Chapter 21: Trouble in Paradise
The bright spring sun bathed the Wildlands in a warm, comfortable atmosphere. Nary a cloud spoiled the blue skies and a cool, but not cold, wind blew across the landscape, ensuring a balanced and comfortable temperature.
"Much, much better than, like, being stuck in that ice cold metal refrigerator," Stella happily sighed as she leaned back on her carpet.
While the Wildlands was pretty far from the sea, it had some pretty large rivers and lakes, many of which had been converted into pseudo-beaches by way of landscaping and magic. As such, the group had easily found a delightful camping spot by one of the major lakes that allowed them both access to one of said beaches and the natural riches of the nearby forest.
Out on the lake, Riven, Sky and Brandon were racing around on their aircycles, the brunette making sure the competition didn't spin out of control.
Techna, Timmy and Mirta were currently playing a game of cards in the shade of a parasol, Aisha were training in using her magic with Musa as her tutor, Flora had gone for a walk, and Bloom and Stella were laying on the beach getting a tan.
"No kidding," Bloom responded to the blonde's statement, looking up from the magazine she was reading. "If the magic hadn't been so low, I'd just have used my powers to heat the cart up". She paused for a bit. "Still surprised you didn't punch anybody when they finally got us out".
"Well, they did promise to pay for our stay at the hotel as an apology," the blonde replied. "I mean, not that it would have been a great financial loss if I had to pay, but still, it's, like, the principle of things".
"I see," Bloom commented as she returned her attention to her reading. She had bought what Stella had described as a typical teen girl magazine back in Stranglethorn City out of curiosity. "Wow, listen to this for a second," she said, before reading aloud: "You've just found out that your boyfriend doesn't share your musical taste at all and instead listens to awful junk music. What do you do? A: Dump him. B: Use magic to change his taste. C: Accept your differing tastes". She stared at the magazine. "Is this a test to see if you're a horrible person?"
"No, they're sadly quite serious," Stella commented.
"There's been plenty of cases where some jackass has tried to change somebody with magic to correct a perceived flaw," Musa added. "It's really, really illegal to pull a stunt like that, but that doesn't stop everyone".
"Plus, whomever writes that magazine is kinda nuts," Techna said as she looked up from her cards. "I once read an article about how to find out if your significant other is unfaithful and how to punish them. It read like an index of every way to break the laws against torture".
"Yikes," Bloom said as she returned her attention to the magazine, now more out of morbid curiosity than anything else.
Stella looked up, lifting her sunshades as she noticed Flora returning to their camp, arms full of firewood. "Watcha doing with all those sticks?"
"Making sure we have enough fuel for our campfire," Flora replied, wiping sweat off her face. "I know we bought some back in town, but I like to have a little extra just in case".
"I must admit, this has been very unlike any vacation I've been on," Aisha noted as she tried to shape the water. The very low level of ambient magic forced her to be very economic with her spells, something Musa thought would help her focus better. "I'm still not sure I get why some of you would rather stay out here than in the hotel, but I'll admit, it has been fairly fun so far".
"And a much better trip out in the wilds than Melmamora," Stella added. "No mud, no bloodsucking bugs, no dangerous animals". She sighed. "Life's great here".
"Speaking of animals, should we go to the wild animal sanctuary one of these days?" Techna asked. "I hear they've got some really cool beasties there".
"Well, it does have one of the few tame troll communities in existence," Timmy added. "That's pretty special".
"Trolls are considered animals?" Bloom asked.
"Well, there was a pretty big debate about that a couple of decades back," Timmy responded. "About whether trolls could be considered an intelligent species on par with elves or ogres. End result was that mostly everyone agreed that trolls were close, but not quite there". After a short pause, he added: "By the way, word of advice. Never bring troll intelligence up online unless you enjoy seeing concentrated stupidity and malevolence in text form".
"I'll keep that in mind," Bloom responded. "So, if we're going to make a campfire, we're going to make camping food, right?"
"What's camping food?" Stella asked suspiciously.
"I think I'll take a gamble and wager that it is food made while camping," Musa dryly commented.
"Well, we did buy some food especially for it," Timmy commented. "We got some greens, some meat and even dessert for it".
"I'm still not sure I get it," Stella commented.
"You put the food on a stick of a sort and cook it with the heat from the campfire," Flora explained. "It is a simple and very useful survival technique".
"That sounds really inefficient," Aisha commented. "Why not just use an oven?"
"Why not just... Aisha, where do you think there is an oven around here?" Musa asked exasperated. "They don't exactly grow on the trees".
Aisha looked around for a moment. "Okay, I concede that we can't really do that around here," she admitted. "But why not just take the owl and get back to town. They probably even have well-educated chefs for the job".
"Hear, hear," Stella agreed.
"Because part of camping is getting a safe feeling of surviving on your own," Flora stated. "That includes making your own food".
"Me and my parents would make s'mores at the beach," Bloom sighed bittersweetly. "Do you even have anything like that around here?"
