Like every day, the sun was already up when Luna awoke. But something was strange. She couldn't remember going to bed last night, so her only thought was that Jannet had carried her. But for now, she had more important matters to attend to. No birds could be heard in the distance, and a foul smell was lingering in the air. She knew that something was wrong; her instincts screamed into her face to scout the location. She got up and slowly moved toward the entrance. She sniffed the air again, only to cough under the disgusting scent.
From her point of view, everything seemed normal, but her skin tingled, and the foul smell didn't allow her to lower her guard. She looked back into the cave and saw Jannet sleeping like a baby. She picked up her daggers and moved cautiously outside. The situation was typical, and no threat awaited her. She kept her guard up and moved towards the next bush. Mana flowed into her eyes until they began to glow violet. The instant her color changed, she could see further into the distance. After looking around for minutes, nothing piqued her interest.
For now, Luna felt safe, so she went out of her cover but suddenly stopped when her glance went over the fireplace. A large footprint was visible, presumably from a lizard, as the footmark was large and pointed. She went further into the forest to take a closer look at the left side of the cave since she knew where the lizard had to have come from. In the distance, black trees could be seen. Luna didn't even have to enhance her eyes because the infected forest was only hundreds of meters away from them.
"Ohh shit, I think I should wake up Jannet and get more distance to the infection," Luna said out loud and quickly sprang into action, dashing into the cave to wake up Jannet.
She shook Jannet's shoulder and spoke to her. "Hey, wake up! We have to shift locations; wake up!"
"Is the meal already ready?" Asked Jannet, but she was still sleeping.
"I swear if you don't wake up this instance, I will empty the bucket above you," Luna said furiously.
That somehow seemed to work because a second later, Jannet shot up from her bed.
"No! Huh?" Confused, she looked around, but before her eyes could land on Luna, someone spoke.
"Good, you are awake. Grab everything we need, and then get out of this cave." This was the first time Jannet heard Luna speak seriously. But before she could ask what was happening, Luna was already leaving the cave with her bow and a dagger. Jannet understood that something was about to happen, and Luna wanted to avoid it. Jannet stood up, took the coat she was using as a blanket, and looked around, but they didn't have anything to take with them. With a shrug, she left the cave. Deep down, Jannet hoped they would find another resting place. She didn't find the idea of sleeping without a roof over her head appealing.
Outside Luna was already waiting for her. She kept looking to the left side of the cave. Because Jannet became curious, she followed Luna's glance. Death trees could be seen in the distance. When she squinted her eyes, something slimy was moving in their direction. She was about to ask what happened there when Luna spoke up again.
"We should get moving to the east and avoid the infected area. We will have to go around the western part of the forest and hope that nothing attacks us or blocks our way." Both turned around as a loud cry could be heard in the distance.
"Yeah, we should get moving," agreed Jannet, whose entire body trembled in fear.
"Do you have everything?" Asked Luna one last time. "We will not come back to this cave. The risk in doing so is way too high." If the infection continued to spread, this cave would be corrupted tomorrow.
"I got the coat you made me, but we pose nothing worth carrying. So yeah, I got everything," said Jannet.
"Good, let's move."
***
It was the second day. Neo and his archer brigade searched the forest. Because there were too many monsters in the woodland, they chose to mark the infected area with arrows that sent a magical signature that could be seen on the map. They also marked areas where there were many monster testicles. They planned to invade a small zone today, take samples from the environment and let them analyze by the alchemists in Athylia. For this purpose, a small group was selected to go in, take samples, and get out. The remaining archer would provide cover fire if necessary.
"Is everyone ready?" Asked Neo. He had long black hair and wore green clothing.
"Yes, sir," answer a crowd of people standing in line.
"And don't forget. You go in, take samples, and get out. Don't go too deep, and avoid sounds at all costs. If you get seen, you abort the mission and get to safety. There is no way we can fight this entire army. I want to see everyone back home alive."
"Yes, sir."
"Good; then let the mission begin; we are covering you and notify you if we see something strange."
The archers dashed through the forest like the wind. Their movements were soundless, and their clothing blended in with the surroundings. In the distance, the infection became larger and larger. As the small group headed towards the infested forest, the central group positioned themselves closer to the edge of the forest, where horses were waiting. Hundert meters in front of the infection, they stop. Through the daily drills, they immediately formed a Single File formation. They slowly approached the unknown part of the forest. The person in the front was leading the group, while the people who followed him covered the sides. The last person was going backward to cover the back. The closer they got, the slower they advanced. They tried to be unseen and avoid any sound. It was difficult for them because of all the branches and leaves on the ground.
