Chapter 6 - Excursion

The familiar grinding stopped and the two stepped out of their homes. It had just rained, and everything was exceptionally clean. The sun is at it’s apex, “Conserve your energy. We have lots of traveling.” Klaus’ short lived sprint came to a halt and he waited for Aurora to catch up. She pointed at the sun, “We’re early, we can take our time. If you’re hot, you know what to do.” Klaus nodded and ice cubes began forming on his skin. Aurora much prefers using wind and so her clothes began fluttering.

“I hate how….. Boxy everything is.” Klaus answered as they left their compound and into the open street. Horse drawn carriages moved their way up and down, left and right. “They do save a lot of space, makes it easier to build roads and other stuff. Like that.” She pointed to a hole in the ground, with metal rods sticking out of it.

“I have no idea what that is.” Klaus answered as they walked past it.

Aurora continued to observe the carriages. I might just follow one of them one day, I’m curious where it’s going. As the two continued to move. The two siblings passed by others in clothes as plain as theirs, some had items levitating a short distance behind them, some were walking pet dogs, aulion cubs, and other exotic creatures.

“The weirdest thing we saw was probably the dogs, because they’re normal.” Aurora mentioned as they approached an opening that led further down. The concrete that lined the path they were on now look like an infectious rash as it spread throughout the cave, on its walls, its ceiling.

They travelled into the cave, they entered the cave’s shadow and instantly felt cooler. A little too cool. Klaus dispelled the ice cubes on his neck and hands, and he felt much better. Both he and Aurora’s eyes began glowing as the darkness lifted and visibility restored. As they travelled deeper underground, their footsteps echoed louder and louder. Klaus brushed his hands against his ears, and the echoes were silenced. He let out a sigh of relief.

After a few more minutes of walking, the narrow cave finally opened up into a large open area, there were four glowposts next to each other, and a stone hut right next to them. There was a man in the hut who observed them. Aurora raised her hand, and he raised his in return.

“Sai, where is the path that would take us to Kerikil?” She asked in her regular voice.

The man in the hut put a finger to his lips. “Sar, this is the Emerald Caverns, our nocturnal citizens are currently sleeping. Please be mindful, and lower your voice.” He reminded while whispering, and he did the same while providing directions, “Pass through Corollis, simply follow the signage. Artes are patrolling, feel free to ask any you see for directions.”

Aurora nodded and the man returned it. “Sar, sai, I wish you both a good day.” Klaus nodded in response and the man raised his hand. They headed west according to the instructions saw a wall off area, quite a large one too.

“Haven’t seen a human arte int a while.” Klaus commented. “Mhm. There are more resilient races out there.” She added.

They eventually met four artes, standing by a gate, guarding it. One stepped forward. “Purpose sar.” He whispered, “Passage to Kerikil.” He stuck out a finger which began glowing softly, he moved his hand in a circle and this caused the other men to start moving about as a staircase was conjured from earth which led them above the walled area, “This way please.” The same man instructed and accompanied both Klaus and Aurora.

Instead of the crisp thud of concrete as they moved, the staircase was made wholly in soft dirt, instead of having crisp thuds it squelched instead. If it had made a thudding sound, it would probably wake the people down there. Klaus glanced down from above, and see glowposts dotted around the area with boxy segments covering the whole area, no doubt their homes. Klaus looked up and can see where Corollis. Mhmm. This place is huge. How did they do that? Considering this is a cave, how much did they need to mine out? Never been to this part of the Caverns before. While he was pondering, he felt something slap his foot and it was the arte’s tail, the arte either didn’t care or didn’t notice. Klaus then began walking slower and fixed his eyes on the road ahead.

After a few more minutes of walking above the residential area, the staircase finally lead downwards. The arte helpfully pointed to the signing that is actually visible due to its proximity to the glowpost. “Follow along, and you’ll reach Verdanthearth. We cleared out concentrated emerald pools already, but be careful. We aren’t sure if any have reformed.” The arte cautioned before moving back to his post.