"Dunno. Check the bag," Techna said and pointed.
The redhead got up and went to said bag, digging through it. "Huh. I guess this is pretty close," she commented, lifting a packet of puffy pink balls.
...
Meanwhile, far away from the carefree vacation of the group, others were busy working.
Darcy sighed as she opened another book on ancient codes. The Codex, while complete, held additional challenges. Not only was the info on it encoded in various ciphers, it was also jumbled, presumably to delay anyone trying to unlock its secrets. The fact that reports were streaming in that not only Red Fountain soldiers, but also reinforcements from other nearby nations were coming to assist the troglodytes indicated that people were indeed aware that Darkar had the whole Codex. But finally, having spent the entire night deciphering it, they were at the brink of unlocking its mysteries. With a couple of strokes of her pencil, Darcy finalized the final translation and brought it to the throne room. Darkar and Icy were currently trying to sort the jumbled messages they had already translated, while Stormy made runs to and from Darkar's library to get more books.
"You know, when you had that laughing fit yesterday, I kinda assumed we were done," Stormy commented as she brought in three more tomes.
"So did I, Stormy. So did I," Darkar commented. "It seems they were prepared for the eventuality that I would get my hands on all four. But now, victory is not a question of if, but when".
"Speaking of when, I translated the final piece," Darcy said as she handed him her notes.
"Excellent," Darkar said delighted as he added the translated note to the pile. "Now these are the instructions of a powerful and ancient ritual I have been searching for, for a long time".
"Yeah, on the subject of time, something you said made me curious," Stormy commented. "How old are you?"
Darkar looked like he wanted to respond, before he stopped and assumed a look of generic contemplation. "Well, how old is the multiverse?" he asked.
"Nobody knows, but the best guess is very, very old," Icy stated.
"Right. Well, that's my age then. Very, very old," the Shadow Phoenix said with a shrug. "Probably even older than that. My sense of time hasn't always been... Well-developed, let us just put it like that".
Icy stared at him. "What exactly are you?" she asked.
"A good question I guess. I am the Shadow Phoenix, a living embodiment of a dragonflame and a dragonshade," Darkar responded. "There is nothing like me in the multiverse".
"Well, you certainly are unique," Stormy commented dryly.
"I know. My magnificence is without comparison," Darkar said confidently. "But then again, my role is singular, so of course I would be one of a kind". He studied the readings. "Now, to use the ritual I need to... Aha... I see... Makes sense... Wait... No... No". He sighed and his head hung limply from his shoulders. "Of course. Should have seen this coming".
The three witches exchanged glances.
"But wait," Darkar said, suddenly excited. "Of course. It all fits. It was destined to be. That was why we met. It was never over, it was only the beginning. It would not be tragic without such a reversal".
"Ehm, hey, could we get a fucking translation?" Stormy asked confused. "What are you talking about?"
"The ritual is designed to open a lock," Darkar explained. "That lock was specifically designed to keep me out. Therefore, the key component of the ritual is a dragonflame. But here's the important plot point. It cannot be a dragonflame from the Dragon itself. Thus, my fire is useless, as is the sparks I gave the three of you".
"So... A new dragonflame," Stormy pondered. "Wait... No... No way".
"You have got to be kidding me," Darcy groaned.
"Well, this is going to be interesting," Icy stated.
"We need Bloom," Darkar declared. "She will be the key to her own downfall. It was meant to be all this time. We were destined for each other".
"Okay, first off, tune down the creepiness, please," Stormy said while rubbing her temples. "Secondly, are you kidding me? We're going to go after Bloom's dragonflame again? Seriously? Wasn't it that particular stunt that got us into so much fucking trouble last year?"
"Except we can't take the flame from her," Darcy pointed out. "We'll need to kidnap her".
"And that will be your mission," the Shadow Phoenix told them. "You will go to where Bloom is and bring her back to me".
"But how? Alfea's gotta be in lockdown after everything that has happened," Icy argued.
An unpleasant smile appeared on Darkar's ashen face. "But Bloom is not at Alfea. She's on a vacation in the Wildlands".
"Oh. Well, that changes things," Darcy said. "But the Wildlands is a low magic area. I could probably handle it, but these two," she added, gesturing to Icy and Stormy with her thumb. "They kinda rely a lot on their magic. So if you have anything extra you could give us, that would be nice".
"I feel slightly insulted, but yeah, help would be great," Stormy commented.
"And I shall grant you the tools to succeed," Darkar said. "And then I will bring you to the Wildlands".
"Why not just stay and help us then?" Icy asked.
"First of all, I am the dark overlord. It wouldn't do for me to get involved in minion work all the time," the Shadow Phoenix declared pridefully. "Secondly, as a low magic area, the Wildlands will have a detrimental effect on my health. So that is also a good reason for me to not stay there".
...
With a carefree smile, Bloom put a sausage-esque piece of meat on a sharpened stick. "Isn't this wonderful?" she asked as she held the meat over the hot embers.
