"Huh?"
Ophilia stopped walking after she and Derryl descended the stairs down to the area where they had last seen Emil searching. Ophilia had been planning on continuing to move forward for a few more seconds, but she was cut off when Derryl came to an all too sudden halt as he glanced around the area, expression twisted with confusion. "What's is it?" she questioned carefully.
"He's gone," Derryl murmured, and a quick glance around the area told Ophilia that Emil had vanished from view in the few moments that she and Derryl hadn't kept their eyes locked on the area. Ophilia silently wondered just how distracted she had gotten while talking to Tressa on the way over here. Derryl, meanwhile, took another step forward to try and see if he could spot where Emil had gone off to. His eyes were full of confusion and heartbreak, like he couldn't understand why his friend would suddenly abandon the search so soon after his faith in Emil had been restored. He didn't say it out loud, but Ophilia could sense the betrayal deep within Derryl's heart.
"Oh, Derryl! What are you doing here?"
Ophilia shifted her attention at the sound of a voice that was familiar to her in a way she didn't quite recognize at first. She eventually found her eyes locking on Nate, and the blonde boy approached her and Derryl carefully.
Derryl, for his part, didn't seem to know how to answer, and he fumbled in silence for a moment. When he did finally find words, they hardly even seemed grounded, instead rolling clumsily from his tongue against his will. "Oh, I... I just... Um..."
Ophilia was quick to cover for Derryl's moment of distraction, taking a step towards Nate as she spoke. "And you're Nate, yes?" she asked gently.
Nate seemed almost stunned that she was speaking to him at all, but he nodded a moment later. "Yeah. What's it to you?" he questioned, voice immediately verging on defensive.
"We were looking for Emil," Ophilia explained, not wanting to accidentally upset Nate. He seemed to be in a rather delicate position emotionally if his wariness was anything to go by, and Ophilia could only assume that Derryl's recent tension had been rubbing off on him for better or worse. "Have you seen him? He was here just a short while ago."
Nate nodded. "Oh, yeah. I saw him running off after some dog," he said, the anxiety in his body starting to melt away when he realized that Ophilia meant no harm.
"A dog?" Ophilia echoed, confusion writing itself across her features. She didn't know what she had expected to hear as the explanation for Emil's sudden absence, but she certainly hadn't factored a dog of all things into the equation.
Nate nodded. "Yeah, just a few minutes ago. There was this dog, and it had something shiny in its mouth," he went on. "Emil was saying something about how he was sure it was the brooch, and he went running off that way..." He pointed over Derryl and Ophilia's shoulders towards another path that led off to the east of Saintsbridge. In the distance, Ophilia could see trees lining the horizon.
"That way? Toward the Murkwood forest?" Derryl questioned, immediately proving Ophilia's suspicions about Emil's destination.
"The forest?" Ophilia hummed to herself.
Nate nodded once again, and Derryl let out a strangled gasp of shock. "Is he crazy?!" he cried out as he whirled around to face Ophilia. "That forest is full of monsters! We're not allowed to go anywhere near it!"
All of a sudden, Ophilia felt her heart skip a beat. She was on the verge of saying something about chasing after Emil, but she was cut off when Nate took a step forward and shook his head. "Ah, it'll be fine. Just think about it," he began, and Derryl turned to face him with a small frown. "Emil's a total coward, right? There's no way he'd go into that forest on his own. I bet he's running home now, crying all the way!"
Derryl looked up at Nate with tears starting to rise in his eyes, but he refused to let them fall. "S-Shut up!" he shouted, voice about to shatter under its own weight.
Nate took a small step backwards and held his hands up in a defensive gesture. "Hey, what's your problem? You know what Emil's like," he countered.
Derryl, however, didn't offer him a true response, instead turning to face the trees on the skyline. "I gotta go after him!" he exclaimed. He took off running again a moment later, leaving Ophilia and Nate in his dust.
