Harith and The Magical Vessel

Let the Wind Make the Way

The leonin didn’t believe much of what Harley had told him, he knew something was wrong, but they needed to find information about the Wind Temple. Time kept running and they couldn’t waste more of it. Even though Harith was listening to Harley’s speech about where the Wind Temple could be and everything that it was around and inside of it, he couldn’t stop thinking about the book. He glanced at it and tried to reach it, but Harley’s magic hand, from the hat, grabbed it rapidly and put it inside of itself. This reaction of the hand had made Harith more suspicious about it, he didn’t like the hand one bit. They stayed reading books all day and night, in fact, they didn’t even get to go outside of the library until the next day, but they finally had a connection with everything they needed to know. They were 99% sure that everything was going to go according to the plan they had made.

Harley – (sniffs) Oh, my Lord… what’s that smell? (covers nose)

Harith – (smells himself) I haven’t shower (laughs)

Harley – (disgusted) Eww… back off, Harith!

Harith – (gets near and smells him while laughing) You smell too, we need to go shower.

Harley - …Let’s go back to the laboratory then.

Harith – (grabs Harley’s arm) Wait… no, I mean…. It’s so far away, maybe we can go to your friend’s house?

Harley – (confused) friend? Oh! You mean Kimmy?

Harith – (nods)

Harley – Sure, that works too. Let’s go then (starts walking towards Kimmy’s house) Ok, Harith, once we finish showering, we need to go to the east of the Eruditio and then we will find the Wind Fort that will lead us to the Wind Temple.

Harith – Wait! Can we eat first?

Harley – Really? That’s what you are thinking now?

Harith – Come on…

Harley – (chuckles) Obviously we will go eat something before… I’m hungry too.

No one’s pov

 

On their way to Kimmy’s house they kept talking about the possibilities of the danger that they could get into when going to the Wind Temple, rumor had it that the Wind Fort was one of the most dangerous places in all of the Land of Legends. It was quite famous with older generations and suddenly forgotten because it was too scary for the new generations, luckily, they found many warnings and advice about the Wind Fort. Low defense was one of the first things that could be caused by staying too long in the Wind Fort area, they needed to act quick and smart, because it was inevitable to get weak during the journey in the Wind Fort. They finally made it to Kimmy’s house, and they were welcome by Kimmy’s boyfriend, Claude, and his pet monkey. The travelers rapidly recognized him from the young man that was getting away from the police officer 2 days ago when they arrived , they just stood there in awkward silence while Kimmy asked from afar to know who was at the door, but she didn’t get a response so she came to the door. Knowing it was Harley and his companion she let them come inside and showed them the bathroom, she also started cooking. In gratitude Harith started to explain to her the plan, but couldn’t ignore Claude’s petrified stare, jealousy? Maybe.

After finally showering and being fed, they said their farewells to both and resumed their journey. While being on the edge of the eastern side of Eruditio they stopped and looked at each other. They were a bit worried, because legend has it that no one has ever gone to the Wind Fort and come back, not even injured… they just didn’t come back at all. Many travelers, adventurers, archaeologists have tried, but none has succeeded. Even though they had extra points on their side, they were a bit worried.

Harith – Hey… Remember the sacred orbs won’t let you die, so you will be fine. (pats Harley’s shoulder)

Harley – Sure… (frowns)

Harith – And… I’m a savannah cat, don’t worry. I’ll be fine, unlike the cold I can resist this no problem. (smiles at him)

Harley – (smiles back) [This is not even why I’m worried…  (remembers what happened at the library) I hope nothing bad happens…]

Stepping inside of the Wind Fort area they started to make more effort to keep it up with the wind pressure. Each step was harder than the one before, it was like their weakness was already lowering. They had to rest every once in a while, but if they would stay in one place, they could end up at the beginning of the Wind Fort just outside of the Eruditio Land. In every direction there were just a lot of huge rocks blocking the winds, they stayed behind a couple of them to regain the power they had lost, drinking mana, and covering their faces they sat near the rocks, each time. They were running out of supplies and they were not even close to see the Wind Temple. They thought they had made a wrong turn at some point, but it was just not true. Harley’s chest was blinking every time faster and faster, they knew it had to be close, but the pressure made them lose their vision. The pressure in their eyes was too much to handle, besides getting weaker each time, they had a couple supplies left, but they couldn’t use them because they were reserved for the time when they got out of the Wind Temple and headed back to the Eruditio Land. The travelers were tired but kept going towards the end of the Wind Fort, hoping to find the Wind Temple.

Looking like a shadow they finally got to see the Wind Temple, they got so excited that they started to run towards it with the little strength they had. Suddenly, while getting near the Temple Harith started to lose his breath, so he stopped abruptly and Harley noticed so he looked back at him, in the same moment a powerful wind hit them both and they started to roll on the floor getting each time farther and farther from the Wind Temple. Harley was trying to get hold of Harith's hand, but it was too hard to even move a muscle. The wind pressure made Harith hit a rock with his full body, making him unconscious, and Harley widened his eyes in desperation. He knew he had to get back up or he would lose him, he was not going to let that happen again. Getting angry at the things that just happen and getting mad at the things he remembered happened in the past weeks he started to emit light from his eyes and several parts of his body. He screamed at the sky and a light came out of his mouth, he started crying and walked towards Harith’s body, he was tired, he embraced him and looked up to see a gigantic silhouette and whispered to himself “This… cannot be” before closing his eyes.

… - Easy boy, easy, don’t panic.

To be continued