Havor was bored out of his wits. While he didn’t want to argue with Deimos, the marauder couldn’t help but regret not speaking up. The chieftain had tasked both Havor and Helen to watch the harbor, all to make sure no one tried escaping by boat or ship.
It seemed like a useless job. Ever since the duel with that nobody, Havor was sure that no one would even attempt an escape. There was no doubt in his mind that everyone on that island was scrambling to find the escaped Halvorson.
Even Havor himself felt a little fearful from witnessing that fight. If it could be called that. It was more like a public execution. Havor had seen men die, sure. He even witnessed Deimos behead Yorn Halvorson himself. Yet something about the way Deimos killed that young man bothered Havor.
‘It felt more than a bit personal. It was as if he was savoring it,’
Havor shook that thought away. He was overthinking this. Deimos had simply shown that idiot what happens to heroes. There was nothing more to it. As Havor brushed the idea from his head, his thoughts wandered over to the second man in charge.
The marauder turned to his left, where his current boss sat. Eli was the marauder’s leading spellcaster, his rank being that of the inner circle. Deimos’ most trusted group of allies. Despite being blind, the young man was an exceptional caster of magic, his skill being on par with some of the strongest Wizards in Valenfrost. At least, that was according to what Havor had heard.
The young spellcaster was relaxing near the ship’s railing, his gaze seemingly staring at the sky. The faint light that seeped through the clouds reflected off the golden accents in his red blindfold, illuminating them in a way that made them glow. His armor was a simple black cuirass hidden underneath his red and black robes. None would know that it was there unless someone told them so.
Eli had always made Havor feel uncomfortable. Not because he was blind, of course, nor because he was much younger than him, either. Havor couldn’t explain it, but he felt as if he was being watched constantly, even if the younger man wasn’t even looking in his direction. It was an eerie feeling, one that had no basis or logical explanation. It disturbed Havor whenever the blinded man interacted with him since it felt as if his own soul was under watch and scrutiny.
“Shouldn’t you be on watch duty, Havor?” Eli asked suddenly. There was a slight smile at the edge of his lips, almost as if he could hear the curses that went off in the marauder’s head.
“Shouldn’t you?” Havor shot back.
“I am,” Eli said simply. He was still not facing Havor as he spoke, which already unsettled the marauder. “I’m watching the island as we speak,” he added soon after.
Havor raised an eyebrow. Eli wasn’t doing anything as far as Havor could see. Before the marauder could point this out, however, a raven suddenly flew down, landing perfectly on Eli’s shoulder. Havor flinched in surprise before he examined the bird. It wasn’t a normal raven, its ink-black feathers shimmering like a mirage. Its eyes were a bright purple, almost magical in a way, as it cocked its head towards Eli, who stroked the bird fondly.
‘A familiar?’
Havor watched as Eli turned his head toward him.
“He is my eyes,” Eli explained before he sent the bird away.
“You mean you can see what he sees?” Havor watched as the raven flew off.
“Not exactly,” Eli answered, his head tilted back to the open sea.
Havor turned away from the strange man. He decided to just go and observe the harbor with Helen. He preferred that over the eerie aura Eli was emitting.
Just as he was about to leave, Havor couldn’t help but stop. He wasn’t sure why at first, but something bothered him. Havor turned around and soon realized why. It was the spellcaster’s expression. For the first time, Eli looked confused. His brow was furrowed, and his hands clenched the railing. Havor watched as the young spellcaster sat up.
“What’s wrong?” Havor asked. He looked back to where he last saw the raven.
“Nothing. It’s just…” Eli trailed off before he raised his head and looked up at the sky. “Something has deeply disturbed the magical ley lines that ran through the island. Either it was an anomaly or…” Eli went quiet for a moment, prompting Havor to ask,
“Or…?”
Eli turned his head from the marauder, seemingly uncaring.
“Or…Someone summoned something on that island.”
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James had to take another breather. His limbs were wobbly, and his lungs stung from the cold air he was breathing. Although they had only been moving for an hour, he felt as if his legs were going to fail him.
“Give me…give me another moment,” James managed between breaths. He sat down on a nearby rock, his hands slipping the rucksack to the ground soon after. Dahlia sighed frustratingly but didn’t object. On the other hand, Seamus was in the same state as James. He gladly dropped onto the snowy ground once it was clear that they could take a break.
