We took a circuitous path through the jungle, avoiding any monsters we came across, and after a few hours of careful walking, we stopped. The village had slowly disappeared into the distance until only the mother tree had remained visible in the distance. The columns of smoke had vanished as well.
"I think that's enough," I said, "let's make camp and rest."
We didn't have any survival gear. My belt pouches were mostly empty, with no mission on the horizon I hadn’t stocked up on supplies, and my storage amulet didn't have much either. We would have to rely on our survival skills.
"I have an idea," Vel said. "I can modify a tree to make a shelter inside of the trunk, if we pick the right tree we should be completely hidden from view."
I nodded, it was a good idea. I sent arcane eyes around to search for the right tree. The bigger it was, the more space Vel could create. It took a few minutes to find the right one but I homed in on a relatively large cluster of thick trees.
We climbed half-way up and once there, Vel pushed her magic inside the tree. I watched it bulge and open like a cocoon over the span of a minute. Inside, Vel had created a small circular room large enough for the both of us. The thick foliage would be enough to hide everything even if someone walked right underneath.
I climbed inside and Vel stepped in after me. It was a tight fit but the mossy interior was a very nice cushion. A cluster of leaves grew over the opening and hid it further. I took her in a tight embrace and she nestled her head in the crook of my neck.
"What do you think happened to everyone?" Vel asked
"I don't know," I said. "but I don't think they were just here for senseless slaughter. The mages could have easily killed everyone from a distance, especially with the help of that last one. He was so strong I couldn't even identify his rank."
"So they were here for something specific? Why launch an all-out assault?"
"Not something specific. I think they were here for the people."
"You think they're slavers? Isn't it illegal?"
"From everything I know, it should be. At least everywhere the Adventurer's Guild operates and that certainly includes the dungeon."
"It doesn't make sense," Vel sighed.
I agreed with her. Why go all the way down into the dungeon and attack a well defended elven village to get slaves? There had to be easier methods. The amount of manpower and money that had been deployed must have been staggering.
I shoved the thought out of my head for the moment. Vel and I needed to rest for a bit before continuing towards Nis. I pulled Vel in closer and closed my eyes. Hopefully, answers would come.
I expanded my sphere as I woke up. A quick look at the ceiling showed it was still early in the morning. The night had been short and rough. I had woken up multiple times in a panic, my Mystic Enhancement flaring to life at the thought of an imaginary enemy. I often found Vel crying in her sleep when I did.
Neither of us were well rested but we had to push onwards nonetheless.
My stomach growled to remind us that we didn't have any provisions either.
"We need to find some food," I said. "I'm starving!"
"Me too. And I can't really grow fruits from nothing quite yet."
"Let's go, then. We'll find something on the way."
I used my sphere to peek at the crystals to find the direction we needed to go. I was very glad I had copied the map from our trial into my mental library, it had included a large swathes of the village surroundings and the location of Nis.
Unlike the previous day, we moved at a fast pace towards our destination. Even at that speed, it was around two days of travel away in a straight line. It took only an hour for us to cross paths with a group of half a dozen wild hogs in a small clearing.
[Jungle Hog (Level 46, Rank 3)]
Vel and I didn't go for a stealthy approach. The monsters were weak enough that they wouldn't be much of a challenge, though it was always dangerous to underestimate your enemy. The experience gain would also be poor.
I summoned several obsidian blades around me with Melody of Earth and sent them flying at my targets. All but one of the boars fell to the first strike, the last survivor roared at us and prepared to charge to avenge his fallen brethren. Vel placed an arrow between his eyes and the system notification chimed in my mind.
"It was too easy," she said.
"I think our expectations are a bit skewed after yesterday."
With our storage amulets, we stored the corpses whole instead of butchering them on site. Except for one which would be our meal. The surrounding area, being between two villages and their powerful barriers, was occupied by mostly low level monsters. This gave us the opportunity to create a small camp in the clearing itself without fear of a high level predator homing in on the scent.
Vel used earth magic to create a pit and her plant manipulation to build a spit to roast the meat. A snap of her fingers lit the brazier. Meanwhile, I used my dagger to butcher the animal. Cleanse took care of any contaminants and blood while Void Scalpel allowed me to disintegrate all of the unwanted organs. I handed the parts to Vel who hung them over the fire.
It took some time for the meat to cook and Vel and I spent it just holding onto each other. The future was uncertain and her presence grounded me. With her at my side, I knew I'd be able to move forward. I watched a few curious creatures approach but they bolted at the first sight of the fire.
"Not my best work," Vel sighed as she bit into her hog leg.
"Right now, I don't really care," I said as I devoured mine. "I'd probably eat taratect meat."
"Please don't say that," she batted at my shoulder.
After a good meal, we were off again.
We easily avoided the few groups of monsters in our path thanks to my sphere and arcane eyes. When the night fell, Vel repeated her performance of the previous day and created another shelter for us. This time, as we weren't as tired, we slept in shifts. It was ingrained in our training and even if the danger was minimal in this area, someone needed to keep watch for the others to sleep soundly.
Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
I took the first shift and settled in to meditate which left me plenty of time to reflect on what had happened in the village. I went through and dissected everything. Even with the benefit of hindsight on my side, I didn't see many other paths than the one we had taken. The gap in power had been simply too large to overcome.
We had managed through surprise and trickery but once they were prepared, it was over. The chase through the village had proven that well. If Breknir and Lorathana hadn't arrived when they did, we would have been killed or captured.
Our immediate future depended mostly on what we would find when we reached Nis. Had they been attacked as well? It was a possibility. One thing I knew was that a direct confrontation was not an option for the time being. I firmly intended to make that mage eat his stupid mask one day but I wasn't ready yet. For the moment, stealth was our biggest advantage.
It was time to plan. The first thing I needed was a way of long range reconnaissance, my arcane eyes were too limited in that regard. Their range was about a few hundred meters at most. Instead, it was time to get back to the familiar skills. From the class guide books, both Druids and Rangers could get familiars and I had the skills as well.
The Shadow Familiar still looked like the best option.
Purchased Skill Animal Familiar for 6 ES
Purchased Skill Shadow Familiar for 6 ES
Skill Shadow Familiar replaced Animal Familiar
Raised Skill Shadow Familiar to rank 3, level 1 for 15 ES (+60 levels)
I confirmed the action and immediately used the skill. As described, I was presented with a few basic templates for a familiar. I picked the avian base template, a bird seemed the best option, and modified the appearance slightly.
Familiar Template [Shadow Raven] created
I perused the list of skills available as well.
Share senses was what I wanted the most. Shadow Step was also interesting. I had a good amount of essence so I could afford to splurge a bit on upgrades.
Purchased Familiar Skill Share Senses for 6 ES
Purchased Familiar Skill Shadow Step for 6 ES
Purchased Familiar Skill Skill Conduit for 6 ES
Purchased Familiar Skill Spell Conduit for 6 ES
I summoned my new familiar and felt a huge hit on my mana. A quick look at my status showed it had cost two hundred and thirty mana but there didn’t seem to be any ongoing cost. But perched on my forearm, gripping my arm guard, was a pitch black raven. It was as if a shadow had suddenly taken physical form which, considering the name, was accurate. Through my magic perception, I could see it wasn't a real animal but instead a complex magical construct. I could see and feel the mental link between us.
It ruffled its feathers and cawed.
I decided he would be called Alan. A bit on the nose but I had never been all that good at names.
"Alan," I whispered to the bird, "do you like it?"
The newly christened bird preened on my forearm.
Alan thanks the Great Mistress for his name. I felt his response through our link.
"Glad you do." I caressed his feathery head.