Stella pulled her food back. "Yes. Wonderful," she flatly commented as she examined what had once been a piece of meat, but now looked more like charcoal ."I can definitely see why this is a superior experience to a restaurant".
"You do realise you're supposed to pull it out of the heat while it's still meat, right?" Riven asked her.
"Oh, let's see you do it better," the blonde grumbled.
"I just did," the magenta-haired warrior confidently replied, before waving a sizzling piece of meat at her face.
"Keep doing that and I will eat it," she warned him.
"So, what we going to do tomorrow?" Mirta asked.
"I vote for going back to Stranglethorn City," Stella immediately said.
"I think we should stay out here a day or two more," Sky said. "I mean, we've barely arrived and we have the entire week".
"I agree," Flora said. "It has been a while since I have had a longer trip out in the... Well, I guess we can call this area the wilds".
"I think it's a lotta fun out here," Techna agreed. "So let's hang here for a while".
"I still don't really get the appeal," Aisha admitted as she pulled her meat out of the warmth. She bit into it. Immediately realising that that was a mistake, she made a face and spat the piece of undercooked meat into the embers. "I really don't get it," she added sadly, returning the meat to its place over the campfire.
"Well, I'd love to get to see the animal sanctuary before we leave," Timmy added. "And since it's nearby, it would be kinda easier to stay".
"You are all totally nuts," Stella sulked.
"Here, take mine. It's well done by now," Brandon said and offered his girlfriend some meat.
"Oh, thank you, sweetie," Stella said delighted and plucked the meat off the pointed stick. "What would I do without you?"
"Order takeout," Musa suggested.
"Starve," Riven commented.
"Bring your own cook," Techna proposed.
"That was not an invitation for all you comedians to start throwing smart-ass comments around," Stella growled, before biting into the meat.
...
In the darkening skies above, a bird of black flames soared across the heavens. It dove towards the shadowy woods below, breaking off the dive a meter from the forest floor. From its underside, Icy, Darcy and Stormy fell with a yelp and tumbled to the mossy ground. Then the dark being shot off into the air again.
"Geez, talk about a rough landing," Stormy groaned as she got up, rubbing her back.
"I'd say I was surprised that you're so sensitive," Icy scoffed. "But I'm not".
"Oh, so you wanna bring this up here, right now?" Stormy returned, ire rising. "Fine, let's do this then. I may be fucking sensitive, but at least I'm not a fucking psychopathic bitch who gets off on stomping on others".
"Oh yeah? And who would want to be a hyper-sensitive, moody wimp like you?" Icy coldly shot back. "Why don't you crawl back to your parents and beg for their attention again?"
Seconds before they got ready to charge each other with their magic flaring, they suddenly noticed the daggers pointing at their faces.
"Okay, I do consider myself to be patient if nothing else," Darcy said with a hint of frustration. "But if you two really think that having an all-out bitch fight here is the best solution to your problems, then I will cut you and feed you both to the animals. Is that clear?" She turned to look at Icy: "So let's get this sorted out. You are a born bully, who gets such a charge out of pushing others around that you would shoot yourself in the foot as long as somebody else got hurt". She turned to Stormy. "And you are so attention starved that you've been willing to sacrifice your own morals and beliefs in the hope that people would like you".
"And what about yourself?" Stormy snarled.
"Me? I'm a psychologically broken shell of a person who's so deprived of empathy that I'm stuck with you two, because you're the closest I'll ever have to actual friends," Darcy admitted without hesitation while sheathing her daggers. "So face it. We're all horrible people who live in a horrible world. We might as well use that for something. So if nothing else, let's cooperate rather than fight, even if we have major issues with each other. Okay?"
"Fine," Icy sighed. "I guess there really isn't a point to fighting about something that unimportant".
"Well, I'm still pissed you pulled that fucking stunt in Pixie Village," Stormy grumbled. "But I guess I can't do shit about that now, so why even bother?"
"That's the attitude," Darcy said uncaring. "Now, with that out of the way, let us get moving".
"So with that out of the way, how do we capture Bloom?" Icy asked as they started moving through the forest. "I mean, she's kinda depowered out here, but she still has all her friends".
"Including a couple of guys from Red Fountain if Darkar is right," Stormy added. "I mean, let's face it, you're the only one of us who can actually hold your own in a melee, Darcy. Without our magic, we will just get our asses kicked if we try to pull anything".
"I know. Which is why I asked Darkar to provide us with some extra aid," Darcy said, pulling a little flask from her pouch. "Know what this is?"
"No. Should I?" Stormy replied.
"Puppet elixir," the dirty-blonde explained. "The drinker falls under the sway of a specific person, determined by said person dropping a part of themself in the drink. Darkar had some fresh stuff in storage, so I just had to add some of my hair".
"So what, we feed it to Bloom?" Icy asked. "We still have to get through her pals".
"A possibility, but no, not what I had in mind," Darcy said with a confident smile. "Do you remember what else is in the area?"
"Oh. The wild animal sanctuary," Stormy stated. "I see where you're going with this".
...
