It was midday when they stepped inside the Emerald Woods. The trees here blotted out the sky in emerald leaves, polished and sharp enough to cut. The rare beam of sunlight that got through the blockade was reflected among the countless tiny mirrors, colouring the world green.
The red river led them further east, deep within the woods. More than once they spotted a wild beast, and Daniel got an unpleasant shock the first time they stumbled onto a Redlight Deer. His hand twitched in anticipation, but its four eyes seemed to recognize when it was outmatched. Even minutes after the encounter, Daniel waited for the scorching beam to ambush them from nowhere. Fortunately, no such thing happened.
They must’ve marched for what must’ve been hours, but before long, the sun began to set and the priests became tired.
“Let’s set up camp. Best to face the beast at the crack of dawn, when our powers are the strongest,” Thomas said after finding a small clearing. A crystal-clear spring ran along the tall and vibrant grass, carving a path between the earth.
As everyone busied themselves with setting up tents and a campfire, Daniel approached Finnean, who had carved out a space for himself away from anyone else.
“A priest with slaves? Really?” Daniel said in a hushed tone, staring at the lumbering puppets.
“Be careful. There are ears everywhere,” Finnean responded, and after casting a quick sound-filtering spell, he continued. “Isn’t it genius? The title brings with it fear and begrudging respect. More importantly, it lets me keep my puppets out in the open.”
Daniel nodded along, though he wasn’t completely convinced. Still, seeing that Finnean was here, it must have worked as intended.
“Keep an eye out for that warrior. She’s likely to backstab us,” Daniel said, nodding at May. She was currently sparring with one of the other warriors, though he saw her glance at them from time to time.
“Annoying. I can make her disappear during one of the night watches,” Finnean said, a faint smile on his lips. Shivers ran down Daniel’s spine.
Leaving aside the morality of the situation, he was still conflicted. On one hand, fighting Velkir and watching his back was practically impossible. On the other hand, she was a capable warrior, and they needed all the fighting power they could get.
“Leave her. We need her. I think she’s more likely to pull something before or after the fight, not during it,” he said after some time.
“It’s not my hide on the line. I’ll have Gareth watch over you at night, keep away anyone besides me,” Finnean said, and soon after, the muscular puppet stood by Daniel’s side. He recognized it as the same one that had protected him during the beast wave.
“They’ve got names?”
“Stories too, but let’s leave that for another time,” Finnean responded, waving his hand at an approaching priest. No longer did the outside noises sound muted.
“Lucius, Daniel. Join us for supper. We’ve caught and skinned one of the deer.”
It was an older-looking priest with a warm smile on his face. Finnean placed his hand over his heart and stood up, gesturing for Daniel to follow.
The rest of the evening was unremarkable. Though he tried his best to relax, there was an undercurrent of tension throughout the camp, which made even breathing difficult. They settled watch duty by the campfire - at all times, at least four people were to be awake. Finnean offered to let his warriors guard all night, but that was categorically rejected by everyone.
Falling asleep was difficult. The crickets here sounded like two rocks rubbing against each other, and nocturnal birds hooted and hawed every few seconds. That, along with an uncomfortable bedroll and anxiety about tomorrow, made Daniel toss and turn throughout the night.
The moment he drifted off to sleep, Finnean nudged him awake. It felt like less than a second had passed. “Oh come on,” Daniel groaned in exhaustion but stood up regardless.
“Uneventful,” Finnean said before heading to his own bedroll.
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Quietly, Daniel greeted an unfamiliar warrior and priest, and, after directing Gareth to stand in its designated spot, he leaned up against a tree, doing his best to not fall asleep. It was much, much harder than expected. He pulled through the first hour just fine, but as the second came, sleep crept up on him.
He fantasised about tomorrow’s fight. How great would it be if Velkir turned out to be a total pushover.
CRACK!
Daniel startled awake, his heart suddenly racing. He looked in surprise as his breath misted over. A winter’s chill was in the air. His eyes spotted what remained of a tent, now torn to shreds by shards of ice. A dawn warrior lay impaled on a pillar of ice, her blood staining it red.
“AMBUSH! WAKE UP!” Someone yelled, clanging metal against metal. Immediately, the camp sprang into frantic motion. Yells resounded through the clearing as no one understood what was going on.
