Chapter 9: Up the Mountains of Death
The group make their way up the Mountains of Death. Chise begins to have strange visions. The Spell-Breaker and Cartaphilus seem to have something planned
Once the group had arrived at the foot of the mountains, they wasted no time beginning their long walk trough the mountains. However, as the group began make their way up the mountain, they were unaware that they were being watched. The Spell-Breaker stepped out from behind a tree a good distance away. He spoke into some sort of radio built into his helmet.
"They're entering the mountain, that army better be ready, for your sake." The Spell-Breaker said.
"(Chuckle) No need for threats my friend. They are already in position within the mountain." Cartaphilus said from the radio.
"Don't let our deal fool you. We. Are. Not. Friends." The Spell-Breaker said.
"Yes, yes, whatever. No need to be so rude. And speaking of our deal, due try not to kill Chise yet. I want her to suffer more." Cartaphilus said.
"I'm starting to lose my patience." The Spell-Breaker said.
"Ha! That was rather quick. I mean the only 'suffering' Chise has gone through so far are those nightmares and the death of some of her friends. News flash my partner, that is not suffering." Cartaphilus said.
"You may want her to suffer, but I want her to die." The Spell-Breaker said.0
"Hey, you were the one who said you wanted her to suffer a bit before you killed her. I believe you said that multiple times, didn't you?" Cartaphilus asked.
"Screw you! Fine, she will suffer a bit more, but don't get carried away. The moment you dishonor our deal, I will send your soul straight down to hell!" The Spell-Breaker said.
"Very cute, but remember the fact that you are the one who gave me back my immortality." Cartaphilus said.
"And I'm the one who knows how to take it way from you." The Spell-Breaker replied.
"(Chuckle) Well played my friend." Cartaphilus said.
"For the last time, we are not FRIENDS." The Spell-Breaker said.
"Alright, alright. Rest assured, your men are in place and I will make sure to have a nice welcoming party for Chise and her friends once they leave the Forest of Thorns." Cartaphilus said.
"Good. Remember the plan and stick to it." The Spell-Breaker said.
"Yes, yes, whatever, Cartaphilus out." Cartaphilus said as he went offline.
"Spell-Breaker out. (Goes offline) Let the games begin. I hope you and your friends trained hard enough, Chise. I'm coming for you." The Spell-Breaker said as he threw a smoke bomb down in front of himself and disappeared into a portal.
As the group began to make their way up the mountain, Chise began to feel this odd sensation in her head. Chise felt as if she was having a massive headache. She removed her Forehead Protector and held her hand against her head in pain.
"Hey, uh, Chise, you okay?" Joseph asked as he could see Chise was in distress and she began to breathe hard.
The others stopped and looked to Chise in worry.
"Yeah, I'm okay. I just had a-(Gasp)!" Chise suddenly fell to the floor, gasping for breath.
"Chise!?" Elias cried as he rushed over to her.
"Oh my god, Chise!" Ruth cried.
Chise could not respond or say anything as she struggled to breathe. She felt as if something was about to flash before eyes. Chise suddenly began to start shaking violently.
"Chise!? Chise!? CHISE!?" Elias cried as he held Chise.
In Chise's mind, a bright light blinded her sight and she felt as if she was falling into darkness.
Chise's Vision
Chise was surrounded by darkness once again. This time however, Chise was fighting against some dark figure that resembled a human shadow with bright red eyes. She looked around and saw she was not alone. Elias, Ruth, Silky, and Joseph were all fighting against hundreds of these shadow warriors. Joseph was fighting furiously with his sword, Silky with her Kamas, Ruth with his fists, Elias with his wand, and Chise fought with her Dragon Hand as well as her wand. Chise and her friends fought strongly against these enemies; they seemed to be no match for the group.
As Chise managed to defeat a couple of these shadow warriors, she was suddenly grabbed by the throat. Before Chise could try and fend off whatever had grabbed ahold of her, she was stabbed from the back and through the heart. Chise tried to cry out in pain, but she was unable to scream due to the strong grip on her throat. Then, someone pulled her head back by her hair and Chise was able to see the Spell-Breaker's red eyes glaring at her. She could also here him let out a satisfied chuckle.
