80 Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (1/2)

My swifthart bleated contentedly as it felt my hand caress the light green fur on its neck.

”I'm glad you're here buddy. I really need your help…” I patted its neck softly. This earned me more happy bleating. ”I really should think up a name for you… Just as soon as this current crisis is over.”

My swifthart nudged at my cheek with its long nose, and at any other circumstance, I would have enjoyed playing with it.

Speaking of noses, I once learned on TV that a deer's nose was even better than a bloodhound's. Not only could it sense danger just by the scent of predators, but a deer's brain was devoted to deciphering different smells.

I looked into my swifthart's green eyes curiously. ”You're part deer right? Does that mean you can do what deers do too?”

I hadn't expected a reply, but the swifthart gave me a series of snorts that sounded to me like it was laughing, as if to say, ”Don't compare me with those primitive Mudgardian copies.”

”I guess I can test that theory out later... just in case my vision from earlier was just some kind of magically induced hallucination,” I sighed heavily.

There were just too many questions I didn't have answers to. Like what Luca and Pike were running away from, and if they were still breathing.

”We're ready to go, Dean,” Ashley said from atop her white swifthart. She tightened her grip on her reins. ”Let's get this over with.”

”Yeah, we need to find Luca and Pike as quickly as possible,” I replied.

I climbed up my mount's new saddle with the help of its stirrups.

The saddle had a simple elven design similar to that of Western Mudgardian saddles but without having a horn-shaped front and rear. A dark blue blanket lay between the saddle and body with only one strap looping around my swifthart from one side of the saddle to the other.

Once my butt was comfy on the seat, I glanced over to Varda who was riding shotgun next to the driver's seat of the lone wagon we'd salvaged from today's ambush. Jensen sat next to her while holding onto the reins of the brown elkin Ashley and her crew had brought with them.

”Get everyone to safety, Varda…” I glanced over to the covered part of the wagon and wondered if the dead bodies of my fallen comrades were comfortable inside it. Not that it mattered to the dead one way or the other. It was more a matter of principle. I just didn't want them to feel worse in death. ”Make sure they get home…”

Varda nodded with a solemn face. You'd think I'd ask her to transport the empty throne itself.

”We'll handle it, Commander,” she answered gracefully. ”Good luck finding Luca, sir.”

Varda reached out her hand to mine and passed me a sword hilt with a wide guard and a thick round ring for its pommel. It was Luca's broadsword hilt.

My eyes widened at the sight of the deep crack that split it from guard to pommel. It meant the mechanism inside was probably damaged.

”The guys found it underneath Shaqs,” Varda said in a quiet tone. ”I'm sure it doesn't mean what we think it means...”

Wordlessly—because I felt like my mind was strained from worrying over Luca—I tightened my hold on the reins of my swifthart and turned away from Varda.

Ashley followed behind me after I passed her, and together, we led our search party out of the lost campsite.

Our journey took us through an even denser grove of trees than the one we'd left behind and then up and down two hillsides. But even as our pace kept increasing, no one in my search party complained. After all, we were all riding atop reliable mounts that easily trekked through uneven paths like they were straight roads. Yep, our search for Luca and Pike was much smoother thanks to our swiftharts.

”You sure we're going the right way?” Ashley asked after twenty minutes of smooth riding.

I searched my memory for an answer to her question. It was all I could do as I didn't want to activate Fool's Insight and its new skill without further understanding of its drawbacks.

”Yup… we're roughly taking the same route Pike did while she carried Princess Luca in her arms,” I joked after thinking it through. Not the joke. The joke was easy and helped me not think too hard on that broken sword hilt lying at the bottom of my pack. ”They went south through that hill.”

I pointed in front of us, to a narrow path that cut into the center of a small green hill.

”Isn't that too out of the way from the rendezvous? Why would they go this way?” Ashley asked skeptically.

I shrugged. ”Looked like they were trying to avoid a collision with something…”

”Look's like?” Ashley's voice was even more skeptic now. ”How would you know that?”

Having to explain my newfound power to her would take too much time. Especially since I didn't really understand it much myself. So I opted for some levity instead.

”Brotherly intuition?” I offered.