within the stone.

With his newfound mental prowess having ascended twice, he recalled the image in his mind. The map depicted Raedem, the large city he was captured in, and the westward cities. It had been no coincidence that the eastern elf, Tayin, had been in this area. For there were no more eastward human settlements.

Between himself and the elven cities, a near-endless breath of wilderness swam across the land as an ocean separated continents. Only at the far end of this wilderness did water lay across the map, where a great lake and a river came together.

Besides great mountains and endless forests, a large area of plains dwelled. Around them, three mountains and a small body of water at the valley’s center surrounded by plains at every side.

Ren looked to the horizon where the sun was a quarter into the sky. The day was still new, even if death and conflict had sullied the beauty of the morning.

Ren had been strengthened by the power he gained by slaying the injured dragon. The onyx gem now within the odd ruby gauntlet fed a strange power into him. It did not feel the same as his three energies, neither did it feel quite the same as his eldritch energy. It was more a thing of will and purpose, than a power to be utilized and made to do his will. He understood nothing of the force, besides that it held a will of its own, something originating from the onyx gem.

The smell of the sulfurous hot springs began to disperse as they passed Dragon’s Peak. The smell was now finally gone, and the fresh air of the wilds beyond came to him. It was the soft smells, those of flowers, and sweet plants. Under those, it was the smell of more hardy things. The smell of old wood, animals, and fresh soil turned up.

The skyline had changed, too. Gone were the mountains, and gone were the small slices of civilized lands. Beyond as far as could be seen, Ren only saw the trees, hills, and a circle of smoking fire. That was not on his map.

A small ball of anxiety bounced around his chest as he studied the circle of fires. It was much too far from his to see anyone or anything at that distance. It was only the small trail of smoke leaving the dying fires that gave away the location.

Ren turned to Cella, “There, over the tree line.” He pointed, and so she followed his gaze.

“Smoke?” Cella spoke, uncertain.

“Yeah, well, I guess we won’t be alone out there. Pretty lame if you ask me.”

“I doubt in all of this,” she gestured towards the vast forested land. “-that they could cause us much trouble.”

“Yeah, you’re probably right, but she should keep an eye out. It’s better to be safe, and to be quiet.”

They began their journey into the wilds. Their descent down the mountainside was swift, as the slope rarely became the same jagged and rocky cliffs that were present across the opposite side.

Ren felt good about the situation, better than he felt for as long as he could remember. Even the toll it had taken on his body to bring forth the black flames, didn’t affect him like it should have. An ability powerful enough to kill a Dragon, the backlash should have killed him. It didn’t make any sense to him. He should have died using that ability. The system his patron gave him to understand the information and the world around him, didn’t even recognize the attack. Usually, he would have gained a new ability, and shit last time he killed something beyond his ascendance, it gave him a mark. This time, the dragon had been twice more ascendant. It didn’t make any sense to him. His internal conflict was torn away as he heard Cella’s voice.

Find this and other great novels on the author's preferred platform. Support original creators!

“What in the depth of all that is black, is this?” She smiled as she picked up a small brown furred animal. A mole sat in her hand, it tried digging to get away, but her hand was in fact not dirt.

“That’s a mole, they live in the ground, that’s why the little guy’s trying to dig through your hand.”

“Well, it’s adorable. Even if it’s ugly.” She let the mole down, it dug furiously at the earth below it, escaping whatever vicious animal it thought was trying to eat it.

“I guess there’s a lot of animals you’ve never seen before, huh?”

“Yep, I’ve never seen any of these little things before.” She picked up a bug from a dead tree lying on the earth. “Ouch! It just bit me!”

Ren laughed, and a large beetle fell from her hands. “Cella, I’d suggest not picking up everything you see. You might regret that.”

“You’re probably right, but up here not everything is trying to eat you all the time. Except for the dragons I guess…”

The two of them lost their shared joy for a moment, as the memory of the dead men atop the mountain replayed in their minds. To remember things more visibly was a blessing, though, at times, it was the worst curse of them all.

Their remembrance ended as they continued down the last foot of the mountainside in silence. It was not long until their feet met the solid and nearly flat earth below. Now past the mountain, the terrain in front of them was far more difficult to see through. The weather was fine, yet the visibility was awful. A great deal of underbrush grew here making their sight extended only a short measure past their immediate surroundings.

They pressed forward regardless of the conditions. Their travel brought them several miles before anything of note took them by surprise.

A large beast lay in a torn-up area. The underbrush was flattened by its body, a trail behind it leading north. The beast appeared to be a massive boar but with an extra set of legs, eyes, and an extra set of massive tusks. The body while lying was the height of Ren. While standing, it would have been far larger than he was. The length of the body was several times the height, the thick mass of it was pierced by over a dozen crude spears. The spears pierced deeply into the body, fresh blood was covering the boar, the body still warm.

Concern for what this meant flickered between the two of them. As they looked at each other, a sound came from the distance. An unfamiliar language perked Cella’s ears, as Ren’s eldritch tongue translated it.

“Doktur, your prize is over here!” The rough language sounded guttural.

“These boars run fast!” Replied Doktur.

Neither Ren nor Cella could see the speakers. Using stealth Ren hid, he tucked Cella in behind him. They snuck between a large fallen tree that had landed on a large stone. The space underneath was high with weeds, and a small bush that provided them cover in the dark crevice.

The figures approached at a fast pace, it was far slower than Ren could move in a hurry, but he noticed the powerful bodies of the two people before him, if ‘people’ was even the correct term.

Two large orks approached. They began to celebrate and shout as they looked at the boar. Ren readied himself to attack if he was noticed. His sneak attack was building. Activating analyze, he looked at the two male figures.

Ork Lvl 17

Ork Lvl 19

The strange feeling of using analysis on a human wafted over him. It took him a few moments before he could do anything with the information.

Ren whispered to Cella, “Orks, a bit stronger than us, but if worst comes to worst, I don’t get the impression they are great talents.”

Cella nodded as she placed a hand on the earth below her. She felt for the life energy of the plants and trees around her. That was when she felt it, the abundance of life energy coming forth from the two figures. The orks were bundles of overwhelming life affinity. It was not that they were some high druids, but that the fundamental nature of their being was that of life.

She possessed a great power with life and the growing, manipulation, and cultivation of life. The easiest way this presented itself was with growing and controlling plants and fungi. These two were different, they were no mages, no healers. The orks were powerhouses full of life, a life that burned hot and powerfully.

The life affinity made their flesh and blood stronger, faster, and far more resilient. It was beautiful, yet it was terrifying to see how much more there was to the affinity than she yet understood.