Chapter 13
"Maya get Lydia over here," Mother shouted, only to look back after taking a few steps toward the house and find Maya still watching the swarm, "Maya now!"
Breaking from her standstill Maya started running toward Lydia's home. Mother had already gone inside and was on her way back with her trusted longbow and quiver along with some light padding that was hastily put on.
While they were running around preparing Leo could only stare at the harpies in disbelief. He just wanted a peaceful life, one where he could live with his own family and not one he was forced into. A life where he could make the world a better place, where the human monster conflicts would stop.
Soon enough Mother was back in the field and Maya was rushing back with Lydia. Maya held a simple short sword while Lydia was holding onto an engraved long sword. Lydia's lack of armor was concerning, considering all the stories he had heard about the unstoppable force she was. However, Leo also understood that there was no time to get fully equipped for a fight, they had to be quick and make do with what they could grab.
Once Lydia arrived in the field she gave Leo an inquisitive look, "Leo's alive? Are you sure he's not a doppelganger?"
Mother spoke up quickly while handing Leo a knife that she held in her off-hand, "He's not, trust me on this. But we can talk about that later." She looked off to the harpies while preparing an arrow, "They aren't after kids this time."
Leo inspected the knife that Mother handed him. It was sharp on both sides of the blade and it reminded him of a mini gladius. The knife had an engraved dragon on the handle with the mouth moving up toward the blade and its tail spiraling to make up the small pummel. He moved it around slightly in his hand. It was lighter and smoother than he expected but he did not dare to touch the blade, even an untrained eye like his could tell this knife was razor sharp.
Lydia frowned before spinning her sword around her wrist and taking a few practice swings, "You don't say," then a bloodthirsty grin formed on her face, "They just want another round with us, for old times' sake."
Mother shook her with a slight smile on her face before pulling the string back ready to loose an arrow, "For old times' sake, let's bring them hell."
The arrow flew through the sky directed toward the swarm of harpies. The harpies were grouped together but gave each other enough space for some maneuvering if needed. Even before the engagement, their experience was already showing.
Despite having adequate time and space to move around they still lacked the vision to see the small arrow flying toward them. Only a few seconds after Mother released an arrow it collided with a harpy.
The harpy formation remained unphased aside from the one who began staggering. The sudden drop in her flight path made it clear as day to the humans that she was hit. With each flap of her wings, she dropped lower and lower to the ground before one of her wings finally gave out and she plummeted from the sky.
Leo's eyes widened, that was an even longer shot than the first time he saw Mother kill. He remembered that day like the back of his hand, even if that harpy was around one hundred meters out. Meanwhile, this shot was easily two hundred meters away and he would not be surprised if it was more.
Not wasting a second, Mother reached for another arrow and prepared to kill another harpy. Before Leo knew what happened another arrow flew through the sky and nailed a harpy directly in the chest.
Rather than stumbling and falling to the ground like her comrade, this harpy simply stopped and went straight down. Tumbling through the sky before crashing through a villager's roof.
Mother continued to kill harpies while Maya looked down at her short sword and grasped it tightly with both hands. A simple glance was all Leo needed to understand her thoughts, she was petrified. But despite all of it, she was ready and willing to fight. A twelve-year-old with limited training was prepared to take on some of the most experienced harpies in combat.
He looked over to Lydia who was shaking her arms in an attempt to loosen them up. Her grin had never faded and it honestly scared Leo. He had never seen her like this but he had to guess she was always itching to get into a fight. Bloodthirsty smiles like that took hundreds of kills to manifest and Lydia looked more than willing to increase her kill count.
Another four harpies had fallen to the ground. At this point, they had dropped from the sky and started to dive toward the group of four. Narrowly missing the roofs of several houses. Mother dropped her bow to the ground and pulled a knife out of her boot before settling into a combat stance.
Maya slowly settled into a tight stance that showed clear training, it looked like she knew what she was doing and Leo could only hope that actually she did. The harpies would have no mercy for her, and he had a feeling that Maya would show them none as well.
Lydia stepped in front of the two, leaving the untrained Leo behind Mother and Maya.
"Come on you glorified pigeons," Lydia taunted with arms wide open before settling into her combat stance, "Let's dance."
