POLISHED DRAFT

Finished: 2020-07-04

Chapter Nineteen: Regroup then Arguments

"Aaralyn!" Mirth pushed his way through the blue and purple foliage, ignoring the scowling Rekka that trailed some paces behind him. Even though he could not see her, the Fire Elemental's gaze was as searing as her fire. It didn't help Mirth that Irfan was trying to stay as close to him as possible. More than once, the wingless Tianshi had nearly been cut by Mirth's energy blade. Twice as many times, Mirth had shouted at him for getting too close, yet, that didn't dissuade Irfan for long. Currently, the smaller boy was nearly pressed to his back, glancing over his shoulder fearfully at Rekka.

"Aaralyn! Where'd you go?" Mirth shouted into the forest, taking a moment to pause and listen for a response.

"Yeah," Rekka grumbled, testing her wounded arm, which she had bandaged after cauterizing the injury. "Shout to the entire forest where we are. I'd love to have more Magic Eating Demons on our asses. Or maybe another grey leopard Shifter will attack us. That'd be fun."

"I'm done with you!" Mirth snarled, whirling around and brandishing his energy blade at her, nearly nicking Irfan's face in the process. "Will you shut up for once? I don't need to hear every snide comment you have to make."

Mirth turned back to the foliage, slicing through more thick purple leaves. The mass slumped to the ground, sending silvery colored fluff into the air, tiny seeds attached to them. He glared at them too, fingers digging into his injured palm, cracking the dried blood. Just as he raised the energy blade to slice through more plants, a voice called his name.

"Aaralyn?" Mirth spun around and sprinted through the trees, not caring if the other two followed him.

Rekka casually kept some paces behind him. Beside her, Irfan was already panting from exhaustion. The Fire Elemental cocked an eyebrow at him as he stumbled through the foliage after Mirth like a lost puppy. "All these people are going to die out here," she grumbled under her breath, looking up at the pale indigo leaves. "Why'd I have to be so stupid and get separated from my family? I wouldn't have to deal with this bunch of idiots then."

Mirth stopped in his tracks when he spotted Aaralyn standing beside an Orc. He gaped at the sight, the energy blade in his hand nearly losing its shape only to grow a brilliant white when he registered that she was standing next to one of the races known for their more violent culture. He thrusted the blade at the Orc, still lost for words.

"Mirth, don't!" Aaralyn stood in front of the Orc, though her slender, petite frame barely reached his chest. "He's a nice Orc. I found him in the forest. Some cat Shifter killed his parents. Please, don't hurt him."

As if to confirm her words, the Orc's eyes were filled with worry and fear. He stared at the blade Mirth held, almost ready to run away himself.

"This is Garreth." Aaralyn gestured to the Orc, grasping his hand in comfort. "He's not a danger, and he can't speak."

"An Orc," Irfan squeaked, nearly collapsing to the ground as he tried to regain his breath. "How…why…? Orcs are dangerous."

"Not all of them. Well, at least Garreth won't hurt us." Aaralyn looked up at the teenager with a warm smile, and he returned the smile. "Please, can he come with us, Mirth? He doesn't have a family anymore, and I don't want him to be alone in this forest."

"Oh, no, he isn't coming with us," Rekka butted in. "He has those Magic Eating Demons that can take care of him. And there's no way in Sasba that I'm traveling with some soft-hearted Orc boy that doesn't know how to defend himself. It's not any better than some Simple-Person-not-Simple-Person who is scared shitless by just a crack of a stick, a Rahib that could barely stand on his own when he fought me, and a Water Elemental. All of you are such weaklings and wouldn't survive out here alone for more than half-a-moon."

"So, you've decided to stick with us then?" Mirth snarled, pointing his already fading energy blade at Rekka. "Did I ever say you could travel with us?"

"It's not like you can stop me. We'll just be traveling to the same place. Besides, I might be reconsidering if we have that thing traveling with us. It's more than one more mouth to feed, it's an entire troop. Look at the size of him."

"But he would be a great companion. Look how big and strong he is. He might not be able to talk, and he might be younger than us, but that doesn't mean anything, right Garreth?" Aaralyn smiled up at him, watching as the young Orc vigorously nodded his head, determination shining in his dark eyes.

Rekka glared them down, eyes sweeping over each member of the mismatched assembly before her. She didn't have much choice, but damn it, she didn't want to make an association with any of them. Not the Water Elemental and the Orc, who was opposite of his race's usual temperament. Not the boneless Simple-Person who claimed to be of some other race she'd never heard of. And not the Rahib that was staring her down, a blade pointed at her chest.

A yowl echoed in the distance, and Garreth flinched.

Rekka's glare intensified, now focused solely on the Orc. "That was probably just the Shifter that nearly mauled me. Some Magic Eating Demons took it away before I could burn it alive. Lucky bastard. I wonder what it was after?" Her eyes stayed trained on Garreth, who shifted in discomfort under her gaze.

"There was a Shifter?" Aaralyn gasped. "Did they change into a big cat?"

Mirth nodded, finally lowering his energy blade and letting it fade from existence. He wiped the sweat from his brow and released a long exhale. "It was the same guy that had been sniffing us out. He turned into some big grey leopard."

