The six mana signatures were moving swiftly toward our location, but as they drew nearer, they slowed down. They either knew we were here or sensed something was different about our location.
“They’re being cautious,” I inform Tabitha, wondering at what distance their skills could pick us up. Of course, if one of them had a visual skill, they would've been able to spot us from much farther back, but that's only if they got a clear view through the many trees.
Stretching her arms in front of her chest, Tabitha rasps softly, "Smart of them. I still can’t sense them yet.”
“They’re coming from the direction the elemental was walking from. Do you think they're following it?" I direct Tabitha’s senses in the direction they’re approaching from. Was it just a coincidence that they were coming from the same way the elemental was? I didn’t think so.
“Most likely,” Tabitha keeps her answer short, staring into the distance like a badass instead.
“Are you expecting a fight?” I hesitantly ask her, seeing how she was stretching as she does before a battle. Unfortunately, she and I were still injured from our fight with the goblins, adding her dodging the elemental attack, and depending on the levels of the people approaching us, this could be bad.
Tabitha stops stretching and slowly turns to face me with her hand on her sword. She had a firm readiness about her; she was ready to kill should she have to. “No, but we must be prepared for the possibility that they are approaching us with less than honorable intentions. We’re currently in a magic-dense region; the only law here is the law of the strong. You said you faced other people before, right?”
“I," I stammer, remembering my run-in with the bandits less than a year ago like it was yesterday. The fire. The charred bodies. All of it. “I have once before,” I finally manage to spit out.
Tabitha reaches over and gently touches my shoulder, making me smile. It was hard not to. Sure, it was comforting to have her stand next to me and see that she was supporting me, but I always smiled regardless, mainly because of how funny it looked, though I would never say as much.
Tabitha was only 5’ 4’’, maybe a few inches taller in her armor, but I towered over her even then. So, every time she put her hand on my shoulder, it looked like I was being comforted by a younger sibling instead of the crazy strong fighter that she was.
“Are they here yet?” Tabitha asks after affectionately patting me on the back twice and turning back toward the direction the six were approaching us from.
“They’ve spread out,” I inform her. “Four of them are there,” as soon as I point out where they’re hiding, the group starts to shift forward again after seemingly pausing in their approach. Did one of them know I knew they were there? Did they know that I knew that they knew?
“The other two have split off and are hiding nearby, but I think the main group may have noticed that I spotted them,” I inform Tabitha while massaging my head as a headache forms.
“I can tell. They’re no longer hiding their presence,” Tabitha grins as the four people round one of the large trees and come into view.
Now that was a motley crew if I’ve ever seen one. An older gentleman that looked to be in his late forties was leading the group. He had disheveled red hair fading due to age, but it still stood out against his dark grey metal armor.
In his hands were two short swords made with decent materials but didn't glow in Sense Mana as if they were enchanted. In fact, between the four, only two of them, one being the old man, had anything enchanted on their person, and both items were the boots they were wearing.
While the older gentleman looked between Tabitha and me, sizing us up, I focused on the other three as they drew closer. The others weren’t as old as their leader, but calling them young wasn’t right either. The three looked to be in their mid to late thirties, which with proper stat distributions, could mean they were in their fifties for all I knew.
The person closest to the leader was a woman holding a bow who looked slightly older than mom. She wore hide armor like the last two, but she had an arrow nocked, yet she still needed to draw it back. Not an outright threat, but it was apparent she wasn't taking any chances. None of them were.
All four had their weapons ready; the last two gentlemen held spears with spare bows on their backs. Their weapons gave away their fighting style. Other than their aged leader, all of them were mid or long-range fighters. If they were going to attack us, they wouldn’t be closing the distance like they are. At least, I hoped that was the case.
Curious, I steal a glance at Tabitha, who's standing next to me, and almost cringe at the smile she's wearing. "Can you not look like you're ready to stab somebody?" I quietly hiss at her.
“But I am,” she replies like that was only obvious.
The four people approaching us briefly pause but continue walking toward us. Outwardly, they looked the same, but focusing on their hands, I could tell they were gripping their weapons tighter. They either overheard us or read our lips.
