Free Web NovelChapter 59: Following Traces
"How long have you been working with the others?" Victor asked Orie, the archer, as he walked with him through the forest.
Orie seemed like a serious guy, but he liked to talk because it helped him deal with his nervousness.
"I’ve been with Riggilo for about six months now. We’ve been together since we formed a group in Dury City. Others from the group went elsewhere and we split up along the way, but Riggilo and I have stayed together and even met others like Pyaxu."
"Okay, but what about this particular trio? I want to know how well synchronized you are."
"Ah, if that’s the intention of the question, Pyaxu, Riggilo and I have been together for about three months, ever since we met on the road between Lamía and Agocester."
"How did you meet?" Victor asked and crouched down to assess a march on the ground.
Orie adjusted the quiver on his shoulder and cast a contemplative glance at the trees that surrounded them. "It was a fluke, really. Pyaxu found us by the side of the road while we were making a small camp. He said he was starving, so Riggilo, like a classic cleric, offered him part of a hare I had hunted."
"That was the best hare I’ve ever eaten in my life!" interrupted Pyaxu, pushing aside a few bushes of dry leaves.
"Oh, were you that close?" Orie asked, slightly flushed at having been caught talking about his friends.
"Actually, some tracks led us here," said Riggilo.
"And I think I know exactly what the trail was." Victor said as he stood up. Victor said as he stood up. "Come and see this."
Victor pointed to a footprint on the side of where he was standing. It was a clear footprint, i.e. recent, and it didn’t appear to be an animal’s footprint, but rather that of bare feet.
"That’s unusual. Could there be savages in this forest?" Pyaxu looked at the mark and asked aloud.
Riggilo touched the footprint with the tip of his staff and denied it with his head. "No, that may look like a normal footprint, but it’s not a human footprint. I’m sure there’s no one but us in this forest at this time of the morning, especially barefoot. I’d say it could be the evil spirit we’re looking for, but even very powerful spirits can’t leave traces like this."
At that moment, Orie, the archer, bent down beside the footprint, ran two fingers over the slightly damp earth and sniffed it.
"Indeed, it’s not a human being. That’s the footprint of a Blight."
"A Blight?" Pyaxu repeated with a serious expression denoting his doubt. "I’ve never encountered one of those."
"It’s an ancient creature, a rare manifestation of magical corruption in nature," Riggilo explained. "They usually hide in deep places in the forest, far from the eyes of men. Finding a footprint here, so close to the main trail, is... disturbing."
Orie agreed with an equally serious expression and stood up. "They’re dangerous. Much more so than ordinary monsters like goblins or kobolds."
Victor studied the footprint for a moment longer. "Let’s follow these tracks. Maybe we can find out why a Blight is so close to inhabited areas."
Fortunately, the others agreed with Victor’s idea and the group set off to follow the marks in the dirt.
Victor hadn’t taken the mission to hunt the Blights from the Hunters’ Association this time, but he would still need money to go to Klento after things in Agocester were finally completed, so taking the cores of some Blights would at least allow him to sell them to some local alchemist or to the Association itself in exchange for some money.
The Evergreen Forest in the morning gave the hunters a strange feeling. They knew that they were probably the only ones in this place, but as the day was overcast and the morning mist still covered the ground, they had the constant feeling that they were being watched.
Despite this, Victor was more relaxed now that he was walking in a group than when he had been walking alone through this forest, and the stillness of this forest was no longer a surprise to him.
Between the old trees and the few rays of sunlight that reached them, the group moved forward, guided by the footprints on the ground.
After walking for some time, they came to a clearing in the heart of the forest. However, this clearing was different from the ones Victor had encountered, because in the center of it a towering oak stood, its roots protruding from the earthen floor. This seemed to be a typical sacred place where the energy of nature pulsed palpably.
"I feel like this is where the Blights first manifested," said Riggilo in a reverent whisper as he hid behind a tree. "This must be their nest. If we destroy the oak, I think the Blights’ spirits should calm down."
Pyaxu looked around and his hand automatically landed on the hilt of his sword. "Do you really want to do that?"
Around the oak tree, some creatures made of wood were scattered around the clearing, roaming and protecting the place. They were all Blights of different types, sizes and appearances.
"There are a lot of them." Orie said, tightening the grip on his bow with a little hesitation. "I don’t know if we can handle so many at once. We’ll need a big fire to burn so many Blights."
"No, as they’re cursed creatures, I can take care of them with my spells without necessarily using fire, I just need you to distract them or detonate them in such a way that their regeneration is severely delayed," said Riggilo, looking determined. "Besides, we can’t just ignore a nest with so many Blights. They could end up killing some other unsuspecting group of hunters."
"What do you think, Victor?" Orie asked and looked at the older hunter.
Victor was peering at the clearing from behind a rock, but turned his attention back to the group and replied:
"I’m confident we can handle it. It will also be a good way for us to train and learn about each other before we face the evil spirit."
"Then it’s decided, we’ll do it." Riggilo said.
Victor looked closely at the wooden creatures that moved slowly around the oak tree. Their shapes were strange, as if they had been sculpted by nature itself, and their eyes shone with a menacing light. These Blights seemed to be ’newer’ than the ones he had faced, but Victor couldn’t tell if that made them weaker or stronger than the ones he had faced.
Either way, Victor could feel the negative energy emanating from them, a sinister presence that chilled his skin.
"Let’s split up into groups to surround them," Victor suggested in a calm tone. "Pyaxu, you and Riggilo go on the right. Orie and I will take the left. When I give the signal, Pyaxu will attack on one side and I’ll take the opportunity to take them by surprise on the other, after which we can get together and try to get to the center of the clearing."
The other hunters nodded in agreement, trusting Victor’s leadership. With silent movements, they separated and began to approach the creatures, keeping hidden among the trees and bushes.
When they were at a safe distance, Victor gave an unobtrusive signal to start the attack. He whistled, which made all the Blights in the clearing turn in his direction.
Pyaxu took advantage of the perfect distraction and advanced quickly, drawing his sword which glinted in the dim sunlight. He approached one of the Blights, which had a spiky appearance, and struck it with his sword, severing half of the monster’s body in one blow.
The creature let out a high-pitched scream as it was torn apart and writhed in agony before falling to the ground, becoming wood for Riggilo to burn.
Pyaxu then raised his sword and shouted in his clumsy way:
"It’s time to start killing, HAHAHAHA!!!"
The rest of the monsters were immediately attracted to him, and one of the Blights with vine tentacles stuck his hands into the dirt floor to guide vines under the ground and try to trap Pyaxu, but just as the vines were getting close to Pyaxu, an arrow crossed the clearing and hit the Blight in the middle of the head.
"That’s it!" Orie celebrated the hit. "Now it’s your turn, Victor!" ƒreeωebnovel.ƈom
Victor then emerged from the bushes and advanced on a trio of Blights, who puffed out their chests and unleashed their thorns in his direction. The thorns flew like a hail of arrows, but that wasn’t enough to stop his advance. Victor cut the large thorns so that each one was the size of a small toothpick and came out of this first attempt to stop him without a scratch.