A sound like a mourning dog came from Garreth's throat. He grasped the air but then drew his hand in, a mix of emotions behind his dark eyes.

Aaralyn squeezed his hand, smiling up at him. "It'll be okay. The Magic Eating Demons have him now. He can't hurt you anymore."

"That's what I thought." Rekka pointed a finger at Garreth's whimpering form. "He's just going to bring trouble. There was some crazy leopard Shifter out there looking for things to kill, and the Shifter went after an obvious target. Demons aren't the only races that are targeted for genocide. Orcs aren't much better than Demons. What's going to happen when you get to this Bénipryroda's Ring, and everyone sees you traveling with an Orc?"

"Nothing," Aaralyn declared. "Everyone will see how much of a sweet, caring person he is and will welcome him with open arms when they see how nice of a person he is."

"You don't even know him!" Rekka stomped her foot, flames flickering to life for a second. "You just met him. How do you know he's not going to trick you and kill all of us for his kill count? My dad's talked about Orcs and their violent ways of life. They keep track of how many people they kill, and the more counts they have, the higher rank they are in their tribe."

"That's only true for some tribes…" Irfan muttered, twiddling his fingers as Rekka shouted. He flinched, cowering against a tree when Rekka turned on him, about ready to raise a fiery fist to him.

"Whether you like it or not, Rekka, Garreth's coming with us." Mirth glared at the Fire Elemental.

"So the bumbling brute can join but not me? Fucking stupid Rahib!" Rekka nearly lunged for Mirth, dark orange flames almost engulfing her entire forearms. "You're so fucking stupid! You're still wearing Odysseus's necklace like it's not cursed. Do you know that monster is after you! It won't be long until he's staring you down in your sleep before he slowly cuts out your innards."

"How would you know?" Mirth snapped back even though he knew there was a grain of truth to her words.

"Because I fucking spoke to him! I found him in a cave and impaled him with a rock. He then just stared at me and said that he would come looking for you!" The moment those words left her mouth, Rekka spun around, fear contorting her features. "He's looking for you… And I…"

"I don't believe you. There's no way you would be alive if you even met Odysseus again." As Mirth said this, the other three members of the rag-tag group of travelers cowered behind him.

"No! Shut up! We need to start running now." Rekka looked behind her again. It had dawned on her that she had run from the Terror of the Waste's place of rest, but it wouldn't take him long to find them if he was actively searching for them. When Mirth didn't look convinced, she lunged at him. "Damn it, Rahib! I don't want to die!"

"You're not going to!" Mirth struggled against her hold, but Rekka was stronger. She slammed him into the nearest tree, the fire already lapping at her arms, while flames of terror danced behind her eyes.

"Please stop…" Irfan's voice barely reached them as Rekka squeezed Mirth's wrists, her skin scorching his.

"Stop!" It was Aaralyn who had shouted. Once more, her eyes had taken on the strange blue glow while water swirled around her, the tree behind her looking withered. "Just stop it, you two! This isn't going to solve anything."

"I'm not listening to anything you have to say, water lover," Rekka snarled back, though her flames had died down some.

"Ho-how about we-we all take a deep breath." Irfan raised his hands and lowered them in the rhythm of slow deep breaths, though there was panic in his gaze. "Then, we can keep going and get out of this forest, yes?"

"You believe her?" Mirth growled, finally managing to push Rekka off him with a slight burst of strength via storing energy into his muscles.

"Well…I…" Irfan dropped his hands. "I don't want to die either. If she's telling the truth or not… I mean… It's best to get out of this forest even without the Terror of the Wastes. There are scary Demons and bloodthirsty Shifters here." He looked away from Mirth, hands squeezing the hem of his silken shirt so hard that his knuckles turned way. "Well…and-and…you are wearing a charm from Odysseus. I-I-I recognize it. Anyone who steals something from him will die. That's how all the stories end."

A strange wail rang through the forest. The pungent smell of smoke wafted on the air.

"Odysseus is here. Do you want to die?" Rekka stared down Mirth, clutching her injured arm. "That's his smoke. He's going to burn down this entire forest and kill all those Magic Eating Demons. We'll die with them if we don't keep moving."

Mirth stared back, only for another wail to fill the forest. Without a word, he turned away and signaled for everyone to follow him.

"Whatever with all of this." Rekka glanced over her shoulder with a loud sigh. "You're an idiot, and I shouldn't be following you. I'm just putting my life on the line, but… I'm still going to follow you to this mystical paradise that doesn't even exist." She crossed her arms over her chest, turning away from everyone. "Just don't come crying to me if the Orc eats all the food we find or when the Terror of the Wastes comes to gut you in your sleep."

Mirth gritted his teeth, cringing at the words that came from Rekka's mouth. With everyone so excited to reach The Ring, he had started to believe in its existence. Hoped for it. With a shake of his head, he slowly turned to the people that had gathered behind him. Each was so different in their own way, and now they were traveling to the same place.

He wasn't alone anymore.

But with Odysseus on their tail, he didn't know how long that would last.