It took Ophilia a moment to catch up with what she was seeing, and she staggered for a moment before trailing after him. "Derryl, wait!" she called in his direction. She turned to look at Nate for a moment, trying to hide her panic so as to not infect him with it as well. "Nate, could you stay here for me? I'm going to get Derryl and Emil so that I can bring them back. Everything is going to be fine."
"Alright," Nate said carefully, though he barely seemed to mind that Ophilia was so upset about the situation to begin with. Ophilia gave him a nod before she turned and trailed in Derryl's footsteps, the rest of the travelers hot on her heels all the way.
"They said the name of the forest was the Murkwood," Alfyn commented as the travelers continued to move as quickly as they could manage through Saintsbridge without earning too much attention or ire from the others in the town.
"That certainly sounds dangerous," Cyrus murmured. "It would be in our best interests to find the boys before they can get too deep into the forest. That will only end with them getting hurt, I fear."
"Then let's get to it," Ophilia announced without missing a beat. Fear was starting to pound against her chest like a drum, and she had no idea how she was supposed to calm herself. She hadn't known Emil and Derryl for long, but she didn't want anything bad to happen to either one of them. They were still only children, and they deserved to be safe. These boys had suffered enough as far as Ophilia was concerned, and the last thing she wanted was for them to be visited by the trauma of being caught up in a dark situation such as this one.
H'aanit fell into pace alongside Ophilia as the group drew nearer to the edge of town, a frown on her face. "A dog with a brooch in its jaws? That certainly soundeth like our target," H'aanit remarked. Ophilia looked over at her in curiosity, and the huntress took that as her cue to continue. "When dogs catchen prey they aren too full to eat, they oft buryen it for safekeeping. They aren collectors as well, and they often hiden away sticks, toys, and old bones."
The pieces began to click together in Ophilia's head, and she nodded. "That's why we weren't able to find the brooch before now. The dog may have buried Derryl's heirloom and went back for it to bring it back to its den," she concluded.
H'aanit nodded her confirmation. "The dog meant no malice. It actede solely upon instinct," she explained. "The dog is not what we should fearen... The problem is the forest. It is home not just to animals, but dangerous monsters too. As a hunter, I feare them more." The end of H'aanit's sentence was left unspoken, the part that stated the fear was for the young children who had wandered into the danger with the best of intentions, and Ophilia felt as if she was going to be sick.
Still, the cleric did her best to steel herself. "As do I, to be honest," she murmured. "I pray that Derryl and Emil are unharmed..."
"We must reachen them as soon as possible. Leten us keepen moving," H'aanit said, speeding her pace again a moment later. Ophilia nodded before trailing after her, narrowly tilting her body to avoid colliding with a woman who was carrying a few bags of groceries back to her home. Ophilia resisted the urge to wince at the close call, instead focusing her attention solely on the trees bleeding into the horizon.
The only thought that whirled within Ophilia's mind was that she had to find both of them safely. The people in Saintsbridge could feel however they wanted about her as long as she could bring Derryl and Emil back safely. She tried to comfort herself by saying that they hadn't been there for long, but she still had an awful feeling about all of it.
Please be safe... That's all I ask of you.
Deep within the heart of the Murkwood, Emil found himself in a clearing surrounded by trees native to the Riverlands. Barely any sunlight was managing to filter through the overhead leaves and branches, darkening the area with shadows and making it nearly impossible to see. He glanced around the region, desperate to catch even the slightest glimpse of something shiny to show that he was in the right place. When he found no trace of the brooch or the dog, he let out a frustrated sigh. "Where'd that dog go?" he muttered. He took another few steps forward before turning to look behind him, and he realized that he didn't recognize anything that he had seen up to this point. He had been following the dog for quite a while, but he hadn't been keeping track of just how much distance he was covering. "And how far in am I...?" He shook it off a moment later, trying to steel his resolve and push through his nerves. "Never mind. I have to find that brooch!"
"Emil!"