"You never stood a chance, Hatori. Not against this army, and not against me." The Spell-Breaker said as he forcibly yanked his long blade from Chise's body and dropped her to the ground.
Chise gasped for air as she began coughing up blood. She reached her hand out to the Spell-Breaker who then broke her hand in response. The Spell-Breaker chuckled one more time before he pulled out his gun and aimed it at Chise's head and then he shot her, killing her instantly.
Chise's Vision End
"Chise! Chise!? Can you hear me!? Chise!" Elias asked
Chise finally regained control of herself and she managed to clear her mind of that vision.
"(Gasp, pant, pant) It's okay, I'm okay now." Chise replied.
"Chise, what happened?" Elias asked.
"I, I had a strange vision." Chise said.
"A vision? Like a vision of the future or something?" Ruth asked.
"I think so, but I'm not 100% sure." Chise replied.
"What did you see?" Elias asked.
"The 5 of us were fighting against these... shadow people." Chise began.
"Shadow people?" Ruth asked.
"Th-That's the only way I can describe them. They were all black, but with glowing red eyes. also, we all had the weapons we have now, aside from you Ruth." Chise said.
"Makes sense, I didn't bring any weapons, aside from my fists." Ruth replied.
"You definitely were using those." Chise said.
"What else happened?" Elias asked.
"R-Right, as we were fighting, I was... stabbed through the heart, by the Spell-Breaker. He told me that I never stood a chance against his army, and not against him." Chise explained.
"His army?" Elias repeated. "I hate to think that the Spell-Breaker has an army at his beckon call." Elias said.
"Oh, great! Now that freak has a shadow army, just what we needed!" Ruth said as he shook his head in disappointment.
"That is not important. What is important is are you okay, Chise?" Elias asked.
"Yeah, I'm okay, don't worry." Chise said.
"Are you sure? Can you go on? We can go back." Elias suggested.
"No, it's fine. I'm all good now. We have to get those ingredients, we NEED that formula." Chise said.
"Very well. Let me help you." Elias said as he helped Chise to her feet.
"Thanks, oh, and thank you, Silky." Chise said as Silky handed her her Forehead Protector.
"Now, if that WAS a vision of the future, we have to be extra careful. If we ever should face off against this supposed shadow army, we will have to make sure Chise is protected at all times. We can not let her die at the Spell-Breaker's hands." Elias said.
"Yeah! Not while I'm wearing these very uncomfortable brass knuckles. Damn it, Silky, could you have made these more uncomfortable to wear?" Ruth asked.
Silky just stared at Ruth.
"And how come Joseph gets a sword and I get brass knuckles?" Ruth asked.
Silky just shrugged.
"Oh, are you giving me the silent treatment now?" Ruth asked.
"Would you like me to stop giving you dinner?" Silky asked.
"N-No! I'm sorry! I take it back!" Ruth said.
"That is what I thought." Silky said.
"Well, I'm going to go smell that tree over there, I'll be right back." Ruth said as he tried to morph into his dog form. "Huh? What? Oh my god." Ruth said.
"What's wrong Ruth?" Chise asked.
"I, I can't change to my dog form anymore! O-Our powers are gone. Nothing works." Ruth said.
"He's right, our magic doesn't work anymore." Chise said as she tried using her wand.
"Well, we have just entered the mountains, it makes sense. We will have to rely on our physical training and strength from now on." Elias said.
"We should get moving, no time to waste." Chise said.
"You are right, come along everyone." Elias said as they continued on their way.
Meanwhile in the Spell-Breaker's Base...
Cartaphilus was walking back and forth as he was in deep thought. Lindel was standing still near the back of the room.
"You know, Lindel, that Spell-Breaker can be a real jerk sometimes. Would you agree, Corrupted Lindel?" Cartaphilus asked.
"I have no comment for you, my master." Corrupted Lindel replied.
"Hmm, I see. No matter. You are aware of your mission?" Cartaphilus asked.
"Me and my allies will aid the Spell-Breaker in leading the army against Chise and her allies." Corrupted Lindel replied.