The lead harpy directed her gaze toward Lydia before diving toward her with talons extended. The others behind her quickly followed in a coordinated attack. Several were directed toward Lydia and several toward Mother.
Lydia lunged forward in an attempt to force the harpy to steepen her dive. The harpy, rather than steepening her dive, shot wide of Lydia and forced her to bring her attention back to the swarm. Not even a moment later a separate harpy appeared in front of Lydia.
With her sword hand, she swung it up and severed the harpy's leg, completely unphased by the distraction. The harpy then sailed over the top of her and crashed into the ground behind the group.
Lydia's sword was left high in the air only for another harpy to appear before she even had a chance to breathe. She evaded to the side and swung her sword down cutting the chest of the harpy. Her body collided with the ground in front of Leo before sliding right up to his feet, unmoving.
He took a quick glance down to see the bleeding corpse in front of him before quickly shaking his head and looking up at the opposing swarm. Now was no time to get distracted, one misstep and he was either dead or in a cage.
Only for him to look up and see a harpy only a few feet from him, with her talons ready to strike.
Leo stuck his mother's dagger out in front of him unsure of how to even hurt the harpy that was moving as fast as a bullet. He ducked in the hopes of replicating what Lydia did to kill the first harpy.
Only for Maya to swing her sword above Leo's head and cut across the harpy's chest. Leo tried to evade only to be caught in the arm by a talon. The piercing pain that radiated down his arm made him scream. But Leo knew he could not let the pain cripple him, if he did then he was already dead.
Looking behind he saw another harpy diving at Maya. Hardly even thinking he took two steps and swung his dagger at the harpy's leg. Leo missed the leg but connected with her hip. The force of the impact would have thrown him back if he did not dig his feet into the ground.
The harpy reeled in pain and soared off past them rather than crashing into them or the ground. Before Leo could even react Maya moved to evade another harpy.
There were so many, Leo could hardly get his bearings. Everyone was constantly moving, with no time to strategize. He could hardly focus on one harpy before another passed in front of him and he lost sight of the one he was watching. Everyone was just acting on instinct, not thought, just instinct and action.
"Trees!" His mother shouted after a harpy shot over her head.
Understanding what she meant the four of them started running for the forest. Leo kept frantically looking above and behind him trying to spot any harpy that had her eyes set on him. Spotting one he jumped to the side before he watched the harpy sail off in the swarm.
This was too much. Way too much for Leo to even think of understanding what was going on. For every step he took toward the trees, another vision of a harpy crashing into him appeared in his mind. Every scream he heard came with a spat of blood sprinkling on his dress.
They were constantly under assault with no chance of taking the initiative. The harpies were always ahead of them and the forest seemed to get further away every second. At this rate, it was a battle of attrition, constantly on the run until their bodies gave out on them.
Lydia suddenly pivoted after finishing her stride and swung her longsword behind her. She could not have known what exactly was behind her but her instincts proved her right. Lydia's sword collided with the abdomen of a harpy diving for the group.
Leo heard the harpy scream in agony before she dropped to the ground.
She used the momentum of her sword to keep moving toward the forest, refusing to stop for even a brief moment. Despite the fact that she was slightly separated from the group she kept moving forward. Trying her hardest to catch up while ensuring that no harpy would surprise her.
Everyone knew that if someone stopped for a moment, then they were as good as dead. Stopping was a death wish just like it was for Leo not even twenty-four hours prior. There was no rest until they reached the trees, and even then there the fight would still go on. But they kept pushing. Any advantage would be a miracle in what already felt like a hopeless and futile fight.
Mother was the first underneath the canopy followed quickly by Maya and then Leo. Lydia however, was a couple of strides behind the group and one harpy took notice and accelerated her dive.
Lydia managed to pivot right before the tree line and initiate her swing. By the time half of her body was turned the harpy had already locked her talons on one of Lydia's shoulders.
They spun in a quick circle before Mother stabbed the harpy latched onto her friend. The sudden deceleration threw the two bodies past the tree line.
Mother saw the two fall and diverted her attention back to the swarm refusing to let her guard down for even a moment.
