The elf princess, Church of Light’s templars, and Forest Stalkers were climbing the Valen Mountains. Two Forest Stalkers were assigned to scout out the path to the world tree, so only four of them joined the Templars.
The Templars were the Church of Light’s elites. Every Templar was equivalent to A-rank warriors and priests. There was even an S-rank paladin accompanying the group. Vincent was in awe at their display of strength. Next to these warriors of the church, the Forest Stalkers paled in comparison. In total, the party had only twenty people.
Vincent was stuck as a porter, tasked with carrying the extra supplies because he was the weakest of the group, coming in at C-rank. He brought the overly bulky supplies like bedrolls and sheets. The more essential things like food and water were stored in the their space bags. Even though things have turned out this way, Vincent wasn’t complaining.
‘This is an opportunity for her to escape, but why isn’t she moving?’ Vincent thought as he stared at the docile little girl. She looked no older than Isabel, but yet her eyes were dead.
The journey was easy because there were no monsters up in the mountains. They only had to watch out for falling rocks. The season was also changing, so everyone was wearing thick cloaks to fight off the cold. Locke, in charge of navigation, was in the lead and using a map. As their elevation increased, the cold got worse. Vincent also felt a bit of pity for the elf princess; she was only dressed in a thin gown and barefoot.
Vincent took out a cloak and started walking towards the elf princess, but then a hand blocked him. It was Yeriel.
“Don’t. No one is allowed to approach her.” Yeriel shook her head and dissuaded him.
“Why are they so cruel?” muttered Vincent.
“Cruel?” Yeriel sniffed in derision. “The church sees everything dark as corrupt and evil. She’s lucky that they haven’t beheaded her in the name of Thaesis.”
Vincent frowned in anger and put away the cloak. He looked up at Emet that flew high above the clouds. Emet was a storm falcon, they could fly to insane altitudes above the clouds, so he was worried about her.
As the Templars marched, they had their heads bowed in prayer. The paladin also recited scriptures as he walked; these were devout followers of Thaesis. Faith was stronger in this world because the gods interacted with the mortals and created miracles and sent down prophecies.
When night came about, the group had made a good start. The experts in the party naturally wouldn’t let Vincent perform sentry duties, so he had plenty of rest at night. In the morning, after a light meal of dry bread and cured meat, they resumed their march.
There were no monsters or threats on the mountain, but everyone had one hand on their weapons. An attack could come at any time, so they had to be ready.
The first mountain was quickly passed. The second mountain had a small gorge, but they circled around it. Finally, the party arrived at the base of the third mountain. Near the summit of this mountain was the spring of life. Halfway up the mountain, the incline grew steeper, making it impossible for Vincent and a couple other porters unable to ascend.
“Alright, take off the packs, I’ll stay here with a couple others and watch our equipment,” Locke commanded. He selected a Forest Stalker and two Templars to watch over the equipment. The Templars looked towards their paladin.
“Do what he says. We won’t be long.”
“By your will, Your Grace.” They went over and started sat down in prayer. Locke and the other Forest Stalker began to spread and maintain a perimeter. Locke was also busily charting a course back down the mountain.
“Then I guess it’s just you and me, Vince.” Yeriel calmly said as she patted his shoulder. “I can’t wait to see what the spring of life looks like.”
“Me too.” Vincent distantly answered and followed the rest of the group up.
They continued climbing and soon disappeared into the cloud layer. Vincent felt the cold moisture cling to his body as his body started shivering. Everything in their path was slick and wet from the clouds, making their way up dangerous. However, soon they passed through the dense clouds and saw the clear open skies above.
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“There it is!” A Templar announced as everyone increased their speed.
Just a dozen meters away was the sole oasis on the dead mountain. A small pool sat in the indentation of the summit. Lush greenery cupped the pond within its palm. Trees on either side of the oasis bore bright ripened fruit. From above, dribbling down into the basin, raindrops trickled down from the sky; they seemed to materialize from thin air as they fell.
“Praise Thaesis!” The templars kneeled in worship. This was a gift from the heavens. They began to recite scriptures. Once they were done, everyone approached the pond. It was like they were back in the kingdom, it was impossible to think that anything grew on this dead mountain.
“What are these fruits?” A Templar asked as he picked up a grape-like fruit that was bright orange.
“Nothing in the texts tell of these fruits, but I can sense a divinity coming from them. Why don’t we take a few back?” Another Templar replied.
“Do so.” The Paladin agreed. While a few templars were busily picking fruits, the elf princess approached the pond.
