Another chapter of A Bonfire Unlit.
Sorry for the delay.
Enjoy!
Ash's P.O.V.
I licked my lips as I destroyed another shrub, trying to get through the dense thicket. The sun's heat beat down upon me, and the flies and mosquitoes surrounded me, filling my body with bites. It had been hours since I had died and last seen the hunter. During that hour I had been searching for the man, hoping to find him and kill him, but alas it turned out that my search was in vain. I let out a disappointed sigh at myself before trudging back through the forest, hoping to find anything on where he could be. I clicked my tongue as I destroyed another bush, and another, and another, hacking away at leaves, I hoped that this hell would stop. My face was drenched in sweat, my body was barely functioning, and I felt delirious. The only thing that kept me going was the fury I felt when I thought of the atrocities that the hunter had committed.
However, it wasn't too long till I had managed to reach an area deep in the forest which seemed to have housed a battle. Many of the trees in the area had been cut in half and others had long deep gashes engraved in them. I walked over and traced one of the markings, inspecting it closely. My eyes widened as I realized that the hunter had walked through this area recently and had probably gotten into another fight. But how? I had managed to cut off his arm, so how was he able to fight again? The question stayed unanswered in my head for a while because the Estus I use can only heal me to a certain extent, but growing back an entire arm was something even I was unable to do. I eventually stopped thinking about it, realizing how useless it was thinking about it in the middle of a forest.
I strayed further into the forest but found nothing but more decimated trees, and some blood. Even though it seemed that the hunter had been here earlier, it had been quite some time since he had left. But just as I was about to leave, a glint on the forest floor caught my eye, and I went towards it, picking it up and looking over it. It seemed to be some sort of vial and was half full of some blood, and I shrugged and pocketed it. It seemed that my search for him had resulted in my death, twice, and a vial half full of blood.
My eyebrows slightly clenched and I gritted my teeth, knowing the horrors I would face when back on Olympus. I sighed and pulled out a homeward bone, kneeling as I crushed it in my hand. My body turned into ash and I was sent back to the bonfire in the middle of the forest. The sun had started to set, and for some time I did nothing but stare at the sky, enamored by the stars in the sky. Back in Lothric, the nighttime was full of nothing but horrors, and you would be lucky to live through it. This world truly did seem like a dream. And if it was one, I never wanted it to end.
I raised my hand over the bonfire, chanting under my breath as my body turned into ash once more, and I was transported back over to Camp Half-Blood. Then a question popped into my head: How was I supposed to get back to Olympus? Last time I had been taken forcefully by a furious goddess, and this time there was no goddess to take me. I shrugged it off, however, as sitting here and pondering about it wouldn't bring me any closer to my goal, so I decided to take and break, and I took off all my armor, leaving only my loincloth on as I lay on the ground, going to sleep.
As I slept, I had a dream. This wasn't uncommon from where I came, but the dream itself confused me to a great degree. It showed a large pit with a smooth voice, in the background, coaxing me to enter it. It gave off an evil vibe but I had no control of my body as I took step after step, getting closer to the pit before finally falling in. I couldn't see anything for quite a while, and the only thing I could hear was the wind as it rushed past me. I squinted and looked around, but only darkness surrounded me. Then I heard yelling out above me, and as I stared towards where the noise was coming from, I heard a loud booming voice yell something along the lines of "Now, perish." before I woke up.
I groaned in pain, as I clutched my head, a powerful headache now emerging. Whatever that dream had shown me wasn't good, and I would, most likely, be encountering the same thing in the future. I squinted my eyes as they were greeted by the sight of the sun high in the sky. I stared at it for a while before donning my armor and descending into the camp, hoping to get some answers. As I walked around the camp I couldn't help but admire the scenery around me, like the lush green grass, and the bright blue sky. Back in Lothric, there was nothing like this, the only things that existed in that place were gray clouds and dead greenery. It was a hellish place, filled with infernal enemies and death. I shook my head, trying to clear my head of these thoughts.
Many people were moving around, some playing games, others training with weapons, and the rest sitting down and chatting. They were wearing bright orange t-shirts with the words Camp Half-Blood written on them with an image. Some of the campers noticed me and gave me weird looks, considering I was walking around in full armor, which was covered in blood, during noon, when the temperature was burning. Some, however, recognized me from my fight earlier with the girl and steered clear of me, whispering rumors around the camp. And soon enough everyone was staying clear of me, making sure not to get within a 6-foot radius of me. I gave a faint grin at their reactions, slightly amused by it.
