There's Just... A Lot Of Walking

They walked some more.

It honestly seemed to be more of a walking simulator now. The world was so big compared to the game that it was starting to look like their adventure would involve more walking than anything else.

They encountered more slimes since the fight earlier. Hydro slimes, Dendro slimes, Anemo slimes and Pyro slimes. Oh my.

Fighting became more satisfying now that they had access to the power of wind. They treated every fight like it was practice. They tried different strategies and combos together and with their mental bond things were a little too easy. Of course, that didn’t mean they didn’t suffer some damage in these fights. The slimes fought back and got in a couple hits every now and then.

All the while, Matt and Jen were keeping an eye out for any hilichurls. They both knew they would have to fight them at some point and made every effort to strengthen their coordination in the meantime. They remembered that the most annoying churls to deal with were the Abyss mages. The ones that created shields. Matt hated fighting them.

{They aren’t actually related to the hilichurls.}

[Really?]

{Yeah. I read up on the lore one day when playing. They just know the language fluently.}

[Huh. Then what are they?]

{No idea.}

[The lore didn’t say?]

{No. Didn’t have much written at the time.}

Well, as interesting a lore dump, or lore drip, as that was, those mages were still a pain in the ass. They would need to think of a strategy for them since they only had access to Anemo at the moment. They might also need another traveling companion that had another element to help them with some elemental reactions.

Aether, Lumine and Paimon were walking towards the far western end of the valley towards the shore of the Cidar Lake, when they finally spotted a group of three hilichurls sitting around a crude campfire. They looked to be absorbed in the act of cooking something and hadn’t noticed the trio walking up on them.

“Ah, er, we have company.” Paimon pointed out with some worry.

“Hmm, test subjects acquired.” Lumine muttered.

Matt could tell that she was getting excited at the thought of fighting some more. Luckily the enemies in front of them were only three. One looked like a regular hilichurl while the other two were a shooter and a grenadier, judging by the crude crossbow in the hands of one and the other having a more reddish mane of hair and red tattoos.

That meant one close-quarter fight, and the other two fighting at range. Fire would also be a factor with the grenadier. Within moments Matt and Jen figured out a plan of attack, with the convenience of their minds being connected they were able to communicate ideas back and forth with each other non-verbally in less time it would take to ask the question-

“What do we do?!” Asked a frazzled Paimon.

“We carefully approach, and if they attack, we fight.” Aether said calmly to the scared girl.

[If there's even a chance that there are some non-aggressive hilichurls, then I want to give them the chance to show a disinterest in fighting. No need to go on a genocidal rampage with all of them all the time.]

{Ah, yeah. Okay, Ella Musk.} Jen thought back with no small amount of disappointment. Ella Musk was a character that tried to learn more about hilichurls in the game and even learned their language.

Paimon didn’t look convinced herself either. She hung back and stayed behind the other two just in case.

They slowly approached, not bothering to walk quietly. As they got within seven meters one of the hilichurls heard their approach first and turned to look. That one did a double take, initially thinking that the trio might have been more of its kind, but saw that they were indeed human, or human and fairy.

That hilichurl, the shooter, jolted in shock and jumped to its feet. It picked up its crossbow that had been on the ground next to it and yelled to its allies.

Matt heard the strange language that they spoke but couldn’t remember anything useful from the Ella Musk questline. He tensed up but stayed put as the group of three all got up and readied themselves for a confrontation. They watched the newcomers and glanced at each other nervously before the regular hilichurl charged at them. This pushed the other two to also begin attacking.

The first hilichurl fighter brandished its wooden club, meanwhile the shooter took aim as the grenadier dug around in the dirt for a pyro slime.

Aether stepped forward to meet the fighter with his own sword. Lumine charged past the fighter to get at the other two. Aether’s sword thunked against wood as he blocked a hit. He drew back and swung a few times at the club to throw the enemy off balance. There was a difference in strength between them and Aether had the advantage.

Lumine reached the Grenadier just as he seemed to find a red blob in the ground and unleashed a Palm Vortex right in his face. The grenadier was blown back, fire burning some of the grass where he was standing, but Lumine turned her sights on the crossbow shooter.

Aether sliced at the fighter, getting past the reach of the club, and cut at him a number of times before using his own charged up Palm Vortex. The fighter took continuous damage before being thrown back. Funnily enough he landed in the budding fire where the grenadier was previously standing.

The fighter caught fire and thrashed around on the ground. Aether dashed forward and unleashed another Palm Vortex on him. The fire was absorbed into the vortex and burst with a great heat over the hilichurl.