Holding my hand up to my mouth to prevent the latter, I whisper back in a low voice that would be hard for anyone else to hear. "We're injured; we're not supposed to be getting into any more fights," I remind her. “Why don’t you let me do the talking?” I suggest.
“You?” Tabitha questioningly turns her head toward me, but her eyes remain focused on the group approaching us.
“Yeah, me. It'll be less intimidating if I talk to them," I reason.
Surprisingly, Tabitha agrees almost immediately. “Fine, have it your way. But no matter what, you are to stay next to me. And if there’s any trouble, I want you behind me and only help in a supportive role. Can you agree to that?”
"I can do that," I quickly agree to Tabitha's conditions.
“Alright, here they are,” she tells me.
The group of four stopped thirty feet before us, and an uncomfortable silence fell over us all. Each group was ready to act at the slightest show of aggression.
How was I supposed to go about talking to them? Though I offered to take over the negotiating role, I didn't know how to go about it. How would Tabitha act?
She would assert her dominance by force. I could try that, but it would be the same if I let her negotiate. I needed something different, but what?
“Ahem,” I cough into my hand to get everybody’s attention and hopefully clear the air before something happens. “Hello,” I greet the four with an Acting boosted smile.
“Ladies,” with a gravelly voice that sounded like he'd smoked since birth, the group's leader nodded a greeting. “I apologize for my group sneaking up on you.”
"Oh, it's no problem," I fake being aloof and wave off his platitude. "Besides, you, six, didn't sneak up on anyone," I emphasize their party number and quickly glance in the direction the other two were hiding. "Shall your friends join us?"
The woman and the two spear-wielding men looked surprised that I knew exactly where their teammates were hiding, but their leader just narrowed his eyes in thought. “If it’s all the same to you two, I think they’ll stay where they are.”
“Is that right?” Tabitha counters threateningly.
Still trying to project an air of indifference, I try to calm the situation down, but at the same time, I tighten my grip on my hammer. "There's no need for violence. Tell you what, your friends can keep their distance, but they come out of hiding so everybody can see everybody.”
“Does that include your friends too?” The woman standing slightly behind the leader angrily snaps.
“Uh, it’s just the two of us,” I try to tell them, but the woman cuts me off.
“Bullshit, hunting in such a small group, this close to goblin territory, that’s insane!” She growls.
“Vanessa!” Their leader snaps.
"What's insane is coming this far with levels like yours," Tabitha's comment adds fuel to the fire, but thankfully the old leader keeps his people in line.
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“Hold,” He uses his hand to slowly direct the woman’s bow back down after she threateningly raised it. He then holds up his hand and makes a series of quick gestures, upon which two more bow-wielding hunters materialize a few hundred feet away.
“There, we complied with your demands,” the leader looks me in the eyes. “Are you truly alone?”
“We are,” I confidently repeat, choosing not to lie even though it would be easy. But as not to appear weak, I push back. “It may only be the two of us, but our levels more than makeup for our lack in numbers.”
"We can see that," the old man glances at the carnage surrounding us. “You ran into a large goblin hunting party," he observes, kicking a disembodied goblin arm at his feet.
Puffing out my chest, I grin. “We killed most of them before the elemental interrupted us." Of course, I wasn't exactly lying to them; I just tactfully omitted the part about how we were on our last breath when it arrived.
“Is that so,” the leader hides his emotions well enough and doesn't look impressed by my bragging, but the other five were more transparent. The two spear-wielders were looking around as if imagining the horde of goblins rushing them and went pale. While they're spellbound, the woman hesitantly steps back as if to put more distance between us.
That was the reaction I was hoping for, but their leader still needed a tad bit more convincing. Despite everything I said, the old man still considered the possibility of fighting us, and I couldn’t have that. Of course, we would never attack unprovoked, but he didn't know that, and as long as he had an inkling that they could succeed, he could order them to do something foolish.
I'll snuff out that last spark and prove we're stronger than them without a shadow of a doubt.