The black-haired boy turned at the sound of his name, and he saw Derryl dashing into view from the direction that he had first come from. Emil stared at his companion for a moment before he was finally able to form words once more. "Derryl?!" he cried out, unable to restrain his shock. He took a few steps forward, holding his hands up defensively. "I-I'm sorry! I haven't found it yet! Please, just give me a little more-"
Derryl's expression twisted into confusion before he took a step towards his companion. "What are you talking about?! We've gotta get out of here!" he exclaimed, reaching out to grab Emil's hand and drag him towards the exit of the Murkwood.
Emil looked over his shoulder, a frown lining his features prominently. "But the dog-"
"Forget about the stupid dog!" Derryl shouted back.
"But-" Emil began, but he was never able to finish his sentence.
A growl pierced the air and echoed throughout the clearing.
Emil took a small step back, his expression growing pale. "D-Did you hear that?" he asked, his voice wavering as a clear sign that he prayed Derryl did not answer in the affirmative.
"Run for it, Emil!" Derryl commanded as he went to turn on his heel and run back the way he came.
That was when the dog appeared.
The beast was massive, its hair a dark purple color. Its muscles were impressive, a sign that it had spent a great many years honing its skills in hunting and tracking prey. The hair near its head was a stunning silver color that would have been much more impressive and magnificent if it was not an omen of doom for the pair of young boys. Its eyes glimmered gold and dangerous in the darkness of the forest.
Emil let out a scream of surprise, and he was left glued to the spot from shock and fear. Derryl took a step in front of him, throwing an arm in front of his friend. "Stay back!"
"D-Derryl?!" Emil cried out. As soon as he spoke the word, the beast let out another scream that shook the air and could have torn the earth to shreds with just a bit more horrifying volume. As the wolf took another step forward, Derryl remained unyielding, holding his arms out defensively in front of his friend.
An arrow streaked through the air before landing straight in the beast's side.
The wolf screamed in pain, and the boys turned to see where the attack had come from. H'aanit stood at the entrance to the clearing with her bow at the ready, and the other travelers were filing in behind her. Ophilia was at the front of the group, and she pulled both Derryl and Emil back as swiftly as she was able. "Thank the heavens we arrived in time!" she exclaimed. "Now get behind me-both of you!"
The two boys retreated as Primrose sent out a quick blast of dark magic from the Shadow Fan where it was poised in her grasp. The wolf recoiled at the strike, staggering backwards by a few paces before looking up to glare at her. Cyrus created a wall of ice to keep the wolf at bay, the Tome of Tundras sparking with pale blue light between his fingertips.
Ophilia, however, did not participate in the battle. Instead, she turned her attention once again to Derryl and Emil, trying to paint a calming expression on her face despite all that was happening just in front of her. "Don't worry. Everything's alright now. You two were very brave," she told Emil and Derryl carefully. She glanced to the entrance of the clearing, wondering how fast she would be able to usher the two boys to safety.
However, she was cut off when the ice wall at the center of the clearing shattered. The wolf had made a mighty swipe across the center of the divider, sending shards of ice flying in every direction. Ophilia held up her arms to block the fragments, but in the end, that was unnecessary. Wind rushed in from nowhere to destroy the lingering pieces of the ice, and Ophilia knew Tressa was responsible without even having to look in the merchant's direction. Instead, Ophilia continued to watch the wolf as the beast stalked ever nearer. Even if they tried to run now, they would only be bringing the creature into Saintsbridge. It was fully intent on giving chance, and Ophilia could see that undeniable truth gleaming in the monster's eyes.
"It willen not letten us escape," H'aanit declared, having come to the same conclusion as Ophilia. "Our only option is to fighten it." She primed her bow at the ready before reaching for another arrow, ready to set the attack loose the instant she was given a clear shot.
Ophilia nodded her agreement as she looked to Derryl and Emil, shocked at how easily she was able to maintain her cool demeanor even in the face of such a massive beast. "I need both of you to stay back, alright?" she told them carefully. "My friends and I are going to take care of the wolf so that we can leave, but you need to stay behind us. We know what we're doing. Everything is going to be alright as long as you stand behind us. Can you do that for me?"
