A Quest of Gold and Bones (3)

Orion gulped down a second bottle of a bitter tasting potion, in a bid to speed up the healing process for the wounds he had suffered. He felt the formula swiftly calming his nerves down firstly before it started soothing his wounds and speeding up his vitalities healing process.

And in 20 or so minutes time his wounds from the earlier battle were almost nonexistent. Kalfa showed traces of slight concern within her large watery gaze, but she kept her thoughts hidden. She understood now was not the time to be doting on someone.

Orion didn’t want to dwindle too long on one spot. So, he nursed his pain and continued forward. Vox remained playing the role as the guide. His scarlet eyes scanned the forest as they proceeded. Along the way they ran into more unusually large animals. One of which was a praying mantis as tall as Orion himself.

Most of these creatures they discovered further into the forest required 2 if not 3 of them to get involved. And the deeper they ventured, the more challenging these skirmishes became. Orion was growing weary as he started to notice a pattern about these beasts. And that was their intelligence. From an initial glance you would assume the creatures would’ve sensed their inferiority and fled or choose to hide. But after his encounter with the third large beast. He almost sensed that they were trying to stall them, or weaken their vitality to the point the group would use all their power.

There was way too much suspicions surrounding this place, and Orion felt as though he needed more time in order to carefully understand whether or not his suspicions were correct.

The air had grown incredibly humid whilst a sudden wave of heat fell upon the forest. The twins were barely clothed in order to combat the unconformable air. As it looked as though only Kalfa was able to move around almost unscathed by the burning wave of heat. Orion glanced down at the figure beside him. Vox was visibly struggling to keep up, beads of sweat dotted across the young mans olive face.

He wasn’t a knight after all, and mages tended to need either a lot of potions or time to rest in order to sustain what was required of them during these quests. Orion couldn’t expect much from a young prodigy, he could only hope to find a safe place for the group to rest sooner rather than later.

A golden road appeared along the forest bed. Misshaped tiles made from beige sandy stones. The group noticed the sudden change of the footing beneath their soles. This had to mean they were closing in on their target. Orion had already used 2/3rds of his potions. So had the twins. Kalfa was from the Rode Kingdom so her reliance on potions wasn’t as much as the others. Instead, she carried berries and fruits to help her vitals.

Orion observed the party and wore a slightly concerned face, he had a feeling their group wasn’t at the strongest level they could be right now, and so again he was thrusted into an uncomfortable decision to make. Whilst he was pondering on the risks and rewards of each option within his mind, he felt a gentle hand falling against his arm.

He twisted around to find the beautiful faced Elf. Aubrey. Standing beside him with a cheerful smile

“You know there’s nothing wrong with sharing the load...why do your people enjoy walking around with the weight of the world on their shoulders” The elf sighed.

Orion chuckled in response; his downcast mood suddenly spirited with humor.

“Perhaps we ought to take a leaf outta an Elf's books ey? You people can't seem to go a day without sleeping across open fields or fucking each other in a bed filled with summer flowers. When’s an Elf ever known hard work!”

“Araha-Hey now, I must say we aren't as stereotypically obvious as you make us out to be. Some of us enjoy the occasional lude playing or skipping stones across a gentle river.” Aubrey smiled.

“hahaha oh how could I forget the lude playing”

The pair continued their heartily conversation whilst the groups speed noticeably dropped allowing them all to enjoy the scenery a little and relax. The company had Aubrey to thank for that.

“We’ll probably be engaging with them soon enough...You sure we’re ready?”

“We have to be. The quicker we finish this quest, the quicker we can finally leave this damned god forsaken island.”

“Then how about we stop just over there...” Orion followed Aubrey’s slender finger. Towards the western way, there was a small clearing unfolding just between two slenderly tall trees with deep reddened glossy barks. The leaves themselves were a snowy white colour with golden dew dripping off the tips. Orion unfolded the bushes away and discovered a large clearing of land covered in broken stones. From the near distance he had first thought them to be broken boulders, but up close he soon discovered they were anything but that.

“B-bones?” Aubrey grimaced

Orions brows narrowed as he used the tip of his iron boots to turn over one of these dark grey stones. Indeed, they were bones. But bones of creatures he had never encountered before.

They had long or short horns protruding away from their helms. Long mouths and what looked to be incredibly sharp rows of teeth. A terrible premonition befell Orion once again, he had been getting nothing but terrible feelings ever since they landed on this island.

“A graveyard of dead beasts...what a peculiar place this is.” Aubrey spoke scanning around the clearing filled with animal skulls.

“This isn't by chance. Look...Only the skulls remain, but where are the rest of the bones?” Orion spoke to the group. They all carried the same despairing looks as no one held any real answer to it. Orion looked towards the youngest amongst the group. He couldn’t help but feel responsible for the safety of Vox. Who had crouched beside one of the bigger skulls not too far away from the group. Orion noticed an odd look of sadness encircled within the boys eyes. He sensed that this ordeal had perhaps taken its toll on the youth. It was best to rest for a short while again.

“Sigh...There's no helping it. We need to rest for a short while. Be careful not to touch any of those bones. And stay alert!”

The company ended up basking beneath an incredibly warm day, surrounded by a thick jungle fit for the company of giants. The mood was sombre compared to the last time they all managed to get some peace. It was to be expected of course considering they were currently attempting to take a moment of respite amongst a graveyard of skulls.

Both Orion and Aubrey sat together. The latter had summoned a concealed porcelain keg, dressed prettily with blue petals. Orion paid attention to the bottle as he could smell a strong and sweet scent since its arrival.

“White rose wine?” he asked with a slight allure in his speaking

“Indeed haha- care to share a cup with me? There's no telling if this might be our last drink.”

“Sigh...we’ll survive this...b-but sure.” Orion received the miniature cup in his gloved paws. Aubrey poured a gentle sized amount into it and the two gently knocked their cups together before gulping down the strong scented liquid. Orion felt his mood brighten slightly, he took several looks at the keg whilst he drank from it. There was truly nothing more wonderous than Elven wine he thought. One of the things he was most glad for since the coalition between the two kingdoms.

“If this goes well, I imagine we’ll be gearing up for a war then” said Aubrey with a slightly concerned look

“I would imagine so. If it is...the fallen ones...those…d-demons. Then we will need a united alliance of all the kingdoms to repel them.”

“Demons huh, I’ve only heard about them from stories in the tales once told to us by our wet nurses. They existed thousands of years ago during the Verion era. The age of the great demon kings who conquered the world. Can't imagine our peaceful world falling into such a state again mind you.”

“Thats why we won't allow it to happen. We’ll find out what’s sleeping on this island and put a stop to it.”

“Sigh...I sincerely hope it’ll be that easy my friend.” Aubrey sighed, twirling his finger tips over the edge of the small cup.

“HEY GUYS WE HAVE A PROBLEM!” The duo swiftly dropped their cups and rushed towards the sounds of Kalfa’s calls. They appeared beside the two woman who carried deep looks of concern.

“Wh-whats going on?” Orion pressed with a terrible feeling within his gut.

“He...He’s gone...” Elisa mouthed slowly

“Who is gone?”

“The boy... we can't find him anywhere.”