After another three minutes of walking, Hadjar began to notice a dramatic change in their surroundings. The black trees that looked as if they were covered in boiling pitch or dripping with dark blood were replaced by green, tall firs and pines. The caustic, gloomy fog no longer roiled under their feet. It was replaced by a grass carpet, thick, fragrant, and pleasing to the eye. Ahead of them, at the end of a kind of alley created by intertwined roots, stood pillars of light. The rays of the sun were creeping through the treetops.
“Now let’s make a deal,” Dora stopped her Three-horned deer and turned to Hadjar. “I’ll take an oath that I won’t examine the contents of your spatial ring; I will never disclose to anyone, under any circumstances, the secrets that you kept within it. In return for you giving it to me, six months from now, I’ll give you a ring four times better than your current one, and with it, any reward that you ask for, as long as it doesn’t go against my beliefs, as well as the general principles of honor and dignity.”
After considering it briefly, Hadjar nodded.
“As far as I understand it,” he pointed to his finger, “you won’t be returning this to me?”
Dora shook her head.
“During the Technique, it will collapse. If it has sentimental value, then-”
Hadjar pulled the artifact off with a single movement and flipped it to the dazed Dora with a flick of his fingers.
“But I haven’t taken the oath yet!” The elf exclaimed.
“I’ve met enough people without honor to recognize someone who has it. I trust you, eldest heir of House Marnil, but do you trust me?”
The girl’s eyes flashed, but she didn’t answer. She’d been brought up in a very different environment, and she considered trust to be the most precious gift of all. However much she enjoyed the company of these two strange ordinary disciples, she couldn’t trust them.
After performing the necessary ritual, the girl forcibly moved the contents of Hadjar’s ring to her own artifact. The transfer looked like a brief flash had connected the ring and the amulet for a moment, and then everything went quiet.
“Let’s go,” the elf-girl spurred her Three-horned deer and directed it toward the light. “The most difficult part of this adventure awaits.”
“The most difficult part?” The two friends exclaimed in unison.
Did she think everything had been easy and simple until now?
Chapter 446
After a while, they came to the edge of a small pond. Hadjar immediately sensed that this place was the home of the Forest of Shadows’ spirit. The pond was very similar to the one that he’d seen up on the mountain in the center of the Kurkhadan oasis. The pond in that oasis had been about seven feet in diameter, but this one looked more like a lake since it was about 165 feet in diameter. It was deep enough to go diving in. Located in a ravine, it was surrounded by tall trees. Their roots permeated the earth and stones, weaving all of the surrounding area into a single whole, which, in turn, found its beginning in the pond.
“Whatever happens,” Dora began instructing as she leapt from her deer, which immediately took off and ran into the forest. “Don’t do anything. If I make a mistake, we will all die, no doubt about it. Even my father wouldn’t be able to contain the rage of a junior spirit born of such a vast and ancient area.”
Holding out the warped spatial ring in front of her, she walked slowly toward the water.
“Who’s her father?” Hadjar whispered in his friend’s ear.
“Arel Marnil,” Einen said. “One of the 36 Imperial warriors at the Nameless level.
Yes, in the entire Empire, which occupied a territory so vast that a person would need ten thousand lifetimes to cross it on foot, there were only 36 warriors at the Nameless level. Well, if you took into account those who didn’t want to make their power public, this figure could be safely rounded up to fifty.
However, fifty Nameless warriors weren’t anything to scoff at. One such warrior, if they so desired, could destroy Lidus with ease. Hadjar thought so, anyway, as he’d never witnessed the power of a Nameless level cultivator in his life. However, since the Imperial Spirit Knight he’d escaped from so long ago had been able to cut off the mountain peak of the Blue Wind ridge, he didn’t really want to fight someone infinitely more powerful just to sate his curiosity.