Night had fallen across the little camp, the campfire extinguished hours ago. In the tents, the boys and girls rested after a long day of fun.
Inside in her tent, Bloom stirred from her sleep, half-forgotten dreams clinging to her mind like cobweb. She yawned and rolled over on the other side, expecting to get back to sleep. That's when she heard the sound of crunching sand outside. Groggily, she crawled through the tent, passing by Musa whom she shared it with, and peaked outside. In the dim light of the stars, she could see Sky wandering back and forth.
"Was going on?" she sleepily asked as she crawled out. The air still carried traces of the day's heat, making it comfortable for her despite only being clad in a pyjama.
"Dunno. Heard some noises," Sky replied. "No idea what it was. Might have been nothing". He paused for a bit. "But one of the rules I've had drilled into my skull by Knut is 'It's never just the wind'".
"So you're keeping guard," Bloom summarized as they both watched the dark woods. "Anything else?"
"Besides the weird sounds? No. Just silence," the blond prince replied. "Which is also kinda weird. You'd think something besides the wind would be making noise in a forest".
"Hopefully it's nothing," the redhead said. She went silent. They stood on the starlit sand for a few minutes, just watching the surrounding nature. "How is Knut doing by the way?" Bloom asked.
"He's doing great. Looks kinda silly marching around campus with that duck of his, but he knows what he's doing," the Eraklian prince said. "He's a veteran and it shows. Lot of practical lessons though not very by the book. Dedicated, serious and still manages to be very supportive". The blond prince chuckled. "Only time he stops being serious is around Belisma. Then he gets all embarrassed, keeps stumbling over words while wringing his hat. Dunno how many times he's had to repair that thing".
"Good to hear. He's a nice guy," Bloom said. "Even after everything he's done". She paused. "Makes one wonder".
"About?" Sky asked.
"Well, I think all of us agree that we understand why Knut did what he did, even if it was still wrong," Bloom explained. "But are the others like that? Does even somebody like Darkar, when you get down to it, have some understandable reason for why he does what he does?"
"Well, maybe. Hard to say," the blond prince said. "Maybe he really is as crazy as he seems and he genuinely thinks he's the villain in some sort of lame cartoon for kids. Or maybe it's just a smokescreen hiding something more complicated. Or maybe a little bit of both, I dunno. I'm not the philosophical type, I just hit things real hard".
"I guess these things are never simple," the redhead pondered.
"In my experience, life in general isn't simple," Sky said "But we'll just have to take it as it comes I guess". He smirked, before cheekily asking: "Now, isn't it about time you get back in bed, young lady?"
Bloom giggled, before responding: "And what about you?"
"As I told you, we Red Fountain grunts can go without sleep for a while. I'll be okay," Sky said. "I just want to make sure everything is alright out here".
"Alright," Bloom yawned as she turned back towards her tent. "You just give a shout if anything happens". Her curiosity satisfied, she crawled back into the tent and under her blanket.
"So, he's cute, huh?" Musa quietly asked.
"Mhmm," Bloom mumbled. "What?"
"Just wondering if you enjoyed your moonlit mini-date," the musician said.
"It wasn't a date," Bloom sleepily insisted. "I was just curious what somebody was doing up at this hour".
"Well, fair enough," Musa said. "But then you spend fifteen minutes discussing diet philosophy. Or do you often do that at night and I've just never been invited?"
"We just talked. Good night, Musa," Bloom responded and rolled over on one side.
"Goodnight, Bloom," her black-haired companion said before drifting off to sleep.
...
Stormy and Icy sad on a rock and a tree-stump respectively, tolerating each other's presence while waiting for Darcy to return. In front of them was the fence that separated the normal forest from the sanctuary, which Darcy had slipped through with ease. Now they waited for her to come back with news.
They heard a light rustle and turned to look as a shadow snaked through the fence before manifesting into the form of Darcy. She took a couple of deep breaths as she steadied herself, her magic almost completely drained by the exercise.
"So, how did it go?" Stormy asked.
"Turns out they have a central food deposit, most of it automated," Darcy responded. "I just had to liberally spice it up and tomorrow, they will all start obeying me once they've had breakfast".
"So now we wait?" Icy asked.
"Yeah. I suggest we find a hollow or something similar," the dirty-blonde witch said as she headed into the forest. "No campfires or anything. We'll try to remain as inconspicuous as possible".
"Great, sleeping in the open without as much as a fucking blanket. Reminds me of such happy times," Stormy grumbled. "At least it's reasonably warm out here".
"So, what animals will we have at our disposal?" Icy asked.
"Hard to say, didn't have time to scout the entire area," Darcy replied. "But they have quite the collection. We can at the very least count on having leatherwings, trolls and wargs. Once we have a more comprehensive overview of our new troops, we'll formulate a strategy".
"But aren't people going to notice when the animals start disappearing?" Stormy asked.
