Chapter 4 Rivals and Friends
Allan: " Dammit ! It seems this is going to be a long day ! "
"What's the problem ? "
Allan: "Everybody, step back a bit ! "
He starts a kind of magic ritual.
Allan: "Lissa, Trix, take the woman back to the caravan and go home ! "
Allan shines more and more and then vanishes in a flash.
"What was that ?! "
Trix : "Master used a long range teleport spell. "
"What ?! Why he didn't take us with him ? "
Trix : "Long range teleport is a dangerous spell. If he misses and teleport into something solid, he can even die ! "
"Why did he use such spell ?! "
Trix : "Only one thing would make master use this spell. Emergency at home ! "
"Then we have to hurry and help him ! "
We leaved the woman with the caravan and rushed to help Allan.
"I can sense flashes of Allan's energy ! He is in battle ! "
Trix : "I never sensed so many flashes ! "
"How far are we from him ? "
Trix : "I think we're going to reach him by tomorrow night. "
"What kind of emergency is this ? And how did he know about it ? "
"Master have telepathic contact with people at home. I don't know what is going on. "
After what seemed a decade Allan's flashes of energy stopped, but I still could sense a faint vestige of his aura.
Trix : "The battle ended ! "
"But at least he's still alive. "
Trix : "Of course he is alive !! Master would never lose a battle ! "
"Calm down ! This is not time for us to fight ! We're on the same side, remember ? We're both on Allan's side ! "
Trix : "You're right. "
"We should rest now. It's almost dark already. We're not going far this tired. "
"I'm going to make a tent. The force dome is on Allan's backpack. "
Trix : "I don't need a tent ! All I need is my force field. "
"That's cool ! So you can maintain it on even while sleeping ? "
Trix : "Ah.. no I can't. "
Hihi ! "Come here Trix, there's enough space for the two of us. "
Trix : "Thank you. "
Next morning:
"I slept like a rock ! And I' pretty stiff now.
Trix : "Hum, what ? "
"And it seems you're still sleeping. "
"Come on Trix, we have to go. "
"We have to take it easy today. We know Allan is ok. If we run like yesterday, we may faint of exhaustion. "
Trix : "Yeah ! You're right. "
"A flash of Allan's energy ! He's in battle again ?! " Then, nothing....
Another flash ! And it gets calm again.....
Trix : "What is going on ? Every 15 minutes or so, we sense a small flash of Master's energy. "
"It's a scattered enemy army ! Allan is finishing them one by one. Don't let your guard down ! We may find one of them at any moment. "
"Trix, I know it's a bit late but, do you know how to fight ? "
Trix : "No ! The only combat spell I'm good at, is force field. "
We're in a river valley among the mountains, some huge rocks and trees around makes it difficult to see at long range.
I could ask Trix to look from above, but with no info about the enemy it's risky to be alone. And she is too scared to do a good scout job.
Fast approaching voice: "HIAAAHHHHH !!!! "
"A attack !! " I pull my sword and prepare to fight !
Just before getting in my sword's range the attacker halts !
Black harpy (attacker): "Oops ! Sorry ! I thought you were one of those giant bugs."
"Giant bugs ?! "
Black harpy: "I'm on patrol !! Nothing will threaten my family ! " She flew away.
"So the enemy are more giants insects. "
"Trix we have to stay alert ! The enemy can come from above too. And please, get out of my dress ! "
Where are this huge insects coming from ? I never heard about them. Is it possible they are one of the Chaos God 's new creation ? If so, are they getting stronger ?
The frequency of Allan's attacks is reducing. Good ! It means less enemies around.
Huh ! A hut ? There's someone living here ? Better see if it's ok, and alert them about the danger.
Black harpy: "HIAAAHHHHH !!!! "
Black harpy "Oops ! I thought you were a bug. Hey, it's you again ! "
"Do I look like a bug to you ?! "
Black harpy: "You ? No ! But she does ! "
Trix: "HEEY !! "
Man: "Please forgive my wife. She's extremely nervous because of those giant bugs. "
Black harpy: "Honey, please get inside ! It's dangerous ! "
Man: "I'm ok ! And our baby too ! "
The man is holding a large egg on his arms, and I see one of them is bandaged. The eggshell have a small crack too. I can say it were pretty close.
Man: "My name's Lionel, my wife is Sara, nice to meet you "
"I'm Lissa, and the little bug here is Trix. "
Trix: "HEEY !! "
"Nice to me.. "
Trix: "WATCH OUT !! "
A large boulder rolling down the mountain, smashed their hut, and could have mushed us all if Trix didn't deflected it with a force shield.
Trix almost faint of exhaustion, and I have to catch her to avoid her fall.
Above us on the mountain a giant beetle is preparing to bowl another rock toward us.
Sara: "DIE !!!! "
"Lionel, get out of here ! Take Trix with you ! "
Dammit ! I can't find a path to that bug ! And if I start climbing I'll be a easy target !