Lumine was preoccupied with cutting down the shooter with some elegant strikes. The crossbow wielding hilichurl couldn’t get a hit in. However, the grenadier had gotten up and had found a pyro slime in the soil. He was about to throw the blob at her, but Aether used his sight to send a warning to her mentally. She dashed around the shooter just as the pyro slime arced in the air and landed at the feet of the shooter, exploding on impact. The shooter flew towards Lumine, but she timed it just right and unleashed a Palm Vortex before the hilichurl could collide with her. The resulting fireball was spectacular to see.

Aether felt his Anemo energy had filled to capacity and decided to throw out his ultimate at the other two hilichurls. He jumped and spun, weaving the air into a tornado that swept through the fire, carrying it and turning into a fire twister before pulling the fighter and grenadier into its bowels.

He then turned to see the shooter that his wife was fighting fall and turn into a black and red smoke before dissipating.

{Oh, so they don’t leave behind bodies. Odd. Weren’t there some quests that involved dead hilichurls? I remember seeing them in the Tsurumi Island quest.} Jen asked.

[I remember that too. Not sure how it works here.]

He turned back to see that the other two hadn’t left any bodies either. Just a burned path of dead grass.

[Well, at least we know that these ones were a hostile lot. Or they could just have assumed we were dangerous because of all the other adventurers killing them over the years.]

{Actually, I just had a thought. What if the ones related to Khaenri’ah go out in a puff of smoke like they did? And the natural hilichurls leave bodies?}

[Hmm, not sure. I think we’d have to wait for the Dainsleif questline and ask him then.]

{Alright then.}

Their very quick mental conversation ended and they turned back to Paimon, who was hovering a few inches above the ground. She looked like she was ready to bolt if things got too dicey. Lumine waved cheerfully over to her.

“All done, Paimon!”

The fairy girl landed on her feet and jogged over to them. Avoiding the burning grass on the way.

“Wow, you really burned them into a crisp, huh?” She said with some nervous laughter.

Lumine nodded with enthusiasm. The mental bond told Aether that his wife was quite enjoying the whole fighting aspect. A lot more than he expected. He wondered if that would hold up when the enemies actually landed some powerful hits on them.

{That’s what practice and training is for.} She thought at him with some cheeky cheer.

My wife, the tomboy.

“You see, Paimon? You’re in good hands.” Aether told her.

“Yeah, your right.” She nodded, feeling a lot more at ease.

“Alright then, onwards? To the City of Freedom!” Lumine’s excitement hadn’t abated, clearly.

“Yeah!” Paimon cheered, being caught up in her pace.

---Waifu---

They walked across the valley and onto a plain with a sparse smattering of trees. On their walk they had seen more slimes and one other group of hilichurls. Matt was almost thankful that they hadn’t met a mitachurl yet. He wasn’t sure if they were ready for the larger enemy. They were big and had ridiculous axes that they imbued with the pyro energies from slimes, or they carried large wooden shields to bash their enemies.

So far, they had only met some of the weaker versions of monsters. That was both a good thing and slightly worrying. Good because they were still new to this world and needed the weak fodder to practice. Worrying because they also needed to know how they squared up against some of the more challenging enemies. They couldn’t grow complacent and comfortable with the low bar offered by the weak creatures.

They also didn’t want to die. There was probably no respawn option in this world, unlike the game.

So, they needed to take in as much combat experience as possible, and carefully approach a tougher enemy at some point. Good thing the upcoming meeting with Amber, a character from the start of the game, had a mission to exterminate a camp of hilichurls before escorting them to the city. The married couple remembered fighting a mitachurl or two there when playing the game.

So, they fought a few groups of monsters as they traveled through the plains. To their right they saw the city through the gaps in the tree line. They were still high up on a cliff with a large lake below, but the city was visible with its large wind mills and some stone towers. The Church of Favonius could also be seen. The cathedral type building looked breathtaking even at this distance.

Animals like squirrels and foxes darted away, and boars eyed them before trotting into the trees. Birds flew overhead every now and then and a gentle breeze rustled the leaves on trees. The sky was a brilliant blue with the occasional clouds.

Matt was thinking of the relaxing soundtracks that played around this region at this time of day in the game. They were some of his favorite tracks to listen to. Jen started to hum one of them while she was examining an item that had dropped from a defeated slime. In the game, slimes dropped something called slime condensate. It was like a condensed sample of the slimy membrane that made up the bodies of slimes. In the hand they felt like a cold and squishy pebble with a small corrosive feeling when held against skin for too long.