Daniel activated his barrier just in time, jumping back as a blade of ice shattered on his shield. A second later and he would’ve been sheared in half. His eyes desperately tried to seek out the enemy. None were in sight.
“To me!” Daniel yelled, spotting the puppet standing nearby. “Protect me.”
Every second was precious. Kneeling, he conjured his panther, which merged with the darkness the moment it appeared. “Seek,” he said, cursing at his lack of training. Had he a few more weeks of practice, he could’ve combined both of their senses together. Now, leaving his body unattended was a death sentence.
“My Heart, Dawn’s Break.”
The moment someone uttered those words, the world erupted with light. A miniature sun, the size of Daniel’s fist, ascended into the air, and illuminated the surroundings. It was then that he finally noticed his assailants.
At the edge of the camp, slinking between the dense foliage, were at least thirty Sapphire Tigers. They were twenty feet of muscle and magic from nose to tail, and stuck low to the ground, which was covered entirely in ice. Lustrous sapphires ran along the snow-white skin, and each time they flashed, another barrage of ice would assault a warrior.
There, just thirty feet from Daniel, was his assailant. He locked eyes with the tiger, hypnotised by its gaze for just a second. Then, it let out a chilling roar and pounced forward. It covered half the distance in one leap, and as it opened its jaw, the sapphires flashed. Daniel stared as a hundred different ice needles threatened to impale him.
“Attack,” he said, lurching forward. The world around him turned grey, a mere reflection of the mortal plane. Moments later, the tiger passed through his body, frantically whirling around as it found nothing between its jaws. The hail of needles wasn’t so kind. They pierced through his shadowy body, each bringing with it sharp torment.
Once again the distorted image of a tiger lunged at Daniel. It wouldn’t give up without a kill. Before it could finish doing so, a thick, iron chain smashed against its body, sending it tumbling to the ground. The puppet fell upon the sapphire tiger with ferocity, hammering down on the monster with all its might.
On the third hit, the beast had enough. It growled to the sky, every sapphire flashing at once. Its body exploded in a nova of ice, chilling the world around it until nothing could possibly move. Wearily, it walked forward and stared at the puppet completely encased in ice, and started clawing. Only a few more seconds separated it and a tasty meal.
There it was, a delicacy that smelled of magic and rot. It drooled, its stomach sounding like an infernal machine. Viciously, it bit down upon its prey, only to find its fangs hitting air. The world around it began to spin, and it became so damned cold. A soft haze covered its thoughts, and even in death, it wondered how come it was staring at its own decapitated body.
Daniel breathed a sigh of relief. He had rematerialized on top of a branch seconds before, controlling his mana to not alert the tiger. It had paid off to wait until the last moment. From a higher vantage point, he looked upon the grim battlefield, assessing the situation.
It was too late for the ambushed warrior. A priest was kneeling next to her, letting the light bathe over her, but it was futile. Next to him was Finnean, who conjured burning lances, tossing them with reckless abandon. But by far the most dangerous creature here was the Paladin. His aura blazed around him like a scorching sun, setting the grass aflame where he stepped. Each blow would rupture the ground, sending out shockwaves of light.
“Judgement,” the man bellowed across the camp. Moments later, the four sapphire tigers flanking him all yelped in unison, lifted in the air by a noose made of sunlight. They struggled and howled until the rope snapped their necks with a sickening crunch. Then, he went on to the next.
Daniel unleashed a few more Soul Scythes at the straggling tigers, but it was clear that they had lost. One by one, they turned to flee, deciding that the meal was too much for them to handle. After all, they weren’t mindless undead that fought until the end.
Still, something struck Daniel strange about this whole situation. Why would the tigers band together to assault them in the middle of the night? Surely there was easier prey to hunt in these woods.
More by instinct than anything, Daniel focused on the phantasmal red river. He followed it across the sky, marking the shortest path to his target. Widening his eyes, he stared at where the river ended and the mist began. Illuminated by the false sun, a light fog had settled across the treetops, barely visible to the naked eye.
Before he could yell or cast any spell, the mist retreated into the woods, scattered by the wind. Slinking between the trees, wolves - their fur silver, the colour of the moon - followed their leader back home. For now, Daniel kept quiet. They weren’t ready for yet another battle.