Arthur's Point of View

Druid Forest

As we walked, Rock could be heard tumbling through the forest. Part of me assumed the commotion alone would alert the druids to our presence. Also, the fact that he was knocking down trees here and there would no doubt annoy them. The splintering of wood could be heard as some would be decimated in his wake.

“Shouldn’t we stop him?” Lucia asked as she walked beside me.

I shrugged. “Camoa?”

Our personal druid looked uninterested. “Oh, no. Stop. Don’t do that.” Camoa called in a dead tone. At our looks she just shrugged. “How should I know? The trees here aren’t speaking to me, so I can only assume they’re fine.”

“Doesn’t that seem a little petty?” Vome shot back.

“Meh.” I replied for her. “We’re all a little petty.”

“I resent that!” My daughter said as she crossed her arms with an annoyed look.

“All of us except for Lucia are petty.”

Vome grunted at that. “Not sure I agree with that assessment.”

Camoa quickly responded as she placed a hand on her head. “Keep telling yourself that.” He knocked her hand away, annoyed. “This forest doesn’t concern us. If anything, it’s probably put the new capital on edge. No doubt the new king has heard about some manner of creature moving through the forest by now.”

That made me pause along with Lucia. “Maybe we didn’t think this all the way through…”

Scoffing, I quickly answered her. “Speak for yourself.”

“Oh, so you knew this was going to happen?” Lucia shot back.

“To be fair, we don’t know anything has happened yet.”

I was going to continue when a sudden ringing caught my attention. My head perked up immediately as I started to look around. It was faint. Almost as if the sound was metal on metal. Everyone kept walking, which confused me for a moment, but then I remembered I probably had better hearing than all of them.

Hissing at them, they all stopped, including Rock who was rolling nearby. “Did anyone else hear that?” I asked in a whisper.

They all went silent as they listened intently. Each of them looking around while Camoa closed her eyes. My hands were up as I waited. However, nothing came. With narrowed eyes, I glanced around the area, but saw nothing.

“What did you hear?” Lucia asked as I lowered my hands.

“Ringing. Like metal on metal.”

“From a forge?” Vome pushed as he stepped over a bush towards me before putting both his hands behind his ears. We waited once more. “I don’t hear anything.” The dwarf turned to Camoa. “Could sounds make it through any illusions or barriers placed by the druids magic?”

She hummed in thought. “It’s possible. Given that Arthur was the only one to hear it, it’s possible it was something only he would be able to detect.” Shrugging, she continued. “I didn’t hear anything, so I can’t say for certain.”

“Hmm…” I let out after a moment. “Let’s continue.”

As we walked, Rock rolled away again, and Lucia stepped next to me before nudging me playfully. “You sure you’re not hearing things?”

“Wouldn’t be the first time.” My chuckle got her to roll her eyes. “I don’t know, though. It was odd. Maybe it was just a bit-“ The ringing happened again, and I immediately held up my hands to stop the group.

Each of them came to a halt once more. My head turned in the direction it seemed to come from as it lasted a little longer this time. We tried to move silently through the forest. The ringing had ended, but we continued in the direction I thought it came from. All conversation stopped as Rock watched from a distance to stop making so much noise.

Pressing forward, however, something unexpected happened. A stampede of animals started running right towards us. Predators and prey all ran side by side. My magic immediately came to life as Rock bounded forward roaring. Deer, birds, giant reptiles, and more, all ran past us. Ignoring us entirely. Lucia was behind me along with Vome and Camoa, but all were ready to fight if needed.

My eyes didn’t see anything unusual about the animals as the forest seemed to go silent. Rock moved to the other side of Vome, Camoa, and Lucia to put them between us. Drawing my sword slowly, I readied for anything. After all, those animals had to be running from something right?

“Move slowly and stay behind me.”

They all nodded. As we worked our way through the greenery, we eventually came out to the other side. I’d have said a clearing given that we hadn’t been walking that long, but there were lush green fields before us with tall grass as far as the eye could see.

Camoa yanked my arm to pull me back. “We should not be here!” She hissed.

“What?” I asked back confused as she continued to pull me.

“This is beyond our forest! We shouldn’t’ve been able to come here so easily!” Camoa let go of me before grabbing Vome and Lucia to pull them back to the forest. “No one survives out here!”