“It is,” I say in a lofty voice, faking looking down on the group. "But my guardian did bring up a good point; why is your group so under-leveled?" Then, using Sense Soul, I not only get the old man to twitch back in fear, but I get a good look at his and his friend's levels. "You're not even at my level, let alone your friends. Should any of you even be here?”
I hear Tabitha snicker beside me, but I’m too busy staring down the old ranger to spare her a glance.
“What do you know!?" Their leader growls, but to me, it sounds like an old dog trying to bluff itself out of a fight. Good, I can work with that.
I force out a long pompous sigh. “I know you’re only level 73. And I know the levels of every one of your comrades. So why is someone at your level working with people who haven't yet reached level 65?”
"We hired him," the woman shakily speaks up; my commenting on their levels shook them more than I expected.
“Oh?” I motion for her to explain further, but she seems reluctant to.
“I was hired to guide them to known mirage hare feeding grounds. We came across the elemental’s trail halfway through our hunting expedition,” their leader explains in a pained voice.
“Mirage hare; are you talking about the white rabbits that use illusions? You came this far into the forest just for some rabbits?” That sounded ridiculous to me.
The old man gives me a confused look while the other three whisper amongst themselves.
“Is she serious?" One of the men starts.
"I think she is a noble," the other man chimes in. "Maybe a mirage hare pelt is nothing to her?”
“Maybe?” The woman adds, confused. “You see the armor her knight is wearing; that has to cost some serious coin."
Again, I heard Tabitha quietly sinker next to me, but I was busy leaning into the character they so graciously thrust upon me and decided to just roll with it. "So, their hides are expensive,” I butt into the conversation, making it painfully obvious we could hear them.
“I came here to level and experience a magic-dense region for myself. But, I'm sorry to say, I scared all the cute bunnies away with my killing intent.” Though my words were apologetic, my grin would make them believe I was bragging. Plus, it subtly increased our perceived power.
“Do you have one I can feel?” I was pushing my luck, but if I could get them to hand over one of their prized pelts, it would be symbolic of them giving up.
“Clarkson, what do we do?” The woman asks the old man for advice.
“Give it to her,” he growls through his teeth.
I wanted to reassure them I'd give it back, but that would contradict everything I've done up until now. One of the spearmen turns his back to his friend, who fishes a rolled-up pelt out of his pack. He tosses it to me, and I grab it out of the air with my one free hand.
Carefully, I unroll the pelt; when I do, my eyes widen when I feel how soft it is. “Lovely,” I honestly remark. I was about to casually ask how much it went for, but thankfully, Acting reminded me to stay in character. “Father usually just buys me what I want,” I lie through my teeth. “How much would one of these cost him?”
“It depends on size,” the woman Vanessa explains to me in a meek voice. “The one in your hands would be about two gold coins, but we can get up to ten if the pelt is big enough.”
Holy shit, I exclaim in my head. “Is that all?" I channel my best Tabitha impression, looking as uninterested as possible. However, inside, I cursed myself for frightening all the rabbits off. They were practically furry gold coins!
Carefully, I ball the pelt back up, and to the group's surprise, I toss it back to them. "What did you think I would steal it from you?" I sneer.
“Not at all, miss,” the woman hurriedly hung her head submissively, but I could still see the sweat gathering on her forehead.
All right, I think I tortured them enough. I was starting to feel bad. However, there was something we still needed. It was fun adventuring with Tabitha without prior knowledge of what lay in the Endless Forest, but if Clarkson were a guide, then I would be foolish not to ask him about what lies further within. "Mister Clarkson, was it?" I turn to the red-haired old man.
“Yes…. Milady,” he grumbles out the last part, obviously not happy with me.
Sorry, I apologize in my head; I needed information. “My parents sent me in here blind as some sort of annoying test, but since we ran into you, I don't suppose you can gift us some of your wisdom?”
“What do you want to know?” He reluctantly replies.
"Where are we exactly?" I ask their leader. "She said something about this being goblin territory," I motion to Vanessa.