The concrete floors faded away and gave way to dirt. Green veins spread throughout the foor, and it runs along the walls and ceiling of the cave, causing the walls to glow in green ever so slightly. Klaus noticed many veins concentrating at the wall around hip level. “Aurora.” He called out, she turned around to see Klaus pointing at the green vein. Aurora motioned to it and conjured a pure white bow, and drew back the bowstring as white particles converged in the middle to form an arrow.

Klaus took a few steps back and then formed a small ball of ice the size of his fingernail and launched it at the concentrated veins, it punctured the soil and green liquid rushed out, the moment it made contact with the air it hardened into a spike of pure emerald that was about a meter in length. Klaus raised his hand, now encased in ice and slammed it into the based of the spike to chop it off, preventing anyone from running into it an accidentally stabbing themselves. The bow and arrow dissolved into particles of light, which lit up her fit slightly showing a slight smile. They walked a little more, and the silence was no more. All of a sudden chatter could be heard.

“COME ON, COME ALL! PLEASE TRY OUR NEW PRODUCT, IT WILL MAKE YOU LOOK 150 YEARS YOUNGER!”

“IS CIEN TRULY WHO YOU WANT TO BE THE NEXT KHAGA TAJIR? LUDEN MAY BE OUT OF THE RACE BUT THERE ARE OTHER CANDIDATES! PLEASE, CONSIDER ARIEL!”

“AULION CUBS FOR SALE, WYVERN EGGS TOO! PETS FOR ALL!”

They took this as their cue and their eyes stopped glowing, and darkness returned to their eyes but after a few more steps light entered. Illuminated no longer by glowposts but by fire, which is much more effective.

Klaus moved a little faster to be beside his sister, “You’ve been to this area of Verdanthearth before?” Aurora asked.

“Yeah, once or twice. So, it doesn’t count . But, as long as we find Mozk’s restaurant we will be fine, I’ll know where to go from there.” Klaus answered, and the two began looking around to look for it.

“That’s convenient.” Klaus said in a raised voice to get Aurora’s attention. “We don’t need to find Mozk’s anymore.” He pointed at a sign that said, “Path to kerikil.” Then after a lot more walking, they entered back into the dark. Then they see another stone hut with four glowposts nearby. This time, the area was far more lively, children and families were seen wandering around.

“Demitri?” The woman in the hut asked.

“Yup.” Klaus answered. “I used the new route you suggested, was definitely faster this time.”

“Wonderful. How was Corollis? Was it quiet?” Continuing the small talk.

“Oh, yes, to a fault. The artes were very clear about that. I did spot a human arte though.”

“Oh, that is rare. Well, anyways, have fun with him.” Klaus nodded, and waved her goodbye.

Klaus knew the path to Demitri’s home and see him and Toskr sitting on the dirt floor. “Hey, glad you could make it! Would you like some food? We have a while longer, you have been walking for a while haven’t you?”

“I would love that!” Aurora answered happily. She stuck her hand out, “Aurora.” Toskr and Demitri both shook her hand.

“Come on.” Demitri announced while leading the group to the entrance. He swiped his hand to the side, and the stone wall moved allowing entry. The light from the inside, quickly made its way out, brightly illuminating the walkway. Aurora looked back and saw a few people cover the side of their face that faced the light, sorry! she thought as she quickly entered the home. Klaus saw Toskr with his hands over his eyes already, the rest quickly entered.

“Welcome!” Demitri’s mother announced, “You must be Klaus and Aurora!” She noticed Toskr covering his eyes, then the ball of light in the ceiling began dimming, once it was at an acceptable level, “Thank you, aunt Rayna. Will uncle not be joining us today?” Toskr asked.

“No, unfortunately not. He just left yesterday. A trip to the Dustsong, he has some business to conduct.” Rayna answered while humming. She turned around to head back into the kitchen, “Aunty Rayna, do you need more hands?” Klaus asked. She stopped, “No, no. It’s fine. Sit, sit.” She raised two stone stools from the ground.