A rush a of wind slammed into us. Lucia, Camoa, and Vome were all pushed back. Rock stood in front of them, and even he slid back across the dirt as ringing sounded through the tall grass. They all danced, vibrated, and blew in a strange pattern. However, as much as I wanted to continue to push into the clearing, if this was one of the unexplored areas of this world, I didn’t want to risk it with Lucia present.

Slowly walking backwards into the trees as I kept an eye on the grass, I tried to look over it, but it was too tall. Sure, flying over it would be easy. Almost as easy as being shot down by whatever might be lurking inside the grass. There seemed to be some manner of mountain in the distance behind it, towering just over the top, but I couldn’t sure. I wanted to get everyone out of here. However, as I turned around, everything darkened around us. Lucia gasped as she grabbed my arm fearfully.

Light faded as the nearby trees were all we could see. Even me. No magic signatures could be seen as the forest’s magic seemed to disappear with the light. Only nearby details could be seen within a ten-foot radius or so. That made me extremely uncomfortable as Rock and I stayed on guard. Lucia and Camoa had their magic at the ready while Vome pulled out a hammer and some other tool.

“Is there any chance this is some manner of magic protecting the new capital?” I asked Camoa quietly so I could listen for anymore strange ringing.

“No.” She whispered back. “This is not our magic at work. It’s suffocating the forest.”

“Move slowly, stay between Rock and I, and do not run off no matter what happens.” I told them.

The ringing returned. However, this time, everyone seemed to hear it. Thankfully, it wasn’t like when we were looking at the tall grass just a few feet ago. This time, it really did sound like a forge or smithy of sorts. All light had faded entirely, except now just in the distance, there seemed to be some candlelight. My eyes narrowed as I tried to see what it might be. As I did, the world shifted, and we no longer appeared to be in a forest.

Defiance at the ready, we walked along the stone flooring as a small shack came into view. The feeling it gave off wasn’t ominous per say, nor would I say it made me comfortable, it was just… There. Ringing filled the air again as the single room shack with candles in the two front windows vibrated slightly. No energy signals were coming from it, magic or otherwise.

“So, do the dwarves have-“

“No.” Vome quickly answered.

Not seeing any other options and given that this mystery shack appeared out of nowhere, there was only one thing to do. Moving toward the door, I raised my hand and knocked. I took a step back and waited. There was a moment during the silence where I could feel everyone looking at me like I was insane. Turning to them, they certainly were staring at me like I’d lost my mind.

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Shrugging, I spoke. “What? This shack is obvious responsible for all the weird shit happening.”

“So, you knock on the door?” Vome asked back.

“We’re trapped in an illusion, Arthur!” Lucia hissed.

My eyes darted around. “I’m not to sure about that. To me, it feels like we’ve been transported somewhere else.”

Camoa, being as snarky as he would expect of Aydalia, commented. “Kidnapped then, and you’re plan is to speak to our kidnappers?”

“If they answered the damn door, then maybe.” I then turned back to the shack. “Speaking of,” Reaching out again, my knuckles tapped across the door once more. “Hello!? Hello!?” There was no response. “We were wondering if you’ve kidnapped us!”

“Arthur!” Lucia smacked me.

“Ah! What?” I asked back as I winced from the magic ignited in her hands.

“This is serious!”

My brow slowly raised as a smirk came to my lips. “Is it?”

Camoa huffed. “Not all of us are as all powerful as you are, Arthur.”

“Has anything happened to us?” I asked back as I looked at them all. “Look around, no one is attacking us.”

“Yet!” Vome cut in as he raised his hands wildly. “No one is attacking us yet!”

“Hey, to me, that’s an improvement.” I told them. “Last time I had to deal with some magical assholes here, one of them ripped me in half. Forgive me if I’m much more willing to deal with some weird ass illusion magic.”

The group became quiet. “I know I’ve said it before, but you really are a strange individual, Arthur.” Then he gestured to the door. “They haven’t replied, so what are you going to do now?”

With a small shrug, I answered. “Isn’t that obvious?” My foot slammed into the door to kick it down. To my surprise, it didn’t actually break. “Oh… That’s uh… That’s surprising.”