“It is,” he nods. “I don’t know where you entered the Endless Forest, but you drifted too far west. No one knows exactly where the goblins made their camp; they just know to stay far away from it.”
“Then why are you here?” I point out the hypocrisy of his statement.
He scoffs at my lack of knowledge, to which I scowl. Still, though, he does tell me what I want to know. "We're here because we came across the elemental's trail. Goblins won't go anywhere near an elemental if they can help it, so we'll stay out of trouble as long as we stay a few days behind it. Besides, wherever the elemental goes, the mirage hares will follow."
“Weaker magic beasts love to do the same thing as us and trail an elemental for safety and free food. As a result, we've gathered twice as many pelts than we would’ve had if we didn't follow the elemental,” he explains.
After the old man says his piece, his brow furrows, and he gives me a weird look. He still looked angry about my looking down on him, but a hint of concern was hidden there. “Did your parents really send you here with so little information?”
Damn it, things would be so much easier if he were an asshole, but it’s starting to look like the leader is a good guy. Maybe I can dial it back a bit now that they've realized we aren't going to attack him. "It was one of many stipulations, along with not revealing my identity," I lie further.
I let my arrogant grin soften into a resigned smile. “It doesn’t matter,” after a pregnant pause, I pretend to bounce back from my fake emotional backstory. "Just tell us where we are, and we can go our separate ways."
The old man nods in understanding. "I don't know exactly where we are due to there being no maps of the Endless Forest, at least none that are accurate. But I can tell you you’re at the edge of the core region of the Endless Forrest.”
“The what?” I ask for clarification.
Old man Clarkson lets out a long sigh and, to my relief, finally sheathes his two swords and gestures for his comrades to do the same. I continue to rest my hammer on my shoulder but let the tension leave my body, seeing everybody lowering their weapons. Then, finally having a chance to, I spare a glance at Tabitha, who gives me a well-done look. Her hand still rested on her sword, but that would never change.
Once his swords are away, Clarkson takes a hesitant step forward. He waits for me to nod in approval, and when I do, he slowly closes the distance between us while his group stays where they are.
He stops a few feet in front of us, where he visibly flinches under Tabitha's blank stare. When he finally catches himself, he bends down and picks up a long piece of tree root upturned by the elemental's attack. "Excuse me," he mumbles in his husky voice, sketching in the loose soil.
He quickly drew out a large circle and then started to draw three more circles inside one another. “Again, this isn’t exactly accurate, but it’s the best way to put things,” he tempers our expectations.
“You have the outer region of the Endless Forest, which is technically not a part of the magic-dense region,” he points with the root in his hand. “That’s where you find the base camps and your small villages. Then it goes inner, core, heart," he points to the increasingly small circles. “Right now, we're straddling the line between the inner and core regions of the forest.”
“And that’s where the higher-level people hunt?” I guess.
Old man Clarkson shakes his head. “People don’t hunt in the core region; it's too dangerous. We're not explorers; we're hunters. We enter the Endless Forest with specific goals in mind; the people who go that deep are treasure hunters looking for rare materials that they hope can sell for a fortune if they make it out alive.”
“Interesting,” I hear Tabitha say to my side, and looking at her, I see her sporting the biggest smile I've seen since….. well, since she was fighting the arch-goblin.
“Sounds fun,” I share her sense of adventure.
Clarkson frowns at the two of us. “It’s your funeral if you go there. Don’t say I didn’t warn you," he stresses. He looks annoyed at Tabitha for suggesting such a journey. Still, surprisingly he gives me a look of genuine concern, even though I technically strongarmed him and his group into submission.
"And what's in the core region?" I ask, knowing that's where we were heading after we healed up.
“Stronger beasts. Larger elementals. It’s hard to say, so few people go there. And those who make it back are tight-lipped about what's there.”
“So, I take it you don’t know what’s at the heart of the forest,” I frown in disappointment.
But to my astonishment, Clarkson surprises us. “Actually, I do know a bit. Only through stories, of course, but there’s supposedly a lake at the center of the forest, and all the mana radiates out of it. People claim many different things, but they all agree that the lake is the heart of the Endless Forest.”