"Very good. I have faith in you, Lindel. I believe you can complete your task with no problem." Cartaphilus said.
"I am most grateful to you, my master." Corrupted Lindel said as he bowed to Cartaphilus.
"Good, good. Speaking of that, where are your corrupted counterparts?" Cartaphilus asked.
"They are in the next room over preparing for combat." Corrupted Lindel said.
"That is good. Thanks to Joseph, we were able to learn that Chise and her allies have trained for battle and their objective is to create that Nebula Formula." Cartaphilus said.
"Is Joseph a spy for us?" Corrupted Lindel asked.
"Mmm, not exactly. No matter, what matters is that thanks to him, we will always be a step ahead of them." Cartaphilus said.
"That is good, my master." Corrupted Lindel said.
"It is good indeed my friend. Now you and your friends go transport yourselves into position." Cartaphilus ordered.
"I will do as my master commands." Corrupted Lindel said as he bowed and walked to get his allies.
"(Evil Chuckle) Very good." Cartaphilus said as he smiled.
Back in the mountains...
As the group made their way up the mountain, they took time to examine their surroundings. They noticed that there a lot of... dead bodies. Thankfully, there were no fresh bodies, mainly skeletons. Thankfully the mountain wasn't completely full of dead bodies, but there were a good amount of them. There was a small amount of trees and little vegetation. Even with the small amount of trees that there were, they had little to no leaves at all. There were also some bodies hanging from the trees which was very disturbing to see. It didn't help that some of the skeletons had guns in their hands, and in their skulls, a bullet wound, suggesting that they shot themselves. The air was chilly and the clouds looked as if it would rain, but no rain came.
"So Ainsworth, what were these mountains called again?" Joseph asked.
"Last time I was here, they were referred to as the Mountains of Death." Elias said.
"(Nervous laughter) How fitting." Joseph said as he rubbed the back of his head.
"Judging from all the dead bodies, that totally makes sense to call this place the Mountains of Death." Ruth said.
"You said you've been here before, right Elias?" Chise asked.
"That is correct. Though it was a very long time ago with Lindel if I remember correctly." Elias said.
"So, Ainsworth, I never got to ask, speaking of a long time ago, do you remember much about your past?" Joseph asked.
"Um, Joseph, Elias doesn't like it when you bring that up." Chise said.
"I'm just saying, I mean surely you've got an interesting backstory or something like that?" Joseph asked innocently.
Elias stopped walking and clenched his fists and began to growl.
"Joseph, please, stop." Chise said as he tried to keep Joseph quiet.
"Would you all agree? Ainsworth is practically ancient-. Uh, Ainsworth?" Joseph asked as he heard Elias let out a loud snarl.
Elias turned around quickly and began to walk menacingly towards Joseph. Chise quickly stood in front of Elias and did her best to calm his anger.
"Elias, no! Breathe, breathe! Breathe in and out, in and out." Chise said as Elias took deep breaths. "Do you feel better now?" Chise asked.
"I am better, but I still desire to hit something." Elias said.
"Well, how about you go hit that tree over there." Chise said as she pointed to tree close by.
"Very well." Elias said.
Elias walked over to the tree and after a loud growl, punched the tree so hard, his fits burst out the other side of the tree. Elias pulled his fist out of the tree and actually ripped the tree out of the ground and after letting out another growl, ripped the tree in half and threw it to the ground. Everyone just stared in shock at this.
"There, I have calmed down." Elias said as he walked back over to the group.
"Very good, Elias." Chise said.
"However, you listen here, you grave digging peasant! If you EVER bring up my past again, you will suffer a fate worse than death. And not even Chise will be able to save you. Do I make myself clear?" Elias asked.
"Y-Yes, I understand." Joseph said nervously.
"Good, now let us continue on our way." Elias said.
"Heh, you're lucky, Joseph. That could have been you if Chise hadn't defended your dumb ass." Ruth said.
"(Nervous laughter) I, I guess. We're still friends, right Ainsworth?" Joseph asked.
"We were never friends, Joseph. We are merely allies, nothing more." Elias said.
