Sadé and Kazumi were alone.
The forest was dark and terrifying. She almost felt ashamed to say that inside of a forest, especially as an elfin, who had grown up beneath the ancient eaves of the Teneriel forest. But this one was different, no this forest was foreboding and dark.
Recapping on what had occurred, she had been travelling through gates headed towards the Kitsune forest. It was a personal plot of hers and in her heart she felt like it was the thing holding her back from achieving master tier.
So she; Elai, Timone, Tera Nema and Morwen had departed. A band of all girls and entered the labyrinth. This was the first time they had gone into the labyrinth without any of the men, but all those many months ago. The woman who had gifted her the kitsune mask had alluded to it, expressing that only females were accepted into the forest.
So they had embarked on a journey, passing through three other gates before reaching this forest and it was here, here where everything had gone to hell.
The first thing they noticed was upon walking through the gate, it had been one long portal. That wasn’t uncommon, but in some spaces. It usually was easy to walk through the gates and step from one and step into another. But this portal gate had been a corridor, that had felt endless. But not even five minutes into the gate. Long tendrils of tree roots had pierced the gate, and each one had grabbed one of the different girls and pulled them away.
Sadé being the last, but she had not even been prepared. Nor had she been able to defend herself or her group. She felt vulnerable, she felt embarrassed and more than anything. Shame. She felt untold shame, the first time she was leading her own team, and she had failed at it already.
You haven’t failed! Nobody died! Kazumi whispered into their shared mind.
“But where is everybody?” she asked aloud.
“Advance and we will figure things out along the way.” She told Sadé, speaking aloud too.
The forest had been dark and eery since they had been pulled into its clutches. Every moment of peace she tried to give herself, it was as if something was standing there and watching her or may attack. she constantly felt like she was clenched like a fist.
Something nears. Kazumi said, flaring her Mana and expanding her form into the full foxhound form.
There was something approaching and now Sadé could indeed here it too. Though she could not see Mana the way Jazmel could, she could feel it in the ambience, something about it changing always let her notice significant changes in the air.
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The forest had grown nastily, its trees huge and mingling with each other. They had grown in a connected way, in a way that would only be considered greedy or inconsiderate. The trees blocked out the sun and so only disparate strays edged through and lit the ground at odd angles.
CRASH!
Breaking through the trees a large ape broke through. It had a weird look about it, milky froth bubbled at its mouth and its eyes were hazed with a reddening tinge.
DING!
TIER III ENCHANTED IRONJAW APE! An ape enchanted by the forest and has begun to lose its sanity, free it from its haze or give it eternal peace.
…
Well that sounds morbid. She thought to herself.
She reached for her Mana, and it met her safely. Their it was, ever present and always reliable. It felt almost strange to be able to touch the Mana that resulted in her forming her Mana tails, but when she had them released, it always felt like breathing to her. She did have to control it somewhat, it always wanted to burst free and escape her clutches, she had to focus to only release three tails, and they hummed with urgency.
Thunderfire!
She cast her bolt, and it burst against the iron that made up the jaw of the ape. Its head snapped back, hurt but enraged it roared and beat its chest before charging her.
DING!
TIER III ENCHANTED IRONJAW APE HAS STRUCK ITS CHEST!
ITS DULL DRUM HAS ATTACKED YOUR VERTIGO!!
PLEASE BE WARNED THAT THIS WILL AFFECT YOUR DEXTERITY!
…
…
YOUR TEMPERED BODY, FEATHERED GRACE ANNULS THE AFFECTS OF DULL DRUM!
YOUR DEXTERITY HAS NOT BEEN AFFECTED!
…
Foxfire!
Kazumi was there and she blew blue fox flames around her, and they hurried, rushing forward to bombard the Ironjaw ape and soon singed and scathing blistering wounds appeared.
Lightning fall!
She rained lightning down from above and the Ironjaw ape was burned to a blackened corpse.
DING!
LIGHTNING FALL RISEN TO TIER II!
DING!
TIER III ENCHANTED IRONJAW APE KILLED!
MARAUDING FOX LOOTS!
TIER III ENCHANTED IRONJAW BONE GAINED!
EXP ACCRUED!
…
She didn’t even get a moment to rest from the same trees birds with steel wings soared through and the sound of their wings in the wind sounded like drawn steel.
TIER III ENCHANTED STEELWINGS! Avian creatures with steel wings, used to make wind attuned swords.
The first Steelwing swooped down on her, slapping its wings together in feathered applause. The feathers glinted like steel, and she spun away to dodge. Kazumi leapt up as it fluttered past and tore it apart.
The second and third turned on her but Sadé was there.
Thunderfire!
Thunderfire!
DING!
X2 TIER III ENCHANTED STEELWING KILLED!
MARAUDING FOX!
TIER III ENCHANTED SKILL TOKEN GAINED!
X4 TIER III ENCHANTED STEELWING FEATHERS GAINED!
…
The Steelwings were going to keep coming, she could hear their metallic wings as they approached.
“Kazumi!” Sadé said and running towards her companion she leapt onto her back and rushed through the forest, escaping the flock of Steelwings trying to chase her down.