Leo and Maya moved further into the forest in an attempt to make more space between themselves and the open sky. Taking cover behind trees was Leo's best idea to counter the aerial dives of the harpies. He simply feared it would not be enough.
After the group freed themselves from the harpies next to them they watched as the harpies retreated out of the forest. Leo sighed and ran further into the forest, trying to make as much distance as possible between him and the clearing.
"Stay hidden," Mother called out with a seriousness that he had not heard in a very long time, "This isn't even close to over."
Leo understood what he had to do, but that did not stop the constant thoughts from swirling around in his head. The harpies would not dare burn down the forest, not with several villages of elves nearby, so that gave him some comfort. But the idea of the elves coming into the fight terrified him. They could deal with the hit-and-run tactics of the harpies to a degree. But if the elves got involved, then everything would be lost.
He glanced over to Maya to see if she was okay and saw a look of determination in her eyes. Yet at the same time, he could see her panting and constantly tightening her grip on her sword.
Shortly after the retreat, he felt his body shake as a long deep, and bellowing sound echoed across the forest. Lydia took her chance and got up off the ground, following Leo deeper into the forest. While Mother positioned herself to ensure she had multiple angles to evade the harpies.
After a moment of silence, the harpies soared like bullets through the gaps in the trees, one following another in the hopes that one harpy hits her mark. Some came from the clearing and others flew down from the canopy. Their war cries pierced through the forest as they shot toward the group.
Maya managed to catch one with her sword before being slammed into the ground by the harpy directly behind. The sound of her wheezing and gasping for air after she hit the ground terrified Leo.
He wanted desperately to help his sister but he could not move out from behind a tree. The constant motion of the harpies on his left and right held him in place, not daring to risk a fight he knows he could not win.
Mother pressed her back against a tree trying to avoid the harpy's talons as they flew past her. However, due to her size and the small size of the tree, both of her arms got clipped by the sharpened metal talons. Blood slowly dripped from each of her arms while the swarm flew past.
Lydia refused to back down and hide from the charging swarm, instead, she taunted them and took a stance with her sword loosely hanging in front of her, "Come at me and give me a real challenge!"
The harpies, forced into a line due to the trees, extended their war claws and kept course toward Lydia.
When the first harpy hit the ground Leo was sure that would be the last kill Lydia made. She slammed the sword into the first harpy's neck and in a motion that was too fast for Leo to comprehend the second harpy flew straight up into the canopy.
She continued to dodge and swing in such a confined space that Leo could only watch in awe and wonder how it was even possible. It seemed like she had managed to slow down time and coordinate each and every muscle to do what it needed to at the exact right moment.
The third harpy fell, followed by the fourth, fifth, and sixth. So many died in this one instant that Leo lost count. He could see the sheer focus on Lydia's face, the determination to keep fighting that kept her alive all these years. This may not have been her peak, but it certainly looked like it.
One harpy managed to slip through with a well-timed dive to the ground and this was all they needed to land a mark. One edge of a talon sliced through the side of Lydia's leg. Although she did not fall, another harpy slipped through on the other side and pierced the front of her leg.
When the harpy latched into Lydia's leg, the sheer momentum the harpy had was enough to pull Lydia back and toss her into a spin. The harpies aimed their slashes at the spinning Lydia, cutting across her chest, arms, and eyes. Until one final slash was made directly across her neck and she fell to the ground.
Leo's mind went blank as he watched one of his only family members fall to the ground, lifeless.
A sacrifice to save their lives and a sacrifice he feared would be in vain. Fear and desperation ran through his mind, trying to think of a way to get out of this situation.
A few harpies began to perch on low-lying branches while others flew through the canopy. Leo saw the smirks and smiles on some of the harpies' faces, so happy with Lydia's death. So happy with the fear they were giving to simple children and the death sentence they were planning on delivering to Mother.
Leo heard several shouts and turned toward the village only to see a massive mob of villagers. What he guessed was around fifty people with pitchforks, torches, and some with swords and axes. The villagers were outnumbered by the harpies at least two to one, and that was only considering the harpies that were not surrounding Leo, Maya, and Mother.
He felt a hand press against his shoulder and looked again to see Mother staring up toward the perched harpies.
