Chapter 17: The Elven Territory (Volume 2: Prologue)

I couldn’t help but appreciate the scenery in front of me. It was beautiful to say the least with the rolling hills filled with flowers of many kinds. Trees were also lining the side of the road we were taking, some had apples growing on them. I quickly jumped to the roof of the carriage. Just as we passed underneath one of the trees, I quickly grabbed one of the apples that I could reach. It was a pretty apple, the skin reflecting the light of the sun. I could also smell its sweet fragrance somehow escaping the skin that kept it sealed. With a quick bite, I suddenly tasted the sweet sensation filling my mouth. Ahh… this is delicious…

              Ferizia!

              Fer?

              I looked towards the wolf that suddenly appeared. He looked relieved as he plopped down right beside me.

              You suddenly went out of the carriage. I thought something was wrong

              Should you really think like that? If there’s something wrong, then the entire group would be alerted right?

              …True

              We both stared at the line of carriages following after us. Right now, we were the lead cart. Of course, our cart is simple. It’s like the wagons you would see from those old western cowboy movies. Actually, all the other carriages are the same. But… our caravan was a tad special. I mean, for each cart there were two horsemen acting as escorts. Not only that, each cart had one person with either a bow or a crossbow. What’s even more deadly is the fact that each of these guys can use some form of magic. From flame attribute all the way to the aqua attribute. Though, I have to say. I and my other two sisters were the main healers since we were one of the few that held huge amounts of light magic. Still, this is a very formidable caravan.

              “Hey, someone’s blocking our path”

              Oh boy, here it comes again. Bandits stopping a cara… wait, that’s no bandit?

              “It’s… a kid?”

              “Really?”

              Our two escorts immediately rode out in front of the entire caravan. Of course, everyone else was on alert as we scanned the forest for any suspicious movement. Soon, I saw the two pick up the kid. By the dress, the kid was probably a boy. He seemed pretty beat up but his life doesn’t seem to be in danger.

              “Set him down here”

              I immediately got off the cart, beckoning them two place the boy on the soft grass. They complied as they slowly laid him on the ground. I wasted no time in using healing magic. Of course, because I have been training for weeks, my control over mana has greatly increased. Not only that, I had Iridia check my status. I’m not going to show you, but I will tell you that their pretty insane. Of course, light attribute magic was my main forte and was the category that had the most upgrades placed on it. That’s why, I’m highly confident that I can heal almost any kind of wound on any person. In seconds, my spell did its job as the boy was healed of his physical injuries. Now, he laid there, asleep.

              “What do we do with him?”

              “He looks young. You think his village was attacked?”

              Before I noticed it, a huge group has gathered around us. Some of them parted making a way for Raymond. He looked kind of annoyed, but as soon as he saw the boy, he sighed.

              “Another one? Just how many villages are their being attacked these days?”

              “Well, you never know. Maybe it’s a seasonal thing”

              “Seasonal? Thery’re not goblins”

              “But they sure act like one”

              Iridia joined our conversation with an icy cold tone. I kind of expected this considering that, strangely, we’ve been meeting many kinds of villages that had the same problem. What’s more is that some of the villages were completely destroyed, the men killed and the women… well, you get the idea. I rather not remember the grizzly scenes. That’s why, every time we find bandits, we make sure to kill every single one of them. Well, not all of them. Some were actually quite innocent and still carried high values. Plus, they didn’t share the same sentiment with the lost bandits. I couldn’t just have honest men killed now can I? I even have some of them under our employment now. That’s why I could see some men visibly shake as they backed away from Iridia a bit. I guess they still remembered what she did to the other bandits.

              “Iridia, calm down a bit. You’re scaring everyone again”

              “ahh…”

              As if finally noticing her own aura, she immediately calm down. The oppressing aura she had before diminished. Many of the men sighed a breath of relief while some stood back up on their feet. Yeah, her pressure was strong to the point that some people fell on their knees.

              “Sis… You really need to control yourself. Here, let me help you relax a bit”

              With a mischievous glint in her eyes, Rina suddenly appeared behind Iridia. Unable to react in time, Iridia couldn’t fend her off as Rina began groping her breast.

              “Rina. Wait… Stop”

              “Relax, relax”

              I rolled my eyes as the men around us began to squirm from the scene. I then focused my attention on the sleeping kid. I couldn’t help but feel uncomfortable about this. Although we’ve been encountering many villages that were raided, this time. It just didn’t seem right.

              “Hey, can someone help me bring him to one of the carriages?”

              “Ah… yes mam”

              Two of them immediately came over and helped me carry the boy. I followed after them, ignoring the huge commotion behind me.

              “LET GO ALREADY!”

              “Come on, aren’t we sisters”

              “It doesn’t matter if were sisters or not! LET GO!”

