So far, our travel has been the usual: trees and rocks. I forgot how boring it can get during long hours of travel. It's close to the end of the day, and considering there were no interruptions, we have regained our progress for Fort Haight. We decided to slow down and go at a slower pace, considering Blaidd and I were getting tired. Mostly me since sitting upright for hours tortures my back in the process.
We started talking not too long ago. Blaidd would come near me and be close to my height when talking while I was on Torrent. It's a little bizarre, I can say. I'm not short, he's just tall.
We come across a clearing, a somewhat flat grassland spacing far into the distance. If you were completely blind you wouldn't notice some of the destroyed Golems laying on the ground. They're ancient from what I know. They used to roam around here, full of "life" as some would say. It wasn't until recent events that have caused them to get destroyed and left behind to wither away. I look down at Blaidd as he starts to slow down, getting closer to me
"I think it's best if we watch where we're going. I'm not too comfortable letting our guard down around these places," he looks around, his ears twitching and moving around, searching for any sounds apart from ours.
I try to muster up a snarky response but then again he is right, even if they have been inactive for a long time, the chances of them reactivating again aren't too low.
"You know, I've heard stories about these things coming back out of nowhere. Although I haven't seen them move an inch." I say while getting torrent to move at a slower pace than normal. There's a small silence as we tread through the path, broken pieces that were once part of an anonymous golem lay around us.
"That's cause they can still move. Some aren't destroyed, like that one." The wolf points to one of the golems next to us, giving an example of its unscathed exterior. Some scratches can be seen as we walk by, some holes even. "To defeat one in our height, we'd need to destroy its ankles."
"Doesn't sound too hard to do, we're already small compared to them," I say looking back at him.
"That's the twist, it is easier to say than do." he looks back at me. "You see, the people who created them already knew that would be the main thing they would attack, which is why most if not all, have better protection down there than the rest of their armor."
"How, do you know all this?" I ask, he seems to have a good amount of knowledge in battle about these creations.
"That's cause I've fought them before." He says giving a toothy and egotistical grin.
"Ohhhhhh, Mr. imsostrongicandefeatagolem, interesting," I say sarcastically, smiling at him. "What did you do? pee on its leg? wait don't tell me, did it get scared after you humped it's le-"
"Alright alright, enough," he says waving me off. "Didn't expect you to be Speciest, I'm not a dog" He looks a little annoyed by that but forgets about it. I can't help but feel a little a tad bit regretful for acting like he's a dog. before I can say anything he speaks again. "At least I can run at full speed without huffing and puffing" He chuckles at his comeback
"Oh come on it's cause ur tall, I have short legs so I have to move faster to even catch up with you." I give him a playful slap on his shoulder as we begin to get back in our mood.
As we start to talk again, I pull out my map of where we would be heading next. I look over what we have traveled. Almost more than halfway, but I doubt we'll get the rest of the way there in the time we have left for the day.
I can't help but hear a roaring noise, as it rumbles through torrent. I think that he might be a little thirsty after traveling a lot longer without a meal.
I figure when he's hungry since his stomach is his first signal, along with vibrations of his stomach traveling onto me.
"Hey Blaidd, could you get the bag to my right, there should be a few apples? Torrent is hungry again"
No response
"Blaidd?" I look up from my map to see that we've stopped. Blaidd looks alert, his fur standing on the back of his neck.
"Blaidd, whats-"
"SHHH" He hushes me hurriedly, trying to figure out where the sound came from.
A few seconds go by before I try speaking again.
"Blaidd what are you doing?" I say getting a little annoyed
"Can you just shut it for a second" His Stance gets wider and he unsheathes his sword
I start getting a little worried and get off of torrent. I haven't seen Blaidd this startled before.
Silence...Nothing but silence
I look around, getting my Katana ready for anything that might pop out. I send torrents away to hide and to get out of our way.
More rumbling continues, the source coming from a distance that I can't quite make out what it is.
Then it stops.
I want to say anything to figure out what Blaidd is seeing that I can't. I finally gained the courage.
"Do you see anything"
"Not just yet, but if we get going now, we might be able to"
Before he can finish his sentence, I see a blue glow get shot towards us in the corner of my eye. Before I process what is happening, I see Blaidd reach out to me, his face filled with pure fear. I barely have time to react before the ground below us starts to shatter and explode from the blue flash.
It all goes blue, then dark.
Ringing
All I hear is ringing in my ears, a sharp pain that goes up to my head. I feel dizzy and everything looks fuzzy.
That's when I realize I'm Lying on my side, next to Blaidd, as he struggles to get up. I can't help but feel confused about where we were, and what we were doing.
"Y/N!"
What?
"Y/N"
So loud.
"Y/N! WAKE UP"
I snap to my senses, slowly getting up from my position. So far I feel alright, just a little sore from our landing. I look a few feet away from us and see a huge crater with a massive arrow sticking out in the middle.