"Stay with me, we'll make it through," Mother said softly, "Keep focused on the harpies, they're the actual threat."
The harpy mother was staring at did not say a word, but rather jumped from her perch and dove straight for mother.
The instant the harpy jumped Leo, Maya, and Mother all dispersed to find some space to fight and dodge. The numbers may have been smaller but not having Lydia around certainly made everything harder.
Leo was hearing shouts from both the harpies and the villagers outside of the forest. From what he heard there was no fighting, not yet at least. He knew the villagers were not going to help his family but he could not say if they were actually going to fight the harpies or not.
All the stories Mother had told him did not give him hope of the villagers coming to their aid. The villagers hate them and hated the harpies. The only question at this point was, who would they take their arms up against? Both were valid options that were just as disastrous.
If they fought the harpies it would be a bloodbath similar to mother's initial arrival. However, if they fought them they would only end up burning the forest with torches they carried. That could only cause unimaginable problems for every living thing in the area.
"We have no quarrel with you!" Leo heard one voice booming through the chaos. It was distinctly female but he could not tell if it was harpy or human.
"Go back from where you came!" A different female voice sounded through the area.
Leo had to put aside the constant shouting and keep focused on the harpies around him. He did not have the instinct Maya and Mother had, so he just needed to keep thinking. At this point, his legs were burning just as they had been the day prior. Both times stuck in a forest, both times his life hanging by a thread.
Maya had managed to take down one more harpy but the others that focused on her were simply too fast. She was too young to have the same speed and presence that Lydia or Mother had. Despite every step she took being one of purpose, her age and lack of endurance were beginning to show.
While mother clearly had the brunt of the harpy onslaught even she was beginning to show signs of fatigue. Small cuts littered her arms and legs, but nothing was taking her down just yet. Leo knew that if Mother fell it was due to her body shutting down while her mind was still fighting.
Leo heard piercing screams coming from the village but he did not dare look back this time. His exhaustion would not allow him to focus on more than one thing at a time. Despite his interest and fear, he kept his eyes on the harpies above him, watching for any and every movement.
Suddenly he felt a burst of heat from behind him only before a screaming ball of fire past him and crashed into the ground not even three meters ahead. Leo quickly rushed back to avoid the flames.
The harpies paused their assault and everyone looked toward the village only to see the harpies diving and slaughtering the rest of the villagers. Blood ran down a hill toward the village center while fire began quickly spreading through the grass, threatening to engulf the villagers that stood their ground.
Leo could not watch for long before the fire from the harpy in front of him began to spread to the underbrush. Light grey smoke began to quickly fill the air underneath the canopy. All motion stopped for a brief moment, even the harpies halted their constant diving attacks while the fire quickly spread.
He slowly backed up from the fire before he backed into a tree. The heat from the fire grew to the point where it was difficult to stay within a few meters of the flame. Leo knew for certain if this was the case for him, then he could only imagine what it was like for the harpies.
Would they be able to fly below the canopy at all? Would they be forced to walk on the ground trapped with the smoke? Leo could only hope that was the case because that would make fighting them easier, but he was yanked out of his trance before he could really guess what they might do.
"We have to move now!" Mother shouted in his ear.
Leo could not tell if there was panic in her voice or if she was simply trying to get the point across. Either way, he did not have time to think before he was essentially thrown in a direction and started running.
He looked to his side to see Mother doing the exact same to Maya. She even had the same stumble that he had before breaking into a full sprint in an attempt to follow Mother.
Leo felt gusts of wind coming from behind him, only for seconds later to feel the heat of the fire start to rush closer and closer to him. He turned his head back for a second and saw a handful of harpies fanning the fire with powerful strokes of their wings.
His eyes widened realizing what they were doing, "They're going to burn us out!"
Mother spoke up quickly and decisively, "Shut up and keep running! Focus on your breathing, the smoke's only going to get worse."
Leo did what he was told, seeing no other option. He tilted his body lower to the ground to stop himself from breathing in the rising smoke. It made running fast slightly harder but at this point, he was still trying to not trip and fall on the scattered tree roots and sticks all over the ground.