"It's not a zoo, Stormy," Darcy responded. "The sanctuary consists of large forest areas, which means that the animals could easily slip out without it being noticed. Well, once I have disabled the security in the fence of course. It will be discovered sooner or later, but by then we are hopefully far away from here, safely back in Shadowhaunt".
"Another fun one for the diary," Stormy sighed. "Dear diary, today I'm going to try to capture Bloom again with a flock of brainwashed animals. My personal life is starting to read like a series of comic-books".
...
The delicious scent of frying meat wafted through the morning air and helped rouse Bloom from her slumber. Yawning, she managed to force herself out of her pyjama and into her more regular clothes, before crawling outside, where Sky, Brandon, Flora and Stella sat in the morning light and cooked breakfast.
"Good morning. Slept well?" Sky asked as he noted the redhead.
"Yeah," she said as she sat down close to the fire. "What about you? Have you even gotten any sleep?"
"I woke Brandon up three hours ago and asked him if he could take over so I could get some shut-eye," the blond prince replied. "So yes, I got some sleep".
"Still don't get why you're so paranoid. Isn't a forest, like, supposed to be full of weird noises?" Stella asked.
"Yeah, but better safe than sorry," the squire replied. "A lot of things can go wrong if everyone just assumes it to be nothing. I'd agree with Sky that if he heard something weird, it was best to be careful".
"Ugh, you all up bright and early," Musa groaned as she crawled from her tent.
"I rise with the sun," Stella replied. "Even in such a low-magic area as the Wildlands I can still easily draw extra energy".
"Good for you. Where's everybody?" the musician asked as she sat down besides Bloom.
"Riven went off to see if he could catch some extra dinner, Timmy's checking the owl's computer for messages and everybody else is sleeping," Brandon replied. "Well, sleeping or at least resting. We thought we'd prepare breakfast before getting everyone out of bed".
"Appreciated," Musa yawned while rubbing her eyes.
"On that note, I think the food is almost done," Flora commented. "I will go wake the others".
As she began rousing Aisha, Mirta and Techna from their sleep, Riven marched over to the campfire with a self-satisfied grin and a net of what Bloom assumed to be fish.
"Ah, the great hunter returns," Musa snarked. "What great beasts have you felled today?"
"Laugh it up, but trust me, some of these didn't come easy," Riven informed her as he showed them the contents of the net. "In fact, the big yellow one here put up quite the struggle".
"I assume that's why your pants are wet up to the knees," Brandon commented. "Still, nice catch. We'll use them for dinner. Will give us enough time to clean them and figure out what we want to eat with them".
"Then I'll just put them over here until we're ready to gut them," Riven said and dragged the fish off towards the tent. As he neared them, he passed Aisha, who looked almost comatose.
The dark-skinned princess glanced at him, before asking: "Why do you have a net full of dead animals?"
"Because I intent to gut them so we can have them for dinner," Riven stated matter-of-factly.
"Oh," Aisha said, before stumbling off towards the campfire. "Better and better". She more or less fell down besides Musa, before asking: "What time is it?"
"Dunno. Haven't got my watch with me," Brandon said with a shrug. "But the sun's up and breakfast is ready".
Aisha just stared at him for a moment before sighing.
"So the plan was that we would go visit the animals today and then get back to civilization, right?" Stella asked.
"I think Riven will be a little miffed if we do that," Sky commented. "I don't think he caught those fish just for the fun of it. Besides, wasn't the sanctuary tomorrow?"
"Yeah, I definitely think we planned on staying one more day," Bloom agreed.
"Was kinda hoping you'd forgotten that part," the Solarian princess mumbled.
"Not much for being part of the great outdoors I take it," Riven smugly commented as he returned to the fire, followed by Flora and Mirta. "It'll be a good opportunity to toughen you up a bit".
"I don't need toughening, I need a bed that doesn't make me feel like I'm sleeping on a layer of frozen peas," Aisha groaned. "My back is killing me".
"Besides, it was nice being here, but we've, like, kinda seen everything this place has to offer," Stella added.
"If you think you have seen everything after one day, you do not pay a lot of attention," Flora stated.
"Come on, Stella, it's going to be fun," Bloom added. "I'd love to go on some walks around the area".
"I'd be up for that to," Mirta agreed.
Brandon looked over his shoulder as Timmy walked over to them and asked the bespectacled warrior: "So, anything new?"
"Yeah. Orders from top brass is that the moment our vacation is over, we are to report ourselves ready for duty," Timmy stated. "I think something big is going down".
"An agreement has probably been made so that Red Fountain can assist Underland forces," Sky guessed. "Good news if that's the case. Means this whole Darkar thing will probably be over soon".
"Let's not be too hasty to conclude that," his squire added. "He has proven himself a capable enemy".
"Let's save the talk about that guy for later. I want some grub," Techna said as she walked over and found a place to sit.
"What about you, Techna? You love, well, tech and stuff like that," Stella said. "Why would you like to stay out here in the wilds?"
"Because I'm having a good time," came the simple answer as Techna was given a piece of the now fried meat. "Mmmm, nice and crispy".