"Yeah, we still don't like you. And by we, I mean me and Elias." Ruth said.
"I really hope you guys change your opinion soon." Chise said.
"Chise, after what just happened, it will take me another week before I even consider Joseph as a friend." Elias said.
"I'll let that slide." Chise said.
The group continued making their way up the mountain, having pleasant or awkward small talk, depending on who was talking. Making their way up the mountain was no simple walk in the park. There was very little of an actual pathway up the mountain. That meant that they had to do a lot of climbing and less of walking. They faced many challenges as they climbed the mountains. They all slipped multiple times, but luckily no one had actually fell down... not yet at least.
6 hours later...
"You got it Ruth?" Chise asked as she looked down to see Ruth struggling to climb up a part of the mountains.
"(Grunt) Y-Yeah, I got this, no sweat." Ruth as he tried to give a confident smile to Chise.
Ruth was not a great climber in his human form, he was better at it in his dog form. As Ruth reached for a rock that stuck out and grab ahold of it. However, Ruth was unaware that the rock was loose and the moment he put his weight on it, the rock broke off and Ruth fell down.
"RUTH!" Chise cried as she watched Ruth roll painfully down.
Thankfully Ruth didn't fall too far down the mountain, but he landed painfully on a rock as let let out a cry of pain.
"Oh my god, don't worry, Ruth, I'm coming." Chise said as she prepared to make her way down to Ruth. "You guys keep going, we'll catch up." Chise said to the others.
"No, we will stay in this position, we will not leave you two behind." Elias said.
"Okay, thanks." Chise said as she carefully made her way down to where Ruth had landed.
Chise saw that Ruth had landed on a large rock structure, it looked as if he was sitting on a bench at the park or something. However, she noticed that Ruth was clearly trying to stand up, but it was like he was glued to the rock he hit. Thankfully, there was enough of a flat space for Chise to stand on without the risk of falling.
"Ruth, are you okay?" Chise asked as she reached him.
"(Grunt) Yeah, I'm perfect as always Chise, how are you doing?" Ruth asked sarcastically.
"(Scoffs) Can you get up?" Chise asked.
"(Grunt, Gasp) I'm trying to." Ruth said as he tried to get up.
"Are you stuck on something?" Chise asked worriedly.
"I, I think so." Ruth said.
"Oh my god, here give me your hands." Chise said as she held her hands out to Ruth.
Ruth took ahold of Chise's hands and knew what was going to happen. He wasn't all that thrilled about it.
"Okay, I'm going to pull you up. This is going to hurt, you ready?" Chise asked.
"Ready as I'll ever be." Ruth said.
"Okay, 1... 2... 3! (Grunt)." Chise said as she pulled Ruth off of the rock.
The moment Ruth was pulled off of the rock, he hissed in pain and collapsed into Chise's arms.
"Oh god, Ruth." Chise said as she helped Ruth up to his feet, while Ruth was breathing heavily in pain. "Turn around, let me see." Chise said as Ruth turned.
Chise scraped off the small pebbles and stones that stuck to the back of Ruth's jacket. Chise saw a larger stone that seemed to have penetrated Ruth's skin through his coat and shirt.
"I'm sorry about this, Ruth." Chise said as she prepared to pull out the stone.
"Sorry about what? OW, DAMN IT!" Ruth cried as Chise pulled out the stone.
Chise then lifted up Ruth's coat and shirt and saw a bloody wound on his back.
"Yeesh, that looks bad. Let's catch up with the others, Silky should have some bandages or something. Can you climb?" Chise asked.
"Yeah, I can climb. Not very fast though." Ruth said.
"That's okay, I'll climb with you." Chise said as she smiled at him.
"Heh, thanks Chise." Ruth said as he put his hand on Chise's shoulder and gave her a smile.
"Let's go then." Chise said as they began to climb together.
As the two climbed up to the others, Ruth accidentally grabbed onto a pointy rock.
"Ow!" Ruth said.
"Ruth, are you okay? What happened?" Chise asked.
