By the ti I logged back into the ga, a few hours had passed and what greeted , perceiving the world around Lenore, was a road surrounded by fields. The only one nearby was Sigmir, carrying Lenore on her shoulder.
“Welco back.” Lenore told , once my mind was fully aware.
“Thanks, it’s good to be back. You’ve left the city?” I asked, my senses greatly limited while in my Hallow. Looking out, into the distance, worked only through Lenore’s eyes, even if I was able to get a sense of my surroundings.
“Yeah, even after you disappeared, there were quite a few people who had a rather distinct interest in and Sigmir, by association. We dropped the others off at the Adventurer’s Guild, gave them the pelts and stuff we acquired in the mountains and got out of there, before things got dicy.” she explained, both amused at the fact that I managed to get kicked out of another town without being present but indignant that she had been implicated, as if she was rely a mindless beast, following along its owner.
“Ylva stayed with them?” I asked, not wanting to engage with her amusent. I had a feeling it would only give a headache.
“Mhm, that way, we can easily et up.” she confird, causing to give a ntal nod of agreent. Before we could converse further, Sigmir spoke up, demonstrating her impressive, if slightly uncanny, ability to sense my presence, even while hidden within my Hallow.
“It’s good that you’re back.” she said, reaching up to give Lenore a gentle caress. The gesture amused , just a little, to the point that I wanted to return it. Pushing out from my Hallow, I manifested next to her, stumbling a little on appearance. Apparently, I inherited so of the montum Lenore had, when moving out of the Hallow, an effect that most likely would cause so physics-teachers severe headaches. Luckily on Mundus ‘because it’s magic’ was a valid explanation for phenona that broke my understanding of the laws of physics, sparing from trying to make sense of it.
“It’s good to be back.” I repeated my earlier statent, as Sigmir caught my hand in hers, while I took a mont to look around, taking in the surrounding area. There was little to see nearby, a mix of fields and adows, with the mountains so distance behind us. It was reasonably easy to figure out where Neamov was, simply due to the massive cliff that towered above it. I still wanted to know if there were precautions against rockfalls or similar events, as the cliff struck as a rather precarious place to walk beneath. Alas, that would remain a mystery for the ti being.
“How long do you think the others will need to catch up?” I asked, still taking in the surroundings. I could see so buildings dotted about, most likely the dwellings of the farrs working the area, in addition to so copses of trees and a couple of shrubs in the distance. All in all, the land looked cultivated and tad, making feel a little disappointed. Maybe it was due to our previous travels, with the rather dangerous, wild lands surrounding us, but if the rest of western Aretia looked like the area around us, the travel would be utterly boring. Maybe we could find so bandits or sothing, just to liven things up a little.
“Likely, two days. We should look for a nice place to spend the ti. I’m sure we could do with so relaxation.” she suggested, getting a nod in agreent. I had a few ideas what we could do to spend the ti, so of which even included clothes.
“Lenore, would you be a dear and take a look from the air? An area near a brook, or so other water-source would be greatly appreciated.” I asked, getting an avian nod in agreent, before she took off.
Sigmir and I continued to enjoy our walk in silence, simply making our way down the road without any haste or pressure, when, maybe half an hour after taking off, Lenore returned into a range where she could transmit mories and complex thoughts. What she transmitted was simple enough to understand, images of a rough footpath, leading away from the ancient road, towards a particular stand of trees. There was a andering creek nearby and even a couple of small ponds, with shrubs growing along their edges.
Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website.
With a ntal nod, I agreed that it looked like a good spot to make camp while waiting and told Sigmir about it. She, too, agreed with and we paid attention to the path that was ahead of us.
Despite paying attention, we would likely have missed the path, the spot near the road a little overgrown with shrubs, concealing it unless one was in the air or already aware of its existence.
“That doesn’t seem suspicious at all.” Simgir remarked, a little amused at the way the path was concealed. It might have been coincidance, but it felt far more likely that soone had an interest in keeping people from following said path.
“We should be careful.” I agreed with her remark, ntally switching from the casual way I had been walking to a more vigilant approach, my mind ready to react to danger.
Before we got far, I felt a suspicious ripple in the Astral River, similar to the sensation of magic usage but not quite. It was familiar nonetheless, the sensation of sobody using Observe to glean information. There was a short window between the use of the ability and its success and into that window, I managed to slam a burst of Darkness-Magic, badly focused but infused with the idea represented by the Concealnt-Rune. It was crude, the magical equivalent of smacking a fly buzzing around and it was just as effective. Instead of divining information on Sigmir and , the user, whoever they were, got a burst of Darkness-Magic to the face. It wouldn’t deal any actual damage but I had a feeling that soone nearby was questioning their life-choices.
Focusing on the sensation, and my link to the Astral Power I had just used, allowed to track back the skill to the trees we were moving towards.
“What happened?” Sigmir asked, having noticed the sudden burst of power I emitted, as she moved to shield behind her.
“Soone just tried to divine information on us.” I replied, while focusing on the distant sensation, “Let’s see who was that curious.” I added, my lips twisting into a snarl.
She acknowledged my idea with a grunt, while making sure that her shield was affixed to her arm, just in case the next asure taken by whoever was within the trees ca by projectile. Similarly, I made myself ready to react with walls of Ice or shield of Darkness, depending on the situation. At the sa ti, I let my Eisblun stretch out a little, wrapping around my arm, just in case sothing managed to close in.
“Do you know why there’s soone running away on the other side of the trees?” Lenore asked over our connection, still flying high in the air above us.
“Soone just tried to divine information on us and failed.” I replied, closing an eye to see through her eyes when I felt her invitation, her intent saying a lot more than her words ever could.
On the ground below, two running figures were quite visible. Clothed in a mix of green and brown, with so leaves and twigs stuck to their clothes, they were clearly dressed to hide out in the foliage but now, when running, their concealnt didn’t help them. What made them stand out even more was the lingering trace of Darkness-Magic sticking to one of them, faint but obvious to Lenore’s eyes.
“And that is our soone.” I nodded, mostly to myself. “Would you agree that their actions are not the actions of an innocent being?” I wondered, seeking Lenore’s agreent. Monts later, I received it and decided that soone who was sneaking around, hiding in the trees and fleeing as soon as they were detected would most likely be so sort of scout or bandit. Pushing Lenore to dive down, I prepared a magical attack, waiting until she was in range and once I felt that the distance was short enough, I lashed out.
Monts later, I regretted my action, the mind stronger than I had anticipated. Not strong enough to let my magic fully lash back against , but strong enough to make it a painful experience. My connection to Lenore was disrupted and I felt myself stagger, just a little. Sigmir, obviously, noticed my condition, waiting for to steady myself, keeping an eye on the trees, just in case.
“Give a mont.” I told her, trying to shake the sudden headache. I was still a little out of it when Lenore landed on my shoulder, looking rather shaken as well.
“They got away, whoever they were. Your magic staggered one of them but if you ever do sothing like that again, I might peck you.” she told , using my voice to speak out loud, instead of using our connection. I could rely nod, as even thinking too hard was painful in that mont, let alone use ntal or magical abilities.
User Comments
0 comments from readers