“So he was just going to let those bastards do what they wanted?” Daren says, furiously. “What about all the innocent people in those cities that had nothing to do with all the atrocities?”
“He stopped caring about them,” Melindra says. “He started calling them all sheep, and he said that they deserved everything that was happening to them. He even started to encourage some of the more messed up things that were happening in those cities, saying that it was ‘what the people wanted’. It was around that time that the fox started to really lose her faith in him, and also when she began to impose all those ridiculously strict rules in her own kingdom, in order to avoid what happened in Eiden’s cities at any cost. Eventually, Eiden just left the continent without a word, on a journey of self-discovery, or whatever the hell it was, and when he came back for the first time, twenty years ago, he heard about the animal hunting going on in Olmnar and… well I think you all know what happened then. That’s when he had his official falling out with the fox, and then he left the continent again, soon afterwards.”
“Yeah,” Arraka says. “He probably tried to tell her that he solved the problem by destroying Olmnar, when it was in fact his departure that caused the animal hunts to begin in the first place. What a moron!”
“Uh…” Hadrik says. “I’m not trying to interrupt or anything, but weren’t Eiden and the fox just two old allies from the still winter? Why was Arraka joking about Eiden trying to win her heart back, earlier? Why does it matter if they had a falling out or not?”
“Oh, they were a lot more than just two allies,” Melindra says. “Why, six hundred years ago, they were nearly inseparable. You would have almost thought that they were a couple by looking at them, except for the fact that one of them was a human, and the other was a spirit fox from the magical plane.”
Inseparable, huh? Well, I guess this explains why Eiden got so angry when I suggested that he destroyed the city of Olmnar because he was seeking the fox’s forgiveness…
“Huh…” Hadrik says. “Well, the more you know…”
“Hey, Melindra, you still haven’t told them the funniest part!” Arraka says.
“What are you talking about?” Melindra asks Arraka, in a cold tone.
“I’m talking about how the fox has been confined to her sacred forests for decades, because of her spat with Eiden!” Arraka says.
“Why?” Daren asks. “Did Eiden lock her inside with a spell?”
“It’s not because of Eiden,” Melindra says. “It’s because of the dragon, Tyrath. Whenever she leaves her sacred forests, the fox loses most of her powers. The dragon knows this, and he would immediately seize the opportunity to kill her, as soon as she stepped out of her realm.”
“Yeah,” Arraka says, “but back when the fox and Eiden were still buddies, Tyrath would not dare to attack the fox, even when she left the sacred forests, because he knew that Eiden would immediately teleport to her aid, since he could sense them both from all the way across the continent.”
“Wait,” I say. “That’s the only reason why the dragon hasn’t attacked the fox while she was outside her sacred forests? Because of Eiden? Couldn’t he just… send some of his elite squads to fight Eiden, and kill the fox while he was distracted, or something?”
“No,” Melindra says. “Definitely not. Eiden would never get distracted from watching over the fox by a few mooks. She’s much too important to him. If you wanted to distract Eiden from the fox, you’d need to bring a whole army to fight him. Or a god.”
“Hold on a sec,” Hadrik says. “Didn’t the fox, the dragon and Eiden all have some pact which prevented them from fighting each other? Why would the dragon try to break that pact by killing the fox, when he’d know that it would lead to a direct confrontation with Eiden?”
“Because it would be too good of an opportunity to pass up!” Arraka says. “And one of the main reasons why the dragon agreed to make this pact in the first place was because he knew that Eiden and the fox were allies, and he didn’t want to risk fighting them both at once. Starting a fight with Eiden would be a small price to pay for ridding himself of the fox, especially since he is under the delusion that he could defeat Eiden without destroying the whole continent in the process, if he tried hard enough.”
“And you don’t think he could?” Daren asks.
“Of course he couldn’t,” Arraka says. “Tyrath would not stand a chance against Eiden if he went all out. Do you remember when Eiden revealed his aura in the arena, and I said that he was finally getting a little bit serious? Well, I wasn’t joking that time. Eiden is much more powerful than he lets on. I would know. I fought him in the still winter. He could probably fight the dragon on equal terms even without his tricks. But with his tricks? He would probably destroy him without blinking.”
“If he really is that powerful, then why didn’t he just kill Tyrath until now?” I say.
“Well, the first time when they made this pact, they also negotiated a truce between the three armies,” Melindra says. “And it’s not like Eiden’s always been at odds with the dragon. We even used to have monthly councils where Eiden, the fox, and the dragon would meet and talk about the common problems that affected all their kingdoms. I also participated in a few of those, and while the discussions between Eiden and Tyrath were not much different from what they are today, they gave off a much friendlier vibe, back then. I think that even if he won’t admit it, Eiden would be sad to see the dragon killed.”
“Hah!” Arraka says. “As if! Eiden’s probably just keeping the dragon alive because he amuses him.”
“Who knows?” Melindra says, shrugging. “It’s been a long time since I’ve actually had a discussion with Eiden, so I don’t really know what’s going on in his head anymore.”