“Don’t worry, I got it.” Klaus said, stopping Demitri and raised three more stools so there’d be enough for everyone. “It’s my house.” He said. “Exactly! And you’re feeding me. You sure you don’t wanna check on your mom?” Klaus replied.

Demitri nodded and disappeared behind the wall.

The trip from Verdanthearth to the Western Wilds took hours. They moved across the top of the forest, their footsteps echoing into the empty night sky against the sturdy leaves of the forest. Aurora led the group further into the wilds, and then she stopped. “I’ll intervene if needed.” She announced, and took a few steps back and allowed the children to conduct themselves.

Toskr, and Demitri lowered themselves through an opening in the leaves, Klaus remained at the emergent layer and observed the surroundings while Aurora did the same. Toskr glued his ear to a trunk, and began taking in everything. The quiet pitter patter of insects moving about, the subtle breathing of sleeping birds, it overwhelmed him. His forehead wrinkled as he attempted to focus on specific sounds out of a myriad of thousands. Insects chewing, creatures roaring, fluttering leaves, flowing water, beating hearts, footsteps of other hunters, the chirping of crickets, the sound of everything. They all contended for his attention in an unpleasant and chaotic chorus. What he was looking for, was water, specifically running water.

Up above, Aurora was circling the area and noticed something glittering. She quickly scanned the surroundings once more before slowly approaching the light. Light particles escaped from the gaps of a pile of leaves, the same leaves that make up the very floor. She brushed it aside with her foot and it revealed a pile of sticks in a circle, surrounding a charred center. Then the source of the light; remnants of an earth construct disintegrating into particles of light that caught her attention. She crouched down, placed her hand on the charred area and felt a gentle heat emanating from it. She stood up and stared at it for a moment, before she kicked it, destroying the hidden remnants of a fire.

“What’s got you in a bad mood?” Klaus said. “Just felt like it, I guess.” Aurora shruged.

“I found a waterfall.” Toskr announced from beneath the floor, before hoisting himself up to the roof of the forest. The group followed after him, and after an almost unreasonable amount of walking the horizon of trees lifted and revealed a massive chasm filled to the brim with water. Formation of rocks of varying sizes dotted the waterlogged chasm. A waterfall on the right poured water into the it, and water exited through two exit channels on the left.

“I see two already.” Demitri answered while pointing at two king otters, standing guard on the left side, near the two channels. “They’re on the rocks.” He further clarified.

Klaus glanced to the right, the once distant, blurry view became clear in an instant as his eyes glowed from magic. He scanned the large rock formations, after a while, “Nothing on the right.” He announced.

Toskr was listening for numbers, “I count 15 at least. The waterfall is making it difficult to hear anything breathing.” He reported. “Not that it mattered, we can just take these two out and be done with it.” he added.

“Don’t you think we should canvas the area first? Night’s still young.” Klaus pointed at the moon, “It’s not even close to its apex.”

“If we canvas the area, the two will return to their bevy. Would you rather taken on two now, or fifteen at least?”

“Look, it’s better to be safe than sorry. What if there are more hidden beneath the water? An ambush would remove our numbers advantage.”

“Then we lure it out, away from the water. Canvasing the whole area wastes time, and risks them returning to their bevy. We need to take the chance we have right now.”

“How about this?” Demitri said, taking advantage of the brief silence to prevent the both of them from speaking further. “The two of us will canvas the area, Toskr will prepare to lure them away from the water. Let’s meet in the middle.”

The group agreed and split into two teams. Aurora stayed with Toskr to keep numbers even. Toskr and Aurora carefully moved towards the two isolated king otters. Klaus and Demitri eventually returns to the rest of the group, noting that there was nothing interesting. Demitri raised his hand, and began counting down from three. On zero, Klaus snapped his fingers, and a dome of silence was constructed around the two beasts. Toskr shot an air bullet in front of the king otters. They instantly bared their fangs and began growling, but, thanks to the dome, no sound escaped it. “A few more.” Demitri whispered and shot a few more air bullets in front of the two king otters, and that was enough for the two of them to begin moving away from the water.