“How much longer?” James asked in a puff of vapor. Dahlia looked at the two men reproachfully, her own forehead not even breaking a sweat. Regardless of how she felt towards them, the shaman pulled out a small roll of parchment and unfurled it to see its contents.
“We’re not even halfway there,” Dahlia murmured.
“What? How big is this island?” Seamus complained tiredly. He tiredly leaned against the rock that James was resting on.
“Not really big, honestly. I’m pretty sure Norum is much bigger,” Dahlia responded.
“That’s not really a fair comparison,” Seamus said, raising an eyebrow. Norum is bigger than everything.
“All right. Imagine a smaller version of Vindis, with steep hills and dense forests.”
The two continued to converse, mentioning names and places James had never heard of before. Of course, they had neglected to remember the otherworldly man listening in. The experience gave James a feeling of missing out.
‘It’s like walking into a movie that started an hour ago.’
It reminded James of when his roommate Nick would invite other friends to play tabletop. They would always talk for hours about their fandoms and interests, mentioning people and places he had never heard of. It always irked James because he had always wanted to join those conversations but never could because he never had the time to learn about the stories and worlds Nick was immersed in.
‘Things are different now,’
That was back when he had been working his ass off and dealing with Monica’s crap. James was now in an entirely different world, no longer burdened with the troublesome tasks of Earth or his ex's mundane drama.
“Hold up!” James interrupted the conversation before him. His sudden shout caused both Seamus and Dahlia to quiet down. They looked at James puzzled, almost as if they had forgotten he was there.
“Another world, remember?” James mentioned. He pointed at his earth jacket as further proof.
“Oh, I almost forgot,” Dahlia murmured.
“You guys really need to tell me more about Valenfrost and the rest of this world…whatever it’s called,” James muttered, a bit reproachful in his words.
“Azura,” Dahlia said simply.
“What?” James asked. He looked at the young shaman dumbly.
“That’s the name of this world. It’s Azura.” Dahlia smiled at James as she picked her rucksack up, slinging it over her shoulder as she leaned in, poking his chest. “I’ll tell you more about Azura later. Now, we’re gonna have to pick up the pace because daylight is burning, and I’m not trying to freeze my ass off in a tent tonight.” She turned and started walking off, leaving Seamus and James behind.
‘Strange.’
The spirit in James’ body spoke for the first time in forever, his ethereal voice ringing throughout his mind with amusement.
‘Your blood just started rushing to somewhere in the body. I wonder…’
‘Shut up! Shut up!’
James interrupted Faust, quieting him down quickly. The last thing he wanted was to get egged on by a dead man inside his head. With Faust’s comment in mind, James scrambled to grab his rucksack. He and Seamus hurried to follow behind the shaman, who had a head start in their walk.
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As it turned out, to the shaman’s unfortunate luck, the group would have to set up camp very soon. They had all been walking for hours, most of it spent making sure they weren’t lost and carefully treading through the steep hills.
James had slipped at some point and fallen to the bottom of the hill, making both of his acquaintances wait for him to climb back up the hill all over again. Seamus himself had nearly fallen into a freezing cold pond, his ass saved by the shaman’s quick thinking.
These events had slowed their walk significantly, taking up most of the day and annoying the leading shaman even more. When the sky had a tint of orange in its gray clouds, the trio was still trekking through a snow-filled forest. The day was getting close to ending, the light around them diminishing. It was clear that camping in the forest was inevitable.
Dahlia had her map out in front of her; she muttered inaudible curses as she figured out where exactly they were. James and Seamus were resting nearby, catching their breath after they had trekked through what seemed like a mile of waist-high snow. That walk had soaked most of James’ earth clothes, his pants numbing his legs. He shivered from the experience, hearing his own teeth chatter.
‘Still think this is a great fresh start? Such a dumbass.’
James couldn’t help but mentally scold himself. He almost wanted to laugh at his past self for thinking this entire situation was a fresh start.
‘What’d I do?’ Faust responded, obviously confusing the statement as being directed at him.
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“Not you, you crazy bastard,” James muttered with a shiver, which earned Seamus a confused look.