“Having trouble?” Camoa taunted.

“Do you have anything to actually contribute, or must you mock me?”

“Mock is such an ugly word.”

“Oh my god. How is it you all go from freaking out, to being snide little assholes as soon as I make a mistake?”

Lucia giggled. “We’ve all learned from watching you.”

My eyes narrowed on her before I tried to kick the door in again with more strength. “Okay, this is starting to annoy me.” Lowering my leg and putting my ear against the door, I tried to listen for anything that might be coming from inside. “Hello?” I knocked again. Nothing. “Can anyone see anything through the windows?”

Camoa moved carefully to one of the windows. “No. The light from the candles block out anything that might be inside.”

“That’s not how candles work.” I commented.

“These are clearly magical candles.”

Turning to Lucia, I gave her a pointed look. “What?” The Aridian asked back.

I motioned to the window. “You’re our magic expert here.”

She gestured to herself. “Me?! An expert!?” Lucia shot back. “You must have me confused with Ayda or one of my aunts.”

Groaning with a roll of the eyes, my fist started to pound on the door. “Look, asshole, I don’t know why you brought us here, but I didn’t come to Vithari to play three little piggies and the big bad wolf with you! Open the door before I break it down!”

“…”

“Piggies?” I heard one of the two women whisper in confusion, but it was so quiet I couldn’t tell who.

“So, what’re you gonna do?” Vome questioned. “You’ve already tried to break it down before.”

Holding up my free hand, it slowly transformed in front of their eyes as it turned into an armored claw. “Did you try the actual door handle?” I paused at that and looked at Lucia who was gesturing to the door.

A scoff left my lips as I rolled my eyes and reached for the handle in question. “Do you really think that a door that could withstand my blows will just open with a turn of the handl-“ A click could be heard as the door slowly swung open. “Not a word.” Left my lips. “Not a single. Word.”

Before any of us could enter, the world around us seemed to shift again. The shack completely disappeared once the door had opened all the way. Now, we appeared to be in some manner of cave. However, it was only for a moment before we were in front of the shack again. We were completely surrounded by magic, that hadn’t changed, it just seemed to fluctuate with the illusion. It had to be magic or an illusion because I can see in the dark easy enough with my eyes.

“Definitely not druid magic.” Camoa commented.

Upon entering the shack revealed a forge. Well, a manner of forge. The place was as run down as the outside looked. Mold, cracks along support beams, and some vines were climbing down the walls. It looked more like a workshop with how much stuff appeared to be thrown about. Although, there was some organization here and there. Wall racks with tools hanging down ready to be used. A barrel full of wood ready to be burned. Shelves with writing materials, and other miscellaneous items decorated the room. A room that didn’t match the same size as the outside of the shack as the interior was much larger.

Yet, in the middle of all of it, seemed to be an old man. Older than even Vome. Old soldier was the first thing that came to my mind upon seeing him. He wore a nice enough tunic, with a ragged blacksmith’s apron made of leather, and had his hair in a tight ponytail. Honestly, our hair seemed rather similar. His was just greyer compared to my silver. Leather gloves covered his hands but did nothing to hide the multitude of scars decorating his arms and face. I’m sure he had more hidden underneath his outfit.

A beard decorated his face. One that was braided into two symmetrical points as they hung down to his chest. Amber eyes that glowed orange and red as the glow from the forge danced through the room and reflected in his eyes. His arm shuffled as he turned to bury something in the forge as he glanced at us for only a moment.

“Not many come here…” He said in a tired tone as he pulled something from the forge that I couldn’t see. Walking over to his anvil, he set it on the edge and lifted a hammer. “Well,” The man began as he slammed the hammer down only once before turning to put it back in the embers as he stepped on the bellow to fan the flames, “Nothing to say?” His question was met with unease as he didn’t even look at our group.

“We weren’t planning on coming here.” I replied. “You brought us here, so I assume you wanted to meet us.”

“Us?” He repeated before turning towards us to face us directly for the first time. “Ah. There are quite a few of you.” Going back to his forge, he continued stoking the flames. “Not what I intended.”

