“How? How could you do this to me? I…. I feel betrayed. You, out of everyone… you … you were supposed to be the reasonable one!”
Hours have passed since Eiso and company have left to the forest and back to the Apothecary. All were seated by a sturdy wooden table as a rather grumpy older woman paced back and forth observing their every detail. The children’s clothes were speckled in dirt and grime, their faces salted in sweat, and bits of their clothing were torn off. Rikka and Papri kept their eyes down to the floor while Tynan was dead silent, only staring at the incomplete medicine, soot stained stoves, and empty flasks that lined the work room. Even Eiso had to admit, that he should have thought things through, he should have understood more than anyone, how little his experience is of the outside world.
"What a terrible disappointment." Such words pricked Eiso's heart.
Mustering up what a bit of courage Eiso responded, “I-I’m sorry Ms.Marle.”
“Don’t apologize! Just what in the world where you THINKING!?”
Rikka spoke with a small voice, “Please Ms. Marle, we were only going to gather a few leaves and then…”
“Why? What could you possibly need them for.”
Rikka said nothing but instead casted a glance towards Tynan who stood up, took in a deep breath, and recounted what happened.
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“TYNAN, YOU FREAKIN’ MORON! You have no idea what you’re doing, do you!”
“Course I do! We just need to …er… collect anything useful, and then bring it back to sell in the market…or…something.”
“AARRGGHHH!!! I knew it. I knew we were gonna end up running through the forest without a plan!”
Still relatively early in the morning, the sun’s warmth pierced through the tree tops and trickled down onto a group of four young individuals, as they walked single file through the sea of trees on a worn and frayed dirt path.
The party had, so far, been meandering for a better part of an hour through the forest, placing their trust in their self-proclaimed leader. So far, not much progress has been made, though that did not seem to damper Tynan’s enthusiasm. “Try not to worry about it, I’ve seen a few people come back to sell pelts and stuff collected from the forest.”
“That’s the thing, what exactly is it that we should be collecting.”
“…Err..”
“TYYNAAANNN!!!”
As Rikka threw her arms into the air, Eiso had a thought.
If it’s only money, then…
“Hey Tynan, if It’s only money you want I could…”
Tynan suddenly held up his hand. “Nope. No need. This is something I want to do myself. Once we sell some goods, we will split the money between the four of us, and that’s that.”
“That’s great! But first we gotta, you know, FIND SOME STUFF TO SELL FIRST!”
Eiso felt that Rikka was right. Although he couldn’t think of where to even begin when it comes to hunting and gathering, he did know one thing that might help.
“…You know. I suppose we could collect some Medisa Herbs. While they aren’t the most difficult plants to handle they aren’t very common either.” Eiso pressed his finger against his forehead, fishing for his memories, “although…they can grow anywhere, so if we keep looking in places with lots of sunlight we are bound to find them sooner or later.”
Upon hearing this Tynan grabs Eiso by the sleeve in barely contained glee, “What are those? Are they valuable? Can we really get some?”
“I-I think they are. They are used in Hemo potions and all sorts of medicine, so there must be someone who will want them.”
Not to mention I’ve seen how high those prices can go up to.
“Ha Ha, that’s perfect! I knew it was a good idea to bring you along,” Tynan chuckled loudly, “So, do you know what they look like.”
“Yes, if I see any I could point them out.”
“Alright, now that we have a plan we are going need a formation. Me and Rikka will take the frontline, while Eiso and Papri will support from the back. Any objections? Good! Now let’s march!”
Now that there is a goal Rikka fires herself up and throws a clenched fist into the air, “Awesome! Now… We can be Just like Nova Knights!”
Eiso perks up at the sound of an unfamiliar name as curiosity pushes him as he faintly asks, “Nova Knights. What is that?”
Tynan looks back and answers, “OH, right, I forget you don’t know much common sense.”
Hearing this, a tinge of guilt hits Eiso.
“Don’t worry about it. Basically, the Nova Knights is the name of the clan that the Fire Maestro commanded.”
“Are there any others?”
