The bright sky suddenly got swallowed up in darkness. The four figures traveling through the forest paused abruptly.
Iael crouched low,touching the ground, "something passed here recently," he muttered silently. " it's heavy and in haste."
Kevin gripped his unsheathed sword. "Why the sudden darkness, though?"
Jafet, the new addition to our group. Swallowed hard and took a step closer to Kevin. " I don't know why, but let's stay together. We can survive if we are one.
I halted abruptly upon seeing what appeared before us ."A pair of glowing eyes blinked in between the trees. Another appeared and then another. Advancing towards us.
"Seran, light your staff for us to know the number of opponents we are against. "
The creatures approached, slow, silent, circling us. The closer they get, the denser the darkness became.
Kevin's voice came from ahead, thin and wavering. "Serena's light is dying out. "
I turned towards her, and true to his words, her staff barely glowed, just a weak silver tremor fighting the darkness to stay alive.
Her face is now white, lips trembling as though the forest has targeted her and drained warmth from her body.
I removed my outer coat and wrapped it around her hurriedly. Then I saw it. Something was moving behind her. Tall with its root-like branches peeling off.
"Stay still, Serena," I told her calmly. My gaze became sharp. Seeing my friend in danger increased my killing intent, which could be felt strongly around us.
I stationed her behind. "What is that?" she asked. "I don't know, "I whispered.
Their form was a hollow void where a head should have been. No face just long roots hands, and their whole body was shrouded in deep darkness.
We created a human wall with our backs touching one another, making an impenetrable solid line.
"There is more coming," Jafet rasped
And he was right, more materialized from the shadows as if the forest itself was folding in creatures.
"We must know their weakness to strike and kill them in one go. So let me attack first, guys." I told them." Be careful," Serena warned. My fingertips glowed with a purple flame.And then, as if being provoked by the sight of my power, the darkness became thick like smoke filling my lungs and sliding down my throat like tar.
I lifted my whole body in flames to brighten our surroundings, and I leaped towards one of the creatures and lit it up in my purple flames.
Theri shrill screams tore across the eerie forest.
I moved like wind between them, switching from the rift flame to hellfire, I burnt the one close to me with it , but it turned to dust and resurrected again. It looks like hellfire can't kill them, i noted . I returned to the group after confirming that they were affected by light magic. Their vein-like root hands shot towards us in an attempt to grab a jafet.
Serena now retains her mana, which, for some reason, stopped responding. She started whispering spells and turning them into rocks, which surprisingly worked better than in Kevin chopping off their . They fixed themselves together after a few minutes .but he continued doing it anyway.
The smaller creatures that were left cowered away when I looked into their non-existent eyes with a bone-chilling aura added to the killing intent hanging heavily in the air.
The darkness that suddenly descended upon us cleared after they retreated. For us to see the clear day again.
"Let's move forward and find a lodging place to rest for the night. This little demonstration shows us that we can't travel around this part of the forest of night. " I told them .
And lead the way, and we all fell in step together.
We traveled till sunset before stopping beneath a canopy of trees to set up our tents for the night.
Serena gathered the woods and started the fire .
"And what is that fire for?" Jafet asked."For food, of course, "Serena retorted.
Skimming the boar Kevin has hunted, she roasted them on the fire and added her own prepared spices that made the meat give off an addicting and tempting aroma.
She placed a carved wooden bowl in front of me. "Have your meal now, Iael." "No, finish up, let's all eat together, " I said and pushed the bowl aside.
Jafet scooted over and took a piece of the meat: taking a large bite.
He received a head smack from Serena. This girl can't keep her hands off anyone who crosses her.
"You this foodie,did you not hear what his highness said? She glared at him in annoyance, even forgetting to keep my identity hidden.
Jafet raised his voice in surprise "his highness?, oh so you are a prince , that's impressive I get to dine with a prince ...hahaha he laughed and beat his chest as if he had discovered something incredibly funny.
"Are you sure this man is normal?" Kevin asked."Ask him, how would I know? I replied and shook my head.
The group retired for the night:
I lay on the sleeping coat for a long time, but my mind kept running, so I stepped out for some air.
"Kevin," I called out. Is that you? I asked the robust figure of a man standing under the moonlight seemingly lost in thought. He turned and asked, "Why can't you sleep, your highness?" "Refer to me by my name when we are alone. We are not strangers.
I stood beside him, watching the moonlight bathed the landscapes.
We fell into a short silence before I spoke.
"I can feel your unease. " Can you share what is bothering you?" I probed gently not wanting to sound too forceful.
"Nothing serious, just.... thinking of how to protect you and everyone if we encounter today's ordeal again. " He said
"You know you don't have to push yourself too hard," I said softly
"The reason I could get close to you was through how I beat up that knight under your command that day. A poor abandoned warrior like me wouldn't have had that opportunity, so if I can't even fight against your enemies now, won't I be useless?"
"Kevin, you know the relationship between us is not just like a knight and a prince. Friends don't need to be useful for them to stay together. You are like a shoulder I lean on when things get hard. so don't ever think of our friendship in that shallow manner. I said, holding his gaze seriously.
He gave a nod and smiled.
We chatted into the night before retiring to bed when exhaustion from the day's travel kicked in.