163 Into the forest

Poor form. Arad’s sword shattered as the flat side met with Lydia’s swings, sending shards of red-hot steel across the training ground.

Lydia stepped back, taking a lower right stance. ^He should resort to ranged attacks now. Or he will give up.^ She lifted her guard, expecting a fire bolt to rush at her face.

KA-DON! A burst of flame burst from Arad’s sword Flame Blade. A fiery blade extended with a rush of embers and sparks. The adventurers in the back gasped, seeing the crimson flames. The base of the fire was pale blue, indicating that Arad had more heat stored in it.

Sorcerers used this spell as a last defense, only swinging at an enemy who got too close before retreating.

Lydia saw Arad swinging his severed blade with a smile. ^Why won’t he stop? Most people stop fighting after their weapon break.^ She thought. It was unheard of.

CRACK! Arad stomped the ground as he swung down, forcing Lydia to dodge back. The blade barely missed her, burning the tips of her hair as it touched the ground.

BOM! The sword burned the ground releasing a gust of pale white smoke.

“Are you still fighting?” Lydia growled, clenching her grasp on her blade.

“I never had good luck with swords. Having one or not won’t change anything.” Arad replied, his sword racing above Lydia, leaving a crescent moon of flames. Lydia has to dodge. There is no way she would attempt to deflect that. Her sword would get damaged.

SWOSH! SWOSH! CRANG! Lydia dodged two strikes before deflecting the third. Sparks rushed from her blade, signaling damage.

“Arad! You will break her sword if you keep swinging.” Amber shouted. She had the same thought as Lydia. Arad’s sword was a hot and compressed jet of flames. It could melt right through.

“You need that weapon for the mission, so put the flame blade away.” She is right.

Arad looked back at Amber, his flames fading. “You’re right.” He looked at Lydia. “You’re stronger than I thought.” Puff! The sword faded.

Lydia stared at Arad’s hands, remembering how he shattered her blade the first time they met. He could fight her barehanded and win. Something about him was strange. Arad is too durable for a sorcerer.

Arad looked at the adventurer who lent him the sword. “Sorry, it broke.”

The adventurer waved his hand, “Don’t mind it.” He already gave Arad the sword and said it was a spare. He won’t go around crying about it.

^I lack strength. I should train more if I wanted to join Arad’s party.^ The adventurer knew Lydia was better than him. And she struggled.

***

Mira looked at Arad talking with the adventurers, her eyes focusing on his neck, arms, and chest. He isn’t sweating, and his breath is steady. During the whole fight, Arad didn’t exert himself.

She walked forward with weary steps, “Arad, are you okay?” touching his shoulder.

Arad looked at her, smiling. “Of course. Should we head out now?”

“We won’t need horses or carriages. It’s a simple scouting trip in the wood. Camping equipment is the only thing we need, and I have that prepared for four people.” Mira stared at Lydia.

“I have my kit at the inn. Let’s stop there for a moment.” Lydia replied, and they headed out. It didn’t take her much time to pull her kit from the inn.

The search location is on the opposite side of the city to Arad’s house. The place knows as the dense woods. It’s the same part of the forest Arad first came from. Goblins, slimes, and treants were known to live there.

It didn’t take them long to reach the forest edge. Since the guild was built close to the wall in that direction. “Arad and I will march in the front. Lydia and Jack took the back. Lastly, Aella will sit in the middle. Please keep your eyes open for monsters.”

Mira sets their formation immediately before they get into the woods.

“Isn’t it dangerous for you to be in the front?” Arad looked at Mira standing by his side. She can’t fight and might get hit by a monster out of the bushes.

“I’m the one scouting and leading us across the forest. I have to stand in the front.” She walked a bit forward. Looking down at the ground, the plants, and the tree roots. “We’re still far away. The woods here looks normal.”

Arad and his party’s job is to protect Mira as she searches for the elder tree. “Is there any way we could help with the search?” Aella asked.

“The closer we get to the elder tree, the more you would see small veins growing on their roots.” Mira dug the ground beneath a tree root, exploding a small part. “This one is clear. The tree isn’t close.”

“Is it connected to the fey wild?” Aella asked, looking around and listening to the leaves rustling in the back.

“There should be a connection.” Mira pulled out a small book. “Here it says that the queen Titania of the fairies had a good relationship with the elvish queen Sylph. The elder tree could have a connection to the fey wild or the pixies for all we know.”

“We should be careful then. But won’t the pixies be against us taking the wood if they lived around?” Lydia walked forward, “I heard a bit about them, but not much.”

“What are pixies?” Arad looked at them.

“Small humanoids the size of a palm. They have butterfly-like wings and slender bodies.” Aella looked at Arad. “But becare full, they are vicious if you stumbled onto their land.”

“Pixies can gather around the elder tree if they lived in the forest before. Not because they like the tree, but because they want to cut it down.” Mira looked at Arad.

“But they can’t.” Lydia realized what Mira was speaking about.

“Yes, the tree is like a parasite, seeping life from the forest. The pixies will try to cut it down but fail. They get aggressive as their young start dying. The colonies will get weak. They will start taming monsters. Employing them to protect the area.”

Arad cracked his fingers. “So our job is not only to find the tree, but save the pixies.”

Mira looked away, “That isn’t true.” She scratched her head, “We need to find the tree, and make sure the pixies won’t cut it down if it still hasn’t grown. We only can cut the tree after it has matured. The pixies would be dead by that time.”

Arad glared at Mira. “So we’re going to find the tree and make sure it grows?” He realized they need to stop the pixies from cutting the tree down.

Aella looked at Arad, “In most cases, pixies only live in the elvish continent. I doubt any would be around this tree.”

“I as well, won’t like watching a pixies colony die. Let’s hope there is none around this tree.” Mira walked forward, “Arad, you can see magic, right?”

Arad nodded.

“Keep your eyes open and tell me if the magic around here shifted. You should see it as waves moving toward the tree.” Mira explained.

After they walked for a while, night came without a result.

Arad and Lydia started building the campsite as Jack went out to scout. Aella started preparing the preserved food, and Mira pulled a map to mark their path.

Stars sparkled in the sky as they heard a rustle in the bushes.