Before Audrey and her friends could even process what was happening, the ground below them started to rumble furiously as if an intense earthquake had struck the area.
Following this, the massive blue stones rose up from the earth. To their surprise, the stone formation as they thought it was is not exactly a simple megalithic structure.
One by one, the big blue stones started to rose from their feet as if a man waking up from its deep slumber causing a cloak of dust to drift in the area.
The big blue stones do not have any distinctive facial feature but it has both upper and lower extremities just like a man.
These anthropomorphic blue stones have the height of two men combined and it stood towering over the group.
Sensing no hostility coming from the group of anthropomorphic blue stones, the group reckoned that this could very much likely be the guardians of this exit.
Aside from that, after observing the massive blue stones
Thankfully, this part of the sea where they were teleported is not highly terrorized by the man-eating merpires.The last time they have been here was when they sail through a shipping vessel that used to transport magical items to different places.It is also the same ship that acts as a medium to bring fresh blood as well as the returning students in Iridos.They traveled for around three months or so that time, and on the very last day of their voyage to Iridos, they got attacked by the merpires.Many of the aspiring young warlocks and sorceresses met their demise at that time.For they all fall under the charm of the merpires and they were mercilessly dragged away by the vicious merpire underwater. Probably ending up as one of their food supply.Audrey and the two brothers traveled together on that same ship so they were aware of what happened to this place.As such, among their group of six, the three of them
The hanging bridge is extremely long and old-looking. It sways whenever strong winds blow onto it. Signs of wear and tear can also be seen in every part of the hanging bridge; signifying that the hanging bridge before them already had a long history of existence.Thick fog also covered the area below the hanging bridge so no one can see how high it was above the ground. But a barely audible sound of rushing water can be heard below it. So most likely, the hanging bridge is built above running water.Walking closer to the point where the hanging bridge meets the land, they tried to peak amidst the cloud-like congregation of fog It was that time that the group notice that there is someone standing in the middle of the hanging bridge.Because of the thick fog in the area, Audrey and the others can hardly see how the other party exactly looks like.They can only make out a green silhouette of a lady with something like an extremely long bl
Every once in a while, every once in a great while, a troll maiden is born in the shape of a human or almost a human with only branches growing from her back to mark her trollness. When humans see these lovely human-shaped troll maiden, they either wonder for their beauty and fall in love with them or fear their strangeness. But most of the time, it was the latter.But when trolls look at these human-shaped troll maidens, they see sorrow and a passing and a life lived flitting on the borders between the two worlds. These lovely troll maidens do not live long troll lives. They live to what humans may think to be extremely old age, but for a troll, it is but the blink of an eye.The trolls rejoice and grieve for these fleeting creatures, who are neither one thing or the other. As they delight in watching a butterfly flutter in the air or a bee dance above a flower, the trolls delight in caring for and watching over these delicate, humanlike creatures.
"Is there anything we need to do before we could gain access to the entrance and cross the hanging bridge??"Jace asked skeptically.They were no first-timer when it comes to using portals guarded by the guardians.On every occasion, regardless of where they are, there will always be something that they have to do before they could use the portal and get teleported to the other side.Just come to think of the talking oak tree in the heart of Forbidden Forest inside Iridos.Whoever wished to use that portal have to first flash their magic emblem to represent their identity and utter a specific introduction before they will be teleported.The same goes for the Vegan merpire, Veronica at the entrance to the land of Dystopia.One has to be capable of holding their breath underwater or at least consume a mermaid's tear to cross the underwater portal leading to the land of Dystopia.While Flora, the sunflower plant that
On the flip side, after the group was done giving their 'gift' to Irithel , they proceeded on crossing the hanging bridge with Irithel at their back to keep them safe.Crossing the hanging bridge, the group could feel it swaying whenever a strong wind blew past it.Each of the planks of the wooden steps of the bridge creaks noisily whenever they put their weigh on it.It seemed that if one dares to run or purposely shake the hanging bridge, it will eventually tip to the side and all that was crossing the bridge will fall.It is also a good thing that Audrey's group has no plan of tricking Irithel in giving their treasure.Because apparently, those who choose not to follow Irithel's condition will definitely meet their tragic end in the hanging bridge.Over time, there were already a number of warlocks who tried doing that before. Crossing the hanging bridge without the guardian's permission.But only misfortu