This time, it was Rikka who answered, “Yeah. Lots! There’s the Chrome Blades… the Falcon’s Gale… Ooh, and then there’s the local favorite, the Dragon’s Pride. They’re the most famous clan in our region, though they’re nothing compared the Blaze Coats.”
“How do you know all of this?”
“We sneak into the tavern north of town. They tell the most amazing stories there. Oh, that reminds me, we should make our own clan too!”
“Hell yeah! Now we’re talkin’,” Tynan cried out. “But… what should the name be,” Tynan looks to Papri “Do you have ideas?”
Papri closes her eyes for a moment before whispering, “Anything you name would be fine.”
“Well that’s not much help. What about you Eiso?”
“S-Sorry, I can’t think of anything either!”
“Hmm, well it we still have plenty of time later so I guess we don’t have to make on right now.” And so, they fall into silence as they marched on, searching for their plant.
Soon they arrived to an empty clearing that was had nothing more than a single fallen log and plenty of thick bushes. Pulling out a single carving knife from his back pocket Tynan gave the order. “Right, let’s get started.”
Over the next hour, with Eiso’s help distinguishing Medisa herb, the party was able to get to work. As Tynan sheared out the last bit of the plant they pooled what the collected so far and took one final look.
“We are going to need a lot more than this.” Tynan grumbled, looking over their measly collection. Despite all of their effort, what they had collect was barely enough to make a single bundle as thick as their small arm. Sighing deeply, Tynan gathers the leaves and is about to set off deeper until he notices that something is off.
“Where’s Papri?”
After a brief search, Papri was found crouched near the edge of the clearing with her back towards the them, as they approached her, they noticed that she was staring at a tiny brown animal.
Immediately, Rikka answered everyone’s thought, “I know what that is. That’s a Prickly Hare.”
This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.
Indeed, it was. The small brown animal stood on its hind legs and twitched its ears towards the group, waiting patiently, and ready to sprint away at a moment’s notice. While Papri stared deeply into the cute little critter’s beady eyes, Eiso was very weary of the long green plantlike vine growing from its tail, and by extension thorns, poised towards them. Papri on the other had was enamored, slowly but surely, reaching out her small hand to pet the critter’s soft brown fur, but just before she could, several loud snaps and a loud cry alerted the hare, as it swiftly bounded off into a nearby thicket.
“Gaahhh!”
With a scream of anguish and rapid patting of feet, Eiso looked wildly in every direction, and what stood before him threw him into a panic. Dozens of Ratmen stampeded from the shadows of the forest underbrush, hissing and snapping wildly, each one handling crudely sharpened spears made of sturdy and simple twigs. The small beasts charged forth, raising their spears, swarming them in a single relentless wave.
“Get off you stupid little…!” Tynan bellows as he recklessly swings his knife. Several of the creatures surrounded him, jumping onto his arms and knees, tearing and biting through his clothing at every opportunity.
The remaining force charges towards Eiso and the rest, but before they could get close, a sudden, single cry echoes throughout the air.
“[Spark!]”
“W-What the…!”
A sudden burning flash grazes Tynan and soon, several of the Ratmen scatter in all directions, scampering here and there until they gathered together again, preparing for another attack.
Standy next to Eiso, Rikka sends another burning orb towards the scampering horde. However, the Rats scattered at last second, only leaving behind scorched earth. The Rats regrouped again, however this time they stayed their ground, slowly and uniformly advancing step by step, their spears ready and their beady eyes fixated in a murderous stare. Tynan scrambled to Rikka’s side raising the palms of his hands.
The Ratmen suddenly stopped, hissed angrily, then turned tail and ran back into the shadows of the thicket they once came.
Eiso, unsure as to what happened, did not have to wait very long to receive his answer. The next thing he heard sent a chilling shock down his spine. The sounds of its steps behind him were dull, heavy, and muffled as it walked on the grass. Its breathing, low, acrid, and loud as it slowly increased in tempo. Fear paralyzed Eiso in place as he wished he it was simply his imagination, however he had no choice, he cannot ignore the inevitable, and so he slowly turned to face the unknown beast.
“GROOOOAAAHH!!!”