Again and again, Sara's attacks against the beetle are deflected by it's thick carapace.
"Sara ! Your claws can't piece it, but my sword can ! "
Sara: " I can't use your sword ! "
"Then take me with you ! "
Sara grab me by the shoulders and we take off.
Dammit !! I hate high height !
"Drop me on it's back ! "
I drop on top of the bug and hit it in the slit between two plates but less than half of my blade pierced through.
"Too shallow ! "
The beetle shakes violently and drop me to the ground. I dodge it's scissors but step out of the narrow platform.
Sara: "I caught you ! "
"We have to go higher ! "
Sara: "Got it ! "
That feature will be useful now ! My sword's scabbard were made to be linked to it's hilt to form a long bladed spear.
"Now ! "
We dive on the beetle's direction from a very high height, to build up as much as possible speed.
I hit the creature with my blade and put a foot on it's guard to change all that speed into piercing power !
"It's dead ! Finally ! Let's find the others. "
We join Trix and Lionel and sit to rest.
"Are you ok Trix ? "
Trix: "Yes.. I'm just.. tired ! "
"But that force shield was really amazing ! And sorry for calling you a bug. That was a bad joke ! "
Sara: "I'm saying sorry too. "
Trix: "I said ! My force field.. is good ! "
"What bout you two ? What are you going to do now ? "
Lionel: "I don't know. Our home were destroyed. "
"With those bugs around it's not safe here. A populated area would be a lot safer. We're heading towards Lescatie . I think it would be a good place. "
Sara: "Our baby need safety ! "
"Come with us then, I'm pretty sure Allan will not mind if you follow us. "
Sara: "Who's Allan ? Your man ? Or hers ? "
"Actually we're all together. I joined them only recently, so I'm his second wife. "
Lionel: "Lucky man ! "
"I'd say I'm lucky for finding him. He's a wonderful man, and a great hero too ! And it's time for us to meet him ! Come with me Trix, I'll carry you back home ! "
Yes, I am lucky for finding Allan ! Now that I think about it, I was a bit foolish to suppose a wonderful man like Allan was single. But now that I'm getting along with Trix, I'm sure it will not be a problem !
It's been a while since last time I felt Allan's energy flashes. It probably means there's very few to no enemies left. And with Sara as a scout we'll hardly have more problems.
I'm curious about Allan's home town. Does he have relatives ? Maybe I could bring some of my friends to meet them. I'm pretty sure Allan's relatives will have at least above average power.
"Hey Trix, you're awake ! Feeling better ? "
Trix: "Yes ! Much better ! But I'm hungry. "
"There's food on my backpack, pick anything you want. Just be careful to don't eat too much and have a stomach ache. "
When Trix told me that she's good on force field, it really was no joke ! Well of course, she receive Allan's energy after all ! I wonder if I'll get this strong too.
"Trix, how long do you live with Allan ? And how often does he give you energy ? "
Trix: "Two months. munch munch munch "
"Two months !! But, he already gave you a lot of energy, right ? "
Trix: "No ! I got a shower once, but I never had Master's energy inside me. " She gets a bit sad.
Does it means she was this strong from the beginning ?! Is she a pixie version of a arch imp ? A arch pixie ?
And, is Allan really this cold about sex ?! Now I'm worried ! No ! I have to be more confident in myself ! I will make Allan change ! I will make him realize what he is loosing !
Sara: "There's a bug ahead ! Looks like it's dead."
We approach a huge smelly cockroach twice the size of a elephant, with a large burning mark where it should be a head.
Trix: "I hate cockroaches !! "
As we advance we start to see the extent of the war that happened here. Over a hundred dead wasps and ants, large areas of burned forest, house-sized spiders, beetles even larger than the one we fought, a mantis about the size of five aligned carriages horses included. A devastation second only to the historic tentacle forest destruction !
Sara: "What happened here ?! Looks like they were exterminated by the demon army itself ! "
"This is Allan's doing ! I can sense vestiges of his energy. "
Sara: " What ?!!! But, he wasn't alone right ? "
"I don't know, but most of the residual energy here is his, no doubt about it ! "
Trix: "I think I will throw up ! "
We leave the battlefield (and Trix's last meal) heading towards Allan's energy, and only after walking for a while we leave its stench behind.
"Are you better now Trix ? "
Trix: "Yes ! I'm happy ! We're close ! "
"Yeah, we're pretty close now ! You know Trix, when I joined you and Allan, I was really concerned about my future. But now that we're getting along, I'm sure that to be Allan's second wife will be much better than I thought at first ! "
Trix: "Ah.. I have to tell you something about this... "
"What is it ? "
Trix: "Er.. You will not be able to be Master's second wife. "
"What ?!!! Why not ?!!! "
Trix: "Because I'm the third. "