Nike scratched the back of his head as his other hand reach on the inside of his robe to get his wand."Alright, I'll gonna use a spell for this one then."As he said that, Nike waved his wand and muttered,"XEKLEÍDOMA"As soon as he was done chanting the unlocking spell;, the doorknob turned by itself and right after that, the massive wooden double door open on its own.To their surprise, the interior of the place is not affected by the same reddish-brown color that dominates the entire Blood City.It does not have any hint of the sanguine ambient light outside and it works to their liking.After all, it would really put them on edge if they end up getting trapped inside an abandoned old mansion that looks as if it was covered by dried blood.Although the interior of the place looked shabby, to say the least, it is still way much better than having a creepy place that looked like a murder scene where many
Throughout the entire journey, Jace deliberately kept his distance from Audrey.Even right now where it was only the two of them left in the place, Jace still remains aloof and adamant in keeping a safe distance away from Andrew (Audrey).He was sporting and serious expression on his face as he busied himself searching for every drawer and cabinets left abandoned in the west part of the old mansion.There is no other noise that can be heard within the western part of the old mansion aside from the sound created by the drawers and cabinets every time they opened and rummage it.Being unable to stand the awkward silence between them anymore, Audrey stop what she was doing and looked at Jace who was still busy trying to rummage the place looking for the ancient Goblet.Out of the blue. she directed a question towards Jace."Jace, can I asked you about something?"But instead of answering right away, Jace just looked at her
"Come on guys. We have to go. Let's head back now and leave this place."Niccoli beckoned as he started walking ahead of the group.He was definitely looking forward to returning to Iridos and gave the ancient Goblet to Professor Sonny.Hopefully, that ancient Goblet is the key that would be able to help them to finally awakened Luna.The rest of the group also felt the same way so they all went out of the old mansion with Niccoli on their lead.So far, everything seemed to go on smoothly and Audrey can't help but feel that everything was going way too smooth sailing that she was starting to feel unnerved.It was unsure whether she was just being apprehensive for no reason but the fact that everything went on smoothly in this quest is really suspecting by itself.It did not take long for the group to reach the same massive wooden door where they came in. It was still left wide open and a gust of wind was still coming fro
[Distract them for me.]“Was it not only right for Steffi to get to use to eye whenever she feels like it?? I mean, she is older than the two of you so naturally, she was supposed to have more authority above both of you, no?.”“Ehhh… She’ll be fine. I’m the youngest so they should let me wear it more.” (Meredith)“The kid is right. The eldest should have the eyeball. She is a genius” (Steffi)Steve, on the other hand, seemed to get what Audrey was trying to do, so he said something that would surely add fuel to the fire.“But what about the middle child? I am sure, Ariel wants to have her turn too.&rdqu
“Now, where are we? Right, cooking.”Steffi changed the topic on purpose, before turning to her sisters.“I need the eye to check if it's ready, who has it?”“It’s around here, somewhere,”Meredith replied as she started to rummage through a pile of disorganized drawers. She felt obliged to respond since she was the last one to use the Magus Eye. Unfortunately, she forgot where she left it.“The last time I saw it, you put it in the utensils compartment, Meredith” Steffi insinuated using a lazy tone so the other party rebutted,“Don’t use that tone with my name.”Ariel on the other hand joined in this time to inform them that the eye was nowhere to be seen.“It’s not there this time.”After a while of contemplation, Meredith’s face lit up as she recalled something.“Aha! Steffi always put it in the dish cabinet:”And just like that, she found where her sister was hiding it.Consequently, the group found it interesting to watch how the three sisters could be talkative without having t
“I agree with Ariel. Why don’t we invite them over? This way, we could continue our chat there whilst they take their much-needed rest.” This time, it was Meredith who spoke and she deliberately told her sisters this. Nonetheless, she has spoken the words loud enough to be heard by others. The students, on the other hand, were beyond ecstatic when they overhear the ongoing conversation. But decided that it would be best not to allow their emotion to show on their faces. At this point, Meredith turned to the group and greeted them with a bow. “Let me apologize on my sister’s behalf. The thing is, it has been a while since we had visitors. As such, we are no longer accustomed to receiving guests.” She insinuated before she slowly approached the bunch of bewildered youngsters; careful not to bump her toe as she felt her way through the darkness. Her blindness was made obvious by her action and it made her appear pitiful to any onlooker. Truth be told, the Grae’s current act of displ