They waited for a few seconds, for the king otters to get in position. While they got ready themselves. Wind began swirling around Demitri’s legs, and Toskr began tensing his leg muscles. Klaus formed two swords of ice, that are now hovering beside him. Then, Klaus launched his floating swords at the ground beneath the king otters. The swords of ice exploded, creating a thick sheet of ice which froze their feet to the ground. Demitri went for the right, and Toskr to the left. Demitri’s hands were wrapped in a violent gale which he thrust underneath the immobile king otter’s throat, slitting it open, he pulled his arm up and back, severing the creature’s head from it’s body. Toskr punch was announced by the sound of crunching bones, the king otter’s skull shattered from the force and pieces of it lodged itself in the brain and shredded it, killing it instantly.

Then, they heard a king otter’s roar. The four quickly turned towards the source, and there were two men behind them. Before they could react, five king otters leapt out from the water, responding to the man’s roar. The five rushed towards Toskr and Demitri. Toskr slammed his foot on the ground, conjuring a formation of advancing stalagmites which impaled two king otters, the remaining three continued without missing a beat. Demitri clapped his hands, generate a pulse of wind that knocked the rest of them back. Roars of more king otters echoed throughout the chasm.

Busy with the king otters, the two men advanced, freezing Toskr and Demitri’s feet to the ground. They broke free, and were knocked onto the ground by a pulse of wind. The two men ignored them and stole the group’s kill, and began making their escape. Then, the entry bevy leapt out of the water, ready to kill Demitri and Toskr. Demitri created a gust of wind which pushed Toskr and himself away from the horde of king otters. Toskr quickly recovered and was ready to leap away, but noticed that Demitri slipped. A king otter on the lead, leapt forward, jaws wide, ready to sever his leg from the rest of his body.

Aurora quickly surveyed the area, making sure they were alone. She hoped the vultures had left and were content with stealing the kill, with no intent of harming the hunting party. Demitri’s hands were wrapped in wind, as he threw his hands in front of him, throwing forward slicing air that ripped through the king otter’s torso, and pushed it aside. However, two more were just behind it, and Demitri was only focused on just the one. Toskr flew into his vision, sending one flying to the right with a punch, and another into the air with an uppercut. A third one leapt straight at Toskr, it managed to sink it’s jaws into his torso, and he punched the king otter’s cranium, killing it instantly. Unfortunately, its jaws were locked into his torso, and he forcibly tore the king otter away, removing a chunk of his torso in the process. Then more leapt at him, as Demitri launched more attacks which pushed the king otters aside, Toskr quickly turned around, ready to retreat, when he noticed that a king otter was sneaking up on Demitri from the side, he was too focused on the front. The king otter pounced and Toskr leapt forward, and pushed Demitri away. The king otter instead clamped its jaws around his arm and severed it from his body, Toskr grunted in pain and Demitri quickly killed the king otter and helped him up.

“Damn it!” Klaus yelled in frustration as his swords kept on missing the vultures. “You’re not getting away with this!” Aurora slapped him on his back, “What are you doing? Help them!” Quickly directing his attention towards the struggling Toskr and Demitri. Aurora’s deluge of arrows landed just in time, and created a gust of wind that slowed down the advance of the bevy. “WALL!” Aurora yelled, Klaus conjured more swords of ice and shot them at the ground, erecting a massive wall that separated the bevy from the two of them. Aurora leapt down from the roof, to collect Toskr and Demitri, while Klaus ferried the king otter Demitri killed with a block of ice onto the roof.

