Chapter 270 An Obstacle (1/2)
Despite Brightblade's warnings about the ers, the first few hours of their journey were uneventful Aside froht of Essence that surrounded them, the mountains seemed both beautiful and peaceful, with numerous small valleys that were filled with shrubs and trees
It wasn't at all what Arran had expected After Brightblade's tales, he'd expected a barren wasteland, filled with vicious monsters But instead, what he found were pristine landscapes, untouched by huoats,through the sky far above then
They paused for a meal at midday — dried meat and fruits, since they could not use Essence to build a fire — and as they sat down, Brightblade looked at Arran with an amused expression
”You almost seem disappointed,” she said
”Not disappointed,” Arran replied ”Just surprised From what you said, I half expected there would be Essence Re”
”They aren't as nuhtblade said ”Remember that they consume Essence”
At once, Arran understood ”They eat each other Like dragons”
Brightblade nodded ”Exactly And because of that, their nuh it also ”
”So wethehtly disappointed
”They aren't quite as rare as that,” Brightblade replied ”That you haven't seen any yet is because they usually lie in slu places when they detect Essence But if your Sense was a little stronger, you would know that we already passed several Re”
”We already passed several?” Arran looked around uneasily as he asked the question, suddenly wondering if there could be one of thenearby
Now that he knew they consurown considerably He rely powerful Crassus had been, and if the Essence Reer had any doubt about their ability to htblade
”No need to look so worried,” Brightblade said with a s as we keep our Essence hidden, on't disturb their sluer if we across one that happens to be awake”
They set off again after they finished theireven deeper into the h the journey remained every bit as uneventful as it had been before, Arran found that the tranquil surroundings no longer seemed as peaceful as they had earlier Now that he knew terrifyingin the shadows, he realized that they could be attacked at any s, they encountered no trouble that day There were severalthe path, but of any n
They set up cah Arran would have preferred to travel through the night, he knew that wasn't an option — the mountains held plenty of steep cliffs and deep ravines, and in the dark, a single erous as even the most fearsome er around theht He briefly awoke twice because of sounds in the distance — oats, he suspected — but other than that, he slu
Perhaps it was the effort of a day's travel through rough terrain, or perhaps the constant soft hu well-rested, the dangers they faced at least teotten
When he arose, however, he found Brightblade sitting at the edge of the camp, with a tired face and a worried expression
”That was an experience I'd rather not repeat,” she said in a soft voice ”Two Reht, one of the within fifty paces of us”
Arran's eyes widened in surprise ”I didn't Sense anything”
”You wouldn't,” she replied ”Though I'd suggest working on that But now, hurry up and eat The sooner we're past this place, the better”
Arran quickly wolfed down a small meal of dried ain