A Bit on the Wild Side

Gideon and Roze went right past the bickering merchants and travelers, ignoring their half-hearted warnings. The look on the pair’s faces spoke that they were diving into danger knowingly. Even if they seemed ill-prepared for what lay ahead, no one stepped forward to tell them otherwise.

The capital city of Longheim was normally a week journey by horse-drawn cart and close to three weeks on foot. Gideon could easily waste a month of his time fighting off the monsters alone, just to provide safe passage for Roze.

Convincing a cart to speed through the northern path with some vague guarantee that they would be safe without revealing Gideon’s ability was a hard sale for just about anyone. They didn’t need that kind of attention for a personal journey.

The hunting village in question was only two days from Dominique. If they could manage to obtain help from there, then the rest of the trip north would be easier.

Packs of monsters, mainly wolves and bears, sniffed them out seemingly every hour or so. They were taken down by Gideon as soon as they were in sight. It cost him around ten to twenty minutes of his countdown each time, but as the day went on, the numbers started to pile up.

Not to mention, Roze could begin to see Gideon drag his feet. He had the stamina of a noble boy on the scholarly path that had servants attend to his every whim. It seemed like an ill combination with the constant fighting that he was putting up with.

However, he seemed to perk up whenever the rustling of bushes and the crack of branches signaled their next opponent. He would put on a smile and idly do a drum roll in the air, before the cries of fainted monsters echoed before her.

Gideon was someone that pushed himself, enjoying even the struggles. Roze couldn’t help but find herself staring whenever he did that. As he walked back over with a signal that the coast was clear, she caught herself in a trance again.

What am I thinking? He’s just doing what he needs to get to the destination.

Gideon wasn’t a particularly handsome man. If anything, his appearance gave off a lack of intimidation and reliability. He was someone that could cross paths with her in the marketplace and be forgotten promptly afterwards. If it weren’t for his display of powers, she wouldn’t have had any reason to travel with him. Her life would continue at the apothecary, passing another day of treating scrapes and bellyaches. Saving her did not mean she had to honor his request.

Yet, she did end up questioning the life she had set up for herself. As proven before, it would hardly last. She felt better off with a sense of purpose in finding the lost magic of her clan. However, the journey itself was not what she expected. It was certainly not gazing at a man one-shotting vicious beasts before returning to her side.

“Let’s camp here. The sun is going to set soon.”

“Sure, but where can we find a safe spot? We’ll be attacked out in the open like this.”

Roze pondered for a moment, about to ask him what ‘they’ did in a previous cycle. However, she realized that reliance on established answers would get her nowhere in the long run. She reached into her bag and pulled out a jar of red powder.

“How about this? I normally use this for cooking, but smaller creatures seem to avoid my gardens when I add a sprinkle.”

She handed him the jar, which he opened and smelled. Immediately, he fought off the urge to sneeze, a slight burning felt in his nostrils.

“Crushed cayenne. It has a bit of a kick if you like things spicy.”

Gideon waved his nose to cleanse the irritation. “Oh right, I remember you using that before….” He cut himself off as if his tongue had slipped.

“Then, it’s settled. A scatter of it around our campsite and we’ll be sleeping easier.”

The campfire crackled. Gideon tended to it while Roze walked along the perimeter with the spice in hand. A light dusting on the foliage would serve enough of a deterrent, so she hoped. Her companion’s confirmation gave her a push that she was correct.

When hours passed and the most they heard was a low growl that immediately retreated in the distance, Roze was finally sure that her knowledge had come in handy. Perhaps it was due to all the fighting, but Gideon’s head started to droop into dreamland.

Roze walked over and eased him onto the grass where he immediately started snoring. She would take the first watch of the night.

Time passed quietly. Often, her gaze rested on Gideon as he slept. It had only been a few days, but she had already become comfortable with his presence. With nothing else to do, she practiced her spells, the basic ones that could only accelerate objects or slow them down.

Why did she have so little power compared to her ancestors? It seemed rather unfair. At the same time, she had a companion that believed far greater in her than she could see. Even if what he knew was true, the means to get there were yet to be clear.

