We hastened, as we slowly crept toward the epicentre of the explosion. Normally people would think its smarter to run away immediately, but I didn't agree with that concept. If you don't know what was the root and cause, you can't make good judgment on counters and further action to be taken. For all you know, you could be running towards the danger and further action could just worsen or aggravate the situation. Maybe it's just because I've been surviving and making a living off information for so long, but information can be really valuable, at times, worth more then lives. That's why some people are silenced...eternally.
Either way, we... I needed to know whether it was a monster or human that caused the explosion. Although it shouldn't be a monster, we weren't that deep into the forest. And even if we were, there shouldn't have existed enough magical density, according to the map, for any monster of this calibre to be formed. Yes maps can be inaccurate, but not by this much. It was much more likely bandits.
"Hey, considering the carriage that just went by, did they get attacked by something?"
I though about what Shiara said. She was looking unexpected nervous. Yes, that was big a shockwave, but I thought living in the slums would of toughened her more...She may be a bigger weight then expected.
"Yeah, but it's most likely bandits. There aren't monsters who can absorb enough mana from the air living in this forest."
"Then shouldn't we be running away?" She muttered underneath her breath. I was seriously beginning to question bringing her along. Yeah, maybe we should just cut ties here.
"Then run away if you want. Bye" I waved her off as I continued through the forests, pushing past some vines and low hanging branches. The trunks were getting closer together so we were probably entering the deeper regions of the forest.
"Hey wait up! Aren't you boys meant to have some manly pride you are meant to protect."
I looked back speechless. I decided to give her an awkward enigmatic smile and move on. It seems she hasn't yet noticed. I never explicitly mentioned anything about it, but it wasn't exactly a well kept secret.
The forest was getting dimmer. Not just because the trees were getting denser. The high afternoon sun was beginning to set, casting long shadows everywhere. The wind had died down mostly and the clouds from earlier were no where to be seen. It would be a cloudless night, and the clear sky's would allow the moonlight and stars to provide ample natural light for navigation. Having to push through a bunch of creepers, I felt Shiara catch up with me. She placed her hand on my shoulder.
"Hey. So what are you even planning to do when we get there?" she shouted, slightly out of breath. I was setting quite a fast pace and traveling in a forest is harder then swimming through crowded streets or strolling through trashed up empty alleys. Even though I was clearing a path and she was just following, it wasn't like I removed every obstacle and she had to watch out for branches that were swinging back into place. That's quite impressive. Her voice was tad too loud though, I should warn her....
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"I don't know, I'll see when we get there. Also, lower your voice. A lot of newly formed low level nocturnal monsters rely on sound, and we could probably handle only one monster, maybe two if we get lucky. " I whispered, intentionally slightly lower then normal to emphasise my point.
"So are we just charging-"
"I don't know about you, but there are three steps to my process of dealing with an unexpected situation. Step 1, observe. Wait and observe the situation and gather as much information as you can. Be decisive, but not hasty or rushed. Step 2, strategise. Utilising the information you have gathered and analysed, put together a comprehensive and cohesive plan that's simple yet effective. Complex plans tend to go wrong, but simple plans don't prepare you for contingencies. Step 3, act. Stick to the plan, but adapt as the situation calls for it. 90% of the time, you will change your plans. The plan is a guideline and not the only solution in a majority of situations-"
"Ok enough, enough. I get it." She hushed me almost as if I was an immature child that couldn't stop talking.... maybe I did go off on a bit of a tangent. "But wow, those are some big words...where did you even learn them from?-oops" Ouch. That hurt. No, I was not going to think about the past. The past is gone, gone with the wind. I will not think about the past. I could feel the edges of my eyes wetting themselves, as tears threatened to pour. No, the past is the past, what matters is the present, the future and what you make of it. "Sorry" she whispered to me, obviously sobered after realising she has stepped on a hidden land mine. My face probably gave me away. Family was always a sensitive topic to orphans, and among us a taboo of sorts. If someone noses around your family background in the slums, that was basically a challenge to a duel to the death. Most of us had dark and tragic pasts, and the rests were unwanted children, all one way or another making our way into the slums.
Still, it wasn't done intentionally or maliciously. She probably just didn't think things through. I coughed, avoiding the delicate subject, and wiped the edges of my eyes.
"Don't worry about it. Anyway, be quiet, we are nearly there." From my judgement, after this last bit of bush, we should be able to see the scene of the explosion or whatever large scale magic it was. The road probably lay just ahead as the trees were beginning to thin out and the amount of mana in the air had also thinned out slightly. Well, there wasn't that much to begin with for a forest.
"Oh hey, I forgot to ask about if before, but do you know how to contain your mana and consciously stop absorption and refinement of mana from the air?" I was originally intending to ask about this after the carriage passed us by earlier, but I forgot about it because of the explosion. It was important that if we observed them that we wouldn't be detected.
"No? How do you do-"
"Ok, bye then. Stay here and don't move, I'll be back before the sun fully sets." I left her before she could close her mouth dropping my sack of provisions. There would be another element of risk if I brought her along which would be higher then leaving her here out of sight. Hiding your mana required some delicate control and practice to pick up. Not something she could learn in a day.
The sun fell below the tree line behind me as I slowly pushed my way through the last of the thicket to cautiously peak. I could no longer see my shadow and even though the sun had yet to set, I felt a slight chill on my neck as my sense of foreboding increased. Alarm bells were ringing in my head. A muffled curse suddenly broke the silence.