"B-Blaidd?" I muster, grunting from the stinging on my head.
"Y/N! Are you alright!" He comes to me, clutching his side. The familiar red liquid flows down his armor, staining it as it leaves blood around the wound.
"Y-yes, What happened!" My eyes widened at his current state.
"Karma, it seems. One of the golems is active, We need to destroy it." His voice shakes as he holds out his other hand to help me. His wound looks deep, I can't help but stare at his side with concern. I try hiding it, but he notices anyway. "I'm fine, just caught us by surprise."
"What do you mean you're fine? You're gushing blood!" Before he can answer, another rumbling can be heard in the distance.
The Golem.
It wields an enormous bow and arrow, its axe holstered on its back.
It widens its stance, getting ready to shoot an arrow in our direction once again.
I look back at Blaidd again, the wolf getting his sword out. I can tell he is struggling through the pain, but he still doesn't back down from a fight.
I return my gaze to the Golem again thinking about how I can protect us from its dangerous projectile. I could try shooting its arrow as he releases it, but it's too far for me to hit it accurately. Anything I could think of is immediately ruled out from the range I'm put up against. I could also camouflage myself, but Blaidd would be vulnerable all by himself. I can't cover myself and him while we move.
Fuck!
I'd have to let it shoot us and grab the arrow last second as soon as I'm in range. I could slow down its momentum and redirect it back to the golem. That's if I know how much force is getting sent towards us.
As soon as I think of my plan, the golem has its bow ready, its target in sight.
"Y/N! RUN!" Blaidd yells over his shoulder as he stands in front of me, trying to get the golem's attention. He can't possibly believe he can dodge that. I can't help but get annoyed, either my ego is taking over, or his constant overprotective mannerisms are in full control of his decisions.
Right as the golem releases its arrow, his aim is perfectly centered at Blaidd. The speed of the arrow leaving dust where it once was. I shove the wolf out of the way and hold my hands out. I can feel my spell reach out for the arrow, its score whistling through the wind like a bird. It wasn't too long until I sensed my grasp on the huge bolt and pushed against it. I widened my stance to keep myself from falling from the force and twisted my upper body to the right. Just as I hoped, the arrow changed in its trajectory, slowing to a stop and allowing me to spin it back with its head pointing back to the golem. I can feel a great amount of pressure on my arms as I try to send it back with the same amount of force.
My hands shake as they begin to fall under their weight. I can't give up, we're not dying like this, not now.
Cmon, just send it back, get your revenge. For him.
With another flow of magic, I take a step forward and put my whole body onto my right arm. My momentum carrying me.
"GO FUCK YOURSELF" I groan and shout as I send back its failed attempt to kill us. Glowing in its F/C (Favorite color) hue.
Before it gets to react, its arrow strikes it on its arm, cutting it off in the process. As it falls back onto its ass, it releases its bow from its grasp and struggles to get up from its missing limb.
I fall on one knee, sighing in relief after that bone-crushing weight is lifted off of me. I don't get a chance to relax as I look up and see the golem release a breath of fire onto its joint, melting it in the process.
It's rebuilding itself!
I look back at Blaidd kneeling in shock, His mouth agape.
"Before you say anything, let's just destroy this fucker!" I get down closer to the wolf and spread my hands around his side, healing his wound as fast as possible.
"No, You need to go!" He grabs my arm stopping the healing process.
"No" I mutter under my breath trying to force his grip off of me.
"Stop being selfish and run. I can't let you die in such a stupid way." I can feel his grip tighten as he talks.
"Can you just shut the fuck up Blaidd!" I snap at him with a hiss. "Stop acting like that or you will get, not only yourself killed, but me as well!" Forcing my hand on his wound I relax a bit. "I know you're worried about me getting hurt, even about what happened in the past. But if you don't let me help, nothing will change." His hold on me loosens. "Please, you said you want to earn my trust right? Well, you need to show me I can trust you in fighting together."
"Alright, but please." His eyes meet mine. The same purple eyes that display worry. "Be careful"
I nod at him, refocusing my attention on my magic.
I hear another rumble in the ground, suggesting that the golem is getting up. I try hurrying up by closing the wound with my hands, getting them to close up faster.
"Y/N"
Just a little more.
"Y/N! He's getting ready"
"Done!" I yell, turning back to the golem with its stance ready and bow-reeled back.
It lets go of its arrow once again. I'm able to get back into my position and grab onto the arrow. My feet dig into the ground again, But instead of sending it back, I let it swerve to the left. Letting it dig into a boulder in the ground, smashing it into pieces. Its force pushes the sharp rocks towards us. Blaidd steps in, using his cloak to shield me.
Unfortunately, the material is unable to stop all of them as it gets pierced, the small rocks cutting my cheek in the process. I wince in pain, but it's not too bad.