Derryl and Emil were both too stunned silent to speak, so they simply nodded before staggering back a little bit more. In the end, they wound up settling behind a small rock sitting just in front of a fallen tree. Ophilia watched them with careful eyes before nodding and turning her attention back to the task at hand. As long as the children were safe, she could focus everything she had on stopping the wolf, and she could already tell she was going to need every advantage of concentration that she could get.
Tressa sent a quick blast of wind out when Ophilia glanced in her direction, and the wolf was sent sliding back by about three feet from the impact. Unfortunately, the wind didn't do much in terms of damage, and the beast launched itself forward in a pouncing motion again a few seconds later. H'aanit eyed the monster's stance before glancing over to Tressa, her eyes flickering to a spare spear sticking out of the merchant's bag. Tressa looked over at her, and as soon as she could tell what H'aanit was eyeing, she tossed the extra lance in the huntress' direction. H'aanit simply nodded before she began to stalk around the outside of the clearing in search of a weak point in the wolf's defenses.
Before the beast could strike once more, Cyrus created a wall of ice. The wolf's claws were stuck in the sudden burst of icicles, and it roared in pain as it tried to pull away. Its efforts were ultimately unsuccessful, and everyone could already tell that the monster was weak to ice magic. Olberic raised his blade before bringing it crashing down on top of the wolf in a grand arc. The slash was more than enough to make the beast scream, though this dislodged it from the ice.
As soon as the monster had regained its bearings, it began to launch itself in Olberic's direction. The warrior raised one arm, and the beast bit down firmly on his lower arm. Olberic's clothing was thick enough to keep the strike from doing too much damage luckily, and he continued to let the monster stare at him with a glare in its eyes. He curled his sword around in his other hand, twisting his grip so that he could reach the beast a little bit easier. He brought the blade down in a stab towards the monster's side, though that did nothing but tighten the wolf's grip on his arm. Olberic hissed in pain, praying that his defenses would be able to hold out long enough for him to claim the upper hand once more.
Luckily for him, Primrose was more than ready to watch his back, and she sent out a firm yet quick blast of thunder magic that slammed into the wolf's abdomen. The creature let out a scream before being sent sprawling through the clearing, landing perfectly at H'aanit's feet. She stabbed downward with the spear in her hands, and the wolf shrieked in pain once more. Ophilia had no idea how H'aanit was able to figure out that the beast was weak to the specific power found in lances, but she wasn't objecting to the damage H'aanit had managed to deal in the slightest. Then again, H'aanit was the huntress of their party; if anyone was going to know how to unravel the defenses of a monster, it was going to be her.
That was clearly what the wolf was-a monster of the Murkwood, not an ordinary dog. Ophilia didn't even want to know how it had managed to get into Saintsbridge unbothered to begin with, though she supposed that it had probably done so under the cover of night. Perhaps curiosity had led the creature to the town during the day, though its camouflage was much more effective in the darkness. It had certainly been confident, wandering into Saintsbridge as it had.
It camouflages best in the darkness...
The thought hit Ophilia immediately when she thought about the current battle critically for a few seconds, and she raised the Illumination Staff before letting a blast of light magic rock the center of the clearing. The energy exploded outwards, making the ground tremble for a brief moment before the earth fell still once more. She kept her gaze locked firmly on the wolf the entire way through the attack, gauging its reaction as carefully as she could stand.
And just as she had expected, the wolf recoiled with a scream.
If the beast was truly most accustomed to traveling at night-something Ophilia could easily assume was the case given the color of its coat-then it was going to have strong night vision but struggle against sudden blasts of light. Sure enough, she had been right, and Ophilia couldn't help smiling at the sight. The wolf was left stumbling for a moment after the fact, struggling to see anything farther away than its own nose. Regardless of what the travelers did next, they would be able to get away with it because of how jarred the beast was.
