A Quest of Gold and Bones (Dao of Hope) (2)

Once the visitors from the Lucien kingdom arrived on the shore. They were greeted by enormous stones half buried into the white sandy earth. Their eyes shrewdly scanned the quiet surroundings. And behind the sandy shores dwelt a deep and crowded forest. At first their eyes couldn’t believe such a place existed. Most of them had traversed the vast far lands across the many kingdoms, but nothing like this had ever been seen. The sheer size of the trees here was enough to almost disguise them as mountains. They noticed an arch shaped opening leading into the forest and by nature they knew they were compelled to follow it.

“By the gods! This place is so...”

“Breathtaking!”

The two Elves were left breathless by the sheer size of the forest enveloped around them. Even Orion, the tall and brute of a man was almost shell shocked by the scenery. There was a stir of worry twisted within his gut. He knew there was something about this place which felt...wrong. Trouble was certainly lurking, but even he felt a dissonance within his mind whilst being surrounded by such a beautiful place. On one hand he would've enjoyed adventuring across these lands without any rush, but on the other hand his instincts were screaming at him to get back onto the boat and sail away.

“H-hey! Look there's a stream nearby?” Kalfa the beast girl exclaimed loud enough for the group to hear.

Elisa was the first to gracefully move towards the area of interest. Followed by her twin brother and the rest of the group.

Towards the eastern way of their entry point they found a spacious clearing within the forest, filled with a dense amount of clear spring water. A small wave of steam crawled against the surface of the waters. Not too far away, they could all hear the sounds of a gentle rush of water falling. Both Kalfa and Elisa could barely contain themselves, they swiftly walked to the edge of the pool and dipped their fingers into it.

“It’s...warm!” Elisa said slightly surprised. The pair gave one another an odd look before delightful heart shapes appeared within their gazes. They wasted no time in removing their damp pieces of clothing, their weapons and armor quickly made scattered piles against the grassland. Standing naked they dove straight into the water. The two men alongside the little boy could only stand idly and watch, Vox tried to move his eyes anywhere else but the stream filled with the naked women.

“Haha- it’s only been seven days. Surprised they managed to hold out for so long.” said Aubrey slightly amused as he watched the pair enjoying themselves in the warm pool of water.

“Pfft, they damn near have been at each other's throats since we left Lucia! At least it’ll be good for them to ease off some of that tension.” Said Orion who was slightly glad they found a place to wash and drink so quickly. Judging by the lay of the land this forest must cover quite a great deal of this island and there was no telling when next they would discover water.

“Vox?”

“Nothing. No sign of anyone nearby. It seems that even the animals here are being quite weary of us. I sensed a few with intriguing aura’s and yet they still chose to remain hidden.” Explained the boy whilst his scarlet eyes scanned the surroundings.

“They must be intelligent then” chimed Aubrey. “The more I observe this place, the more it’s reminding me a little of the Elven forests. They too have similar lay outs and smart willed beasts. We should be vigilant.”

“Hm... that’s a given. Let’s use this place to catch our breath and rest a little. We’ll have Vox use his eyes to scout...but don’t overdo it kid. We need you at your best when the time comes.” Orions iron gloved hand lightly tapped the frail boy's shoulder.

Vox creased an awkward smile. He looked unsure of how to respond to such trust being placed on him.

The company decided to use this rare opportunity afforded to them to regroup and plan their next course of action.

Both Elisa and Aubrey retrieved the food out from their storage rings, which the twins shared it amongst the group equally. The company ate and drank fresh water, rice cakes and a few potions to replenish their vitals . A much needed rest would be crucial, considering they were in an unknown territory . In fact, the confidence from them was justified considering their individual ranks. There was only a handful of fellows who could truly bring disaster upon them.

Well, that was of course the mindset Orion and the others adopted. But still, Orion would’ve wished to have had one of those famed 13 generals with them. Then whatever lay hidden amongst these shadows wouldn’t stand a single chance. But alas, including himself, they were four Golden starred knights and a Cyan Ranked Mage prodigy. And that was all the Queen could muster at such short notice.

Once everyone had eaten their fill. Orion took a look around the camp. He gauged they were at 80% or so at their best. If they rested for a single night more, they could all be at 100% battle ready. That seven-day boat journey had taken a lot out of them. And he didn’t want to spare anything when they finally crossed paths with the fallen ones hidden on this island. Orion was lost within his thoughts. He knew he had a choice to make but wondered if that was the right one. He sighed before he thumbed his prickly shaved chin.

“Oi! Let's cast a vote. We setup camp here and continue in the morning. Or we gather our wills now and keep going? As you all know already there are a whole string of positives and negatives depending on the route taken....so I'll let you all decide where we land on this decision.