Chapter 440: Senior White
The slis taking care of the undead finally gave Seth a calm mont to think and recover with so potions. They had called him a bard and it seed they had co looking for him specifically. This ant not only that there was soone out for him.
That person also got information on him and probably the others from sowhere. Did they catch one of their team…? No, that seed unlikely. They were all together until the attack.
Right, the attack. Maybe that person was responsible for their crash. The question was how they got information. There was not supposed to be any communication between the teams and the outside.
“Seth, I found you.” he suddenly heard an airy voice from the left.
“Pheles, is that you?” the blacksmith whispered.
“Yes. I can talk to you, using the environnt.”
“Oh, is this mist also the doing of another one of your brethren?” the blacksmith secretly convened with their hidden ace. The answer ca in a wispy voice.
“No this is no demonic magic. Despite what it looks, it seems to be a blessing.” the mist demon asserted.
Seth looked at the hordes of undead and the city that was decomposing form the constant moistures.
“The mist did not turn these people. It only blocks the sun. Most likely the doing of a local deity.”
This made sense. It was probably the person aiming for his life, that had also slaughtered the people here. They had killed and resurrected a full city to capture them? If this wasn’t a sign of madness, what was?
Though, Seth had already seen too much over the past year and a half to be overly shaken by this realization.
“Can you locate the rest of the party?”
“Not without rematerializing.” the demon denied.
Seth nodded and checked his map. At least, he and Ellie were together. They would find a way to deal with the situation. The others couldn’t be that far away. If they didn’t find the rest of the party, they were all aiming for the sa goal anyway.
“Hey, Ellie, do you have any way to find the others?”
“I could send out the slis to search the city,” she said after pondering for a mont.
The Slis had already wiped out the undead in the vicinity. Watching the slis now run off to explore the city, Seth noticed Golmini hanging on Ellie’s shoulder.
“By the way, why did you take out Golmini?”
“…Promise not to laugh.” she suddenly beca shy and took the little golem into her embrace.
“Errm, okay?” he was a little confused but agreed as the girl seed serious.
“I’m not good with mist or fog. It’s creepy not to see. It’s like a horror movie. I brought out Golmini and Humbold to comfort .” she confessed with an unsure smile.
Seth was stunned. He had not expected the usually upbeat and confident Ellie to have this kind of weakness. It would probably be better if they never told her about the foggy mirror dinsion of Urth. It wasn’t a fond mory he wanted to talk about either way.
~I like this place. Can I co out, mom? ~
The blacksmith thought about it for a mont. Usually, the Imugi was free to do whatever it wanted at Minas Mar. It spent most of its ti playing with the children. It had shown a great amount of constraint not to whine over the last two weeks.
That Tatzel asked to co out now ant he had a reason. Seth nodded and the next mont the snakelet was draped around his shoulders like a stola. The imugi had also grown over the last months, but he still looked like a chubby snakelet. Which ant he featured quite a weight.
As the mist touched his dark scales, the Imugi made a unique sound in relish. It resembled a cat’s purr. It was the first ti he experienced Tatzel do this.
“Aww, Tatzel is cute when he purrs.” Ellie comnted
~ Mom, this feels really good. It feels weirdly calming and connected. I think I could- ~
The fog around them suddenly distorted into whirls and a do-shaped area was cleared of mist. It was still visibly whirling at the edges of the do.
“Oh, you learn sothing new again, Tatzel. But I thought you liked it, why did you push it back?”
~Ellie ntioned she was uncomfortable with it right?~
“Y-yes. Thank you, Tatzel,” she said, blushing a little.
“Tatzel, do you think you could find the rest of the group?”
Seeing the imugi exert power over the fog gave him an idea, that he might be able to find the others.
~S-Sorry, Mom. I can’t. I can control here, but it’s not my mist. I can’t do more without permission.”
“Permission?”
~Yes, the mist belongs to sobody. ~
“Can you find the owner?”
“Why would you want to look for the owner?” Ellie asked.
Seth explained to her about the things a spoke about with Misto, without ntioning the demon. If the mist belonged to a local deity, it might be helpful if they t with it. Seth had so experience with deities. He t a local deity once and got the impression that they tended to be helpful, usually.
His second encounter with a deity was a little less comfortable but turned out to be a gain in the end.
The demon said the mist was a kind of blessing, it ant this deity intended to help the people living here. If they were lucky, it would not bla them for ending their state of undeath and could help them find the rest of the team.
After he explained his thoughts to the team, the Imugi affird that he could track the source of the mist. Of course, Ellie’s slis were still scouting the city. They wouldn’t rely on just one thod.
Tatzel led the way and they followed it through the streets of the devastated city. From the once busy city center, they ca out to small houses with small fields. The imugi led them to a thick bamboo forest.
The bamboo was violet, and Seth wondered about the triangular wooden gates that lined the stone stairs leading up to the bamboo-covered mountain.
At about half the way up, Ellie suddenly called out.
“One of my slis found Brock. It seed he also was caught up in a fight with the undead.”
“Do you think you can lead him here?” Seth asked unsurely.
“Maybe? The slis can try, but nothing guarantees he will follow.”
“That’s will be good enough, I guess. If this doesn’t work, we can at least et up with him.”
Following Tatzel’s guidance, they climbed all way up the mountain. Seth had to admit, that the place was beautiful. The mist-covered bamboo forest gave off a fresh sll and serene scenery. The sound of bamboo swaying in the wind had a calming effect on him.
The blacksmith half expected a temple at the top of the path; however, it was “just” a lake. It was a small natural lake with crystal clear water. The diffused light that fell through the mist and reflected from the surface created the illusion of vastness as if the lake was much greater than it could be.
“Is this the place?” Seth whispered to the Imugi on his shoulders.
~No need to whisper, Mom. The owner already knows of our presence. ~ Tatzel answered excitedly as if it was looking forward to eting this supposed local deity.
The smooth surface of the water was disturbed, and a white silhouette appeared at the shore of the lake.
~Hello, little friends. ~ they heard with an overwhelming volu in their minds. It sounded almost excited.
A huge white snake with barbels like a mustache surfaced from the lake. It was not as oversized as the Titanoboas that Tatzel descended from, but still bigger than any normal snake he ever saw. It elegantly raised its head, facing Seth and Tatzel at eye level.
~Ah, I’m sorry. What brings you to my humble dwelling? ~
The voice had toned down a little but kept the friendliness. It was an attractive female voice, that fit the clear beautiful eyes of the snake.
~H-Hello! ~ Tatzel greeted the white snake.
~Oh, what a cute little junior. ~ she said. The snake got close to Seth’s face and nuzzled the little imugi on his shoulders.
“This is Tatzel. This is Ellie and I am Seth.” the blacksmith introduced their group. He deliberately did not ntion Puffles or Misto. Although the Ivicer felt indignant about going unntioned, he understood it as being the trump card.
“Hmm, i welco you once again. People call the White Mistress. Just call White. What brought you to my humble abode?”
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