Glancing around again as the image of the man blurred, I saw that there were some manner of glowing crystals towards the top of the shack. They glowed similarly to the forge, so they were easy to miss. Were they the cause of the illusions we’ve been seeing? How could a mere human bring us here? Unless they were like Floyd. My eyes scanned for anyone else, but there was so much magic present that it was difficult to even see Lucia’s or any of the others.

His eyes then landed on Rock. “A living golem.” He commented absentmindedly. “A living golem… That’s… Interesting…” That was it before going back to his forge.

“So,” Vome began, but quickly stopped as the man eyed the dwarf, “Never mind.”

Rolling my eyes, I stepped forward in front of the group. “My name is-“

“Arthur Pendragon.” He cut in without looking at me. “Some call you the Anomaly, others Mordred, and yet, none of those names are truly yours, are they?”

My eyes narrowed into slits as the grip on Defiance tightened. “Who are you?”

Grabbing whatever he was working on again, he took it out, and repeated the process of hitting it once. “Me?” His voice was tired as it seemed to hitch for a moment. “I’m just a lonely soul looking for some conversation.” Putting whatever he was working on back in the flames, he turned to me as our eyes met. “But you can call me Obsidian.”

That name itched at the back of my mind. “Who are you?”

“Just a man who wanted to see what all the fuss was about…” He said for a moment as he trailed off.

“Um,” Lucia spoke up, “You know-“ She went quiet as his eyes bore down on hers.

Obsidian eyed her for a moment before glancing back at me. “An Aridian?” Taking a step towards her, his eyes focused on her once more. “Daughter of Mara.” Moving her behind me, I glared at him as I transformed, the man kept his passive stare. “Huh.” He let out as he examined me in an almost bored manner. “This is the form that made Undine so uneasy?”

My energy began to gather, but to my surprise, he actually turned his back on me. Returning to his forge, he reached into the coals once more before setting the heated item on the anvil again. Dropping the tongs he used to grab it, we watched as he stared at it for a moment. Ignoring us, a sigh left his lips as he grabbed his hammer. I watched carefully incase he made any sudden moves. He did not.

Instead, the man rested his hammer on the anvil for a moment. Bringing it over to whatever he was making, a little tap from the hammer on the heated metal caused a light ringing to sing through the air. However, immediately after, it exploded. Particles of light filled the air and floated down. From them, a vision, or another illusion, was created.

One of two women. Both looked similar with long white hair, white robes, and form, but I saw that Obsidian was watching them intently. They appeared to be shouting, even though no sounds came from the illusion, the man looked like he heard every word. It wasn’t until the vision was beginning to fade that much of the magic filling the area did as well. Whatever illusion Obsidian had created, faltered for a brief second, revealing long pointed ears and a pair of wings on him.

As the light faded from the sparks, the light from the forge is all that remained, and now I was in a magical shack with another Aridian. Problem was, it wasn’t just him and me. Lucia, Camoa, Vome, and Rock were all present as well. His arms went slack as the hammer fell from his fingers and onto the floor. With a sigh, he sat down on stool of some kind behind his equipment.

Turning towards us again, he gestured to himself. “Surprise.” His tone was bored. “I’m sure you guessed it before now, but yes, I’m an Aridian as well.”

“That much is obvious now,” I told him, “But I will admit, your illusions did hide your magic signature well.”

He shrugged. “They weren’t meant to. That’s just how they work. I don’t know anything about your eyes aside from what the others have told me.”

“Others?”

“The other Aridians. Undine was quite upset with you. Selari said something similar.” His hand went to the side of his head as his fingers wiggled. “I’m sure there were specifics, but I didn’t care much to listen.”

I snorted at that. “The feeling is mutual at times. Why did you bring me here?” My inquiry got a small shrug from him as he leaned forward and grabbed something from a small knap sack before putting it in his mouth. “You Aridian’s sure are coming out of the woodwork recently. I’m almost flattered. Should I expect anymore of you to come visit?”

He raised a brow at that. “How many of us have you met so far?”

“Thana, but everyone likely knows her. Undine was the most recent.” I told him. “Selari, I’m guessing through her wolves, so I don’t know much about her other than assuming that’s the same person you were referring to.” He nodded at that. “Fluffy is another. He ripped me in two. Bit of a dick. Though, most of you seem like assholes.”