Tabitha and I share a look, and wordlessly, we both agree on our end goal.
“So, you’re both crazy,” Clarkson recognizes our wordless back and forth for what it was and looks disappointed that we weren't following his advice.
"Because you gave us so much information, I won't hold those words against you, Mister Clarkson,” I lightly scold the man like a noble would. "You don't have to worry about us." I dropped Acting for a moment, ensuring he understood our fate was not his concern and that he shouldn't worry about us. “We can handle ourselves,” I proclaim confidently.
“I hope you can,” Clarkson ominously replies, dropping the root having no longer any need for it. “I wish the young lady all the luck in the world," he politely bows toward me.
After that, he turns his back towards us and returns to his group. He uses a few more hand gestures, signaling his party to form up. They do, and a few minutes later, Tabitha and I are watching them leave the way the elemental left.
"You don't think they'll steal our gear, do you?" I ask Tabitha, remembering our bags were in that direction as well.
Tabitha just laughs at me. “After how much you intimidated them, I doubt it.”
“What; you were way more intimidating than me,” I counter.
Tabitha laughs even harder. "They were absolutely terrified of you, the old man less so, but the others were looking at you like you were a monster."
Not wanting to hear that from Tabitha, I move to punch her in her arm, but she easily sidesteps my attack. "They were not," I growl, leaking the faintest amount of killing intent.
"Watch yourself," Tabitha warns me while miming wiping a tear from her eye. “You’re not seeing it from their perspective.”
"I was aware I was acting as an arrogant noble, but that’s nothing compared to your stone-cold murder stare.”
Tabitha shakes her head, almost like old Clarkson did when he thought we weren't listening to his warnings. "I'm sure you've heard it before, but what two types of people must you look out for in this world?" Tabitha questions me.
“Assassins and bandits,” I guess.
“Then too, but not what I was going for,” Tabitha wags a finger at me. “The two people you look out for are really old people like Master and really young people like yourself. You basically told them your level by comparing yourself to the old man, and you look young enough that you should be back home suckling your mothers’ titties.”
"I don't look that young," I blush at Tabitha's vulgar words.
“Yes, you do,” Tabitha deadpans. "You scared them more than me because you look like you don't belong here; I do. " We're this deep, and you look relatively fine, especially amongst a field of dead goblins,” she gestured around us. "Your presence is more terrifying than anything I could've said. Your over-the-top acting was just overkill.”
“Oh,” I hang my head in thought, remembering the scared looks of Vanessa and her group. I’ve never had people look at me like that before. But then again, the only people who knew my actual level were my family and friends; not even the villagers back home knew my level was as high as it was.
“I guess I should get used to looks like that,” I mumble.
“It’s fine,” Tabitha once again places a reassuring hand on my shoulder, trying to make me feel better. “It’s pointless to worry about what others think about you.”
"Wow, that's some excellent advice," I raise my head and meet Tabitha's intense gaze. "Who are you, and what did you do to Tabitha?" I joke.
“Brat,” Tabitha uses her hand on my shoulder to push me over. I let it happen, so I topple onto my backside, where I sigh. Dealing with that group of hunters took a lot out of me. My stamina pool was the same as when they approached, yet it felt empty.
Tabitha lets me brood for a minute before offering me a hand. "Thanks," I say as she easily hoists me to my feet. "Think we should head back to camp now?"
“Someone still needs to get us food,” Tabitha reminds me.
"After all that, now that everything's run away, you want me to find our dinner?" I give Tabitha an incredulous look.
“I’m sure you can find something,” Tabitha counters.
Outwardly I groan, but on the inside, I’m smiling. Even though I was tired and the last few hours had been a challenge and a half, I was looking forward to exploring with Tabitha.
The mystery surrounding the forest's heart just made me want to see it that much more. But before that, we needed to recover, and food would help with that.
I’ll catch us dinner, and maybe this time I'll be able to find some herbs to go with it. Then we'll sleep, and tomorrow we'll continue our adventure into the great unknown.