Chapter 90: The True Hero 2

Chapter 90: Chapter 90: The True Hero 2

"Actually, if you’re going to insist on staring murder into someone’s face over this, I suppose it would be best if I kept you under surveillance for the duration of these proceedings."I can do both."Wonderful," Adnan chuckled, adjusting the strap on the pack as he said so. "I assume I won’t have to worry about the odds of us getting through this encounter alive?"

"It states as much," Arin muttered, peering over at the open window. "It gives no information regarding the monster other than that we are to kill it."

"That’s what an encounter advisory is for, not a treasure map," Ayan pointed out with a bemused shake of his head.

Arin frowned. He would have expected no less from the ten Authorities he had met in his travels, but even still... "The odds of this turning against us could be much higher than anticipated due to lack of information regarding either the enemy in question or why it might have attacked," he informed them. In an instant the ten mages around him would be dead on the ground if they weren’t prepared.

No, that wasn’t something he was willing to risk for a mere quest reward.

Arin informed the elven chief once more as he passed through the gates, and took one final glance over his shoulder. The chief had organised for the settring to be watched over carefully, and he had promised to look over the records regarding Caelan and the True Hero’s past appearances. Zarl and Garul would continue to be monitored in the event that anything further was discovered.

"Be careful now in the western forest," the elven chief warned them. "In the last few days there have been sporadic sightings of the beast. We’ve had scouts looking over the area, but it seems as if whomever or whatever it is has been eluding us."

"You say ’it’, but have the scouts been able to identify it?" Arin asked.

"Their descriptions are all conflicting," the elf replied. A single scouting party was said to have seen something the creature in it’s entirety, but the sightings were brief at best, and no two members of the party described it the same. "So if we’re to assume anything at all based off this information, we would be wrong to assume that we know anything at all about it."

"Then I would take caution if I were you," Ayan said.

"I take it you’re not likely to give us a straight answer?" Adnan quirked an eyebrow.

"Not this time," Ayan admitted. "I would rather you return with a response, than missing persons reports." Arin agreed, and after a few more words with the chief they were on their way.

Their destination lay far enough into western territory from where they were heading that it had taken them nearly a day’s time to reach the local settlement. The further they went the rougher the landscape became, the underbrush twisting in and out of one another, roots snaking out from between stones and trees jutting out at odd angles.

And the only breaks in between were the sounds of other less civilised folk making their journeys as well, birds and the occasional animal calling out their meals’ locations.

Arin focused in on the forest around him, activating Dungeon Perception and carefully sending his senses out and around.

If there were any monsters anywhere in the vicinity he ought to be able to sense them.

There were a handful of creatures already scattering away from the scent of the party, but otherwise there weren’t any. Whatever the reason that the local inhabitants, the elven archers, called for aid there wasn’t anyone present in the area for them to help.

"Did you sense anything?" Ayan asked.

"What’s this, déjà vu?" Saira teased, only for Arin to shoot her a glare in response. "Not that you wouldn’t sense anything, just that you’re doing it again."

"Nothing, really," Arin muttered.

"Try not to push it now, that takes more out of you than you’ve already let on," the sorcerer cautioned, "You’re not at the point yet where you can begin expanding your reach just yet."

"I know!"

"And that is why we’re not doing that," Ayan replied.

"Can we please not talk about my bad habits now?" Arin sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose. "I have a feeling we’re currently hunting one of said bad habits."

"As if I’d ever let you stop talking about them," Adnan snorted, prompting everyone to fall into silence except for the sound of their own breathing. The deeper they went the more dense the forest became, until finally they broke through what appeared to be a thicket.

Arin immediately halted.

Trees, large ones, that had been uprooted and the earth torn open with claw marks running up and across the ground. Several surrounding bushes were broken down to the point of being unrecognisable.

"This is fresh," Adnan noted, kneeling to run his fingers along the marks. "Whatever did this hasn’t been gone for long at all either."

Ayan came up beside one of the trees, seeing where something’s considerable weight must have scraped against it. The splitting on it’s trunk was deep enough to nearly separate it in half, and he frowned at it.

"Based on what I can tell, whatever made those gouges has pretty good strength."

"And what appears to be tracks leading back east are disturbed," Saira added, "It would seem as if whatever it is may not have gone back the way it came, or alternatively that it’s made quite a mess of the disturbance."

Arin knelt to the deepest part of the indentation on the ground to take a closer look. Using Dungeon Sense he ran his fingers over it, feeling out what information there was to be found.

It wasn’t very much, but it was enough to tell him that something had been there recently, and if it wasn’t already gone it would not be long now. The strength of the sense was growing the further along the trail they travelled, and Arin had to stop and close his eyes in order to steady his hands when he nearly lost control of it.

"There’s something," he said finally. "Someone or something left this place, but it was weak."

"Can you tell what it was?" Ayan asked.

"Probably not," Arin admitted, "It’s very faint. I would rather not push it like this in order to find out." Ayan nodded, and they went back and forth along the trail until they reached the tree line. From here they could see the forest further than they ever had before, but there seemed to be nothing beyond them.

The silence, however, was not lasting.

A snapping sound echoed in the distance for brief period.

Another followed before abruptly stopping, replaced instead with the dull sound of something landing with considerable force. Everyone froze on cue, all instinctively reaching for the weapons at their belts.

Arin steadied his breathing, calling upon Dungeon Perception once more.

This time, something was there.

It was strong, but at the same time inconsistent, it’s mana fluctuating between pulses, and it was also incredibly large.

Arin narrowed his eyes, and for the first time, spoke. "There you are."

Whatever it was stiffed for several long moments, and then the sounds of movement grew closer, until the tree’s line blocked any view of what was coming towards them.

What it was they would be seeing soon enough.

Arin tightened his grip on the hilt of his sword as he prepared for it’s reveal, only for his breath to catch in his throat for an entirely different reason. Whatever it was stood nearly shoulder high, it’s presence blocking out the dim ambient light of the forest. No sooner had he taken it all in before he felt the pressure of it’s mana suddenly change, shifting, rolling forward, and building with intent and purpose. What little he had felt of it’s mana now seemed to reach out and engulf him in sensation, it’s strength pushing hard against his own instincts, and it’s presence grew. And with a final pulse of power that sent tremors through the ground beneath him, the shadow suddenly turned to look at him through the gaps in between the trees.

No living being that had ever walked this earth deserved to live through what it was about to face.