“What’d I do?” He now asked, causing James to sigh in defeat.
“Dahlia, how far are we from that veteran you mentioned?” James asked. The shaman was still looking at her map, her muttering stopping soon.
“Far enough that we’ll have to camp out here,” Dahlia said grimly, folding up her map as she set her rucksack down. Seamus cursed something under his breath as he stood up.
“We’d better hurry up with a fire then. Keep the wild animals away,” he suggested before heading to the shaman to help set up the camp. James sighed and started to get up. Right when he did so, something else made itself known. He froze, his mind going blank. He dropped his rucksack out of surprise, every part of his body tensing up.
James wasn’t sure what it was nor what prompted it, but he could feel multiple sensations on his back. The hairs on his body prickled and stood up, almost warning him of something.
‘Okay, tell me you can feel that?’ James mentally spoke to the spirit.
‘Of course I did. The real question is… Do you know what it is?’ Faust’s voice was still and calm. Despite that, it carried a sense of urgency.
James felt a lump form in his throat at the implication. He forcibly swallowed and took a deep breath. He could hear his heart beating in his ears as he turned to Dahlia and Seamus.
“We’re being watched,” James warned in a soft voice so as not to alarm the other two. There was no denying it. His body sure as hell couldn’t. There wasn’t really a valid explanation behind it, but James didn’t care. The feeling was etched into his body. They were being watched by something.
‘No. It’s a group of somethings,’ Faust corrected.
“What?” Seamus asked in confusion.
James slowly turned, his focus moving to scan the forest around the trio. He caught the sign of movement from the trees behind Seamus but couldn’t determine what it was as nighttime started settling in. James focused a bit more, feeling his eyes grow warm as he managed to make out a large silhouette of something big. It was covered in fur, its size bigger than that of a Great Dane back on Earth. It prowled around the treeline on all fours, its yellow eyes staring down the young man.
‘Wolves,’ Faust confirmed what he had guessed. James looked at Dahlia, who was staring at him in awe.
“James…you–” she started, but he cut her off.
“There are wolves around us. Please tell me you didn’t throw out the sword you pulled out of my chest,” James whispered. He could hear how his voice shook with urgency.
“I still have it. It’s in my bag,” Dahlia responded quietly, her hand slowly reaching for her rucksack.
“Seamus,” James turned to the other man, who was visibly shaking with fear.
“James…I’m staring at one right now,” Seamus admitted shakily before he took a slow step back. James opened his mouth to say something, but before he could form the words needed, all hell broke loose.
A lot of things happened.
First, James didn’t get the chance to tell everyone to stay calm before a huge wolf leaped out from the trees, its sights trained on Seamus.
Second, Dahlia yelled out some kind of spell, which took effect after James stepped in front of the wolf.
Third, James had taken the hit for Seamus. All the wind knocked from his lungs as the wolf pounced on him. The beast had tried to take a bite at his neck, but James somehow managed to dodge the attack, the wolf’s teeth grazing his cheek before it pulled back and tried again to bite his neck.
James interjected with his right forearm and felt the canine’s sharp teeth dig into his flesh. He gritted his teeth, using his strength to fend off the wolf as Dahlia’s spell finally took effect.
White light filled the forest, illuminating everything and blinding everyone. There was a ringing sound that echoed in James’ ears, but he didn’t care. He was more focused on keeping himself alive. The beast above him loosened its grip for a second during the flash of light, giving James an opening. However, getting it off was proving to be much harder than he had anticipated.
“Seamus!” James shouted. He struggled under the wolf’s weight, his arms not strong enough to throw it off. James resorted to punching the wolf’s head, to no effect. “Fuck! Dahlia!”
Dahlia didn’t answer. Instead, he heard both her and Seamus shout incoherently. James blinked rapidly, the effects of the recent spell soon wearing off. Once his vision returned, he was face to face with a growling wolf, its teeth bared as they clamped onto his arm. James could see from his peripherals how the situation had devolved. At some point during his altercation with the wolf, three more had entered the clearing, their sights trained on Dahlia and Seamus.
James could see how the other two tried their best to fend off and survive the ambush. Seamus managed to dodge another wolf’s pounce, falling onto his ass as Dahlia brandished her dagger.
