Chapter 580: Clue to Nowhere

Chapter 580: Clue to Nowhere

The food was strangely bland, to the point that Dallion was convinced that the mages had done it on purpose. Still, it was nourishing andafter checking with the guardian of his bowldevoid of poison. No one talked when in vicinity to Dallion, though it seemed more out of concern than dislike. Dallion could still sense the emotions of people emanating around him. It also helped that the item guardians continued to be exceedingly chatty. It was outright scary how much one could learn by having the empath trait. If there had been others with it the empire could have been in serious trouble.

Dallion poured the fifth bowl he was given into his own and continued eating. As he did, he kept on thinking about the encounter with the guardian. Everything considered, it was an impressive victory. And yet, it was only because the guardian hadnt been dealt physical pain at all. From what Dallion could gather, each feather was like a living echo of the original creature, capable of having its own realm. It probably never had experienced battleonly the original creature did. That also explained how he had won the fight with a single hit. When dealing with the actual creature things were going to be far more complicated. For one thing there was no telling whether the real aetherbird would allow Dallion to touch it.

You gave too much for too little, Nil grumbled. He didnt approve the deal Dallion had made with Eleria at all. You should have asked for more things in addition.

Im not convinced she would have agreed to that, Dallion replied.

Well, now well never know, will we? I thought that your negotiating skills had improved since youd become a hunter, but it seems thats not exactly the case.

Back to your grumpy phase, Nil? I got what I needed. Besides, I owed her from before.

Because of the bestiary? Its nothing compared to what you allowed her to see. Entering the realm of a phoenix feather Do you know how many have tried to achieve that and failed? I honestly dont know anyone who has? The old hag is probably already started writing a research paper on the subject. I wouldnt be surprised if it gets her the archmage position in a few decades.

It was obvious that the echo was really upset that it wasnt the one who had witnessed the feathers realm. Dallion had tried to explain it, of course. He had even gone as far as to have Gen and Ariel recreate a miniature version of it in his own awakening realmminus the constant changing. That had only annoyed Nil even further.

The main problem, though, was the location that the feather had said. Erekol wasnt familiar to Nil, Vihrogon, or even Harp. The only consensus was that the name sounded copyette, but there was no guarantee that it was. If that happened to be the case, though, it was destroyed several ages ago. As Harp had said, there wasnt even a guarantee that most copyette guardians would know of it. As in any age, cities rose and fell rather frequently. Dallion had the option to return to Nerosal and ask Aspan about it. However, the recent cult attack suggested that the race was on. Going back to the Priscord capital was going to waste too much time. Instead, the optimal plan was to head back to Linatol. There he could ask the guardian of the hunters den, inquire where the Night Auction had gotten its feather from, as well as have a talk with the local bishop.

Might be good to pass by the other settlement on your way back, Vihrogon said. Its not that far away, and you can help regrow the trees. Theyll appreciat it.

Yeah, Ill do that.

Hopefully, the war clerics had time to cool off a bit.

You doing alright, Shield? Youve been quiet lately.

Its nothing, the guardian said. I just have a few things on my mind. Everything thats been happening lately got me thinking about the past. Things that were supposed to be gone, coming back Once again its a changing world.

Its the first time I see you down. Even when the Vermillion wounded you, you werent like this.

There are all sorts of wounds. You should know that. The dryads tone sounded unusually cold. Sorry. Its not cool to see a companion armor like this. Just give me some time. Thats all I ask. Ill be back to being your emotional support soon enough.

Normally Dallion would make a snarky comment in response. This time, though, he chose not to abstain.

The plan wasnt the best he had come up with. Leaving them to deal with a cultist wasnt something he liked doing, but didnt have much choice.

A minute later, the trap sprung. The sound of snapping branches reached Dallions ears. Doing a one-eighty he ran along the branches of the trees as fast as he could. The enemy presence was undeniable at this point.

Gleam, whats going on? he asked in his realm

Hes a tough one. Well deal with it.

Hows Ruby?

Hes a bit startled, but fine. Just get here.

She didnt need to tell him twice. Soon enough Dallion was able to see treetops splinter as shardfly wing slashes filled the area. Avoiding such a combined attack was like dancing through a hurricane of razor blades, and yet the enemy managed to avoid them all. The skills and perception of the person involved had to be spectacular. Furthermore, Dallion wasnt able to sense any emotions outside of those belonging to the plants, suggesting that his attackers were wearing blocker rings.

Why are you here? Dallion asked, addressing any unseen guardians.

There was no answer. Apparently, the guardians werent as chatty as the dryads at the mages outpost. Of course, Dallion had no intention of leaving things there. Drawing his harpsisword, he played several chords filling the air with overconfidence, focusing on guardians in particular. A chorus of trees followed, sharing what they would do to shardflies if they could. Among the trees, there was a single other voice that Dallion knew didnt belong to the forest.

Going for the throat, a dry male voice whispered.

On the second Dallion split into instances, moving in all directions. Hardly had he done so than a flying knife hit the side of the throat of an instance of his; the second attacker had just joined the fight.

Turning in the direction of the attack, Dallion switched the fashion in which he was holding the harpsisword and did a line attack. Tree tops fell off like grass, revealing Dallions opponent. It was just a glimpse, but enough to show that the person was a mercenary, and not only that.

Gorgon? Dallion grabbed his dartblade with his free hand.

In all his travels throughout the province, Dallion had only seen a few gorgon mercenaries. They were rare, extremely well trained, not to mention expensive. He never imagined them to be cultists. Probably when the first attack attempt had failed, the Star had sent in the big guns. That explained why Gleam and Ruby were having such a hard time. A pair of shardflies could be devastating, though not against a well-trained gorgon.

The gorgon who had attacked Dallion was probably thinking the same thing, for he smiled. Then, without an ounce of mercy or hesitation, he opened his eyes.

Just great, Dallion thought as the effects of petrification took hold. It had been years since he had been petrified, but he still remembered the sensation and it was anything but pleasant. Lux, do your thing.

It was time to kick things up a notch.