"Oh, it's nothing, I just grabbed onto a pointy rock, nothing serious. I'm really glad I turned off our mental link before we set off to these mountains." Ruth said.
"(Sigh) Why do you keep getting hurt Ruth?" Chise asked.
"(Chuckle) I have no idea." Ruth said.
"Promise me something okay?" Chise requested.
"Yeah?" Ruth asked.
"Try not to get hurt anymore okay, bro?" Chise asked.
"Heh, I'll do my best, Sis." Ruth replied.
After about 10 minutes of climbing, Elias reached a decent sized plateau with plenty of room to rest at.
"There is flat spot up here, we can patch up Ruth there." Elias called to the others.
Once everyone made it to the area, Ruth fell to his knees in pain.
"Crap! This sucks!" Ruth said.
"Hey, Silky do you have any bandages or bandage wrappings we can use to patch up Ruth?" Chise asked.
Silky nodded as she reached into the small bag she brought with her and pulled out 2 bandage wraps and walked over to Ruth. Chise held up Ruth's coat and shirt while Silky wrapped up Ruth's wound.
"Thanks, Silky." Ruth said.
Silky nodded in response.
"Can you still climb, Ruth?" Chise asked.
"Gah! I'm sorry, I don't think I can go on anymore, I'm sorry everyone." Ruth said as he hung his head low in shame.
"It's fine Ruth, we can just rest here for the day. I know it's a bit early to call it quits for today, but it's better if we are all in good shape." Chise said as she lifted Ruth's head up.
"Thanks, Chise, you always had a way with words." Ruth said.
"Very well, we shall rest here. I will go get us some sticks to make a fire." Elias said.
"Um, Ainsworth, look, over there." Joseph said as he pointed behind off to the side.
They looked to where Joseph was pointing and saw a cabin at the far side of the plateau.
"A cabin?" Elias said.
"What's a cabin doing all the way up here?" Chise asked.
"I think the question should be, who would want to live in the mountains of death?" Ruth asked.
"It doesn't matter, let's see if someone is home who can help us." Chise said as they walked to the cabin.
"I'll knock." Joseph said as he walked up to the door and knocked a couple times. "Hello? Is anyone home? Hello?" Joseph called as he knocked a few more times. "I guess no one's home." Joseph said.
"Step aside, let me try." Elias said as he stood at the door.
"Ainsworth, I don't think-." Joseph started before Elias proceeded to break the door down by kicking it. "AINSWORTH! WHAT THE HECK!?" Joseph cried.
"Quiet, now we may enter." Elias said as he walked inside the cabin.
"This is definitely breaking and entering but okay." Joseph said as the rest followed inside.
Once they were inside, they noticed the cabin was very well kept and clean despite its location. Chise found a couch in what appeared to be the living room and helped Ruth sit down.
"Stay here, I'm going to check this place out with everyone." Chise said.
"Sure thing." Ruth said.
Chise walked around checking the downstairs area with Elias, while Silky and Joseph were examining the upstairs area. Despite the cabin appearing to be mostly clean and well kept, there were still some signs of decay and damage. The couch in the living room had quite a few tears. The carpet had stains and holes all over it. The fireplace looked as if it was smashed with a hammer or something. The kitchen was fine for the most part, but there was a bit of rotting food on the ground. The dining room was okay, aside from a few chairs were broken. There was a bedroom downstairs that looked okay with the exception of the blanket which had some tears. As Chise and Elias were about to check out the rest of the downstairs area, they heard Joseph yell.
"HOLY CRAP!" Joseph screamed.
Chise and Elias quickly ran upstairs and found Joseph and Silky looking into what appeared to be a closet. As soon as they were able to see what got Joseph so terrified, they gasped in shock. In the closet was the hanging body of a man. The man seemed to have hung himself from a metal bar on the ceiling of the closet.
"Oh, god!" Chise said as she covered her mouth.
"You know what the worst part about this is? this literally just happened!" Joseph cried.
"H-How can you tell?" Chise asked.
"Because the body is dangling and swaying around, as if the guy literally just hung himself a few moments ago." Joseph said.
He was right, the body was indeed swaying around and dangling. It was very disturbing as the man's eyes was seemingly staring down at them.