‘They can handle it!’ Faust shouted. ‘Focus on surviving!’
James clenched his jaw tightly at that. As much as he and Faust differed and argued, he had no desire to ignore the advice given to him. James felt adrenaline pumping through his system as he struggled with the wolf. He attempted to use all of his strength to push it away to the side. No luck. James felt weak, his arms struggling as they tried to shove the wolf back.
‘It’s not working! Try something else!’
James shifted his legs underneath the beast, his work boots positioned beneath the underbelly. Using every bit of strength in him, he attempted to kick the wolf off. Instead of the beast being kicked back, it clamped harder onto the arm.
“Motherfucker!” James cursed. He tried again, using both his arms and legs to try to get the wolf off of him. This resulted in man and beast rolling on the snow, the wolf letting go of his arm to gnash its teeth at him. It almost bit James again, its sharp teeth nearly grabbing at his throat.
Amid the struggle, James managed to get the upper hand. Using his weight, he pinned the animal to the snowy ground, his hands wrapping around its neck as it tried to wriggle its way out. James thought about choking the life out of it but disregarded the thought as quickly as it came. He needed to kill it quickly so he could help out the others.
James searched the snow with his right hand, his left gripping tightly to the wriggling creature beneath him. He looked for anything to use, something that could help. His hand soon felt the jagged edges of a rough rock hidden in the ice, its weight enough to do some damage.
He didn’t hesitate to raise the rock above the beast. He could feel how heavy it was as he aimed it. The wolf’s yellow eyes seemed to have an ounce of intelligence as it stopped its struggle. Its gaze widened in realization at the rock, its growls soon turning to loud whimpering and barking.
James screamed as he brought the jagged stone upon the beast, adrenaline adding to the blows. The wolf struggled under his weight, even managing to bite his hand. It did nothing to stop the rock from coming down. James would finally bring the stone down for the fifth time, this strike making its jaw slack. Even with his victory, he still continued to bash the creature. He wasn’t sure if it was the adrenaline or the fear of the wolf coming back. He just couldn’t stop thrashing it violently.
James even lost count of how many times he had brought the bloody stone down. He only stopped when the wolf’s head was nothing more than mush.
“I’m going to be sick,” James uttered in horror at his actions. Before he could even gather his bearings, however, another growl sounded out near him. He turned to the sound, his gaze locking with another wolf’s stare. It was bigger than the one below him, its body language suggesting it was preparing to pounce.
“Oh fu–!” James couldn’t even run as the beast tackled him. He blocked the canine’s bite with his left arm this time, his right hand using the rock to try to bash the creature off of him.
“Get! The fuck! Off of me!”
The wolf didn’t seem affected by the rock, its skull much thicker than its brother.
“Dammit!” James cursed. He dropped the bloody stone and tried to push the wolf off, to no avail. It was heavier and much stronger than the first one. There was no way out of this.
“James!” Dahlia’s voice rang out, distressed.
Before James could answer her call, he saw something land in the snow to his right. Not wanting to waste time, he hurriedly searched through the cold snow. His right struggled to find the object, his fingers numb as they tried to look for what Dahlia had thrown at him. Thankfully, he soon grasped a familiar hilt, his hand clenching it tightly once he realized what it was.
James gritted his teeth as he raised his short sword, the same one that had penetrated his heart the night before. He yelled in anger as he thrust the blade into the wolf’s side, its length sinking into the flesh easily. Warm blood ran onto his hand, soaking his arm and torso in the beast’s own vital fluid. James pulled back and stabbed again, not caring if he was missing vital organs. He continued to stab the wild animal, gutting it without any second thoughts.
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Seamus was terrified out of his mind. He had barely managed to dodge another wolf’s attempted attack, his body reacting before his mind could process it. Seamus stumbled back into the snow as Dahlia struggled with one of the other wolves. The shaman wasn’t going to be of any help for the moment.
In desperation, Seamus felt around the ground for anything that could be used for protection. His hand soon found a wet branch, which was better than nothing. He clenched it tightly, as if it were a sword, before attempting to stand up straight.
