Aye, JWD here. Sorry for not posting a chapter last week. I was really busy and kinda forgot. Anyways, here's Chapter 6. Enjoy c: (I fell asleep like 7 times while writing this, so there might be some errors.) Chapter VI I woke up to Avianna slathering a liquid all over me. "Oh! Sorry! I didn't mean to wake you." She said apologetically. "S'okay." I groaned as I sat up. "What is this stuff?" "Just a herbal mixture. It will help get rid of that stench. Sorry, I just couldn't stand it anymore." I was extremely sore. After swimming miles, getting bitten by a bunch of tiny bugs, mauled by a lion-man, and rammed in the gut by and Aquirietem, my body ached all over. I grimaced. "Are you okay?" "I'm alright. Just hurting a bit... Everywhere." "There's a lot more to come." I groaned again. I didn't want to spend another second in Malum. The psychological effects were starting to get to me. "Shall we go?" Avianna asked. "Okay. Let's do this." I said without much enthusiasm. We walked a bit, a small creature attacking us here and there. It was usually defeated by a quick sword slash from me or a quick arrow from Avianna. I honestly didn't know how I used the sword so well, considering I hadn't used one in my life. It just sort of came naturally to me. I wasn't ready to believe the sword has blessed me with magical sword skills or anything like that, but then again, based on what I had seen so far, it wouldn't surprise me. "So, you said that you've helped multiple heroes on this quest.." I said, remembering Avianna's words. "How does the quest usually.. End, for them?" "For one thing, some of them can't even make the swim over there, so they drown in the ocean. Others make the swim, but afterwards, they're so tired and hopeless, they drown themselves. That's a rare case though." "Oh my.." I said, suddenly feeling proud of myself for making the swim. "So what else?" "Some die before I can even find them. Those bugs that you fought? Everyone normally does. Bites to the legs, arms, and torso won't affect you, besides some minor pain, but bites to the head and chest are lethal. Of course, they could be killed by another creature before I find them." I suddenly remembered the bug swarm I had faced. It seemed so harmless for a while, I had no idea it could've been deadly. "I've seen so many good heroes come and die. Some get very far, but so far, only one has even reached the place where Potastatem was taken. The Cave of Custos." "Whats happened?" "I shouldn't tell you. It will frighten you, and take your mind of the quest itself. I'll remind you, we still have a long way before we get there. I thought back to my dream. That thing I heard, that had to be whatever was guarding Potastatem, right? It had been so dark, I couldn't see a thing. It told me to go home, give up. Well, the only way out at this point is death, which wasn't exactly my idea of fun. If this thing had the power to control my dreams, this far out into the forest, then it must be seriously powerful. I heard a strange sound from the bushes. "Ugh, not again. I don't think I can take another battle." I complained. "I have no idea what's in there, be prepared." Then I heard a voice. A moan, to be exact. "Fooood..." "Woah. Whatever's in there is hungry." I said. That's when a human stumbled out of the bushes. He was in horrible condition. His face was extremely dirty. All four of his limbs were covered in blood. His clothes were ripped. His eyes had no hope in them. He was extremely thin, likely from a lack of food. His hair has grown long, and a beard was sprouting on his face. All in all, he was in pretty terrible condition. I yelped as he collapsed in front of us. Avianna hurried over to the limp body. She attempted to pick him up, but she could not get his full body within control. "Ethan, give me a hand here!" I made my way over to her, where she was struggling with the body. I picked him by his other arm and slid another under his chest. Together, we pulled him to a flat log, and laid him down. I took a moment to catch my breath. As I'm sure you know, unconscious guys are heavy. "I don't know if we can save him.." Avianna said, her voice fearful. "Do you recognize him?" "Give me a second. Let me remember." Avianna stared at the man for a moment, deep in thought. "Ah! I remember now. This is Daryn. Daryn Westerdeln" "Did he take this quest?" "He did. He died, or at least I thought he did. He was attacked by a fierce creature, a Testris." "What's that? Combination of Falcon and Catepillar?" "No you imbecile, a Bear-Tiger combination." "Yikes. Must've been pretty brutal." "It was. I buried him, thinking he was dead. He must've crawled his way out. I have no idea how he's survived this long without food. It's quite remarkable." She took a piece of bread out of her pocket and fed it to him. "I'm not sure if he's going to make it." "Well, we can try, right?" "You're right. I need you to go find some Flosan Flowers so I can make Santum, that healing drink I gave you when we first met. They have four big, floppy, yellow petals. Hurry!" I rushed off into the forest without another word. Four big, floppy, yellow petals. Sounded easy enough. The only problem was, the little buggers were pretty rare. I found only one in a ten-minute span. That's when I heard a growl somewhere around me. I thought for a minute. Daryn couldn't have made it that far from where Avianna had buried him. Avianna must've buried Daryn near the site where he was killed. That means, the Testris, or bear-tiger, could be nearby. Had they even killed it? Or was it another creature? Whatever the case, I was on my own. Avianna was a ways behind me. I heard a rumbling on my left, and I saw the creature charging me. I wasn't sure whether to call it a small bear, or a large tiger. It was 50-50 size between the two. It had brown fur covering its body, along with black stripes on the back. It had a normal tigers tail. Sharp claws gleaned on its feet. I sidestepped, causing the creature to miss me. I knew there was no way I was going to win this fight alone. I needed help "Avianna!" I yelled. The creature turned and charged again. I unsheathed my sword, and swung frantically. The Testris stopped in it me tracks, got up on its hind legs, and let out an ear-piercing roar. I slashed at the creature, making a few gashes in its lower body. It didn't seem to care all that much. The Testris pawed at me, trying to scratch. I blocked a few strikes with my sword, but eventually, he got me right in the face, and placed three pretty nasty cuts across my face. I got mad, and slashed with my sword. The creature dodged the first few attacks, but I eventually stabbed him in the lower leg. He stumbled around for a bit, and I saw my chance to get away. I ran in the direction I had came from. I wasn't going to fast, but the Testris was hobbling with every step, due to the wound I had put in its leg. An arrow whizzed over my head. It hit the creature in he shoulder, as it let out a blood-curling scream. I looked up in a tree, and saw Avianna perched, bow by her side. She dropped down next to me. "Nice job wounding it. You made my job a lot easier. Although it looks like your face is in four different sections now." She told me. "I know, he got me pretty good. Cmon, let's kill this sucker." I charged the Testris, while Avianna fired another arrow, which hit it in its other lower leg, rendering both of them useless. I mounted the creature, and sick my sword deep into its back. The Testris was no more. "What a grandpa." Avianna said as I made my way back over to her. "Wait, me?" I asked, a look of confusion on my face. "Not you. The Testris. When I first faced it, it was much younger, stronger, faster. It seems like it lost a step." "Hm. Guess we got lucky. How's Daryn?" "Daryn wasn't so lucky. He died a little while ago. For real this time." "Oh.. I'm sorry.." There was an always moment of silence. Then Avianna cleared her throat. "It's a shame when a young man like him loses his life. Let's hope you don't end up the same way." On that happy note, she brought me back to Daryn's body. His skin was now pale. His eyes were closed, and his mouth was slightly open. It was a gruesome sight, one I won't forget.