“Seriously, when will they stop obsessing over Cercei?”Tsking in annoyance, Steffi stealthily moved her slender fingers next to the Magnus Eye with the full intention of taking it back from her younger sister’s possession.“These people were getting on my nerves!”She purposely added this to appeal to her sisters’ sentiment so that their minds could focus somewhere else and they would not notice it once she started hogging the magic eye all for herself again. Meanwhile, her plan worked, as it always did. Ariel readily agreed to her and with a voice full of despondency, she said,“That’s how the mage community works. They fear what they could not understand and so they are set on destroying anything that they cannot control.”Ariel finished with an exasperated sigh. Meredith, on the other hand, could not help but clenched her fist as she was reminded of their good friend’s plight. Then with her brows knitted together, she roared,“The gal did not deserve all this hatred.”Meanwhile, t
On the flip side, rewinding the clock a tad, just a few minutes before Audrey’s group discovered that they unknowingly fall under a spell, the Graes were already watching them. “The eye! Who has the eye?” Meredith, the youngest, shouted at the top of her lungs. Steffi, on the other hand, stepped away from the giant cauldron before answering. “Over here. I had it with me.” She purposely put a safe distance between her and her two sisters before taking the eye out from her pocket. Afterward, she put the eyeball inside her empty socket. Meanwhile, Ariel, the middle child among the three sisters complained, “You again? You are always snagging our eyes by yourself.” “I know right? Give us a chance as well.” Meredith seconded. But Steffi only rolled her removable eye and mumbled, “Oh, shut up! Stop whining, it's because I have more use of this than the two of you combined.” Ariel no longer argued. But Meredith was different. “Give me that, it is my turn today.” She insinuated and
“But this was done in consideration of what was the lesser evil. News about how the petrifying monster has been terrorizing the Black Forest had already reached the ears of the masses and as a result, was causing mayhem among the people; both non-magic and magic practitioners alike. If it was not for that, the mage community would not make a move.” “Terrorizing, you say.” The Grae mockingly repeated Niccoli’s word that struck her noggin the most. Then with a contemptuous scoff, she added, “What an interesting choice of words considering that it was you, students, who made the first move against her. If you were to ask me, I think it is more accurate to say that it was the other way around. You all are the ones doing the terrorizing. You brought the melee with you and now that she retaliated, you turned her into a villain?” Everyone fell silent afterward but it was not because they were trying to come up with better arguments to refute the other party’s words. Rather, it was due to
Audrey was on her dormitory bed when all that happened, and she was absolutely oblivious to the problem that was headed her way. Meanwhile, the results of the examination were announced on the third day. The students gathered around the square early in the morning and crammed in front of the announcement board to check their results. They also wanted to find out which class they had been allocated to. Niccoli dragged Audrey into the heavily obstructed crowd and finally came before the Herbalist Division’s announcement board. Niccoli immediately found their names, and as expected, both of them had obtained the highest marks for the test. They were also allocated to the Herbalist Division’s violet class for that autumn enrollment. Niccoli was also excited to see the name ‘Andrew’ written on the top of the list. Everyone envied her marks. “Andrew! You are the first! You are the first!” Niccoli was extremely surprised and held onto Audrey’s shoulder. He was very excited, and it was as i
[Alright, I must admit it’s my fault this time. My bad.] “As you should!” Ultimately, Nero acknowledged the part he played in inciting the agitated hut to action. But he also did not forget to let Audrey know that he did not appreciate her tone. [Needless to say, raising your voice is completely unnecessary. Besides, getting mad at me won’t change anything, will it? You’re kind of embarrassing me, just you know.] The cat tried to reason out but with her and her friends’ lives at stake and almost put in danger, Audrey did not back away easily this time. “Oh yeah? Then swear to me that from now on, you will be mindful of your choice of words. We have to be careful with every word we are saying because it was not every time that we got a chance to take it back.” Meanwhile, Nero’s response came shortly. However, it was so brief. Moreover, it did not sound sincere either. [Okay. I promised] So Audrey prompted the cat to state the matter precisely because she did not want him to circ
“What if the Graes already took notice of us as soon as we entered their perimeter and right now, we are under a spell; making our eyes play a trick on us? What if what we are seeing right now is not real?”“Well, if that is the case, then I guess there is only one way to check it.”Audrey insinuated and without wasting another breath, she said the passphrase."Turn your back to the forest, your front to me."Slowly, it dawned on the others as well what was possibly happening and so without waiting to be told what to do, they recited the same thing too."Turn your back to the forest, your front to me."They whispered into the air one after another and almost immediately, the landscape changed into something else, right before their naked eyes.Everyone watched with an awestruck face as the trees turned into fences. At the same time, just a few feet away from where they were standing, they noticed how an empty lot from moments ago started to morph into what seemed to be an inconspicuou