"You know, I should make sure I get some sketches of the area done before we leave," Bloom said. "I think that if I could get Helia to paint them, it could end up looking really great". She paused for a moment. "Speaking of Helia, how is he doing? I haven't seen him since... Well, I can't even remember".
"I have asked him to come with us to Alfea a couple of times. He always gets a bit, well, jittery," Brandon replied.
"Huh. How odd," Bloom mused.
...
Many hours later, after breakfast had been consumed, most of the girls and boys settled down to play games, get a tan, have fun in the water or whatever else they could imagine. Time flew past and the skies slowly took on a fiery orange colour as the sun began setting. Everyone had fun at their chosen camping spot.
Except Stella, who glanced across the rushing waters of the lake with a bored look. Finally, she sighed, got up and said: "You know, I'm going for a short walk".
"Okay, have fun," Bloom called, only looking up from her sketching for a second.
"Can I come with you?" Aisha asked, still looking a bit sleep deprived.
"Sure. Let's go," the Solarian blonde said as the two of them headed off towards the forest. As they rounded a tree and got out of earshot of the others, Stella sighed and said: "I really don't get why they insist on staying here".
"You don't?" Aisha asked a bit surprised.
"No. I mean, nature trips just aren't me. I can go to the beach and get a tan just fine, but sooner or later I, like, want to get back to civilization," Stella continued. "I can only look at trees for so long. For Solaris' sake, they all look the same".
"I'd be inclined to agree. It just seems like we could get everything we'd ever need at a much better quality in town," Aisha added. "And we wouldn't have to sleep on the ground".
"Oh, trust me. Sleeping on the ground is worse than what we went through," Stella brought up. "At least we were in tents and had something to lie on".
"So these things can actually get worse?" Aisha asked slightly horrified.
"Yeah. Remind me to tell you about Melmamora someday," Stella replied. "To be fair, this isn't, like, bad. It's just boring. I want to, like, go see a movie or visit a carnival. Staying here for three days so everyone can be sure they've properly enjoyed the flowers strikes me as tots silly". She sighed. "But hey, it's also their vacation. I don't get it, but as long as we don't have to spend all week out here, I'll be happy".
"I must admit, I am a bit surprised," the brunette commented. "After all you taught me, I got the impression that you always fit into the group".
"No. I don't," Stella admitted. "The only way I could is by, like, being a perfect clone of them. We'll always be different, but to be honest, that's not such a bad thing". She seemed to think about it for a moment. "It's never been about becoming, like, identical to one another," she continued. "But about opening up to new possibilities and trying to understand each other".
"But sometimes, it's just boring?" Aisha guessed.
"Yeah, sometimes it involves your friends dragging you out into the middle of nowhere to feed you badly cooked meat and make you sleep on the lumpy ground," Stella surmised. "Then again, I tots dragged them off to Miss Magix last school year, so, like, I can't complain too much".
"I see. I think I understand," the princess of Tides said. "At least, a little more than I did before".
"One step at... Did you hear that?" Stella asked, stopping for a moment.
"Hear what?" Aisha asked, looking around.
"Shh, listen," the blonde princess said and the two went quiet. For a moment, all they heard was the wind rushing through the leaves.
Then there was the snap of a twig.
Suddenly the sounds of broken branches and ripped leaves echoed as something huge charged through the undergrowth towards the girls and leapt at them with a ferocious howl.
Stella leapt backwards, dragging Aisha back as hard as she could away from the path of their attacker. The brunette fell to the ground from the sudden movement, but it was enough to get her out of the way of the ambushing predator. With thundering footsteps, the massive wolf-like beast landed and rapidly turned to face the two. Its fur was silver of colour, with dark lines marking it. Great muscles strained beneath its hide, giving it a hulking appearance that belied its agility. Sticky strings of saliva fell from its bared fangs as it prepared to leap again.
"Ni-nice doggy," Aisha stammered as she slowly pushed herself away from the warg.
Thinking quickly, Stella concentrated what magic she could and called forth a bright flashing light from her hands.
The warg angrily growled as it was suddenly blinded and stepped back from the girls as it wildly shook its head.
Stella grabbed Aisha and ripped her up from the ground with a: "WE GOTTA MOVE! NOW!"
Still in a bit of a shock, the brunette did her best to keep up with the blonde as they began running off into the forest.
The warg growled as it patiently stalked after them. It could still smell their trail and its eyesight would return soon enough. It reared its head and howled. Seconds later, other howls echoed through the woods.
The hunt had begun.
...
"I have to wonder, how do princesses define short?" Riven asked as he looked up from the frying fish they were to have for dinner.
"Maybe they've gotten lost," Musa joked. There was a short pause as everyone exchanged glances. "I'll go look for them," the black-haired musician sighed.
"I'll come with you. I know my way around the wilderness," Riven said as he got up. "Brandon, those fish are your job now".
"Got it," came the brunette's reply.
Riven and Musa walked into the woods, following the path Stella and Aisha had originally taken.
"You'd think going back the way they came would be a simple matter," Riven sighed.