They slowly advanced, only to stop 10 meters before it.
"Small group of mutated goblins, I would guess 20 in total. No weapons." The information was shared by a woman whose eyes glowed violet. The leader averted his gaze to the ground. It was frustrating, but they would have to wait. Taking all out at once would be an option, but that would prove to be too difficult with only nine team members. Their safest option would be to wait. They stayed hidden behind the bush and waited for the group to move away. It took some time, but in the end, the Goblin group moved away.
"Can you still see them?" Five minutes after the gobline had left his field of vision, the leader asked quietly.
"Yes, I would guess they are 500 meters away. Goblins have poor vision and can't hear well, so we should be fine," spoke the woman in a quiet voice.
"Return to your formation; we are going in. I want to be out in less than 5 minutes." The mission worked better than anticipated. With new vigor, they advanced in their formation once more. Upon entering the infected forest, the ground was covered in a slimy, black substance with no sign of dirt. The group's shoes adhered to a slimy substance, and every step they took made a sound like they were walking through mud. The team wasn't sure what they were walking on, but every step was loud.
"Quick, grab some of the plants and put them in your backpack. After that, we are getting out of here. "
Two people began ripping out plants withered away and partially covered by slime. But the moment the plant was ripped out of the soil, a loud shriek could be heard. The shriek became loud as the sound was transported in a circular wave further into the forest. As the circular wave of the sound traveled farther into the woodland, the shriek grew louder. More and more plants began to shriek.
A red glowing arrow traveled into the air. It was the signal to abort the mission immediately.
"The mission has been aborted; we are retreating." As the team leader ordered retread, the entire group dashed out of the withered forest. The earth started to tremble as they left the infected forest, and a thunderous roar knocked them off their feet. Almost all of them were paralyzed by the deafening roar. Only one member withstood the mighty roar and desperately tried to wake his comrades. He only saw black masses pouring out of the forest and knew instantly that they had become the prey. Finally, his comrades came back to their senses and continued the escape. They only had to get to the end of the forest, where horses would wait and aid their escape.
The earth started to tremble beneath the creatures' feet as they were rushing toward the group of humans. The howling that was in the distance at first came closer every second. The hiss of arrows flew over the group into the ranks of the monsters to slow them down. The primary group that stayed behind fired volley after volley, but the swarm of monsters just couldn't be stopped. It was at this point that the brigade's captain gave the order for the entire unit to withdraw to the horses. It didn't take long for the main group to reach the edge of the forest. After they mounted their horses, they began to shoot volleys of arrows into the hordes of monsters again.
The small teams tried their best to escape the coming landscape of black monsters. Some fell behind because they could not keep up with their comrades. Excruciating screams and breaking bones were the last that were heard from them. Only those who could enhance their legs were able to remain on their feet. Long had they dropped equipment that would slow them down because none of their weapons could compete with a living avalanche.
Trees cracked under the weight of the hordes of monsters that trampled under their weight everything in their path. The wind was blowing in their face. The scenery was not even visible to them. Only their goal, the edge of the forest could be seen in their tunnel vision.
Their faces were red under the facing pressure. The monsters caught up with them more and more. Eventually, the first one ran out of puff and began to fall back. Shortly thereafter, only an agonizing scream could be heard, which fell silent as quickly as it came. The last two survivors could feel the foul breath behind them. They had also long since used up all of their reserves. Only the coming clearing propelled them forward.
Finally, the sun's illumination welcomed them. Neo was already moving oppositely while riding gently. They ran and swung aboard the moving horses. As the horses were urged on with yells they finally escaped the living avalanche. The wolves ultimately retreated, but not before the pounding of the horses drowned out their growls and howls.
***
"So, what magic field would you recommend to me? Shadow sounds interesting, but the disadvantages are enormous. Rune magic would also be nice, but I would have to study an entirely new language and can't even use it without special conditions. Alchemie would also be fascinating, but where do I get books to learn it, and when would I even use it while we travel?" Jannet simply barked out every thought that came to her.
"I think it's nice that you're thinking about it, but you have to make the decision yourself. If you want something useful, I would recommend Elementary. A lot of power would be in shadows or runes. But you can also create your field. But you should know that it is not easy. That's not to say that it's not impossible to create your elementary magic."