The elf princess began to undress. Vincent grew embarrassed and looked away. Yeriel was amused by this and started snickering.
“I didn’t expect someone with your face to be so innocent.” She toothily grinned.
“Shut up.” Vincent scoffed in reply and turned his attention back to the fruits. He could also feel a strange aura coming from the fruits with this mana sense. He started walking toward the fruits, but then Yeriel stopped him.
“What is it this time?” Vincent asked in an annoyed matter.
“Just sit and listen.” She shushed him and closed her eyes.
Meanwhile, the elf princess entered the pond and started singing a hymn, it was in a tongue unknown to him. However, he fell into a trance as she sang. When he finally woke up from the illusion, the elf princess was already out and clothed. The paladin, satisfied with the conclusion of the first part started gathering up the party.
“Have you gathered everything?”
“Yes, Your Grace.” The templars replied. The trees and bushes were devoid of fruits; they have picked everything clean. How greedy were these templars?
“Then let us return.” Just as he said so, a few men started screaming.
“Uggh!”
Vincent jumped back in shock when he saw a handful of guys starting to vomit. In the vomit, he saw bits and pieces of vibrant fruits. The men continued retching and emptying the contents of their stomach. After their stomachs were empty of fruits, blood was the next to come out.
“What is going on? By the light of Thaesis!” The paladin ran over and help his men up, but it was too late. Everyone that had eaten the fruits had already passed on to the afterlife.
“Y-your Grace!” Another Templar fearfully crawled away. He then took out the fruits he gathered and threw them on the ground, “These fruits are cursed!” A few like him also threw away their fruits. They were thankful that they hadn’t consumed the fruits.
“Nothing in the text spoke of these things.” The paladin grimly announced. Then a look of realization dawned on him. “We have to return! Quickly!” He hoped they weren’t too late.
Everyone hastily trudged back down. When they passed through the cloud barrier, they saw a sight that caused them to blanch. Vincent also felt a pit settle down in his stomach when he saw them. At the location of their equipment, five dark elves were cleaning their weapons. The two Templars and Forest Stalkers laid at their feet. Vincent felt his blood run cold when he saw Locke laying behind the lead elf’s feet.
“There are fewer than before you ascended.” The lead elf evilly grinned, “I see you’ve discovered our gift.”
“So it was you.” The paladin’s nostrils flared as he took out a hammer and shield from his space bag. The other templars acted in the same fashion.
“When the fighting starts. Run as far away as you can.” Yeriel whispered to Vincent. This was not a fight he could take part; everyone here was at least an A-rank or above. With the loss from before and the people dead at the elves feet, the Templars had only nine against the elves’ five. With the natural strength provide by the world tree’s blessing, they were stronger than each templar typically. This was going to be a tough fight.
“Kid, take the elf and run.” The paladin looked over at Vincent. Even though it might seem pointless, he had to take a chance.
“…” Vincent saw his opportunity, so he nodded.
“You think we’ll just let you get away? Kekeke.” The lead elf chuckled like a villain. “Die!” He threw a dagger at Vincent. Vincent couldn’t react at all, and before he knew it, the knife was right before his eyes.
*Clang!*
It bounced off the armored gauntlet of the paladin.
“Get going, Kid.” The Paladin roared and charged at the elves. The templars issued their own cries in reply. The paladin gathered a force inside himself and shouted, “Last Will!”
A strong surge of mana enveloped the area. The elves sneakily backed off, but just as the leader elf stepped away, a dagger plunged into his thigh.
It was Locke!
“Kehehe! I’m not going to go down without a fight. Die with me!” He let out a laugh that mimicked a guttural sound.
“You should be dead! Gah!” The elf stabbed down, ending Locke’s life. He removed the dagger and ran back, but it was too late. The paladin arrived and slammed down his hammer, creating a thunderous boom and heavily wounding the elf. If it weren’t the divine spell ‘Last Will’, Locke’s resentful will wouldn’t have come back to life and dealt a decisive strike. The elf cursed his ignorance and fell back behind his comrades.
Vincent saw his chance and grabbed the elf princess and ran off.
“Don’t let him get away!” The elf leader commanded. A few of the elves started giving chase.
“Light Protection!”
“Holy Smite!”
The Templars jumped between Vincent and the elves, effectively blocking the pursuers. With his chance, Vincent picked up the docile princess and sprinted off. He didn’t look behind him as the loud booms of fighting and devastating spells clashed. He also didn’t see Yeriel’s eyes that were focused on his back as he ran.