Hadjar’s train of thought was interrupted when Dora approached the edge of the pond. The water began to boil, and a muddy shadow began to rise slowly from the bottom. It grew larger with every second that passed, until, almost noiselessly, the head of a creature appeared above the surface. It looked like a wooden oval stump topped with a crown that had six wooden prongs or roots. A humanoid body followed the head. It was made up of twigs, sticks, and stumps with broad, massive shoulders, and a powerful back which sprouted through twisted roots. The spirit’s fingers looked like the trunks of young trees. Its forearms were like broken oak bark. Its huge belly looked like a swamp, and its short legs looked like chunky bushes.
“Descendant of the Enemy,” the spirit said in a raspy voice, sounding like a tree swaying in the wind. “My younger brothers couldn’t stop you, so I’ll have to do it myself.”
It opened its eyes. Full of green mist, they radiated a power beyond Hadjar’s comprehension. The moment the creature’s gaze focused on his body, Hadjar felt his very soul tremble. He felt the invisible blow of incredible power directly impact his soul, bypassing his physical body entirely. Hadjar experienced horror and proximity to the threshold of his forefathers’ house. If this pressure had lasted even a hundredth of a second longer, he would’ve died.
“I’m sorry, spirit of the Forest of Shadows,” Dora said, stepping in front of the creature. The spatial ring in her left hand shone with green energy as she drew dozens of different runes and hieroglyphs in the air with her right hand. “But in order to return the Marnil clan to its legal heirs, I have to take a part of your power.”
“Little descendant of the First Forest,” the creature said in a creaky voice, “do you think you have the power to seal even a small part of me?”
Hadjar fell to his knees, gasping for air. As he did so, Dora’s hieroglyphs began to hover around the living stump. They were as green as the shackles that had bound the first local minor spirit they’d encountered.
“I’m older than the human anthills that surround me. I’m older than most of the stars in the night sky. I’ve seen gods born and die! I know time like it’s my best friend! I... What is this? What... A spirit-cursed Technique? How dare you, descendant of the First Forest, use the Enemy’s Technique? How dare you!”
“Forgive me, spirit of the Forest of Shadows,” Dora murmured. “I’m sorry to take a piece of you forever.”
Suddenly, drops of energy began to flow through the green bonds. They surged into Dora’s hand, gradually accumulating in the spatial ring. The spirit of the Forest of Shadows, trapped in the runic bonds, stood motionless, like a sleeping rock. It leaned over Dora in silence. Its eyes closed as it slowly sank back into the water.
“Sleep, ancient spirit,” Dora came up to the creature and touched its forehead. “I swear by the Great Forest, by my ancestors, by the ancestors of House Marnil, and my honor, that your power will only be used to accomplish worthy deeds.”
After another minute, the spirit disappeared beneath the water. It turned back into a shadow and sunk into the pond, which, as Hadjar now realized, wasn’t full of water, but pure energy. Touching it or trying to fill a flask with it would be a creative way to commit suicide. It was so concentrated it could even destroy a Lord.
“We must go!” Dora shouted. “Questions can wait. We only have half an hour. After that, it’ll regroup in the Primordial Water and definitely come after us. If we don’t escape the forest before then, we’ll be dead.”
Hadjar looked at the lake again. Well, it was actually water, but not ordinary water… It was primordial... By the High Heavens, he needed seven liters of this treasure!
“Dora, can you gathe
r seven liters of this water in your amulet?”
“Why?”
“Can you do it or not?”
The girl, biting her lip, looked at the pond hesitantly.
“I can.”
“Then that’s my reward for helping you. I need seven liters of this substance.”
“Damn it!”
Going back to the lake, the girl took off her spatial artifact and lowered it into the water. Nothing special happened, but judging by the slight swirling of the water, she was actually able to collect it.
“Can we go now?” There was panic in the elf’s voice.
“I think we should leave as quickly as possible,” Einen pointed to a small shadow gradually forming at the bottom of the pond.
“By the Great Forest! We’ve just accelerated the process.”