"Hey guys, what happened? Holy hell!" Ruth cried as he had just come up the stairs and saw the body.
"Ruth, I told you to stay put." Chise said.
"Sorry, but look that's not important, what is important is that there is a dead body in this house! Hold long has this guy been dead?" Ruth asked.
"I'd say a few minutes." Joseph said.
"Oh... well, I guess now we know why no one answered the door." Ruth said.
"Yeah." Chise replied.
"Well, I guess we have the cabin to ourselves now." Ruth said.
"Ruth! Be more respectful damn it! A guy just committed suicide!" Chise cried as she shook Ruth.
"I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" Ruth replied.
"Ruth, just go back to the couch and rest please." Chise said.
"Sure thing." Ruth said as he walked back downstairs.
After everyone examine the whole cabin, and after Elias took the dead body away outside, they all joined together in the living room. The moment Chise sat down next to Ruth, she began to get another massive headache. Chise removed her Forehead Protector and held her head in pain. Chise realized what this was. She was about to experience another vision.
"No! Not again!" Chise said.
Before anyone could respond, Chise fell off the couch and onto the floor.
"Chise!" Ruth cried.
"Oh no! I think she's having another vision!" Joseph cried.
"Stay back!" Elias said as he held Chise in his arms.
Chise's vision was blinded and she began to witness her second vision.
Chise's Vision
Chise found herself on the ground, laying on her back, with a large sword impaled through her stomach. Chise looked to her side and saw the dead bodies of Elias, Ruth, Silky, and Joseph. Joseph appeared to have both of his hands cut off and his throat was slit. Silky had a large dagger in her forehead and a large open wound on her stomach, with her insides flayed out. Ruth, who was in is dog form when he died, had a dagger lodged in his back, his left paw, and a large arrow through his skull. Elias was missing his right arm and his head was missing. One thing Chise noticed was that everyone looked... different. Ruth's fur was shaped oddly, with what looked like spikes coming out of his back. Silky's outfit was basically the same, but it was a solid red color. Joseph looked much younger and had brown hair. Elias's outfit was more menacing. Surrounding them were hundreds of those shadow people Chise had seen in her previous vision. Chise looked to her left and saw that her whole left arm was ripped out of its socket.
"Back away! You've done your jobs!" The Spell-Breaker said.
Chise looked up and saw the Spell-Breaker stand above her, holding the decapitated head of Elias in his hand. As Chise looked at the head of Elias, she noticed that Elias's skull wasn't that of a wolf, it was of a crocodile and his horns were like the horns of a deer.
"That's what happens when you take on my men; you lose!" The Spell-Breaker said as he walked away, leaving Chise to bleed out.
Chise gasped for breathe and a few moments later, closed her eyes... forever.
Chise's Vision End
Chise regained her sight and looked up to see Elias looking down at her.
"Chise, you're back, are you well?" Elias asked.
"The vision is done, I'm okay." Chise replied.
"What did you see?" Joseph asked.
"I saw the Spell-Breaker and more of those shadow people from my last vision. You guys were dead and I was left bleeding out. Before I died, the Spell-Breaker said that our deaths was the price we would pay if we took on his men; we would lose. Then I bled out and died." Chise explained.
"Where we in any specific location?" Elias asked.
"No, it was all darkness, just like in my last vision." Chise replied.
"From the looks of it, it seems like these 2 visions you have had are very similar. " Elias said.
"Yeah, the shadow people, the Spell-Breaker, surrounded by darkness, and you die, Chise. The only difference is that we weren't fighting those things and instead of just you dying, we all died." Ruth said.
"Well, there was something else new about this vision." Chise said.
"What was that?" Elias asked.
"You guys looked different somehow. Like, Silky, your dress was a solid red color instead of what it is now. Ruth, your fur was more spikey and thicker. Joseph, you looked much younger and your hair was brown. And Elias, you had a crocodile skull instead of your wolf skull. Also, your horns were deer horns instead of goat horns." Chise explained.
"That is rather interesting." Elias said.
"Wait, you said I had brown hair?" Joseph asked.