In other words, it was their cue to unleash their strongest attacks yet, and Ophilia was more than happy to take advantage of the blessing she had been given. She was about to charge up yet another blast from her staff when she was cut off by the sound of Primrose's voice beside her. "Hold on," the dancer said, and Ophilia looked in her direction with a small frown. A moment later, Primrose launched into a quick twirl, and Ophilia immediately felt her power levels rise. The dance had given her a boost of strength, and that was going to help with defeating the wolf, no doubt.
Cyrus, Tressa, and Primrose herself all seemed to be feeling the influences of this as well, but the dancer didn't stop there. Instead, she executed yet another swift performance, and this time, power surged through the other half of the travelers' party. Ophilia could feel the sudden boost of power hanging heavily in the air, and she couldn't help but smile to herself. This was what they needed to do in order to defeat the wolf, and she knew this would be more than enough.
Tressa was the first one to strike, charging her lance with a blast of electricity magic before stabbing it in the wolf's direction. Cyrus followed up with a lightning blast of his own while Primrose and Ophilia shared a knowing glance. Ophilia poured all of her energy into the Illumination Staff, and Primrose mustered her own arcane strength before they released their light attacks at the same time, sending an explosion of white throughout the area. The wolf was too exhausted and jarred to even bother to scream, and the light magic gave the rest of the travelers the chance they needed in order to follow up with attacks of their own.
H'aanit followed Tressa's lead in spreading electricity throughout one of her arrows before sending it flying, and Therion reached for his sword before slashing it in the wolf's direction. Alfyn covered the tip of his axe with ice magic before slashing at the beast, though he retreated immediately afterwards, Therion in hot pursuit. Olberic was the only one among them who had yet to strike, and everyone could tell that whatever was about to happen was going to be massive.
Sure enough, Olberic had pressed his sword's hilt between his fingers, and the air in the clearing seemed to grow thick with the power he was preparing to unleash. Ophilia knew without even having to ask that it was going to be their first demonstration of Brand's holy gift: overwhelming strength. They hadn't done much to embrace the blessings of the gods yet, but Olberic was about to change all of that with his next motion.
A single sword slash was all it took to bring the earth to tremors and the endless power of the gods to life. The stones of the ground below pushed themselves apart in an impressive display of strength, sending a single endless stream of power rushing towards the wolf. The beast was struck in the side, and the clearing went perfectly silent as the attack ended. It was as if the world had been brought to ruin for that brief moment only for everything to return to the way it had been as soon as all was said and done.
For a long time, nobody could do anything but stare. Olberic had not yet moved from where he lashed out, and the other travelers were simply watching him from their places scattered around the clearing. Derryl and Emil stared with shock written all over their faces from behind the nearby rock. The air seemed to swell and pulse with the breathing patterns of everyone present, as if it understood that they were admiring a beauty few mortals had ever been able to witness.
Then came the groaning.
Ophilia tore her gaze away from Olberic and down to the wolf, and she realized with a silent gasp that the creature was still alive. In fact, it was rising to its feet, a snarl on its lips and more anger gleaming in its eyes than ever before. It had survived the hit, and on top of that, it was plotting its next action of revenge to ensure that it won this fight.
"How in the world...?" Primrose questioned under her breath. She shook it off again a moment later before sending out an explosion of light to try and strike at the wolf's previous injury. The beast jumped out of the way at the last second before lunging in Primrose's direction, fangs bared.
Tressa sent out a quick blast of wind magic to give Primrose the speed and momentum she needed to roll out of the way and come up from the grass in a crouch. The wolf rebounded off a tree before jumping towards the next closest target it could find: Therion. The thief was ready for it though, sword braced at the ready to defend from the next attack. The wolf's teeth curled around the sword, completely uncaring as to the wounds that the sharp edges of the blade were going to create if it continued down this path. Therion grunted with the force it took to keep the beast at bay. Not even the strength that he had been given by Primrose was enough to keep him from completely losing his composure here, and Ophilia could hear Therion's shoes skidding against the ruined earth below as he attempted to fortify his defenses.