They hurried away. After they ran a hundred feet, they caught up to their Three-horned deer. Hadjar had never run as fast as he did that day. The trees merged into a single dark streak, and the gloom under their feet looked like curdled milk. They could feel the black trunks coming to life behind them, the roots trying to grab the hooves of their deer. The forest itself was waking up, trying to keep them from escaping. However, the groom back at the stable hadn’t lied and the Three-horned deer really could reach an incredible speed.
An hour later, ragged, sweaty, and frightened, the three disciples of ‘The Holy Sky’ School were already in the flower meadow. The Forest of Shadows that remained behind them shifted its trees closer together and seemed to darken.
“I did it!” Dora clapped her hands like a little girl. “I did it! I can’t believe it! Now I can perfect the ‘Forest’s Fury’ Technique. With it, I will have a chance to advance past the group stage of the Tournament!”
“That’s great, of course,” Hadjar interrupted her. “But I’d like to get my stuff back now.”
“Yes, of course,” the elf girl’s demeanor became serious. “You live in the Forest of Knowledge, right? Let’s go there right now.”
***
“You’ve certainly made a nice home for yourself,” Dora grunted.
They were standing at the foot of the hill. From here, their house really did look nice. It had taken them only a day and a half to get back.
“Hey, you two!”
Hadjar and Einen turned around. About fifty ordinary disciples came out of the forest. They ranged wildly in age and all of them had their weapons drawn.
“What’s the matter?” Einen asked.
“Did you kill Araz?”
The friends looked at each other and immediately nodded. “Yeah.”
Dora choked, and the leader of the gang nearly stumbled.
“Demons and gods, you are truly idiots if you admit it. Araz was a servant of House Tarez. And so are we. House Tarez doesn’t forgive those who kill its servants. You should start praying to your forefathers, because the next time you leave this place, we will follow you.”
Hadjar noticed that Dora was about to step forward out of the corner of his eye. The girl opened her mouth to say something, but Hadjar stopped her.
“Keep quiet.” He whispered.
Einen took a step forward.
“Be it House Tarez, the Predatory Blades clan, or even the court of His Imperial Majesty… Anyone who comes at us with their sword drawn will die by the sword!”
At first, there was silence, and then it was shattered by a chorus of dozens of incredulous shouts.
“Did he actually say that?”
“What idiots!”
“How could Araz lose to morons like them?”
“Damn it! They’re actually too stupid to let live!”
“I can’t wait to finish them off!”
Hadjar and Einen looked at the group of laughing disciples and turned back to their house.
“Please, come in.” They told Dora courteously.
They didn’t doubt their decision to never hide behind the elf or anyone else ever again. After all, only by overcoming unimaginable difficulties could they become stronger and better than they’d been yesterday. This was their way.
Chapter 447
“I’m not sure that was a good idea,” Dora said thoughtfully.
In front of her, in one of the three rooms of the wooden hut, lay a heap of various things. Deprived of such a useful trinket as the incredibly expensive (by the standards of two provincial drifters) spatial ring, the friends had had to put all their loot in the hut. Hadjar had stuffed the most precious items, such as the scroll depicting the Black General’s attack, the fairy’s tear, and the drop of the ancient elixir, into his pockets. They weren’t as secure as the spatial ring, but it was better than keeping the ‘treasures’ in the hut.
“What’s bothering you so much?”
Einen was digging through the artifacts of the dead cultivators. Unfortunately, they hadn’t possessed anything impressive. Except for Araz, who had worn the fighting gloves at the Heaven level. They were immediately, without any reservations, given to Einen. After all, it had been him who’d defeated the servant of House Tarez.
“We’ll have exchanged it all for Glory points by tonight,” Hadjar said. “So even if someone breaks in, they’ll be disappointed."
Dora nudged a quiver of arrows with her sandal. It rolled about a yard and stopped with a clink when it reached the pile of other weapons. Hadjar and Einen hadn’t examined it yet. There were no decent swords or rare weapons there, such as the staff-spear Einen wielded.
“No, I’m not talking about this rubbish.” The girl hadn’t meant to hurt the two friends’ feelings, but she did it anyway. “How did they find out so quickly that you killed Araz?”