“You’ve been sharing quite a lot of things with us about Eiden’s past today, Melindra…” Illuna says, all of a sudden. “May I ask to what do we owe this sudden change of heart on your part?”
“Well, since I am obviously Eiden’s spy,” Melindra says, with a sarcastic tone in her voice, “I can’t just keep everything a secret from you. I need to reveal some sensitive information here and there, to make sure that you people actually start to trust me.”
She then looks straight at Kate, with a mocking smile.
“Wouldn’t you agree?” she asks her.
Kate frowns at her, but she doesn’t say anything.
“Uh… maybe it’s about time we changed the subject,” Hadrik says, in an attempt to avoid another argument breaking out between Kate and Melindra. “Like for instance, did you guys also notice that we haven’t really encountered a lot of animals while we’ve been walking through these forests? I would have expected these places to be teeming with wildlife, but we’ve mostly only run into monsters and other mages.”
“Most of the animals have likely already gone to the sacred forests by now,” Flower says, “where they can get the direct protection of the golden fox until this tournament is over. It would be too dangerous for them to wander around these parts when there are so many mages roaming throughout the lands. Remember that the tournament’s spell is only made to protect the citizens of Varathia, not the animals as well.”
“There are still some idiots who stayed behind, though,” Arraka says. “For example, do you see that forest fire over there? I’ve been watching a bear and two wolves running in circles for the past two minutes, trying to find a way out to safety, but they’re pretty much surrounded by burning trees. They’re probably going to get engulfed in flames soon enough.”
“What?” Flower asks, shocked. “That’s horrible!”
“I know, right?” Arraka says. “Nothing beats free entertainment. Anyone want to make a bet on how long they’ve still got to live?”
“No!” Flower shouts.
“Wow, you really don’t like gambling, do you?” Arraka says.
“Hold on, there’s a forest fire?” Daren says, as he tries to look through the semi-transparent ice dome for traces
of smoke. “How close is it to us? Is there any risk of the fire spreading any more than it already has?”
“Well,” Arraka says, “it’s barely raining anymore, the lightning hasn’t stopped yet, and the wind is still blowing hard, so I’d say that’s all the conditions you need for the fire to keep spreading. But judging by the direction in which the wind is blowing, I’d say it shouldn’t reach us, unless the lightning will strike some tree right next to us or something.”
“Oh,” Daren says. “Well, in that case, we should be able to wait here until the storm ends.”
“What do you mean?” Flower asks. “What about those animals trapped between the burning trees? We have to help them!”
“Why would we risk our lives to help some animals?” Daren says. “They’re the fox’s problems, not ours.”
“I agree with Daren,” Kate says. “We shouldn’t be taking any unnecessary risks in a situation like this.”
“I can’t believe you guys!” Flower says. “Well, Petal and I are going. Even without your help!”
“Actually, I’ll be coming too,” I say.
“Oh, come on!” Daren says. “They’re animals!”
“Animals that can talk, though,” I say. “It’s not like they’re some dumb beasts.”
“But they’re still animals!” Daren says.
“Barry, let’s go!” Flower says to me, after using her fire magic to melt a hole into Kate’s ice dome.
“Alright,” I say. “Lead the way.”
“Barry, wait!” Daren says.
“Relax,” I tell him, as I step out of the dome. “It’s not like I’m going to just die in some forest fire after having survived in this tournament for so long. We’ve got Illuna with us, who can extinguish the flames with her water magic. We’ll be fine.”
“Melindra, what are you doing?” Flower says, when she sees that Melindra has remained in the dome. “We need to hurry!”
“Who, me?” Melindra says, with a surprised look on her face.
“Yes, you!” Flower says. “Now, come on! We have no time to waste!”
“Ugh, fine…” Melindra says, as she also walks out of Kate’s ice dome, in order to follow Flower. “Let’s go save some animals, I guess…”
“Damn it!” Daren says, as Kate is slowly closing up the hole in her dome. “Watch out for lightning! And for flaming branches falling from the trees!”
“Yeah, yeah, we’ll be careful,” I tell Daren, and then we all head towards the black smoke coming out of the burning trees in the distance.
We run in the same direction for about a minute, with Flower leading the way. The downpour of rain from before has turned into a drizzle while we were inside the dome, but the wind is still as powerful as ever. At the speed we’re currently going, we’re probably going to make it to the flaming trees in less than a minute.
“I’m surprised that you came with us,” I tell Melindra, as we run side by side behind Flower. “I was under the impression that you didn’t really like the golden fox and her animals.”
“I don’t care about the animals,” Melindra says. “I only came because Flower asked me to.”
“I see…” I say.
“Guys, focus!” Flower says. “We’re getting close to the fire. Arraka, can you show us exactly where the animals are right now?”
“Well, I could, but where would the fun in that be?” Arraka says.
“Of course you would say that…” Flower says. “Fine, we’ll find them on our own, then. We should be able to sense their auras once we get close enough.”
“Uhm…” Melindra says. “If you’re looking for the bear and the wolves, then they’re in that direction. I can sense auras from a distance too, remember?”
