To the north of Selmot was a more dangerous forest compared to the one Alexander met Qilana and her knights; it was filled with vicious beasts and horrors far beyond the level of mere kobolds.
'I wonder how these forests are built on a desert; why does this world feel so much more magical than mine?' He wondered many things as their bodies moved slowly through the desert, not far, only an hour's walk, but Zilna said rushing too much in the desert sun was a fool's errand, and they should make the journey steadily, using what little cover and shade they could find along the way.
At some point, they passed a small lake, the top filled with beautiful lilies and green lilypads; floating along the gentle blue lake around the opposite side of the bank were two camels drinking with their enlarged humps that paid no attention to Alexander; Venri, Zilna and Katrin.
"So what kind of horror exist in this forest you all dread? What was its name again?" He asked while leaning against a large tree and looking up into the clear blue sky.
Zilna snorted and tossed the brown waterskin towards him; she never saw him looking hungry or thirsty; although he ate with them last night, the only thing he seemed to enjoy was the wine. She didn't understand why, but seeing him like that caused her to feel restless, so she packed an extra waterskin, some light rations and food for two people; it was only dried meat and some creamy sauce, but making these for him soothed her worried chest.
"Arachne... There are also sightings of giant scorpions and Denmar... Think of them as corrupted elves, with the blood of the damned."
Alexander listened to her as he wondered what the blood of the damned might be, whether it was related to the undead or something different altogether. He then asked if there was an event that would start on this world, slowly killing everyone here with a strange curse, plague or infection, as he began to believe it might adjust to suit the civilisation.
For example, a lesser middle ages city might suffer from the black death or a massive case of deadly flu; it could never be zombies all the time; what about planets where the races are immune? Would they resort to monsters like goblins and trolls for a more high-fantasy apocalypse? It would certainly make things interesting.
He felt the breeze from the lake hit his face, and he smiled a little, the coolness soothing the skin of his face.
Slowly, despite the taste being flat and empty, he drank from her bottle; Alexander felt only a slight solace that the sweet taste of her soft lips and saliva remained on the rim, allowing him to taste something while drinking since becoming stage 2 it was harder for him to enjoy food, the old meals that the Vesta cooked became bland. In contrast, fully cooked meat tasted slightly spoilt for him.
'How long will my taste last, stage 4 or maybe 5, until I am no longer human, even in dietary habits?' He wondered to himself, knowing she would not answer him.
After a moment, he gave a satisfied nod and gave her back the waterskin, which she took and drank with a smile.
"Yes. That's more like it..." Zilna whispered to herself as Venri and Katrin began to pack up, using their tools and magic to check if the water was clear and without parasites. The desert wind moved around them as they finished and set off again into the distance.
Alexander glanced at Katrin and Venri, noting they were a little closer than when they set off; his ears perked up several times only to realise that Venri was acting a little like Lapis and Ruby, even though Katrin wanted to serve his squad. She didn't feel anything personal to him other than lust; it seemed that this cute little desert munchkin overheard the night he whispered his feelings and wanted the women around him to have feelings towards him instead of being forced. He just hoped Venri didn't push too hard to get Katrin into bed because she seemed determined.
If the woman decided she liked him, Alexander would never turn away a good Vesta; he needed all the help he could get for the future.
"Okay, let's keep moving; it's not far from the territory of those bastards! Alexander, be careful of those, Denmar. They are sneaky and skilled with bows!"
He nodded and continued to walk; his eyes focused on the distant forest; the strange trees were not pure green but a murky shade of grey and brown, with thick black trunks that extended into the skyline, with dark but sandy dirt where their roots were buried, this was no wonderfully coloured forest or a national reserve.
'It feels like a graveyard... So eerie...' He thought.
They walked through the grassy plains, watching the tall stalks sway in the wind, hearing birds chirping high above and the occasional yipping of a wolf or other beast running from the predators in the jungle, unaware there were only three soldiers and one archer against the entire dark forest of Drem'roth.
"Alexander, don't let your guard down; they are already watching our every move." Zilna tried to warn him but only felt a gust of wind rush past her body, the glint of a red light shimmering through the dark forest as its long arching blade sliced through a shrubbery like lightning, his edge emitting a second slash of red blood before a howling scream filled the forest, followed by the rustling of leaves and shouts of several men and women.
"A-Ambush!" Venri shouted, her bow sharp as it loosed arrows in a deadly barrage to protect Alexander's back, her eyes glowing red as they focused on him alone, as her hair slowly turned silver from the previous black, her fingers dancing through the air, grasping several arrows from her quiver as she rained arrows around his body, with narrowed eyes.
Katrin was a different type to Venri; her agile body climbed the nearest tree, but she remained with her longbow fully drawn, scanning the battlefield for any enemies in the distance that tried to attack her allies, especially Alexander, whose red sword began to dance through the air, cutting the Denmar into bloody shreds, he too like a valiant dancer in the dark forest, his ethereal beauty and glowing white hair, like the moon illuminating the desert.
Standing on the opposite side, a female with long ears and dark skin watched as her brothers and sisters were cut down like livestock; the male who did so looked precisely like the wretched enemy of her people; as her body shot forward, her guards and handmaidens began to shout and call her back, as she shot arrows at him relentlessly.
"How dare a disgusting and wretched Anmer stand before me in our wondrous and bountiful forest! Are you going to steal this from us too? Say which clan are you from!" (Demnarian)
The elf knight was beautiful but also deadly; her bow released arrows, one after the next, while watching the battle raging around her.
Her green eyes lit up like fire as she aimed at her enemy, quickly letting her arrow fly in the direction of the enemy, but he looked at her with a mocking smirk, his head tilted slightly, before slicing down and splitting a man she knew since birth in half.
"MONSTER!" (Demnarian)
Alexander only saw a brown-skinned elf, her face and features reminded him of Laura, her soft cheeks, pink lips and green eyes staring at him with hatred as Eien tore through another man who attacked him like an idiot.
"Stupid..."
He muttered, dodging her arrow again, his body spinning to the right as his body advanced towards her, a sneer on his lips as he charged forward, ignoring the calls from Zilna and Venri.
"Oi! Dark elf!"
He ignored the insults, moving at his pace as the elf tried to counterattack the moment he entered her range, drawing two curved elven short blades; they began to fight, blades clashing together with an array of sparks flickered in the air like fireflies fleeing into the dark forest sky.
She was strong, no doubt about it.
He could feel it, but it was not enough!
His attacks were cutting deeply into her body, slicing through her skin in a second or two before her blades could catch up with him; she fought with speed and precision, just like a dancer would dance in the desert sand, but Alexander wasn't distracted by any of that.
He slid under her blade and thrust forward, aiming for her heart, and when the black metal hit the red silk, she gasped in pain, unable to defend herself as he drove the tip of his sword down towards her throat.
She fell to the ground, her body writhing in agony as Alexander jumped back, pulling his sword out of her, leaving a red smear on her pale blue dress blood sprayed out of her mouth as the elf's body flew through the air after he kicked her violently in the chest with a fierce kick, making her smash into a distant tree; her allies quickly grasped her shoulder and dragged her blood body away as the battle slowly died out.
'Damn... they flee fast!' He thought.
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