Before long they reached the road that led to the entrance of the village. When Leo stepped out into the center of the road he looked to the partially open sky and saw the sun. Its red haze showed just how quickly the harpies helped the fire and smoke spread.
"Anna!" A man with grey hair shouted from the entrance to the village, "I'm not letting you leave here! Not after everything you've done!"
The three of them turned toward the forest only to see around ten people holding what appeared to be either swords or knives. Most of them had burn marks and everyone was covered in cuts from head to toe.
Mother stepped forward and pulled Leo and Maya behind her, "I'm not dealing with this now Theodore." She then raised her voice, "Everything is gone because of your inaction, I did what I could. We all did what we could!"
She pushed Leo and Maya again, this time away from her away from the crowd, "Head to Illiasburg, get out before the fire traps us all in here."
Maya spoke up quickly, "We can help fig-" only to be instantly cut off by Mother.
"Go. To. Illiasburg." She said sternly, "I will meet you there," She looked back toward the crowd, "Maya take care of your brother."
The crowd started charging toward the group, some leading off to the sides of the road and even into the forest, while the majority kept in the center.
"Go!" She shouted, "I love you both!"
Leo stood in place as he watched the mob sprint toward them. The villagers had mixed looks, some were terrified, others determined, and even some with pure hatred burning from their eyes. However, Mother stood still with her sword fixed in front of her. Waiting for the villagers to get into the proper position for her to strike.
"Leo come on!" Maya said while grabbing his arm and pulling him down the road.
He never had a chance to see her face but hearing her voice was all he needed to understand what she was thinking. Maya was terrified and distraught.
She wanted to help Mother and make sure everything was going to be okay, for everyone involved. Yet she also knew if the harpies found any of them fighting the villagers they were dead.
They would all be dead, and all the work Leo put into getting back would be in vain. All the work Mother did to keep them alive would be in vain.
In his head, Leo understood this because Maya could actually do something to protect everyone. Not as much as Lydia and Mother, but still something.
Yet something was still better than anything he could have done.
Maya eventually let go of his arm and they both took off down the road, constantly peaking over their heads to see if Mother would eventually get away from the crowd. Before long the smoke had obscured so much of their few that neither of the twins could see the village in the distance or their mother.
Neither Leo nor Maya said a word as they ran. The only thing they could hear was the roaring sound of the fire accompanied by distant screams.
The once bright sky faded to darkness much sooner than Leo would have hoped. He knew the road ahead was long but it was one they had to take. There was no room for missteps, something Leo had understood long ago but it was something Maya had yet to understand.
Leo and Maya had not said a word since they started running. It was hard to bring up, no matter how hard he tried he could not find a way to word anything. Idle chatter, important details, even what had just happened, it was all stuck in his throat unable to come out.
It felt like his sister was a complete stranger. Yes, they had details from when they were kids to relate to, they had their family to relate to, and they even had the same hatred for the villagers and harpies. Yet it was not enough for him to feel a connection to her, they had simply spent too much time apart.
Everything seemed better in his head. Leo's dreams about reuniting with his family slowly burned away, what was once so close was turning out to be much further than he could have ever understood.
Leo's legs burned, it felt like someone had doused his legs in oil and tossed a torch on them. He began to slow down his pace to the point where Maya passed him and kept going. She continued for a few seconds before turning her head to face Leo.
"Come on Leo," Her voice was weak and had a slight tremble in it, "Mom said she'd meet us at Illiasburg."
Leo placed his hands on his thighs before looking up at her face. However, when he took a closer look he saw clear lines of skin that were not sprinkled with blood.
Tears. She had been crying this whole time and Leo never noticed.
"Maya." Leo said slowly, "It'll take us days to get there as is. We won't be able to protect ourselves if we keep going now."
"We don't have time for that!" She said forcefully while moving toward Leo, "I can fight off anyone that comes for us."
"You might be able to but we both know I'd be dead weight."
"Then I'll just protect you. Like Mom and Lydia protected us."
Leo could see the pain in her face as she mentioned Mother and Lydia. Her voice did not show it but he could see through her and he was not surprised. He felt the same and kept fighting tooth and nail not to show it. Someone had to be the emotional rock because as long as one of them was fine they would survive.