However, Gideon’s behavior implied that nothing was a certainty, even if time repeated itself. It was hard to refute someone that had experienced the future first-hand. Therefore, she had to do what she could to get better. Picking up an acorn, she forced the time for it to advance. It sprouted, a stem forcing upward until branches split from the main part. Small leaves formed at the ends and filled out.

But then, the entire plant fell from her hands which shook from the feeling of mana withdrawal. Her breath was hoarse, and a dizziness came over her. She had reached her limit.

A sudden noise woke her from zoning out, as she braced herself against a tree to concentrate on the surroundings. She could have imagined it due to overworking her magic. It was a warning for her not to overdo it again.

Several minutes passed with only the chirping of insects in constant melody. But just as she relaxed the grip on her wand, a knife was pressed against her neck.

“Don’t move, human.”

The fire was extinguished with a blast of wind, a chant-less magic that made Roze understand who was superior. In the dark, a glowing set of purple eyes at neck level slowly walked around to her front, the knife still pressed against her jugular.

Roze tried not to move but her legs were now trembling. She could feel the sharpness of the blade drawing blood. Her attacker clicked her tongue, pulling the knife back menacingly.

“I said, don’t mov-AHHHH!”

Roze blinked. All of a sudden, her attacker disappeared. In the next moment, she landed in a set of bushes off to the side. She rushed over to find Gideon holding a seemingly young dark elf with blond hair in his arms as if catching her fall.

“What did you do?” she asked, giving him a judging eye, particularly since the elf was scantily dressed.

“I, uh, saw that you were in danger, so I kind of panicked. Since she was quite a bit smaller than you, my first instinct was to pull her away. But I forgot I was in Time Stop until I had already lifted her up, and well, she got away from me.”

“Got away from you?”

“It is dark!”

Gideon scratched his head sheepishly. Since he had exerted a constant lift for several seconds on the elven girl, resuming time had launched her upward like a catapult.

He then verified where she would land, freezing time once again to position himself for the catch. Placing the girl in his arms on the ground, he quickly got up and brushed himself off. He walked over to Roze and whispered.

“Looks like we found one of them, the hunting tribe.”

“You didn’t tell me that they were dark elves!” Roze’s voice started to lose its whisper from her annoyance.

“Would you have come if I did?”

Roze frowned. It was hard enough dealing with her own kind, much less an elf. Given their long live spans, the girl before her could very well be hundreds of years old despite looking younger than her. Dark elves were particularly a strange occurrence as they lived in secluded clusters in the forests between human civilization.

The darker skin was believed to be a fouling of other species mixed with pure elven blood, causing many to be outcasts and form their own society for mingling the races.

“Now, comes the challenge. I had a hard time dealing with the dark elves here, so you’ll have to take my lead for now.”

Gideon walked back over to the place he was sleeping and plopped down. He pretended to go back to sleep.

“What are you doing?!” Roze whispered impatiently at him. The elf started stirring, which made her turn back and bring out her wand.

Eyes blinked open as the elf looked around vacantly. She stared at Roze with wide eyes.

“Ahhhh, what, who is that?!” Gideon sprung up, delivering a line of forced surprise. “Watch out, Roze! She’s about to attack! Hit her with a spell!”

“What are you talking about-”

The elf girl pounced, knife pointing straight for Roze’s throat. But before she could make it two steps, she was flicked away and into the trees. Her back crashed into a thick trunk, knocking the wind out of her. Gideon rushed over and plucked the knife that had been dropped, turning back to Roze.

“Good job, Roze! You really smacked her good with your magic!”

Roze finally understood what was going on. She straightened her back and pointed the wand menacingly at the girl again. She had to pretend the role that Gideon had given her, just like before.

“Give up, or else I will hit you with a stronger one!”

In response, the girl growled in annoyance. She had been clearly defeated but remained defiant, nonetheless. Her hand reached for an object around her neck. Putting it to her mouth, a high-pitched squeak caused Roze and Gideon to cover their ears.

Roze went to ‘cast’ another spell but saw that the girl was now puffing up her chest like she had claimed victory.

“What did you do?” Roze was getting really tired of having to say this.

“You may have beaten me, but now, the entire tribe knows. We will hunt you down no matter where you go!”