There was a huge difference between what this thrice-damned pixie thought was steep and what anyone with even a shred of common sense would think was steep.
The so-called nearby cliff was several minutes away from the portal and while the magnificent view revealed much of the forest around her along with distant smoke plumes that hinted at some sign of civilization at its distant edges, the sheer drop was frightening.
Serena continued forward until finally reaching the edge. There were few options other than to jump, which made the idea of doing just that seems like an option to have her head examined. It was only when Mint flew closer did she realize how high up they were. Her stomach lurched as she realized that falling would mean certain death. The ledges below her looked weak enough to fall through without breaking any bones—but no matter how hard she tried, there wasn't anything to grab onto either.
"What do you suggest?" She called out to the tiny being.
With a sigh, Mint flitted over to where she stood. "You could fly," he suggested, pointing at himself.
This suggestion didn't make her feel better about jumping.
Instead, she turned to look down at the trees below. Many of them were tall enough to nearly reach the middle of the cliff, and the face of the cliff had various vines covering it that might be useful to climb down.
As tempting as it was to just pour some mana into her carpet and fly over the trees, skipping this entire tedious experience, Serena doubted her mana, as it currently was, could sustain the carpet for more than a handful of minutes at best. If she used the flying carpet, she would no doubt crash into the forest and likely break something on impact.
If she used an accessory enchanted with [Levitate] or [Fly] then even if she passed through the forest unscathed it would draw too much attention from the inhabitants and she didn't know if such things were common in this world.
Climbing down the surface with magic would have been possible, but she didn't feel it would work out that well either. That left her with either [Slow Fall] or [Glide] enchanted objects.
Serena removed her backpack, opened it, and started to search through it for a specific charm bracelet. Once finding it and pulling it out of the void, she returned her backpack to where it belonged.
Taking a deep breath, she placed the bracelet around her wrist, took another deep breath, and stepped off the cliff's edge.
A moment later, the enchantment activated.
At first, nothing happened, and Serena began to worry that maybe it hadn't worked right. Then she saw herself begin to slowly float downward.
She'd expected that her descent would start slow, but instead, it seemed to pick up speed rapidly. Soon the ground became blurry beneath her feet and she felt as though she were going to pass out. However, the bracelet kept activating, so she forced herself not to panic and keep floating. When she reached the bottom, she found herself standing next to a tree. She checked to see what kind of wood it was (Alder, according to her glasses that was enchanted with the [Appraise and Analyze] spells) before using the same spell again. This time, she glided smoothly across the bark. A second later, she landed on solid earth once more.
Mint soon appeared next to her, grinning with excitement. "That was an interesting way to get down." He said, looking back at the cliff behind him.
"I'm sure I'll find other methods eventually, but this was faster than climbing," Serena replied.
They both traveled away from the cliff and made their way to the outskirts of the Loxley Woods.
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After walking for about an hour they came upon a small clearing that looked like it had been recently cut. It wasn't very big—just a few dozen meters square —but there was plenty of space between each of the trees. There weren't any leaves yet since it was still spring, but when the foliage did appear it should make for a pleasant place to spend the afternoon.
"This looks good!" Mint exclaimed happily, his tail waving wildly while he flew toward the center of the clearing.
Before Serena could join him, however, a group of three creatures emerged from the woods surrounding them. They were bipeds, roughly human-shaped, and stood about five feet tall. Their faces reminded her of monkeys and apes mixed. The biggest difference was they lacked noses entirely, leaving only holes for nostrils. Each one wore a white shirt over its chest and a pair of brown pants, which was unusual enough to catch Serena's attention.
Their arms and legs were thin but muscular, and all three carried short swords strapped to their backs.
As they drew closer, Serena got a better look at the weapons. One was a sword with a handle carved from a single piece of bone; the others were daggers.
Serena pushed up her glasses, and after a moment, started to get information with [Analyze]
Lifeform unknown
Searching databases for similar organisms
Serena had expected they would be unknown beings. She had several theories herself on their origins, but she didn’t have the mana to spare using [Identify] right then.
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After a few seconds, words and phrases from the Mental magic school once again entered her mind.
Possible devolution of Humans
Possible Curse or Mutation
Possible Therian subspecies
Please gather more information to update the Database
I think I’ll pass on that right now.
When the last of them exited the woods, they stopped several yards away and stared directly at her and Mint.
"What do you want human?" asked the closest one. Its voice sounded surprisingly feminine despite being devoid of nasal passages.
"I wanted to find a space to rest before continuing to the closest human village. I have been traveling for some time, and I admit to being lost right now," Serena paused and offered an embarrassed smile while raising her arms to show she was unarmed aside from her walking stick. "If you would be kind enough to let my trespass on your logging camp go, I will be on my way."
One of the creatures chuckled loudly. "You humans always think we're going to kill you just because our faces don't look like yours."
Serena frowned slightly and raised a brow. That hadn't occurred to her until then. Though she was insulted to be considered such a lowly thing as a human.