Blaidd looks at me with concern, but I don't let him worry again.
"You know more about Golems than I do, what's the plan," I say, staying behind his cloak. The wolf finally gets a grip and looks at the golem, getting ready to attack again. He pauses before coming up with a solution.
"The chest! We need to pierce through its chest." He says pointing at his golem. "Their armor is tough enough to withstand its arrow, you think you can come up with something to pierce it?" He asks.
Loretta's Mastery! I can use it to pierce through it's armor. It'll take too long to cast, so I'll need some time.
"I think so! I'll need to get to torrent, he has my staff." I say in a determined tone. "Once I do, I can blast it with my spell, but it'll take some time. I need you to go with my mimic and buy me some time."
"And I can cover you in some mist, so when I go, it'll think that it's us. Allowing you time to shoot, and convince the golem that we're going in for an attack." He says taking off his cloak, wrapping me with it. "This will stop you from freezing from it."
"My mimic can cast some spells as well, so he can assist you." I can't help but feel a little worried for him, he'll be running headfirst into that thing.
"Ready" The wolf asks in a reassuring tone. Before we begin our plan I grab his shoulder looking into his eyes. "Let me trust you, I can handle myself," I say with a soft voice.
Silence engulfs us for a second until a smirk spreads across his muzzle.
"Let's kick its ass"
With a nod, I get in front of Blaidd one last time as the golem lets out another attack on us. I'm getting used to the weight that I have to carry as I reflect it to the golem, breaking its leg in the process.
"GO! Get to torrent, and I'll create your cover" Bladd begins to swing his greatsword around, causing a drop in temperature. I call out for torrent, their ears pricking up on my command to return to me. Blaidd has a good momentum going as I see some flakes of ice move around him.
Not a moment later, I'm taking out my staff and mimicking tear ashes, sending torrent away to a safe distance.
This is gonna hurt like a bitch. I think to myself
I grab my katana, its metal reflection acting as a mirror, exposing my dirty face along the blade. With one fluid motion, I point the sharp end towards me and stab myself through my abdomen. Pain shoots up to the tips of my fingers. I grunt in pain, feeling a tear fall down my cheek. Its contents reach onto my cut cheek.
Alright, alright. Now the fun part.
I pull as quickly as I can, removing the blade from my own body. I gasp and grit my teeth from the intensity of the pain. I can feel Blaidd's eyes on me, but he goes back to his swinging.
I drop the katana, letting its reddened blade drip onto the grass below it. I have to be quick and stop myself from losing too much blood. I raise my Mimic tear ashes and ring the bell. As I do, the blood from my wound gets pulled out and swirls around in front of me as it slowly takes shape.
This Ash takes up a lot of the user's blood, to the point where it can kill them. Even after the mimic is created, the user could sometimes faint or struggle to get up and do anything, which is considered a failure since the point of a mimic is to fight WITH the caster, not for them.
The world begins to spin for a moment from the loss of blood. My wound slowly closes up during the process, I'm almost there. I grip Blaidd's Cloak, letting me concentrate. Don't pass out, don't pass out. I keep repeating myself until the Mimic tear finally forms, its expression serious and empty. Every strand of hair, pores on my face, and increment of height is copied.
I kneel, trying to catch my breath.
"Alright it's ready" I hear Blaidd's voice inside the now thick mist he's created. His fur was covered in ice, making him look like a wolf/husky hybrid. He's still swinging his blade, trying to make it last longer.
"Carry me" I command. The mimic doesn't say anything but follows my order by grabbing my arm and wrapping it around its neck for support. As we enter the mist, the temperature drops again, even lower than I figured it would. It's like a blizzard in here. I feel a shiver go up my spine from the cold.
As I sit down to recollect myself I get close to the Mimic's ear, giving it one last command before It goes with Blaidd.
"Please, protect Blaidd at all costs, attack when you can, and defend when you need to. Even if it kills you" With this information the Mimic nods and stands next to Blaidd. The wolf looks clueless and even weirded out at the two Y/N situation.
I snap him back to reality. "Remember the mimic is perishable, so if it's about to get destroyed or hurt, let it. I'll know when it happens."
He hesitates a bit, looking at my tired eyes. My wound was closed up during the Mimic tear casting, but I can feel my face get discolored.
"Go!"
Without a word they both disappear out of the mist, leaving me alone with myself and the wolf's warm cloak. I realize that I don't as cold as I used to. His smell spreads around my mind as the wind carries it around me. It's somewhat comforting like he is here with me.
Please,
Let me trust you
I grip onto my staff and begin to cast Loretta's Mastery.
A/N:
New update!
There was another chunk that was supposed to go into this chapter but I decided to split it into another chapter instead. I wanted it to be consistent in word count at least.
Hope everyone is excited for Christmas! I hope you all enjoy your Christmas Eve.
the next update should be out soon as well.
see you all till the next update!