The wolf's tail lashed out when Therion finally managed to push it away, and something came falling free of the thief's waist. Ophilia realized upon closer examination that it was his dagger, though Therion didn't have the chance to reclaim it. The strike from the wolf's tail sent him stumbling sideways, and he immediately lunged and rolled to get out of the way when the beast prepared to pounce once more.
Before Ophilia could fully say what she was doing, she was reaching for the dagger and bracing it between her fingers. Cyrus had struck at the wolf with a blast of ice while she was doing so, and Alfyn had taken a mighty swing with his axe as well. Alfyn's blade struck the injury that Olberic's overwhelmingly powerful attack had created, and the beast resisted the urge to scream. It turned to face him, no doubt preparing to lash out one final time to end the battle for at least one of its combatants.
H'aanit was prepared for this though, sending out an arrow charged with thunder magic to strike at the beast's injury as well. The wolf was sent flying off course from the sheer force of the attack, and the monster rolled a single time before coming up once more in a crouch. Before it had the chance to adjust its field of vision to see where Alfyn had disappeared to though, the earth began to shift. Stones piled up before rooting the beast in place, and Ophilia glanced over to see Therion holding his free hand up with a frown firm on his features. The stones mounted quickly enough that the monster was unable to retaliate, leaving it trapped on the spot with no way of escaping.
Ophilia couldn't say for sure what caused her to act in the way she did a moment later, but she raised Therion's dagger above her head as she charged towards the beast. She stabbed downwards once she was in front of the wolf, and all of a sudden, everything went silent. The clearing's air stilled, and everyone was left staring at her. However, they were certain that this time, the battle truly was over. There was no way that their enemy could have reconstructed its strength after an attack like that, and they could all tell.
They were saved.
The wolf was silent save for one final small whimper before it crashed to the ground. The motion was graceless and inelegant, not that anyone was particularly surprised. Ophilia stared down at the beast, uncertain as to how she was meant to feel. She had never liked the idea of taking away the life of a living creature, and even if she had fought against a few monsters in the past, it had never felt quite like this. Then again, she supposed that her foe had never been this overpowering and impressive before now. The others had previously delivered the killing blows, and she hadn't ever been given the reason to question as to if this was truly something that she would have to consider.
Still, there was little she could do about it now, so Ophilia yanked the knife free of the wolf's skull before letting her arm fall back to her side. The Illumination Staff was still braced in her other hand, and she was glad that she was holding so tightly to it so that nobody could see how shaky she felt on the inside. Externally, she looked like a warrior queen, staring death in the face without blinking an eye. She was more than happy to let others believe that was the full story though; she didn't want to do anything that could frighten the children she had been fighting to save.
The other travelers were quick to gather around the wolf as soon as they realized the battle was over, and at long last, Ophilia felt as if she could breathe once more. At her side, Therion's knife dripped with blood, splattering the grass below. Nobody dared to stare at the pool of crimson gathered just to the side of the cleric, and Ophilia was happiest of all to ignore the fact of the matter.
She had accomplished her purpose, and everything else could wait, including the rushing of her own thoughts.
So... Late night update, huh?
I really didn't mean for this chapter to come out as late as it did, but I guess that just kind of happened. I wound up being unexpectedly busy today, so I couldn't start typing until about 4:15 in the morning. At least I was able to get it done. Woohoo!
I don't really have all that much to say about this chapter, but I do like how the battle turned out. I wanted to offer the chance for one of the godly powers to be on full display here, and Brand's fit in perfectly given the circumstances. I'm excited to show off the other godly blessings in the future as well, but for now, you get Olberic kicking the crap out of the wolf here to save some kids.
Also, I do want to point out that, yes, the wolf does technically have a name within the original game, but it's never brought up in dialogue nor is it relevant to the plot, so I decided to not name it here. It's a small choice, but I thought it would make a lot more sense than randomly throwing in the name when it's never brought up in canon.
Anyways, I'm going to finally sleep since I'm getting this out ridiculously late at night. Next time, we'll pick up just after the boss fight and pursue the rest of Ophilia's chapter two. Until then, I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. Feedback is appreciated as always. Have a nice day, everyone!
-Digital