“That’s because they are.” He retorted as his thumb scratched his upper lip. “Excluding the Royal Family, as you call them, and present company, the last one you’ve met is me I can probably assume.” It wasn’t a question, but I nodded. “Mmh. You really have met most of us.” A snort came from him as if amused, not that he looked it at all as he just kept a dead expression glued to his face. “I didn’t bring you here to fight you, if that’s what you were wondering.” Bobbing his head in a slight gesture towards my weapon, he continued. “There’s no need to stay in that form or keep your weapon out.”

“Forgive me for not being so quick to believe your words. My run ins with your ilk have left a sour taste in my mouth. Not sure I’ve had a good run in with any of them.” The others didn’t need any explaining with that. All of them were on edge too. “Since it was so close by, I’m sure you heard about Fluffy’s appearance in Dwardew.”

Obsidian just eyed me for a moment before shrugging. “It was just a recommendation. I don’t care what you do. You’re in no danger here as long as you don’t attack me.” A hand came up to his eyes to rub them tiredly. “Not that I’m sure I’d even do anything if you did.” When his hand dropped, he stopped for a moment and looked at me again. “What were we talking about again?

My lips thinned at that before I spoke. “Why did you bring me here?”

“Ah.” A hand ran through his hair. “Right…” His attention focused on me as he looked at me with his dead eyes. “You remind me of myself…”

“Thanks.” I replied dryly. “Anything else?”

“I suppose giving you a warning wouldn’t hurt. Don’t trust us.” That got my attention. “Any of us. Me, Selari, Undine, no one. This world is cursed, Lord Pendragon.” Both of his hands weakly motioned to his chest. “And we are the ones who cursed it. Our hubris has destroyed many, cursed others, and all but doomed Crevalis. They’re right when they say that you’re messing with things you don’t comprehend.”

“Feel like explaining?” I shot back.

He shook his head. “I can’t. Would you believe me if I said we placed our hope in the Royal Family? Not all of them, of course, but some of them. It doesn’t matter anymore. Don’t kill any of the Aridians aside from Fluffy if you must. Thana is…” His hands slowly slipped down to rest on his knees. “Well, she’s Thana.”

A sneer came to my lips. “Yeah, Thana. Queen of Demons. That’s Thana alright.”

Another sigh from the man. “Look, do whatever you want. Just don’t get tricked into doing something stupid. Don’t believe any Aridians you speak to. All they do is lie, manipulate, and use you for their own goals. Why do you think they have wards?”

“I assumed it was so they could interact with the world without being overly obvious.”

“There is that, yes, but they use them. Those poor souls will never be free from their masters who hold their leash. That is cursed magic.”

“If that’s the case, then can I assume you don’t have a ward?” I asked him.

“Never.” He breathed out in a whisper.

Part of me wanted to believe him. Just from his response and the look on his face, Obsidian seemed to be sincere, but this is also the same Aridian who just said don’t believe any of them. So, I was going to take the safe route and assumed he had at least three dozen wards running around somewhere. None of it mattered though. I didn’t like being here with this group, and I certainly didn’t feel comfortable with the emotionless Aridian in the middle of the room.

I gestured to the door. “I’d love to continue this talk, but maybe at another time when it’s just you and me. If there’s nothing else, can we be-“

There was no response as everything around us shifted. Light flooded our senses as the darkness was decimated by the sunlight as we reappeared back in the Druid Forest. All of them started panting in horror at the high-level magic that was no doubt used, and even I felt uneasy from how easily he was able to capture me in it. Turning back around, the border of where the grassy plains could be seen. The tip of some mountain just above the tall grass was just barely visible.

“Uh… Okay, that was easier than I thought it was going to be.” I stated before making sure everyone else returned with me. Once I verified everyone was safe, I continued. “I’m going to agree with Camoa’s early statement and say we can’t be here. Let’s get away from the grassy fields and back into the depths of the forest.” I told the group as I gestured back to the original direction we came from.

“Such a journey usually takes a day or two to make it through the forest, Arthur.” Camoa commented.

“I know. That’s why we’re heading back. We’ll go back to flying if we need to once we get a little further away from this place. Stay on guard and let me know if any of you see anything.”