              I sighed as the two started to wrestle with one another. Of course, the guys and even the female mercenaries began egging them on. I quickly hopped on the carriage that the boy was placed in and began to study him. By the looks of it, he seemed to be human. But that’s strange. We’re currently headed towards the elven territory. That means, most of the villages here were elven villages. The bandits though were a mix of human, elves and human variants so I really can’t count them. I mean, I guess it’s possible that this kid may be part of a bandit group, but it still doesn’t add up. I mean, we should have been attacked by now if this kid was meant to be a bait. So far, all I hear is the scuffle outside.

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              “Hmm…”

              “Is there anything wrong?”

              One of the mercenaries gave me a worried look.

              “I don’t know. Something just doesn’t add up… can you tell Raymond that we need to keep moving and to be extra vigilant. Maybe then, we’ll be able to reach the village that this boy came from”

              The man nodded as he exited the carriage. Now, only the female mercenary remained.

              “Is he going to be ok?”

              “Yeah. I’ve stabilized his body so he should be fine now”

              She nodded as she placed a hand over the boys head. Somehow, it seemed like she had a very caring look on her face. Noticing it, I couldn’t help but smile.

              Hey, Feri. Something’s strange with that kid

              Huh?

              I stared at the kid, but nothing seemed wrong. I even checked his body to make sure I missed something, but nothing. He seemed perfectly fine.

              Don’t look at his physical appearance. Focus on his mana channels

              I did as Fer said. Suddenly, I noticed that the kid didn’t radiate a single bit of mana. Rather, all the mana was focused on his heart. This… isn’t this strange… and bad?

              How is this possible?

              I don’t know…

              This really made me on edge. I’ve learned from Byron that each of the races had their own ways of controlling mana. Never did he tell me of a race that can specifically control mana to condense itself in their hearts. Rather, wasn’t that dangerous? If I remember correctly, condensing mana into only one point can lead to an overcharge. In other words, the condense mana may explode causing the body to detonate. Honestly, that isn’t a sight I would like to see so I’m really glad Byron told me that. And yet. Now, I see this boy condensing his man… at his heart even. This really seemed dangerous. Suddenly, I felt the carriage move. That must mean that we were finally continuing our journey.

              “Watch over him”

              Hearing the urgency in my words, the girl nodded. I then got of the carriage and went back to the lead one. There, Iridia and Rina were waiting for me.

              “So, how was he?”

              “Safe and sleeping. But, there was something strange about him”

              “Strange?”

              “His mana. It’s all gathering in one spot. I didn’t notice it at first until Fer told me”

              We all look towards Fer. He immediately used his paws to cover his eyes, and brought his head down to the floor.

              Don’t look at me. I’m as clueless as you guys

              Somehow or another, his form right now was really cute. I couldn’t help but pick him up and placed him on my lap. He immediately curled his body, a huge yawn escaping from his lips. I can tell that I was smiling as I placed my finger in front of him and began murmuring cooing noises. We all began to giggle, soon forgetting about the topic beforehand. Ahh… I really like a peaceful day.

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              A couple of days flew pass us and everything seemed to e normal. We weren’t attacked by any bandits so the morale of the caravan was high. Before, our surrounding was filled with the plains, some mountains and small trees. Now, the road was beginning to lead deep into the elven forest. We still haven’t found the kid’s village that we picked up, but something tells me we were close. Of course, we weren’t in a rush. I mean, if the village was attacked then it was attacked. At most, we need to save our strength when it came down to a fight. Today, I was also acting as an escort. Rina also accompanied me as she took the spot on the other side of the lead carriage. As for Iridia, she took the carriage drivers spot.

              “Make sure you three don’t do anything reckless”

              I scoffed at him.

              “When was the last time we did anything reckless?”

              “…”

              Raymond gave us a dry stare.

              “You really want me to list them?”

              “… Fair enough”

              Rolling my eyes, I placed my attention back to the road. Unlike the dwarven territory, this placed was really different. The forest was so dense that I couldn’t even see the sky anymore. Yet, light seemed to pierce through all the same. Also, it wasn’t humid. It was actually cold. I could feel the breeze passing through my clothes. Honestly, I’m glad I took Raymond’s advice and got winter clothes. If it wasn’t for magically heating enhanced combat skirt and jacket, I’d probably be freezing my butt off. As for some of the men, they weren’t taking it as better as I did. You can hear several sneezes through the caravan.

              *Mockingbird whistling*

              I heard a series of chirp permeating through the forest air. I couldn’t help but tense up and I could tell that everyone was the same. That’s because the whistling wasn’t normal. It sounded like a mockingbird, but in this continent. Mockingbirds hate the cold climate. In other words, there shouldn’t be any mocking birds here. Iridia instantly slowed the entire caravan and we progressed through the road slowly.

              *Mockingbird whistling*

              We all stared hard into the forest.

              “Just where are these sounds coming from?”