I soon reached a big blue building in the center of the camp. On the porch of the place was an overweight man wearing a tiger patterned shirt, and a centaur, playing some sort of game on a table. I took off my helmet, the heat getting to me, scratched the back of my head, mustered up some courage, and walked towards them. They were conversing and were so deep in their conversation that they didn't notice my presence until I stood right next to them, (menacingly). They shared a chuckle before turning to me, slightly confused by my appearance. The centaur raised an eyebrow while the fat man grumbled under his breath and put his hand up, summoning something with the name "Diet Coke" in his hand.
"Is there something you need or are you just going to stand there?" The man questioned, taking a sip of his drink.
"I'm sorry sir, but do you know the way to Olympus?" I asked him. He sat a little straighter when he heard me call him sir and furrowed his brows at my question, giving me a 'Are you being serious' look.
"Is this some sort of prank the Stoll's told you to do?" He replied, slouching back in his seat. I licked my lips, not knowing what to say. Should I tell them I'm from another world, or should I do something else.
"I'm not aware of what Stoll's are but no this is not a joke," I responded in a firm voice, hoping to convince him. He just slouched further into his seat and yawned before turning back to me.
"I don't have time for this." He said before he teleported away. I opened my mouth before closing it and turning to the centaur.
"Olympus is on the 600th floor of the Empire State Building." He sighed before holding a hand out.
"My name is Chiron, what is yours, young adventurer?" He asked politely. I gave him a slight smile as I shook his hand.
"My name is Ash and I was recently given a task by an angry goddess. I wish to return to Olympus, to inform her of how it went." I replied in a friendly tone. At least someone in this camp was willing to talk to me. He nodded his head, and gave a small smile, before turning his head to the right and yelling out for one of the campers.
A kid came and greeted him before turning to me with a raised eyebrow.
"This is Jonathan, and he'll take you to Olympus," Chiron said kindly. Jonathan nodded a bit nervously and motioned me to follow him. I waved goodbye to Chiron as I was about to follow the kid out of camp, but I was stopped.
"You'll need to dress differently so you won't attract attention from the people," The kid said in a small voice. "Wait here for a second!" He said as he ran off to grab something for me.
I waited for a bit gazing at my surroundings, noticing a huge pine tree on the edge of the camp. I know the kid said not to move, but my curiosity got the better of me and I walked up a hill, standing next to the tree. My eyes widened as I saw a huge, scaly, yellow dragon wrapped around the trunk of the tree, asleep. I quickly, but quietly, took a step back as I drew my twin blades. I raised them, ready to battle the monstrosity, and I took a step forward before slashing down at the dragon's neck.
CLANG!
I saw a bronze sword block my attack and push me back as a person stood protectively in front of the sleeping dragon. He had messy black hair, and green eyes, and stood around my height. I narrowed my eyes, wondering why he would protect a monster that was sitting so close to the camp.
"Why do you defend that thing?" I questioned him, a hostile tone in my voice.
"Because he protects us?" The guy said back with some confusion in his voice.
"A dragon protects you?" I said back, just as confused. Dragons were some of the fiercest creatures known to man in Lothric, and here was one just casually protecting a camp full of people.
"There you are!" A voice shouted from behind me. I turned around as Jonathan ran uphill breathing heavily, holding clothes in his hand. He glared at me, "I told you to wait. What part of that do you not understand!" He snapped.
I quickly bowed my head apologetically, "I'm sorry. This tree up here interested me and I decided to check it out."
He sighed and waved his hand in the air, "It's fine, just don't do it again." He gave me a smile before handing me the clothes he was holding, "Take these, go to the bath area, which is that way and change."
I nodded and graciously accepted the clothes before moving away in the direction he pointed to. It didn't take too long to reach the bath area and noticing that there were no people there, I decided to change here. The clothes he gave me consisted of a plain cloth t-shirt and something which looked like a loincloth but covered a lot more (They are meant to be shorts). They were comfy for the most part and I stored my armor in the corner of the room, deciding to grab it later when I needed it.
I let out a sigh of nervousness as I made my way back, preparing myself to go to Olympus and face the irate goddess.
See you next month when I decide to update the story.