That was the idea that he held onto.
"Then let's rest so I can help you if it comes to that," Leo looked at his sister while trying to steel his resolve, "I've been on the run for days and I know the harpies won't be able to find us right now."
That was not entirely the truth but it was a point he had to convey. Mentioning that the harpies could find them, although unlikely, would not have stopped Maya. She would have kept running until she passed out. However, giving her a false certainty could help.
It hurt him to lie to her but if there's anything he learned in his time in this world. It's that you have to lie to survive, the truth can and will get you killed. It's the reason the harpies were still functioning.
"How can you know that." Maya accused, "They came here to kill us all so why wouldn't they hunt us down."
"They came here to kill Mom," Leo said slowly yet decisively, "The harpies knew I would be here and Mom would try and protect me and you. That leaves her more exposed, easier to..." His voice trailed off.
"There were so many of them, you can't possibly be sure they all tried to take on Mom."
Leo sighed, "Think back to how many Mom and Lydia killed. Do you really think they would take a risk to not finish the job when there was someone that dangerous right there? They just used me to distract Mom."
Maya raised her voice, "If you knew they were using you like that then why did you come back!"
Leo sat silent for a few moments in disbelief about what she just said. He knew they were not close anymore but pushing blame onto him, that was taking it a step too far.
"Do you actually think I knew this was going to happen before I got here?" He said while trying to stand up, "Do you actually think I wanted all hell to break loose? For everything I knew to just burn before my eyes!"
"I wanted to be free," Leo said squeezing his wrist, "I wanted to go home, I wanted to see you. Why would I ever want to torture my twin and lose everything."
"You changed Leo," Maya said spitefully, "I didn't even recognize you at first that's how much you've changed. The way you speak is different, it's like you think you know everything in the world. Hell, the way to walk is different. You don't have the pause in your step like you used to always have, I can't even say everything that's how much you've changed. I just feel like I don't know you anymore."
"That's because you don't Maya," Leo said solemnly, "and I don't know you either. I remember the carefree kid full of wanderlust and adventure. Not the teen full of pure anger without a care for her own well-being."
"Did you expect me to still be happy after they kidnapped you? After they turned my whole world upside down." Leo saw Maya tighten her grip, "They have to pay for what they did. Don't you feel the same?"
Leo paused, did all the harpies have to die? The power vacuum it would cause if they simply vanished would be much more than the humans could handle. If Queen Sybil died then another would take her place, likely Sophia. But if Sophia died then who would take her place one of her kids or another harpy?
If the entire royal harpy family vanished then surely a more violent and radical one would take place. Just like what happened in the French Revolution, power vacuums and radicalism lead to the Napoleonic wars. Would humanity even be able to survive another warring harpy queen? Was the known evil worse than the unknown?
"I don't know what to think Maya." Leo said breaking himself out of his trance, "Too much can happen if the Queen died. What if the entire continent of monsters came after us? What if what happened to Mom happened to us? There's too much to consider."
"Who said we'd just kill the queen?" Maya said almost in disbelief, "We kill them all. Every. Last. Harpy."
"That'd just paint the same target on our backs that Mom had! I don't want to live my life constantly looking over my shoulder."
"Then you're just a coward who doesn't want to make the world a better place."
Leo scoffed, "You don't want to make the world a better place, you just want revenge! Revenge that will you get killed."
"The world will be better off without the harpies and you know it"
"That's what I want to believe," Leo paused and took a long breath trying to control his emotions, "But I know it would make everything worse for everyone. The harpies, as much as it hurts to say, are the only reason Happiness Village was allowed to exist."
"You should know better Leo, that's such an obvious lie they told you and you still believe it."
"How can you be so sure about that?" Leo countered, "You saw how powerful they were, you saw how fast they were. Think of how much land they can cover compared to us. We only exist because they let us. We were their own personal farm, we were fucking livestock and we didn't even know it."
"But look at how strong Mom and Lydia were," Maya said, "They fended off so many of the harpies. They protected everyone and kept the harpies away because of how strong they were."