              “I don’t know. Just keep watching”

              “Ugh…”

              I can tell that the mercenaries were really on edge. I can hear their hands tightly grip their weapons. I can also hear soft rustling in the forest. Like, tiny steps hitting the dead leaves on the ground. It was quiet and soft, but loud enough for me to hear it. I began to whistle a series of complicated sounds. First, a soft whistle followed by three rapid ones. This indicated that magic should be used as a defensive measure instead of an aggressive measure. I then whistled softly, followed by two short harsh tunes then a soft one. This told the soldiers that our opponents were professionals and should not be underestimated. Knowing this, the men began to sweat.

              “Don’t provoke them. As long as were not attacking, they may not attack”

              Raymond whispered to the men close to him. I was far away but never underestimate the ears of a spirit. This standoff continued for several hours. Our side didn’t dare attack while the other side was simply observing us. Now, I’ve managed to identify at least 30 people. That’s pretty small for a bandit raid. Plus, they seemed to be professionals so I immediately dismissed the idea that they were bandits.

              “Hey, Feri. I see a village up ahead”

              I looked towards the front and sure enough, a village could be seen. Though, I’m sure that by the looks of it, they were not preparing a friendly welcome. I was awed by the sight in front of us. There, a small palisade came into view. From there, soldiers were staring right at us. Their spears were all pointed at the caravan while archers could be seen from behind them. Then, as we stopped right in front of them, I finally knew who had been following us. Archers, all covered in shrubs, were atop the tree branches. They all had their bows nocked and looked ready to kill us. Wow… they really don’t seem friendly. Suddenly, I saw some of the soldiers part way and a rather pretty woman appeared. Like the rest, she had green hair and light green eyes. By looks of it, she really doesn’t seem happy to see us. This feeling of hostility… I’m really sure we’ve never met so why are you looking at us like that.

              “Hey, isn’t that Ruveah! Hey Ruve…”

              Without us knowing, an arrow immediately lodged itself between Raymond’s legs, effectively making him shut up.

              “SHUT IT YOU PERVERT! You actually had the nerves of returning here!”

              “Princess, please calm down”

              As her men tried to calm down the girl, I could tell that I had a blank look on my face. Actually, Iridia and Rina also had a blank face as we all stared towards Raymond. He winked at us giving an, ‘I’ll explain it to you all later’ look. He then focused back on the girl Ruveah.

              “So, Ruveah. You sure became really pretty. Do you mind us going into…”

              Another arrow was shot and this time, it flew past his head. I could hear the tch sound that the girl made as she nocked another arrow. He began flailing his hand in the air, feigning a scared tone.

              “Wait, time out! Time out! You’re going to hit someone!”

              “Yeah, I am going to hit someone. YOU!”

              Before I knew it, Raymond got off the carriage as a couple more arrows headed towards him. Of course, they lodged themselves unto the wooden platform he was on while Raymond himself began running into the forest.

              “YOU’RE NOT GOING TO GET AWAY FROM ME!”

              Suddenly, the girl left the palisade walls. In seconds, the gate opened and she immediately rushed into the forest. In a matter of minutes, the sight of Raymond and the girl quickly disappeared, though shouting and the occasional thud of an arrow could be heard. In some way or another, I’m sure that I wasn’t the only one with a blank face. Rather, even the elves were giving the blank same stare.

              “I’m sorry about that. She’s just excited that a good friend of hers is returning”

              Breaking me from my trance, an old man approached us. Good friend you say? I didn’t dare say it out loud. Instead, I stared at his features. He must be pretty old for an elf. I say old because of his long white beard that flew with the wind. Yet, his face looked very young. It was mesmerizing to say the least.

              “Please, stop staring at me. Rather, come in, come in. I’m sure you all had a rather painful time getting here”

              He then began to beckon us in. As he did so, the elven warriors relaxed themselves and began scanning the forest. I then noticed that the hostility from before was gone. Rather, the archers perched on the branches were still pointing their bows at us. Yet, they held no hostility. Just indifference. Does that mean… that all that hostility came from the girl?

Raymond… just what did you do to inhibit that much hostility from her

Fer came to the same conclusion and couldn’t help but voice a disapproving thought. The three of us heard this in our mind and gave a dry laughter. For some reason, we all felt sympathy for the girl. Why? It’s because Raymond, even though he’s such a professional when it comes to a fight, has a very frivolous nature which he never showed until now. Even to go as far as peeping at the girls when we took a bath. Of course, Iridia, Rina and I naturally became the defenders of the female mercenaries and soon, every girl in the camp respected us for it. But because of that, all his perverted tendencies were focused on us. Just remembering that one time… AGH!!! I’ve been holding it in through this the entire journey since he’s been teaching me sword techniques, but maybe… just maybe, I should join that girl on the hunt.

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Authors Note:

Decided to finish this one instead of blue city since everyone thought the last one was the final chapter. To those reading blue city though, I’ll have two chapters by next Sunday. I just need to finish a couple of things for school and I’ll be set to make the chapters then.

Now, I guess this is where the story officially starts. Although the pieces are still not together, I just hope I can write this story so that it doesn’t get boring. (Their will be info dump chapters. Those are like, necessary for a lot of reason so I’ll probably be jumping from 1000 to 2000 to 3000 word chapters)