“What do you mean there’s none?” Eres frowned at the martial book peddler.

  “None means none.” The lazy eyed man repeated. “Town’s only got novices.”

  “What about Gurda?” She asked.

  “Herbalist, not an alchemist.”

  Eres clicked her teeth. “Worthless hag…” That was her backup plan, and given fate’s sense of humor, she was half prepared to employ her services. By threat or otherwise.

  “Heard the town over has one.”

  Eres’ foul mood subsided as she focused back on the peddler. “How sure are you?”

  “Sure as rumors can be trusted.” He spoke with the same stoic indifference as always. “They say he’s lord of that town. Peak Rank 2 Warrior.”

  “And his personality?” Eres asked.

  “Rumors don’t say. Same as any other lord, likely.”

  “How do we get there?”

  “Straight west. Where the sun sets.” The peddler said. “Two week journey, even for a peak Rank 1 Warrior. No rest. Wouldn’t recommend sleeping out there anyway.”

  Eres went quiet in thought. Banda was ten times stronger than a peak Rank 1 warrior in his Feral Form. Even carrying her shouldn’t slow him down much, and the Misty Forest wasn’t much of a threat to either of them at this point.

  A few days journey there and a few days back left them over a day to figure something out in the next town. It was enough time, and the reward was worth the risk.

  Eres handed the peddler a Crystal for his information and walked off, her mind made up.

  “When do we leave?” Banda asked, as though he could tell her decision.

  A smile rose on her face, slightly before she knew it. “Now.”

  ---

  A rabid rockrat lunged with a shrill screech, and Banda splattered it into paste with a swipe of his hand. He flourished off the blood and carried Eres with two arms again, not even bothering to stop for the shard he could have gotten from the monster’s core.

  He had been travelling with Eres in his arms for nearly a full day now. It was a method he wouldn’t have adopted in the mountain ranges where hindering himself to this extent brought too much risk, but here in the Misty Forest the monsters were too weak for it to make a difference.

  Besides, there was a far more pressing concern. They needed to make it to the next town and obtain a cure in time. They had only two more days to find the alchemist and make a deal.

  Staying any longer would take away their option to return to their own town and receive a temporary antidote from the iron human, leaving them completely at the mercy of this town lord.

  Should they run out of time, it would spell the worst. Or at best, this alchemist may take advantage of the situation to control them, and yet another set of chains be placed around him. Banda had grown tired of chains.

  “This is certainly uneventful…” Eres said, almost sounding disappointed.

  Banda frowned slightly in annoyance. Uneventful was good. He could not understand why she was so eager for danger. How she could think in risks and rewards instead of the necessity of the moment.

  The strong obtains all things, and those who survive long enough will become strong.

  Something flared in Banda’s mind and he slid to a quick halt, heightening his focus around him until he settled on cave in the side of a grass covered mound.

  “What is it?” Eres asked, her vigilance also sharpened.

  “Something is there.” Banda peered at the cave.

  “A monster?”

  “I don’t know. It’s strange.” The feeling bothered Banda. Part of it felt like the dormant presence of a forest lord, strong and conceited enough not to hide itself. But another part felt like the warning of an injured beast.

  “We should go in.” Eres spoke casually.

  Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

  “No.”

  “We should go in.” She repeated, her tone turning more resolute. “We have time.”

  Banda scowled. By her current overbearing demeanor, she’d likely chain him if he just ignored her and continued on towards their destination. If refusal was pointless, it was best to go along with her whims until they encountered reason enough to leave.

  He set her down and the two approached the cave carefully. Banda’s eyes narrowed as the constant presence his instincts detected grew stronger as they neared, and its warning more clear.

  Yet nothing happened even as they stopped right before the cave. Banda focused his intent but found no obvious danger, but that did not mean there was none. He gave Eres a look to remain cautious, and they both stepped into the cave.

  A terrifying intent assaulted his mind. His whole body screamed with the urge to flee but remained where he stood. His focus jolted in every direction in search of its source but the intent struck from all sides equally, and was frustratingly hollow.

  “It’s a mental barrier!” Eres shouted through strained teeth. “Push through it!”

  Banda channeled his focus into aggression over vigilance and pushed forward. The intent stifled his movements like mud. But it was strange.

  There was no physical hindrance. It was as though the barrier made an enemy of his own mind. It dared to turn him against himself.

  Banda lashed out, and maimed the intent to shreds. He stepped through the entrance of the cave with disdain in his soul.