"Maybe they just didn't bring their phones and have no idea what time it is," Musa suggested. "Then again, Stella is kinda linked to the sun so she usually has a good idea what time it is. But this is a low magic area, so..."
"So I suggest we keep looking for them," Riven interrupted. They continued their walk in silence. "It's quiet," he suddenly commented.
"Tell me about it," the musician said. "Even the birds have gone all silent".
"Yeah," Riven said, stopping up. "And that usually means they're afraid".
Musa stopped too, scanning the surrounding woods. "Afraid of what?" she quietly questioned.
"Dunno. That's what we'll have to find out," Riven stated. They continued their walk in silence with caution, keeping an eye on the overgrown woods around them. Riven's hand rested upon the hilt of his sabre and Musa's fingers hung by her side, ready to draw her fans if need be.
"Look," the magenta-haired warrior said and pointed. Ahead, the foliage of the forest had been ripped apart by something huge.
"This is not good," the black-haired girl mumbled. "Must have been something very large,"
"And look at those tracks," Riven said as he kneeled. "Visible claw marks and padding. Probably a predator. An ambusher. And another set over here, different. A pack, I'd guess".
"But aren't the wild animals supposed to be confined to the sanctuary?" Musa questioned.
"They are. Something could have happened to let them out, or maybe these ones have migrated to the area from far away," Riven speculated. "Hard to say, but there's definitely something in these woods and I doubt it's friendly".
Suddenly, a panicked roar echoed through the woods.
Riven looked up in the direction of the sound and signalled to Musa that she should follow. They carefully walked through the dense undergrowth, careful to make as little sound as possible. Musa wished she could use her magic to dampen the sounds their walking made, but she knew she'd run out of magic quickly and she might need it for later. They paused by a bush and scouted into a clearing.
The bleating came from a large sauropod that was being dragged into the clearing by a struggling group of forest trolls. They were huge and muscular, with dark-greenish hide and hair like grass. But neither the trolls nor the massive lizard-like being was what caught Musa's and Riven's attentions.
"Darcy," Riven stated, glaring at the dirty-blonde witch.
Indeed, the witch waited patiently while the trolls dragged the struggling creature over to her and then forced it to open its mouth. Quickly, Darcy tipped the flask she was carrying, letting a couple of drops fall on the panicking animal's tongue. It began struggling even more, writhing and bleating. And then it suddenly went silent.
The trolls let it go and the creature stood up straight, patiently awaiting instructions.
"Go join your kin for the charge," Darcy instructed it and the long-necked lizard stomped off. "You five, go see if you can find any other animals that escaped the sanctuary that are not under my control".
The trolls nodded and wandered off again.
"This is not good," Musa whispered. "They're transforming the animals from the sanctuary into an army. We won't stand a chance".
"But what are they doing out here?" Riven speculated. "Musa, I need to investigate this, but the others also need to be warned. Do you think you can get back to camp and tell them about this?"
Musa thought about it for a second. "Yeah. I think I got a chance," she finally said. She slowly walked off, before stopping. She turned and said: "Please be careful".
"I'll do my best," Riven stated, patiently watching the witch in the glade. He paused for a moment. "You be careful too".
...
"I thought this trip wasn't supposed to involve being chased by dogs," Aisha gasped as she and Stella stumbled through the woods. They were thoroughly lost, having spent more energy on putting as much distance between themselves and the great predator pursuing them than making sure where they were going.
Behind them, they could hear multiple howls, each one closer than the last.
Suddenly, they heard something big crashing through the woods behind them. One of the wargs had gotten close and was now sprinting towards them.
"CRAP!" Stella exclaimed. "WE GOTTA MOVE!" She began speeding up, only to notice that Aisha had stopped. "Aisha? AISHA, WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!"
Aisha had closed her eyes and concentrated.
With a ferocious snarl, the warg leapt out of the shadows of the forest, ready to pounce her. Suddenly, a massive branch whipped around and smashed into the leaping predator's side, sending it flying sideways while howling in pain. It crashed to the ground, sending a cloud of rotting leaves into the air.
"That was brilliant," Stella said jubilantly as she ran up to Aisha.
"Tha-thanks," Aisha mumbled, before tipping forward. The Solarian blonde reacted quickly and grabbed her, draping the brunette's arm around her neck and lending her support as they continued their flight through the forest.
They hurried down a stamped earth path, more howls slowly closing in on them.
"We... We need... The others," Aisha wheezed.
"I might have enough left in me to make a flare," Stella gasped. "If I use my staff".
They stumbled into a glade. The blonde took a deep breath and her ring morphed the Sceptre of Solaria. She pointed it skywards and the tip detonated in a bright light that soared into the sky above, easily visible in the fading daylight.
"Well, now everyone knows we're here," Aisha gasped as she fell to the grass.
Suddenly, they heard growling from the nearby thickets and the princess of Tides quickly forced herself up again.
"Ma-maybe we should leave," Stella stated nervously and turned away from the sound, only to freeze in place.