The creature continued speaking. " We live deep within these woods, and sometimes venture out onto the surface during hunting season, but otherwise stay hidden so as not to interfere with your affairs."
It spoke rather eloquently for someone without a nose.
Serena nodded politely and took a step forward. "Thank you for understanding. May I ask how far away the nearest settlement is? I am eager to reach it and return home after having wandered around aimlessly for days already."
"Just over two hours walk if you continue straight ahead through the forest," the monkey-like woman answered. Her tone was friendly and welcoming, unlike the second creature.
"Then allow me to thank you kindly, and wish you well on your journey. Please forgive my intrusion on your peaceful day," Serena bowed low and backed slowly towards the edge of the clearing.
These creatures watched her carefully as she retreated, keeping their weapons pointed outward. After Serena disappeared beyond the perimeter of the clearing, they lowered them and began to laugh quietly among themselves.
After they were a few feet away, Serena asked Mint if what they said was accurate, and then continued in that direction. Mint had been unusually quiet since encountering those beings, which worried her somewhat.
Mint's silence made sense once she noticed the small pile of bones that lay scattered across the ground where Serena had stood moments earlier. They looked old and gnawed upon by animals. It seemed likely there were other remains nearby, though none could be seen due to the trees blocking most of the view.
Once they reached the edge of the wooded area, Serena stopped dead in her tracks at seeing a strange ritual site.
A massive stone circle sat atop a mound of earth. The stones were roughly hewn slabs of granite that formed a rough pentagon shape about ten feet wide and twenty high. At its center was a huge black tree that seemed to have crimson leaves. Flowers that eerily resembled blood blossomed from vines that were such a dark green they were nearly black.
Inscribed on the sides of the tree and stone slabs were ancient runes in an unknown language. Some of them were familiar from books she'd read under Vele's tutelage, but many of the words were completely unfamiliar. There must have been dozens of symbols inscribed along the outer edges of each slab.
At the base of the mound, next to the tree lay a body. This one was female judging by the curves visible beneath torn clothing and the length of her brown hair. A thick braid hung down past her shoulder blades.
Her head was caved inward, and her neck was broken. Judging by the lack of flies or maggots, the corpse hadn't been lying here too terribly long.
Even though the victim appeared to have died violently, she didn't appear to have suffered much before death. She wasn't mauled by animals, nor did any wounds suggest she had been stabbed. All she wore was a simple white tunic with blue trim and a pair of leather sandals.
"This place has witnessed violence recently. What happened here?" Mint inquired curiously.
"No idea," Serena replied truthfully, though she knew exactly what this scene meant. This was some kind of human sacrifice ritual site. Perhaps the tree grew power from blood and death, and that in turn fueled some kind of spell or ritual that some locals used. "But whatever it is, we need to leave now."
"Wait, child," Ravana spoke up. It was the first time he spoke in a few hours so Serena was surprised at the sudden voice in her mind. Though it pissed her off that he kept on calling her a child. "Look toward the tree. Do you see it?"
Serena squinted her eyes against the sun's light filtering through the canopy above. As she stared more intently, she saw something odd. Something glowing near the roots of the tree. When she focused closer still, she realized what it was—an orb of concentrated mana.
It pulsated like a heartbeat and reminded her vaguely of blood due to the scarlet hue and where it was found.
"Yes, I do see it," Serena said. This confirmed some things she was curious about. She was originally concerned if Ravana could see and experience what she did, though this inquiry implied he more sensed at best.
"Very good," Ravana said dismissively, though Serena could tell he was satisfied with her being able to see and sense this magical phenomenon. "This specific sphere of mana is made from concentrated intentions, will, belief, and faith. Naturally, there are other outcomes to such techniques and rituals, and people and places can attract all kinds of power to them. Regardless, the fact that you can see and sense it means that you can interact with it."
"And what would be the purpose of me interacting with it?"
Ravana chuckled. "I don't know yet. But I imagine someone may want us to try to harvest the magic inside. We should proceed carefully when approaching the tree, as we might find ourselves dealing with hostile entities."
Serena nodded. They couldn't afford to get involved with anything else today, not after having already stumbled upon the murder. Besides, she needed to learn how to protect herself better.
She approached the tree slowly and quietly. Mint, she noticed, missed that memo, and was darting around the stone circle, clearly bewildered at what he was seeing. He paused once again as he passed the body, however; then continued onward without comment.
As they neared the trunk of the tree, Serena began sensing a faint but growing aura of tension emanating from it. Whatever this thing was, it seemed wary of their presence. That worried Serena, considering the nature of its origins. If it was sentient, then she suspected it wouldn't take kindly to intruders. And if it was an elemental spirit, well…she'd rather avoid that particular encounter entirely.
But before either of those possibilities became a reality, she decided to approach the tree itself. After all, the only way out was forward. So she stepped onto the mossy ground and reached her hand toward the glowing ball.