Once he was upright, Seamus wielded his branch-like weapon. He was shaking uncontrollably, his body stunned with fear as he watched Dahlia fight off the wolves nearby. The shaman kicked away one of them, her dagger slashing its muzzle. Before she could follow up her attack, another one approached her, snarling as it attempted a bite. Seamus watched in surprise as Dahlia punched the wolf, her hand raised at its flank.
“Ignition!” she cast. Red runes formed on the stunned wolf, the glyphs taking a few seconds to materialize before dissipating. Almost immediately after, the beast was engulfed in orange flames. It ran around the clearing in a frenzy, its whimpers loud and horrifying.
Dahlia turned to Seamus, who was watching the whole thing in awe.
“Look out!” She yelled at him, snapping the young man out of his trance.
Seamus turned to see the wolf from before pouncing at him again, succeeding in its attack. The young man yelled incoherently as the dire wolf’s jaw clenched onto the branch he had been holding. He tripped back onto the ground, the impact of his fall nearly knocking his breath out of his lungs. Seamus was now on his ass, his feet kicking at the wolf to no effect. Dahlia tried to intervene, but she was interrupted by another wolf, one that kept her at bay. Seamus could do nothing but buy himself some time.
He wasn’t a fighter, not like his father or clan. No, Seamus was a coward, a coward who had never lived up to his family’s expectations. His father, Yorn, could’ve taken care of this lot of wolves. Yorn would even go so far as to say that wolves were barely worth the energy dealing with, as they didn’t pose much of a challenge.
Seamus was pathetic. Despite being the son of Yorn Halvorson, he was nothing more than a cowardly recluse. All the training his father had put him through amounted to nothing. Even with what his father taught him and what he had been through. Here was Seamus, terrified out of his fucking mind and afraid to fight.
It wasn’t his fault—at least, not really. Seamus just had the horrible habit of breaking down at the first sign of trouble, all of his thinking and training going out the window as soon as it got serious. He wasn’t even sure how he had survived the marauders in the first place.
‘Dammit all!’
Seamus saw that the branch was nearly breaking under the wolf’s bite. He almost felt like crying.
‘So this is how it ends. Yorn’s prodigal son getting his throat ripped out by a starving wolf.’
Seamus had already stopped screaming, his throat hoarse and dry. He closed his eyes tightly as he felt the branch give way and break. Almost instantly, he felt his own lifeblood spray onto his face and throat. He gagged at the taste of warm blood, the feeling all too disgusting and familiar. Yet no pain came of it.
Seamus opened his eyes and almost cringed at the sight of a dagger’s tip, which protruded from between the wolf’s eyes. Seamus looked up to see Dahlia, scratched and bleeding, as she forcefully pulled the blade out of the wolf’s skull. The beast’s body went limp in his lap, its blood staining his clothes. Seamus gagged again, kicking his legs as he tried to get away from the animal’s corpse.
“Oh god,” he choked out. He made every effort not to vomit outright.
“Try not to retch. I’m close to doing that myself,” Dahlia breathed out in exhaustion. Despite some minor bite wounds, she didn’t seem injured. The flare spell she had cast earlier illuminated the sparse clearing, the glowing ball of magic slowly diminishing in light. Seamus looked at his surroundings, spotting no danger in the forest. Any and all wolves were gone or dead, leaving him and Dahlia the only ones standing.
‘Wait, where’s James?’
Seamus recalled how the older man had been preoccupied with a couple of wolves. He had taken the hit for Seamus and had held them off on the other side of the clearing. Dahlia had tossed a sword in his general direction not too long ago before her attention was turned to the rest of the pack of beasts.
“James?” Seamus called out. He walked up to the ball of light Dahlia summoned. Thanks to its light, he could see everything much more clearly. Seamus spotted four dead wolves outside of the one near him and Dahlia. One of them was burnt to a crisp, another had its skull punctured, and even one with its head turned to a pulp. The last wolf was bleeding heavily, a large stain of blood surrounding its corpse. Seamus slowly walked up to it, his hands raised in caution. He stopped when he spotted familiar blonde hair underneath its bloodied hide.
“James!” Seamus shouted. He hurryingly pushed the heavy wolf off of the man. As he did so, the wolf landed on its side, its guts spilling out in a steaming heap as a result. The sudden turn of events was enough for Seamus’ gag reflex to give in. Without warning, he vomited to the side, emptying the contents of his stomach.