Two wargs, who unlike the rest of the pack had remained quiet while hunting, slowly stalked out of the opposite side of the glade. Stella backed away and turned, only to see three others slowly walk towards them.
They were surrounded.
"Please tell me you have some magic left," Aisha said as the two backed into the middle of the glade, while the circling wargs got closer and closer.
One of the massive lupine beasts growled and broke into a charge.
A loud bang echoed through the evening and part of the warg's head exploded into a fine spray of liquidized meat and pulverised bone. Its charge slowed into a stumble, before it collapsed to the ground.
The remaining wargs turned to face the sudden attackers.
Timmy strode into the glade, flanked by Sky and Brandon, who both had their respective swords ready. With quick and trained movements of his fingers, Timmy replaced the bullet and raised the rifle, ready to fire at a moment's notice.
The wargs growled, but made no move to attack. The two groups sized each other up.
Then one warg broke rank and charged at Sky. Timmy and Brandon took a step away from their companion as he prepared himself. The warg leapt into the air, jaws open wide. Sky shifted to the side, smashing his shield against the side of the warg's face as it flew past him. The hit knocked it out of its intended path and it landed awkwardly on two of its legs, balance lost. With trained efficiency, Brandon took a step forward and let his massive blade fall like a guillotine. The warg's head rolled across the forest floor, now separated from its limp body.
Then the three re-assumed their positions, prepared in case of follow-up attacks. The wargs growled, but slowly backed off, recognising their disadvantage. Carefully, they slinked off back into the shadows.
"Thank Solaris you guys showed up," Stella sighed happily, as she allowed herself to sit on the grass. "I'd kiss you, Brandon, but I think I'm going to faint first".
"I'm sorry to say we don't have the time for that," Brandon added as he helped her up on her feet again. "We've got bad news".
From the bushes behind the Red Fountain warriors came Bloom, Mirta, Flora, Techna and Musa.
"Worse than those things?" Stella asked.
"The beasts are being controlled by Darcy," Musa explained. "I'm not sure why, but they have far more than just wargs at their disposal. We need to get out of here".
"Don't tell me there's a Codex piece out here or something," Stella groaned. "Why can't we ever be rid of those horrid women?"
"Alright, here's the plan," Brandon said to his two companions. "Riven is still out there, scouting the enemy. Timmy, I want you to escort the girls back to the owl. Meanwhile, Sky and I will go see if we can get Riven out of here. If everything goes well, we can evacuate and call for assistance".
"Understood," Timmy said with a salute.
"Wait, can you hear that?" Musa suddenly asked. Everyone went quiet.
A faint rumbling could be heard.
Flora knelt and touched the grass, expending some of her diminished reserves of magic to connect with the plants.
She suddenly jerked upright and ordered: "We need to move. Now".
Nobody questioned her and just followed the brunette as she began running in one direction, Brandon and Sky assisting the weakened Stella and Aisha.
"What's going on?" Brandon asked as they ran into the forest.
"Stampede," came the brunette's reply.
Behind them, the rumbling became louder, now accompanied by the consistent sounds of trees breaking.
The group charged down the forest path, eager to get away from the pursuing wild animals.
"We need to turn west so we can get closer to the owl. If we can get into the air, the stampede won't be able to reach us," Brandon ordered.
"That's what they're counting on," Riven stated.
Everyone glanced to the side and noted the magenta-haired warrior was now running beside them.
"Well, you were easy to find," Musa commented.
"The stampede is an attempt to force us into an ambush. They've got trolls waiting around the camp," Riven explained.
"Alright. Any other options for safety?" Brandon asked.
"Sorry, but I didn't have time to explore the area thoroughly. We'll have to play this one by ear," Riven replied.
"Wonderful. Improvised running for our lives," Musa groaned.
"Let us turn east then. It will lead us away from the trolls and might help throw them off our trail," Flora suggested.
"Best option we have," Brandon agreed. "There, an opening in the trees! This way everybody!"
The group slowly turned and continued their flight through the woods, even as the rumbling and cracking behind them got louder and louder.
Slowly, the woods around them got less dense as the ground began elevating.
"We're running into the hilly area," Mirta said. "I remember seeing it when we flew here".
"I just wish we had time to check our map," Brandon grunted as they charged up the incline.
Techna threw a glance over her shoulders. She could see the trees tipping over and out of the woods charged a horde of sauropods, each about the size of a double-decker bus. "Fucking amazing! The lizards are gaining on us!" the scarred girl called.
"Just keep running! Hopefully the hills will slow them!" Brandon replied as they ran in between two massive cliffs. And then the group suddenly halted.
"Well... Fuck," Sky said.
In front of them, the hill terminated in a steep, rocky drop.
They turned, only to see that the other end of the gorge was now filled with the massive lizard-like beings. They had stopped their charge and now slowly stomped towards the group.
Brandon took a deep breath as he drew his blade and said: "If anyone has any ideas besides fighting the hulking horde of lizards, I'd really like to hear them now".