"That's right." Chise said.
"I had brown hair when I was younger, before I met Cartaphilus." Joseph said.
Everyone was silent as they tried to figure out what Chise's vision meant.
"At first I would have assumed this was another possible future sight, but now we look different and Joseph is as young as he was a long time ago. How do we explain this vision?" Ruth asked.
"I have no clue, it hurts to think about it." Chise said.
"Hmm, Chise, did the Spell-Breaker look any different?" Elias asked.
"No, he looked exactly the same." Chise said.
"Hmm, I wonder what is causing these visions of yours." Elias said.
"I don't know, I wish I knew." Chise said.
"Well, what we do know is that we have to be careful in case the Spell-Breaker does have an army of shadows." Ruth said.
"That is correct. Whatever these visions may be, we will take them as a warning." Elias said.
"I can't wait kick the Spell-Breaker's ass!" Ruth said.
"(Sigh) Yes." Elias said as he looked down in sadness.
"Elias? Is something wrong?" Chise asked.
"I am worried about Lindel." Elias said.
"Oh yeah, I hope Lindel and Merituuli are okay, wherever the Spell-Breaker has them." Chise said.
"What could the Spell-Breaker want with Lindel?" Joseph asked.
"Who knows, for all we know, Lindel could just be a hostage for a future ransom." Ruth said.
"And Merituuli?" Chise asked.
"Eh, since Merituuli is Lindel's familiar, he is probably being used to torture Lindel." Ruth said.
"I hope not. But don't worry, we will find them." Chise said.
"So, not to kill the mood or anything, but what are we going to eat?" Ruth asked.
"Well, given that there is no edible food in this cabin, we will have to hunt for our dinner." Elias said.
"So, are we all going to hunt?" Chise asked.
"No, I will hunt for us. I'll return shortly." Elias said as he left to leave.
"Wait, you shouldn't go alone." Chise said.
"Do not worry, Chise, I will be okay." Elias said as he turned to leave.
"Elias, no." Chise said as she stood up.
Elias turned and looked at her.
"You're not leaving this cabin without an escort." Chise said.
"Psst, hey Elias, happy wife, happy life remember." Ruth said.
"Stay silent, dog. Very well, who will accompany me?" Elias asked.
"How about Joseph, goes with you." Chise said.
Elias and Joseph: "What?"
"Chise, you know how I feel about Joseph." Elias said.
"Elias, I understand you don't like him, but there may be a time where you and Joseph will have to work together. It's important to build up partnership, now more than ever. Please, Elias?" Chise asked as she clasped her hands together and gave Elias a look that he could not turn down.
"(Sigh) Very well, I will take Joseph with me." Elias said reluctantly.
"Thank you, Elias." Chise said as she gave Elias a warm smile.
"(Nods) Joseph, you heard her, come, let us go and catch a meal." Elias said.
"O-Okay, coming. Chise, you're going to get me killed." Joseph said as he looked at Chise with worried eyes.
"Don't worry, Joseph, if you return with any kind of injury caused by Elias, me and Elias will have a serious talk." Chise said as she looked at Elias.
"I assure you, he will return unscathed. Come now, Joseph." Elias said as he left the cabin.
"Wait up, thanks Chise." Joseph said as he followed Elias.
4 hours later...
Chise, Silky, and Ruth were sitting at the couch, awaiting Elias and Joseph's return.
"I guarantee you with how much Elias doesn't like Joseph, Joseph may end up BEING our food." Ruth said.
"Elias knows better. He wouldn't kill him." Chise said.
"Chise, the only reason that Elias didn't hurt Joseph earlier was because you were there to stop him. Who's going to defend Joseph with you not there?" Ruth asked.
"He will NOT hurt Joseph." Silky said.
"What makes you say that?" Ruth asked.
"Because if he does, Elias is in big trouble." Chise said.
"You going to scold him again like you did to us for the Stella incident?" Ruth asked.
"Exactly." Chise said.
"He will also suffer my anger." Silky said.
"Okay, Silky, when are you going to tell us how you and Joseph got together?" Chise asked as she leaned forward to Silky.