"So take a field, and make it unique? Interesting thought. Do you think it would be possible to use light the same way shadows can be?"
Luna stopped in her tracks and thought for a moment.
"It could be possible, but I have never seen or heard about it. You would also have the same weakness a shadow mage has: the night or dark places. If you can't generate light yourself, you'll have to take it from somewhere. Starlight or moonlight is not helpful because there is so little of it. All in all, an interesting thought, but it might not be the best thing to venture into such uncharted territory."
"You are probably right. Why are light and darkness counted as elementary?"
"To be fair, I have no idea. It was always in this category, and I don't believe it will be changed in the fu-.
Luna suddenly stopped in her sentence and looked back in their tracks. A hand grabbed Jannet almost screamed in shock but was able to cover her mouth with her hands while Luna dragged her into the shrubs and covered her mouth.
"Don't make a peep now. If you understand, nod your head."
Jannet noded her head. She didn't know what was happening. But if Luna became serious, it could only mean something horrible was about to happen. She completely froze at a loud howl behind them. The ground began to vibrate as something approached. From the vibrations, Jannet made out that it couldn't just be a simple pack of wolves. After a while, Jannet could only see dozens of legs moving past her.
The hair was plugged out, and black slime covered parts of it. If this was an animal, it had to have severe infections.
Her hands were ice cold, and she was ready to run if Luna would give her a sign. She slowly looked to her left, where Luna was positioned. Her tens body didn't even feel authentic to herself. She had never experienced something like that. Only when she saw how calm Luna was, did her body relax a little.
Boom
A loud sound seemed to shake the forest. She began to hold her breath unconsciously out of fear of being discovered. Big legs of flesh and black slime came into her few. She almost began to vomit from the sheer stench that was coming from them. There was a growl in the air as the beast slowly walked past them. Even if Jannet wanted to, her body couldn't move anymore. The beast suddenly paused and started sniffing the air.
Jannet noticed Luna gripping her bow before she narrowed her gaze.
Suddenly, a deafening roar shook the whole forest. Jannet was paralyzed by the power that radiated from this scream. Luckily, the beast looked in the direction of the roar. It didn't take long before it moved back to the infected forest. Shortly after the immense beast left, the shrubs in which they were hiding were passed by the previous monsters as well, and they followed the mighty roar.
The entire time Jannet was immobilized and looked like a soulless corpse. After 5 minutes, Luna decided to move out of the shrubs. In a rustle and crack of bushes and branches, Luna finally left the shrub. Still alerted by the sudden appearance of monsters, Luna's eyes glowed violet like the stars in the night sky.
"You can come out; it should be safe now."
But nothing was moving in the shrubs they were lying on. Confused, Luna crouched to get a better view of Jannet.
'That roar was too much for you, I see,' thought Luna. She reached out with her hand and shook Jannet softly. But nothing changed after her first attempt didn't work out; water appeared in her hand.
"Aahhhh," Jannet flinched and let out a scream while cutting herself at the branches a bit. The light came back to her eyes, and Luna knew she was back.
"We should get moving; whatever shook the whole forest with its roar would trample us like ants if we get found out." With her hands, Luna grabbed Jannet and pulled her out of the bush. She was still shaking from the encounter, but the rest was fine.
"W...What was that?"
"Do you mean the roar or the monster that might have chased us?"
Luna still had her bow in hand and was ready for combat at any moment.
"B...Both?"
It was the first time Jannet saw monsters, so Luna did expect something like that. But even Luna was taken aback by that sight.
"I can't even tell you that; it was my first time seeing monsters like that. But you should try to remain calm; who knows, maybe they can sense your fear and will come back."
"That doesn't make it better," exclaimed Jannet, only to jump in the air when something was cracking behind her. A small rabbit ran past them into the thicket, quickly followed by other animals.
"We should get moving, even the animals are fleeing from that roar, and without magic, another roar could hurt you," declared Luna while putting her bow on her back before going in the opposite direction of the monsters. They had to build up as much distance as possible before the scouts of the monster horde came back looking for them. While Jannet was still standing in the same place, Luna was already leaving.
"You are just wasting time; something called the monster is back. Who knows how long it takes before they tail us again? So come on before I leave you."
Something in this sentence brought Jannet back to her sense, and she hurried behind Luna.