"I heard this in Harpy Village, 'Keep your friends close and your enemy's closer.' They knew what they could do and they knew exactly where Mom and Lydia were at all times. I guarantee they never felt the least bit threatened."
That was not entirely true. While he had heard it before it was not from a random villager. It was from Alex, something he always preached. Keep an eye on any possible threat and you can't be surprised by an attack. His brother was always smarter than he let on, even if he did not use it all the time.
"That's another lie!" Maya yelled, "You can't keep believing the nonsense you heard there. Tell me the fucking truth Leo, or we won't even make it to Illiasburg!"
"That is the fucking truth, Maya," Leo spat tired of fighting his sister, breaking their already tattered relationship even more, "I just want you to understand why killing everyone who hurts us isn't going to work."
"That's what worked for Mom and Lydia so why wouldn't it work for us," Maya taunted, "What counterargument do you have for that, Leo."
"Because we aren't at their level and we won't be for years. From what I know, they were the best human fighters of their generation. Every monster they came across feared them. We aren't at their level."
"Then I'm going to train until I am." Maya declared, "I'm going to train until I'm better than they are, hell I'm going to make the Monster Lord fear me!"
"Then do that Maya," Leo sighed, "If you make it to that point then I wouldn't be able to stop you. Just… Just don't get yourself killed."
Maya smirked, straightened her posture, and pointed her sword to the sky, "Illias will bless me once she sees what I can do. I just have to show her that I can do it." She lowered her sword and walked toward the woods, "Because I know Mom and Lydia are watching us with her."
Leo started walking toward a dip in the ground, right next to a tree before speaking softly to himself, "I don't know how much she's watching if she lets the monsters get away with what they do."
Once again the morning came sooner than Leo wanted it to. However, the second he awoke he went to wake up Maya and start their march toward Illiasburg.
The air was hazy and the quality had clearly dropped. Thanks to the harpies spreading the fire this haze was likely going to be around for several days. He felt it honestly had the potential to spread across the entire continent.
Leo knew the elves would be angry at someone and it was only a matter of time before they point their gaze at the local human settlements. Their precious forest burned to ashes under the watch of the harpies. Not to mention the harpies had lost their local supply of men with Happiness Village.
He kept trying to logically define every action and how it all would play out in their favor. Something to give him another thing to latch onto. If either he or Maya was okay then they would make it, one watching out for the other. Unless a party of elves finds them, or worse a patrol of harpies.
It was hard, trying to think everything though when he knew there was nothing he could do himself. Every plan he tried to make involved either Maya or something so unbelievably lucky that it was impossible to happen. Not to mention he was at the point where he did not even know what he wanted.
Did he want to get off the Illias continent and explore the world? Fix what was wrong with the continent? Exterminate the harpies with Maya? So many conflicting options each with its own set of disastrous consequences. Some were more global than others and some more personal.
When he first came to this world he wanted to rebuild Happiness Village and make the world a better place. A noble goal that someone with his background could feasibly achieve given the proper resources.
Yet now he was wondering if the world would even let him bring change. Leo enjoyed being himself, having his morals, and only breaking them under extreme circumstances. Now it felt like he was slowly chipping away at who he was. It was always diplomacy over violence without a second thought, but now he actually considered both options.
The days of travel were long and tedious. Leo felt himself starving at the lack of food and the inability to hunt, he guaranteed Maya felt the same. They could not lay traps as they needed to stay on the move so they decided to scavenge the few berries they found along the road.
After what felt like a week of travel, sustained by only what they could scavenge on the roadside and the little water the twins found in streams. Leo saw glimpses of grey through the smoky air. The grey dots expanded into towers and the towers expanded into walls.
When Leo came close enough, he could see a wooden bell tower and several thatch roofs beyond the walls. Support beams decorated the side of buildings while the thatch gave much-needed contrast to the otherwise dull building design. However, the design of the buildings was the last thought to enter his mind.
"We did it, Maya," Leo said after wiping some sweat off his forehead, "We've made it to Illiasburg."
AN: Sorry about the unacceptable delay in the new chapter. Graduate school is in fact much harder than I thought so I had to rebalance just about everything. But I'm back (mostly) and should post new chapters whenever I get the chance. Hope you all enjoyed it!