Book 2: Chapter 8 (1/2)

The jungle seemed to become gloomier as Vur and Tafel traveled deeper in. The lightning and ambient noises hadn’t changed, yet an oppressive atmosphere hung over their heads. Tafel furrowed her brow and waved her hand in front of her face, summoning a ball of flames. Although she had trained as a spellblade for the past decade, that didn’t change the fact her roots were those of a black mage. The fire lightened her surroundings but did nothing to remove the sense of unease sneaking up her back. She bit her lip. “Do you feel that?”

“It’s very comfortable,” Vur said and nodded. A purple web of light pulsed continuously underneath his armor, lightning up along the outlines of his rose tattoo, including its roots. He hummed as he traversed through the jungle, the barrier provided by his armor removing all undergrowth in his way. “We’re getting closer.”

Tafel furrowed her brow. She missed the feeling of her sword on her back. At least there was no way she’d suffer too badly with Vur around—unless Vur decided to turn on her. Which he wouldn’t. Right? She pursed her lips as she followed in his footsteps, going deeper and deeper into the jungle. Her head turned constantly as she took in the sights, looking for anything unique to this new land. Because of that, she bumped into Vur’s barrier and yelped when he suddenly stopped. “What’s wrong?” she asked as she held her nose. There was nothing around.

“We’re here,” Vur said and tilted his head. The purple light coming off his body shone even brighter than before, illuminating the ground. A few runes inscribed on nearby trees flashed in time with the purple light. “I think it’s a fairy’s illusion magic.”

“I’ve seen something like this before,” Tafel said as she approached a tree. The rune reminded her of the one Lindyss had her help setup before Vur was awakened in the humans’ capital—not that she knew what they did. But she did know breaking them would ruin whatever spell was in place. A layer of blue scales formed over her hand as she activated her armor, and she punched the tree trunk, rendering the rune incomprehensible. She moved on to the other runes in the vicinity. Once the fourth one was destroyed, the air shimmered as a massive boulder appeared in the center of the formation of runes. On the side of the boulder, there was an archway with a pitch-black path. Tafel urged her fireball inside, lighting up a ramp leading down. She smiled. “Now this is more like an adventure. Can I lead the way?”

Vur nodded, and Tafel exhaled. If Vur had led the way, all sense of excitement would be gone. The path was straightforward, continuing in a line until it plateaued at the bottom of the ramp, leading to an underground clearing covered in sleeping bags. Snores permeated the room.

“Who!?”

Tafel jumped when a voice shouted at her from the side of the room.

“Intruder alert! Wake up!”

The snores were replaced by groans as the sleeping bags on the ground stirred. Vur caught up to Tafel and stood by her side, watching the group of people climb to their feet. His chest had stopped pulsing, maintaining a constant purple glow instead. “The thing’s deeper in.”

“Let’s not pretend like no one’s here, okay?” Tafel asked. “Once we negotiate, we can continue searching. Those are the guidelines of an adventurer.”

“So it was two foolish adventurers,” a voice said from behind the crowd. A man pushed through to the front, wielding a sword made of light-blue metal with one hand. “I don’t know how you managed to break through our barrier, but…” The man’s brow furrowed once he caught a glimpse of Tafel. “What are you?”

“She has horns?”

“The heck? Is she a human?”

“Does that matter? I’d bet she’d sell well.”

Tafel frowned. “I guess there aren’t any demons on this continent, huh?” She glared at the man with the sword. “Are you the leader?”

“Little girl, do you know what this is?” the man asked and flourished his sword.

“It’s a sword,” Vur said, speaking before Tafel could.

The man frowned. “Yes. It’s a sword,” he said. “But do you notice anything special about it?”

Vur glanced at Tafel. She shrugged.

The man’s eye twitched. “It’s made of mithril!”

“…”