Hadjar and Einen looked at each other. Indeed, only four days had passed since the giant’s death, but the people outside seemed like they’d been guarding the friends’ hut from the moment Araz had appeared before his forefathers.
“Maybe someone told them?” Hadjar suggested.
He was sitting on the windowsill and working. Instead of glass, he’d put wooden shutters on the windows. Now, for lack of anything better to do, he was carving meaningless patterns into them.
“I don’t think so.” Dora shook her head. “I followed you all the way from the city. If someone had been nearby, I would’ve felt it.”
“What if that someone had a Stealth Technique?” Einen laid out a cloth bag and began to put the artifacts he had obtained in battle into it.
Strangely enough, the sale of any items took place not in the Treasure Tower, but in the Hall of Fame. It was there that artifacts, alchemical pills and elixirs, various materials, or money, could be exchanged for Glory points.
“While I’m in the forest, my level of perception is higher than a Spirit Knight’s at the middle stage,” the elf girl mused, frowning. “If this hypothetical spy really used a Stealth Technique, then they must’ve been at least as powerful as a Spirit Knight at the peak stage.”
“I don’t remember making such a powerful enemy.” Hadjar tucked his knife back into his boot and brushed the sawdust off the window. “The only people we’ve had any trouble with are Araz, who’s dead now, and Tom Dinos, the youngest heir of the Predatory Blades clan.”
Dora looked up in surprise, making her snow-white hair flow gracefully through the air.
“How did you manage to anger Tom?” The elf asked in surprise.
“Tom?” Hadjar noticed the familiarity in Dora’s tone. “Do you know him?”
“Of course,” the girl said. “As heirs of the seven clans of Darnassus, we saw each other quite often at different events. Don’t ask me anything about him. I know his sister Anise better than I know him.”
“Sister?” It was Hadjar’s turn to be surprised. “I thought she was his servant.”
Dora was about to say something, but then she seemed to realize that she’d let too much slip.
“Things are a bit complicated in their clan right now,” she said evasively, and turned away. “So, how did you anger Tom?”
&nbs
p; Apparently, things aren’t just complicated in their clan, Hadjar thought, but instead answered: “I nudged him with my shoulder during the exam.”
“Well, that explains a lot.”
Einen nearly fell over in shock.
“Explains a lot? Because of a nudge, he nearly sent my barbarian friend to his forefathers.”
“Well,” Dora smiled a little playfully, “Tom has a very sensitive and incredibly inflated ego.”
An overly-inflated ego, in the two friends’ opinion, was generally a problem of not just the heirs of the clans, but of the whole of Dahanatan, and perhaps even Darnassus itself.
“Well,” Dora straightened her hair and turned to leave. “Once again, thank you very much for helping me. I keep my promises, and as soon as I get my hands on a worthy spatial artifact, I’ll immediately pass it on to you, Hadjar Darkhan. You don’t need to see me off.”
With these parting words, the girl left the hut. The friends, following her with their eyes, waited until the elf had left the hill and gotten lost among the trees. Only then did Hadjar point at the walls, ceiling, and floor. The islander nodded and opened his eyes wide. His inhuman, purple eyes flashed with a strange energy, one which Hadjar had only ever seen in his friend’s eyes. For about a minute, Einen scanned every inch of their home. He finally lowered his eyelids again and nodded.
“All clear.”
Hadjar sighed with relief. He’d been afraid that Dora would put a tracking artifact or spell somewhere in the hut. After all, as a member of one of the seven largest and strongest houses, it would be normal for her to be proficient in both paths of cultivation.
In fact, everyone in this world, except Hadjar himself, could be. Something had happened to him at birth, according to Rahaim, that had left him unable to use the true path of cultivation. Without this ability, it was impossible to advance beyond the Spirit Knight level. However, Hadjar was planning to solve that problem as soon as it became a hindrance.
“Let’s see.” Hadjar jumped down from the windowsill, went over to the pile of junk, and fished out a map. “Where did we first meet her?”
Land of Magic Page 12