Aurora put Demitri on his back, and he began catching his breath, his heart pumping from nervousness. Aurora brought the weakened Toskr over to the carcass, and Klaus moved it above Toskr, and angled its throat for his mouth. He covered his fingers in ice, and used it as a makeshift blade, to slit the dead king otter’s throat. Blood flowed from it and into Toskr’s mouth, he gulped down the blood with enthusiasm. The wounds caused his breathing to be erratic, and he would cough up a little blood, staining the sides of his mouth. Then steam began rising from torso wound, flesh began to bubble from its seams and tendrils of flesh began growing towards each other. Eventually, the fused together and the wound was gone. He kept on drinking, and steam began rising from his left hand but the blood ran out and the regeneration halted.

Toskr shot up, growling and leapt at the carcass. The sudden burst of vitality surprised Klaus and he skipped back. Toskr crashed into the carcass, and shattered the floating sheet of ice it was on. He frantically jammed his into the carcass’ chest with little effort, the beast’s ribcage crunched and squelched without much protest. The internals of the king otter was warm, and familiar, and comforting. He ripped out it’s heart with blood rising to the air. A muted squelch was heard as he wolfed it down. Steam continued rising from his arm, and his arm began to regrow once more. His left arm, now completely healed, was used to force the final chunks of meat down. He stared into the sky, and his breathing steadied. His hearing returned, and he welcomed the ambient chirping of bugs, among other things, thus, his facial muscles relaxed.

“Didn’t know you could eat the heart to continue regenerating.” Klaus commented. As he looked at Aurora.

“I’m fine, some blood here and there but the wounds aren’t deep. Simple healing magic is more than enough to handle it.” Demitri answered, lifting his arms and Aurora continued to inspect his arms.

“Can’t be too sure.” She replied. “Also, it isn’t the heart that’s healing him. It’s the blood in it.” She then moved onto Toskr.

“All good.” He answered. “All good.” She repeated with a smile. Water covered her thumb and she brushed it across his chin, Toskr’s eyes widened slightly, as she wiped off the dried blood trail. She slapped him on the shoulder, “Good job protecting Demitri.” Then, she turned towards Klaus.

“I hate to do it here, but, it’s important.” Then she sighed. “Why did you aim for the thieves instead of changing your focus to protecting your friends?” “I was trying to shoot those thieves down.” He replied quickly. Looking straight at her. “They stole what was ours!” “Exactly. They ‘stole’ it. Past tense. The second they got away, we lost. Keep your anger in check.” Klaus nodded. “Sorry.” He said, to Demitri and Toskr. “Just keep better focus, alright? I was terrified.” Demitri replied while Toskr said nothing. “It isn’t completely your fault.” She turned to the group. “Before the hunt started, I noticed remains of a covered makeshift fire. There was no good reason to hide it, unless they wanted to remain hidden. The reason I didn’t announce it to the group, was because I wanted to see how you all would react should the vultures appear. For that, your lives were at risk. For better or worse, we do have one.”

“I don’t know about that.” Demitri pointed to the wall of ice Klaus created. Distracted by the heat of the moment, they all, Aurora excluded, assumed the wall of ice was thin and long. Forcing the king otters to circle around, giving them time to escape. But, it wasn’t just long, it was thick, multiple king otters were encased in it. Those that were unfrozen, began gnawing at the ice, attempting to freeze it. “Damn.” Toskr replied, staring at the massive cube of ice. “Doesn’t matter. Ice’s too thick. How much magic did you put into it?” Aurora asked. “Not a lot. I’m not tired at all, so, probably not a lot.” Klaus replied. “You should really try to exhaust your reserves one day to see how much you actually have.” Demitri said. “As much as I like sleep, falling asleep from burnout is the last thing I want.” Klaus answered.

Aurora began moving away from the group, “Come on. Let’s head back.” The rest quickly caught up. “We can pick off some careless boars on the way.” Aurora’s put her arms on her head as she sauntered across the roof of the forest. “Do you think the ice would have completely disintegrated by the time we got back to Kerikil?” Demitri asked Aurora.

She shrugged, “Who knows. What’s important is getting back before sunup.”