The boys arrived at the border after dusk. The rhinoceros beast, or rather, the Jagged Horn Beasts, took a lot more time than the usual monsters for them to handle. It wasn’t because of the Jaggedhorns only, but rather, the distractions from the Moostets. These furry and bigger sized meerkat like creatures were hopping around everywhere, trying to distract Jai and Darrion from the charging Jaggedhorns.
The Jaggedhorns were actually easy to handle because they were only charging forward like a bull or, rhinos. Dodging was an easy matter for Jai or Darrion, if only the Moostets weren’t hopping around them and taking turns kicking the two. Their kicks were not powerful per se, but it was their number that was troubling our heroes. The Moostets were many, more than ten but fortunately less than twenty. The two humans were having trouble keeping up with protecting the bunnies and themselves, but they eventually succeeded in scaring the enemies away in an
The next day, Jai and Darrion continued their journey. They didn’t forget to pick up Jai’s visitation permit at the lobby before going to the other section of the lobby where the other gate was located. This was also the lobby, but this part was“Safe trip, boys,” a middle-aged guard behind the desk smiled at them. “Do not forget to stay alert. I know this is the first time for you crossing the border.”“How do you know?” Darrion asked. “Do we look like it?” he looked at his own outfit.The man smiled. “Your clothes aren’t the giveaway. It’s your eyes. You have those dreamy eyes of a child. Filled with wonder and stars.”Jai and Darrion looked at each other in the eyes. The guard chuckled. “Yes. A newbie to the travelling world. Do be careful out there, alright? The Central Region is still infested with monsters.”The two smiled and waved at the man. &ld
Their walk was fortunately, uneventful. But they were glad there were no monsters coming their way. They did come across several Moostets on the way though. But maybe because they were in groups, the Moostets weren’t confident they could take them down, so they shared a glance before walking away. The boys didn’t pursue them.At their leisure but careful walk, they arrived at Rettaza before noon. The town was quite lively when they arrived. There were people walking out and into the town like normal settlement would. The walls were built with dark bricks along with the buildings, and the roads were paved and clean, except for some dried leaves that did not need to be cleaned as the wind swept them away easily.Rita immediately got excited and ran among the crowds of people, shouting, “Jelly rolls!”The three men laughed when they saw her reaction. “She won’t wait for us. Let us go to the bakery,” Alfred said.Jai
Darkness… That’s all he could see. He wondered if that’s was just because he forgot to open his eyes or because it was just too dark to see in the place he was in right now. He got tired of waiting for a chance to escape that he unconsciously fell asleep.The sound of wind could be heard outside, blowing and gusting. There’s also another sound, it sounded like a growl and a hum, something that’s obviously not human.“Grrawwk!!” the sound echoed.He didn’t know what kind of creature that is, but the fact that he was somewhere unknown and in mid-air sent unknown sensation and feelings all over his body. He was tired, hungry, and smelled so bad. Or it was maybe the place he was currently held in.This… Small and dark place that smelled like nothing he had ever smelled before. It was a mix of potato, something sour and rotten, and dirt. It messed with his nose that he couldn’t figure out whether th
After their discussion, Jai and Darrion split up to save more time. Jai immediately went to several shops, asking about the forest and the possible antidotes, while Darrion visited the local windlet office. Their windlet service had expanded and conjoined with mail services in all of the continent, this included small towns like Rettaza. His colleagues would obviously know a thing or two.His colleagues were a bit confused and concerned when he asked them about the forest and the dragon in detail. Sadly, what they knew about the dragon or the forest was what he had learned from his father’s book years before. But they suggested he ask the elderly in town about it. They also asked him to be careful which he happily responded with a “Of course! Thanks so much brothers!” which didn’t really lessen their concern.After getting the recent news and the small book containing a list of the monsters in Central Region, Darrion thanked his colleagues and l
They went to the direction according to the map Darrion had memorized in the windlet office. It led them further east past a small ravine until the road split up into two branches. A wooden pole stood between the two roads with two different directions. The left road led to the Affedor Path while the other one was hardly noticeable. The sign of the right road already looked decayed and its letters had faded a bit, but it was still readable to the boys’ eyes.“Grun…rind? What’s that letter in the middle?” Jai pointed to the crooked letter in the middle of the name.“Letter ‘E’. It’s Grunerind,” Darrion answered. “Oh yeah, I just remembered it was called like that,” the blonde said, opening the small handbook he got from his colleagues in Rettaza.“Grunerind? What does it mean?” Jai asked as he observed the right road.Darrion pointed to the handbook. “Green bark. The
When they reached the very entrance of the forest, they were immediately greeted by a row of giant budding plants on each side of the road. Each row had three to four of those white budding flowers, and what's more, they were facing the road and spewing yellow fumes every now and then."I think I understand why I feel the air is heavier here..." Darrion said, looking nervously at the plants."And why nobody crosses this road again," Jai said.Luckily, they stopped right just before the entrance when they see the first giant bud, saving them from inhaling any gas yet. He observed the plants for a few moments before Darrion spoke. "I can create air barrier around us, but then I won't be able to sense our surroundings for any sneaky monsters."Jai observed the forest once again before nodding. "It would be appreciated. The gas isn't thick enough to obscure our vision. It's better to avoid a slow death rather than a surprise attack."Darrion looked at
"I have a weird question," Darrion suddenly talked."What?" Jai asked immediately without lowering down his guard."If I fart, do you think the monsters here would be able to tell the difference?" Darrion asked.Jai stopped walking and looked at him without saying anything.Noticing his friend stopped, the windlet stopped too and turned his attention to him. Seeing his friend looking at him with no expression, he then grinned and looked away sheepishly, realizing that was a stupid question.Jai turned again to the front and continued walking. "No. I don't think they would."Darrion looked slightly surprised that his friend decided to respond. "Right? I mean, there's so many smells in here.""Mmhm," Jai responded and continued walking. Darrion followed him again and their talk ended there. But he couldn't stop feeling giddy from the small funny moment that happened now.Jai had taken care of the other Barbwa bug with his thunder
As they followed the path, the gas gradually faded until it was only faintly seen. There were still some flowers that they saw in the area, but the number greatly decreased from the entrance road they had come in before.The right side of the road ascended and it made it seem like they were walking in the side of a dug hill. Eventually, they arrived at some sort of Y crossing with the right road being more into the hill. Slightly to the right was a road that was quite crowded with some tiny budding plants growing on the trees. These flowers were in normal size like any other flowers they knew, but they looked very similar to the giant ones in the entrance. Although they did not spew gas like the ones in the entrance, there were some weirdly lilac-colored mushrooms with various sizes on the right road that seemed to glow slightly.“Uhh… I take it we’re not going there?” Darrion asked. It was more like a statemen