Matt could feel her fingers beginning to tingle through the bond. She handed it to Paimon to inspect and then made a cracked hilichurl mask appear from her inventory. The girls talked about what sorts of things monsters dropped, with Jen carefully keeping her real knowledge of monster loot to herself, meanwhile Matt was keeping an eye out for any threats.

“It feels weird... and kind of gross.” Paimon said about the slime condensate.

“Give it a taste.” Lumine egged her on.

“Eww, no! Are you crazy?!”

“Maybe a little.”

“Eh?! Wait, don’t lick it!”

“Eugh!”

“See? I knew it was gross!”

“I wonder if we can use it in cooking...”

“W-Wait... what? Didn’t it taste gross? You made a face and everything!”

The two girls were getting along. The day seemed to go by in peace and Matt was happy to listen as he looked out for danger. The path weaved through clearings and small woods and very few monsters appeared for a while. In the distance the trio could see a wall of trees and boulders, to which Paimon told them that that was the beginning to the Whispering Woods.

The Venti encounter wasn’t too far away then.

{One Drunken Femboy Bard, coming up.}

[Or, as Paimon from the games called him, Tone-deaf Bard.]

“It’s a little dark and creepy in here at times but it’s the only way to get to the city.” Paimon explained.

In the game, the Whispering Woods was barely longer than a corridor of trees. The player character was in then out in about one or two minutes. Probably less actually. There was one clearing where you would see a character called Venti talking to a dragon but other than that there was nothing interesting about these woods.

In this world, however, the woods seemed more dense. They walked in and the sound from the outside became very muted and the air felt more... earthy. The light dimmed except where the sun peeked through the foliage. Shafts of light shone through with cool looking beams of light onto the path they took. There were no signs of any monsters, or even animals for that matter. There was an odd feeling in the air, a sound almost like a distant breeze, but more... consistent. Like breathing.

The trio were silent for a few minutes while looking cautiously around them. It took some time for their eyes to adjust to the mixture of light and dark. There were small blue glowing lights in the depths between the trees. Matt assumed those were Lamp Grass. A type of flower that emitted a glowing blue light in dark places.

The breathing noises grew louder as they progressed.

“What is that noise? I’ve never heard it before, and I’ve come through here a few times.” Paimon whispered... in the Whispering Woods. Matt heard Jen giggle in his head.

“Could be a big monster?” Aether suggested with a cheeky grin for Paimon.

“Uwah... no, please no. Anything but that.” The fairy girl shuddered and shook her head.

It took a couple more minutes of walking in the murky shadows before they came across a clearing that was bright enough to see. Unfortunately for Paimon, that meant getting closer to the sound of rushing wind that resembled breathing. Only, now it also sounded like a deep rumbling growl.

Paimon drew in on herself and hid behind the other two. She made scared groaning noises as they got closer.

The path curved around a large rock stuck in the ground with a dead log of wood lying beside it. The boulder prevented them from seeing into the clearing but the few gaps in the trees made the group of three slow down and hide behind the boulder. Lumine crouched with Paimon just behind the log while Aether stayed at the edge of the rock.

What they saw was the massive dragon from earlier crouched and curled around an outcropping of rock in the middle of the clearing. The beast had sharp features with a dangerous looking jawline for stabbing its prey and two large horns flaring out from its head. It had four wings that were currently expanded out in a threatening display. It had both scales and a soft downy underbelly; its coloring was in various shades of aquamarine. Its eyes and some of the feathers in its wings gave off a blue light, while two small spikes in its back seemed darker and more sinister in color with a deep angry purple.

The dragon seemed to be confronted by a person standing in the clearing. They looked small, but they were standing next to a huge beast so perspectives were a little confusing. They were wearing green clothing, a hat and a cape. Any other features were a bit difficult to make out since they were facing the dragon to the side.

This was Venti and Dvalin. Or Stormterror as the dragon had been known to be called by the people of Mondstatd. Their story was quite sad when you get into it, and they were likely to get into it in this world, just like in the game.

Venti raised his arms up to the dragon and Matt heard him say something but couldn’t really make anything out at this distance. In the game he said, “Don’t be afraid... It’s alright now. I’m back.” So, Matt assumed that he would say the same here.

“Are they talking... to a dragon?” Paimon whispered.

Next would be the moment that would give them away. It was a strange moment that was never really explained in the game.