“Oh, right, I completely forgot!” Flower says. “Thanks a lot, Melindra! Come on, let’s get closer.”
When we begin to approach the forest fire, we quickly find out that there is a thick layer of black smoke between us and the burning trees, and we’re going to need to traverse it before we can reach our destination.
“Melindra, could you blow this smoke away with your wind magic?” Flower says.
Melindra just stands there without saying anything, and she appears to be very focused on the smoke in front of her. As I look at her, I suddenly remember how she was unable to fully control her powers, which would explain why she’s simply staring at the smoke, unable to make a decision.
“Melindra?…” Flower asks again, in a lower voice.
“She’s probably thinking that she’ll need a big blast of air to clear out this whole area of smoke,” I tell Flower. “Come over here. We should give her some space.”
“Oh, okay…” Flower says, as she starts to follow me.
When Melindra understands what I’m doing, she gives me a curt nod, and then she prepares to cast her spell. Once Flower and I are far enough, Melindra unleashes a very powerful blast of air that scatters away all of the smoke, giving us a clear view of the flaming forest ahead of us. As soon as she gets within range, Illuna shoots a very powerful jet of water out of her hands, and she uses it to extinguish the flames from the trees in front of us, one by one.
“The fires are out,” Flower says. “Let’s move!”
After we move past the flaming trees, it does not take us long until we manage to find the three animals, by detecting their auras. As soon as we reach them, the two wolves both turn to face us, while growling and baring their fangs at us menacingly, and the bear is raising himself upright on his hind legs, in order to look more intimidating.
“Wait,” I tell them, in the ancient language of the animals. “We’re here to help!”
“How did you get in here?” one of the wolves asks me, in the animals’ language. “We’ve been circling around this area for more than five minutes, and we haven’t found a single way out.”
“We have a water elementalist on our team,” I tell them. “What were you three doing here? Shouldn’t you be waiting in the sacred forests until this mage tournament is over?”
“We were sent on a mission by the golden fox,” says the other wolf.
“Don’t tell them about the mission!” the first wolf says.
“They came here to rescue us,” the second wolf says. “At the very least, we could show them some sincerity.”
“What is this mission that she sent you on?” I say. “Maybe we could help. Unless it’s a secret, of course.”
“We were told that the stillwater, Eiden, may have cast a peculiar spell somewhere in this area,” the second wolf says. “My brother and I were sent here to investigate it, because we both have very keen magical sense. The bear is our bodyguard. You wouldn’t have happened to run into a barely detectable spell with Eiden’s signature on it while you were on your travels, would you?”
“We actually did run into such a spell,” I say. “In order to find it, you’ll need to walk in that direction for a few hours, until you reach a river. Then, you’ll need to follow that river downstream for about another hour, and you should be able to detect the spell, as long as your magic sense is good enough.”
“Your help is much appreciated,” the second wolf says. “Unfortunately, we do not have anything to reward you with, right now, but if you ever come near one of the sacred forests in the future, you should not hesitate to send word to us. We wolves do not forget our debts easily.”
“Right,” I say. “But I think you should hurry and escape from here, before the fire spreads even more. The exit is that way.”
“You have our sincerest gratitude, human,” the second wolf says. “I hope we’ll meet again. Come, brother, let’s get out of this infernal place.”
“Wow, I didn’t know that you spoke the language of the animals so well, Barry!” Flower says, as the three animals all head towards the exit. “I only managed to understand certain parts of what you said. What was that mission that the wolf was speaking of, earlier?”
“The fox sent them to investigate that hidden spell of Eiden’s th
at we found this morning,” I say. “I told them where they could find it, and so they went to look for it.”
“Oh, I see…” Flower says. “Alright, well, let’s leave them a little time to get out of here, and then we can go back to Kate’s ice dome.”
We do as Flower says, and wait for a while, until the wolves and the bear go past the burning trees. Once we can no longer see them, we make our way out as well, and we head back towards our friends. While we walk back towards the dome, we notice that the storm is slowly coming to a halt, although the sky is not quite clear of dark clouds just yet. The wind is much more bearable right now, and the lightning has almost stopped. A few minutes later, we finally reach our teammates, who were all waiting impatiently for us inside the ice dome.
“You can come out of the dome, now!” Flower shouts at them. “The storm is almost over.”
“Oh, good, you’re all unharmed,” Daren says, as the ice dome gets dismissed, and he gets to have a good look at the three of us. “I was getting worried that I might have to heal some serious burn wounds, with how long you took to come back. Did you find who you were looking for?”
“Yes,” Flower says. “The animals are all safe. We can be on our way, now.”
“Alright,” Daren says. “Let’s get going, then. Preferably in a direction that leads us away from the forest fire.”
With the storm gone, the rest of our journey for the day turned out to be relatively uneventful, except for a few more run-ins with mages that were gathering pinecones from trees. After a few hours of walking, we decided to set up camp earlier today, because the sky still hadn’t cleared up entirely, and we wanted to make sure that we’d catch some sleep before a new storm would rear its ugly head to blow away all of our tents.
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