  To overcome with might was the nature of the wild, but instinct was his domain. His self was above all other selves. Whether he fled or slaughtered, none would deny him his rightful place.

  “Banda.”

  He quietly snapped out of his delving thoughts at the sound of Eres calling his name. He glanced over to the often frustrating human for a moment, then turned his sights ahead, taking the vanguard as they ventured down the earthen tunnel.

  The path was short and simple, and they soon arrive at the back of the cave. It was unimpressive, and mostly empty, save for a large boulder at the back of the cave with the simple cave paintings on the walls above of a moon looming over a golden sun.

  Eres’ eyes locked onto the paintings, though Banda’s attention was focused solely on the center, where a strange creature sat on a small rock platform, smiling eerily at them.

  Banda thought it a human at first, but the unmistakable emanations of a Rank 2 mid-grade monster quickly put an end to such thoughts. A jinn, he deduced.

  The monster appeared as a green-skinned human with long limbs. A sharp chin jutted out from its wrinkled face, and equally as striking were its large nose and long pointed ears. It wore clothes, though unlike the armor of the gnolls’, its were grass woven robes and a mantle of leaves.

  “It has been some time since another has breeched the ward.” The hobgoblin’s raspy voice echoed softly within the small cave. “Remarkable wills for ones so young.”

  Neither of them responded.

  The hobgoblin chuckled. “Caution is good. But there is no need to fight.”

  It opened its mouth to speak more but something caught its nose. It sniffed the air twice as its expression on them turned observant.

  “Poison…” It spoke, drawing a reaction from both. “Grimlock… Difficult, but I can cure it.”

  “Really?” Eres widened her eyes. Her tone was mostly firm, but there was an undeniable trace of hope and agitation.

  Banda glanced at her, but his expression didn’t change. She was pretending again. He guessed she was trying to trick the monster into lowering its guard, so he did not act to exposed her.

  “With the right herbs, yes.” The hobgoblin smiled. “But you must assist me on my journey to enlightenment.”

  The hobgoblin pointed to the boulder behind. “This is not the end of the cave. Merely the start. The true treasure lies beyond. But to open the path, one must suppress the guardian’s intent and will the entrance open. I cannot do both at the same time.”

  It pointed to them. “You will suppress the intent. And I will open the door.”

  Banda burst forward and struck the boulder with his iron fist. The thundering tremors of the strike seemed as though it threatened to collapse the cave in on them, but it held firm. And not even a single crack was left on the boulder.

  The hobgoblin quickly concealed the slight shock on its face at Banda’s sudden attack. “It is pointless. The path will not open with mere brute force.”

  “What is the treasure?” Eres asked.

  “I do not know.” The hobgoblin admitted freely. “But to be guarded so heavily, it must surely be unparalleled.”

  “You say suppress the intent. How exactly are we to do that?” She crossed her arms.

  “That I can answer quite simply.” The hobgoblin reached within his robe and tossed out a bundle of herbs on the rock he was seated on. “It is similar to how you entered this place. But rather than defend, you must attack. Such abilities are beyond the level of you or I, but these herbs allow one to enter a trance and make it possible for a short while.”

  “What kind of trance?” Eres asked.

  “A deep one.” The hobgoblin answered plainly. “It will allow you to project your consciousness and strike with it. There are no ill effects if that is your concern. Ah, but there is a problem.”

  “In truth, the power of your minds are not enough. Not at your level. It is almost too much even for I. You will need to join your consciousnesses in to act as one against this intent.”

  A glint flickered within Eres’ eyes. “How?”

  “It is a simple method, but difficult to master. Several days of practice should allow to maintain unity long enough to suppress the intent. I will show you how.”

  “Alright, if we share the treasure.” Eres spoke.

  Banda glanced at her again, this time with obvious disapproval. If this monster could cure them, they had no need for the human alchemist in the other town. But staying here that long would mean they would forced to rely on another interaction with Tath should it fail. She was taking a risk again, this time for an unclear reward.

  “We need a cure-”

  “Power is my only cure.” Eres smiled down at him with a presence he had not felt since their time in Akkad. A selfish, suffocating, mesmerizing light. One that was blind to all pursuits not her own.

  Banda knew she would not hear reason as she was now. He could only endeavor within the situation, and stay vigilant.

  “Then…” The hobgoblin spoke with a glint in his eyes. “Let us start the path.”