Aether sensed his Anemo energies... shift in some strange way. The chest piece that he was wearing, and the green light that was emitting from the middle, thrummed with power. The green light shone brighter for a moment and he saw Lumine’s also shine at the same time, before they both dimmed back to their normal light.

Aether looked back to the scene in front of them in time to see the dragon thrash about and roar in rage. Its eyes seemed to shine a dull red and a tear of blood fell to the ground. Venti leapt back as the dragon took a swipe at him. Instead of focusing on the dragon, he looked over to the three in hiding.

“Who’s there?!” Venti called out. He...

Wait.

Something seemed different about Venti. Matt couldn’t really tell at this distance, but something caught his attention. However, the dragons anger kept him from keeping an eye on Venti. Plus, it was here that Venti disappeared in a flash of green light, just like the game.

The dragon, Dvalin, roared his discontent at the trio before leaping into the sky with a burst of wind that threatened to sweep them off their feet. A moment later he was gone and the wind died down, leaving the clearing in a sudden hush. The calm peace of the woods reasserted itself, almost as if nothing odd had happened at all.

“What... what just happened?” Paimon asked, looking a little frazzled. Her hair was a mess from all that wind as she looked out from behind the log. Lumine turned to her and tried smoothing her locks.

“I think we interrupted something.” Aether said, dusting himself off.

“I thought we we’re gonna get eaten.” Paimon sighed in relief.

“I don’t think we’d make for very tasty food.” Lumine said as she finished tidying Paimon’s hair. “But in an emergency, I think I could eat you.”

“Hwah?!” Paimon jumped in fright. Lumine giggled at her expense.

Aether looked over at the rock that Dvalin was crouched around, and sure enough he saw the key item that the dragon would leave behind in the game. There was a shining red speck glinting in the light. The other two also caught sight of it.

“What’s that thing? There’s something shiny on that rock.” Paimon pointed out.

Aether left the cover of the boulder and log they were hidden behind and approached the middle of the clearing and the rock in the center. Lumine and Paimon followed behind with the fairy girl looking around for a possible return of any dragons.

The three climbed atop the rock and looked down on the red sparkly stone. Just like in the game it looked like a red tear drop with a multi-faceted crystalline look to it. Only, here it was smaller than how it appeared in the game. Aether could easily fit it into a pocket, if he had a physical one.

He picked it up and held the item in his hand for the others to observe.

“What is it? It gives off a weird feeling. I’ve never seen any stone like it before.” Paimon muttered.

{It’s pretty much a very angry mood ring. Without the ring.} Jen whispered across their mental connection.

“I’m not sure.” Matt said while holding back a grin. “But I think it was left behind by that big dragon.”

“Eh? That big guy dropped this?” She asked with incredulity.

“Where else would it have come from?” Aether asked with a shrug.

“Okay, you have a point.”

Aether put the teardrop crystal into his inventory and the three of them hopped down from the rock they were stood on. From their experience, Matt and Jen knew that the next encounter would be with a girl called Amber. An outrider for the Knights of Favonius. They would likely meet her at the edge of the woods as they exit the murky trees. And considering how big this version of the woods was compared to the game, they would need to walk some more.

And walk they did. For the next ten or so minutes they walked through a corridor of trees and angular boulders. They walked by a pond with lily pads. The gaps in the trees revealed glowing lamp grass. The afternoon sun peaked through the foliage and birdsong could be heard as birds came back to their homes. The danger of a dragon had passed and now the woods were safe again.

The path became less murky as the trees were thinner and more spaced apart here. It was still more or less a tunnel because of the large rocks and boulders that were littered around. On either side of the path were large cliff sized rocks that reminded Matt of their travels through the rocky path by the sea. Only, here it was more green and full of life.

They were about to walk out of the far side of the woods when a voice called out from afar.

“Hey, you! Stop right there!”

Paimon looked behind them, thinking the voice had come from back down the path.

Aether and Lumine heard running footsteps from above and to their left. They looked over to the cliff-sized-rock that bordered the path in time to see a red, white and brown blur race across the top. At the highest point the young woman jumped across the mouth of the wooded entrance, looking quite majestic for a moment.

{A cute girl descends!}

The girl landed and rolled across the ground, barely sticking the landing afterwards as she stumbled a few steps. She caught herself in time and turned around to face them, hand on hip, as if she didn’t almost ruin her entrance.

“May the Anemo God protect you, strangers!” She declared. Then with a salute, where she stood straight and swung her right arm to the side, she introduced herself. “I am Amber, Outrider for the Knights of Favonius.”

[Yes, we know.]

{Thighs!}

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