In a single instant, Eiso felt soft hands knock him to the ground following a rush of wind and a cold blooded scream. Fearing the worst Eiso looked up, only to see Rikka several meters away, slumped against a tree, limp, lifeless. A sickening, cold acid built up in Eiso’s stomach. His world turned numb and grey. He could not hear the screaming, nor could he feel the intense flame burst beside him. Slowly, he forces one foot in front of the other until he reaches the peaceful looking Rikka. Only a single thought entered his mind, a spark of light to bring motion to his unfeeling limbs. A wish. A desire.
“[Restra.]”
The single wish was cast. Eiso could do nothing but wait until and pray. Pray that Rikka would wake up from her sudden slumber. Moments that felt like years pass, waiting patiently, waiting for something, anything to happen. Slowly a pair of amber eyes open as Rikka stirs awake. A jolt of joy and relief shoot through Eiso as Rikka slowly sits back up, only to be replaced by the blood curdling roar of the beast as it suddenly grabs Eiso in a vice like grip, throwing him back several meters, slamming against the bark of a tree, and falling almost lifelessly to the ground. Barely registering the cry’s and shouts of his friends, and with the cool feeling of air escaping his lungs and the deafening crack of his ribs, Eiso attempted to prop himself up, but an unbearable pain stabs into his sides, nearly forcing him into unconsciousness. Despite his suffering, Eiso managed to hear the faint outcries of Tynan above the terrifying roars of the beast.
“Rikka! Are you okay? If you are, take Eiso and Papri and run!”
Time is distorted once again and before he knew it, Eiso was carefully being lifted up from the arms by two pairs of soft hands. Blearily, he looked up to face the creature that tried to kill him. Through the tears, he could only recognize Tynan, facing off with some sort of dull grey furred, green shelled gorilla with menacing blood red eyes.
“[SPARK]!!!” Tynan bellowed, sending a flaming orb towards the beast, however as it burst into flames on its chest, the beast simply grunted before letting out another tremendous roar. The beast lifted its thick arms swung them down with immense strength, attempting to crush Tynan into a mound of flesh and pulp. Tynan leapt back on instinct and fell onto the ground, barely avoiding its arms as it smashed into the dirt, leaving behind a sizable crater. Before the beast could remove its fists from the once flat earth, Rikka drew a line in the air and casted her own spell.
“[Pyrval]!!!”
A wall of intense flames erupted from the earth, creating a barrier between Tynan and the great ape.
“GROOOOAAAHH!!!”
Seizing the opportunity Tynan ran, however Rikka looked on in complete horror as the beast simply stepped through the flames, seemingly undaunted, before barreling towards Tynan in a ferocious charge, narrowly hitting him as it crashes into the nearby trees completely uprooting them.
Once again Tynan lets out another spell, “[Spark]!” This time, the spell hits the creatures exposed back, setting a small blaze. The animal rages in pain, as it rolls on the ground in a fleeting attempt to douse the fire. As soon as the flames were gone it paused for a moment before turning its eyes towards Tynan. Its face curled into deep piercing glare as it began charging straight forward with little regard to much else.
Eiso could hear the faint cries of both Papri and Rikka, pleading for Tynan to run. He did not know why, but as his mind grew numb to the pain, Eiso casted out the only other spell he could think of. Gathering the last of his will with what little strength he has left, he quietly summoned a single spell.
“[...Lumen]….”
The benign spell that once gave a soft and warm glow, now blossomed into a radiant and blinding light, a ray of hope, and Tynan’s only shield from a seemingly inevitable death.
Narrowly, the ape’s charge misses. Blinded, frustrated, unable to see its target, the beast began swinging wildly in place in a vain attempt to kill something, anything.
Taking fate’s opportunity, Tynan sprinted towards Eiso’s side. As the four of them fled as quickly as they could, they could hear the anguished roars of the beast behind them, as it stampeded around in anger. Soon, they could hear nothing but the unnerving silence of the wind and the view of the swaying leave. Soon, Eiso’s strength gave out. His hands and body would not follow his will; he could feel nothing. His ears silenced the world; he could hear nothing. Finally, his eyes turned to darkness, and he could see nothing.