Chapter 17: Dark Wood

Despite the fact that Agni had 0 modifiers for combat she still gained 215 XP for defeating the creature, half of which was shared with Katrin. As for her wounds, she decided to ignore them for now. Between the both of them they had 5 HP potions remaining. Since a single potion could fully restore their health, they decided to hold onto the for emergencies. Also Agni was confident that her health would slowly recover. Within an hour she would be fine, based on her experiences in sparring.

Katrin on the other hand doted now more than ever.

"Here, please take this!" She said as she practically forced an item into Agni's hand. It looked like an old beat up piece of parchment.

"What's this?" Agni asked, but had she taken a few more moments to inspect the item she would have known :

[Lesser Flame Stream x1

A scroll infused with fire element energy. When used a burst of fire will erupt from within and the scroll will be consumed.]

"Oh, nevermind. Did you make this?" Agni asked as she recalled just a few minutes prior when Katrin was on the ground. Most likely she was attempting to reach for the scroll when the lightning attack happened.

"Yes! It's how us Scribes defend ourselves." Katrin replied.

"That's really cool." Agni remarked, she felt kind of envious. At this point she could only create fireballs and sparks.

"They take quite a while to make and honestly mine are still fairly weak. But due to these I leveled up pretty quickly. He he". Katrin was so cute when she smiled, this was a thought that constantly entered Agni's thoughts.

"Take these as well." Katrin then added, handing Agni two more scrolls. One was a lightning element variety and the other was wind element.

"I guess it's safe to say we should probably keep going." Agni then said.

"It can't be further than three or four hours from here on foot. If we keep walking at a steady pace it should be no problem."

Unlike before Agni's sense of impending dread was gone, had that Grimlock perhaps been following them? If so, perhaps it was the torches. As this thought came to mind Agni suggested that they avoid using light as they traveled. It would make things more difficult but with the light of a half moon they would be able to see enough to make their way. If necessary Agni could also use her magic to create and sustain a fireball for a short time.

After being suddenly attacked Katrin was easy to convince, in fact she allowed Agni to take the lead at this point. The good thing about the experience was that Katrin was now being extremely vigilant and this allowed Agni to focus on leading the way.

The map cursor put them a little more than half the way at the moment but Agni's mind was elsewhere. Did Wayla really expect the adventurers to find their way to the town unharmed or was this some sort of test. If Agni had to guess it was probably the latter. Wayla didn't seem like the type to baby anyone, but she also didn't seem like the type to lie or misinterpret situations. It was quite possible that maybe she expected most adventurers would be able to handle something like this.

Thinking back to the encounter with the Grimlock, it only took striking at the right moment to win the battle. Although Agni could see things playing out much differently -- realistically the worst thing that could happen was being sent back to the Tabernacle to respawn. Ultimately Agni decided that perhaps she was at fault for simply being too slow to react. With this in mind she vowed to do better the next time she was faced with danger.

The evening wore on but their pace was considerably slower than before. This was due to the fact that the were moving in pitch darkness. Much as Agni suspected the creatures were all around, as they walked the forest trail they could see the dim light from the antlers of Grimlock stags in the distance. At least Agni assumed they were the same creatures…

They were too far away for the system to register or identify and the mood made it difficult to share conjecture with Katrin who was now sweating profusely as she clinged to Agni's arm. Agni couldn't blame her, after all just one strike nearly depleted her health. Katrin barely had time to react, panicked no doubt. What's more, she wasn't wearing any significant armor -- just simple cloth clothing. The thought of seeing Katrin's burned body ultimately made Agni more protective. She couldn't help but find herself thinking things like :

"I can't believe they did that to your beautiful face!"

And

"I'll protect those massive udders if it's the last thing I do!"

Thoughts like this had become fairly common to Agni over the past few days. As a man she'd probably admonish herself for thinking this way, but as a woman she felt totally liberated. In fact, she glanced down at the patch of missing cloth on Katrin's dress which was burned away during the battle. The soft shine of her buxom gave Agni some measure of peace and simultaneously pumped her up for action.

That being said-- after the initial adrenaline of the moment wore off and the cool chill of the night robbed Agni of her fire she simply felt weary. Her feet were aching from having walked so far. Her back was now beginning to cramp and she was sure Katrin felt the same way, though she dared not voice as much.

At the current pace Agni estimated at least three more hours of walking, this was after having walked for a substantial amount of time after their initial encounter with the Grimlock Stag. She wasn't sure she could do it.

"Agni." Katrin whispered as she shook Agni's arm. She pointed to the distance ahead, further out a dim light could be seen.

"Is that… a campsite?" Agni's heart thumped with both hope and a sense of caution. Who would be on the path at this time of night? If anyone it was probably another group of adventurers. Was it safe to sleep out on the road like this? Agni's mind raced as she mulled over the idea of approaching the light. Soon enough Katrin's suspicions were confirmed. As the pair approached they heard a voice whisper :

"Who goes there?! I always wanted to say that.. Ha ha. Oh, it's you two."