"Later." Silky said as she turned away.
"Aww, come on." Chise said.
"Soon, soon." Silky said.
"Alright." Chise said as she sat back down.
About 20 minutes later, Joseph and Elias walked into the living room, empty handed.
"What happened? Couldn't find anything?" Chise asked.
"Well, we found something, but Elias dropped it and it fell down the mountain." Joseph said.
"I dropped because you startled me by yelling that there was a large animal below us. However, it turned out to be my shadow." Elias said.
"Guys, don't argue. It's fine. Besides, Silky found a basket of food that isn't spoiled or rotten. We'll just eat that for dinner." Chise said.
"So, we wasted 4 hours trying to get food?" Joseph asked.
"Ha! Suckers!" Ruth said.
"Dog, hush!" Elias said.
For the next 3 hours, the group all discussed many things. They discussed the possible meanings of Chise's recent visions, possible candidates for who could be the Spell-Breaker (not many candidates were suggested), the well-being of Lindel and Merituuli, and the question of how powerful the Spell-Breaker's possible army could be. After their discussion, Elias and Joseph decided to try and mend the door that Elias had smashed down, which took about 2 hours to fix, considering that they had build a new door with their hands. Later in the evening, the group sat and ate the small amount of food that was in the basket Silky had found. Eventually, the group decided to call it a day and went to go sleep. Silky took the bed downstairs. Joseph slept on one of the couches in the living room, while Ruth slept on the other couch. Elias and Chise took the room upstairs.
Elias and Chise sat at the foot of the bed.
"How are your hands feeling, Chise?" Elias asked.
"My hands are okay, why?" Chise asked.
"Well, we did quite a bit of climbing today, I would assume your hands are sore." Elias said.
"They were a bit earlier, but I'm okay now." Chise said.
"I am pleased to hear that." Elias said.
"What about you? Are you okay? You slipped quite a few times today while we were climbing?" Chise asked.
"I am well, Chise. Your concern for me is appreciated." Elias said.
"As yours is for me." Chise said as she held Elias's hand.
"(Sigh) I wish we could have had one normal day to ourselves after our wedding." Elias said.
"Me too, of all times to attack, the Spell-Breaker decides to ruin our lives the day of our marriage." Chise said.
"Chise, may I make a request of you?" Elias asked.
"Sure, you don't have to ask me you know." Chise said.
"Very well, for our first anniversary, may we redo our marriage, but this time with a proper wedding?" Elias asked.
"Redo our marriage? Elias, we're already married, we can't just redo it. Besides, what was wrong with the wedding we had?" Chise asked.
"Nothing was wrong with it, I enjoyed it actually. You looked very beautiful in the wedding dress you were given. The moment was very nice. The sun shone nicely on us. Nature was quiet and peaceful. I just thought that weddings were much more... fancier, I guess you could say." Elias said.
"Fancier?" Chise asked.
"Yes, I have learned that weddings usually take place in a church and there are many guests and things like that." Elias explained.
"Oh, I see. Look, Elias, those things don't matter. We didn't NEED those things to get married. What matters is that we are together now, happily married. I'm perfectly happy with that." Chise said as she took both of Elias's hands in her own.
"Well, as long as my bride is happy, I am happy then." Elias said.
Chise smiled and hugged Elias and Elias hugged her back.
"Well, let us get our rest, shall we?" Elias asked.
"Yes." Chise said as they laid down on the bed.
Elias noticed the blanket was torn up badly so he decided to give Chise the entire blanket so she could keep warm.
"Elias, are you sure you don't the blanket?" Chise asked.
"I would rather you keep warm than freeze." Elias said.
"But what about you?" Chise asked.
In response, Elias wrapped the blanket around Chise and pulled her close to him.
"As long as you are here with me, I am warm enough." Elias said.
"Aww gee, Elias." Chise said as she smiled up to him.
"(Soft Chuckle) Goodnight my dear." Elias said as he rubbed the top of Chise's head with his large skull.
"Good night, Elias." Chise said as she snuggled up against him.
And that was chapter 9! I hope you all enjoyed it! Thank you for the support as always!