Chapter 6 [Kayeri Part-1]

   Viti was soaring high in the sky. He was looking for any signs of the missing people. But that was easier said than done. The forest canopy was too thick for him to see anything on the ground. On top of that, it was getting really dark. If rain comes down now then he won't be able to keep flying for long.

   Down on the ground, Dylan was letting them through the forest showing the path that they had taken that morning. Muku and Mika were close by. They could have sniffed this path out themselves but Aria had still chosen to take Dylan as this made the process much faster.

   ‘Are you sure it was a good idea to take me along?’ Dylan said. ‘It's getting too dark, what if something attacks us now. We barely have any people. How will we fight?’

   ‘There is a reason why we are only using one search party. Having too many people out at a time like this would be reckless. But with a small group like this I can make sure no one gets hurt.’ Aria said.

   ‘That doesn't actually put us at ease.’ Said Sofia. ‘I am not exactly good at fighting.’

   ‘I am guessing you two haven't been on many missions before.’ Milo said. ‘Like c’mon mate, you don't expect this ragtag squad to be any good in a fight.’

   ‘Then what happens if we are attacked?’ Dylan cried.

   ‘We won't. Not as long as we have these two with us.’ Aria said while pointing at the two dire wolves. ‘They are strong enough where they can scare off almost anything in this forest.’

   ‘And what if something isn't scared of your pets?’ Dylan asked.

   ‘Then it should be.’ Aria said.

    Dylan looked at the size of the wolves’ teeth and decided that she was probably right.

   They had entered a good way into the forest and it had gotten pretty hard to see already.

   ‘Milo, use that.’ Aria ordered.

   He pulled a glowing flask out of his bag and opened it. After opening it, a floating ball of light escaped the flask and it started following Milo like a will o wisp.

   ‘What is that thing?’ Dylan asked while looking scared.

   ‘Oh, right!’ Milo said. ‘You are new to Novaria. Don't worry it's not the spirits of the damned. It's a temporary light source made using fireflies. It will follow me, the user, for some time before it goes out. It's hard to make but bloody convenient for when you can't light a fire.’

   ‘You seem to be very knowledgeable about these things.’ Sofia said.

   ‘I have worked as a porter and occasionally a fighter for various groups in this continent since I was a kid. You have to pick up on some things if you want to survive for that long.’ Milo said.

   ‘I appreciate that you guys are getting along but sadly I think the time for chitchat is over.’ Aria said in a serious tone. On her arms was Viti and he was drenched in water. The rain had already begun.

   They hurried along for a few more steps before rain drops started falling on them. The canopy had kept them dry up till now but that was now over.

   ‘Chief, we have to turn back now!’ Milo said. ‘Soon enough the ground will turn to mud and all the scents will be washed off.’

   ‘Dylan, how close are we to where you last saw them?’ Aria asked.

   ‘Not that close I think. This is the spot I ran to after I left them so we are still pretty far off.’ Dylan said while pointing at the large mushroom that he had earlier in the day.

   ‘Please, miss Alvana. You know how dangerous it is to be stuck outside in the rain like this. We can have a proper full scale search for them tomorrow.’ Milo said.

   ‘No! If they are injured then they won't survive the night. We won't even find their bodies in the morning.’Sofia said.

   Dylan decided to stay quiet. He was worried about his friends but he also wanted to get out of this alive.

   ‘Milo is right. It's too dangerous to stay here for any longer. We will be turning back.’

   Suddenly the two wolves started barking in unison in one direction. The others went on alert at this sudden noise.   ‘Why are they barking? Is something dangerous approaching us?’ they wondered.

   But Aria, who was the only one who seemed relaxed, just smiled and said.

  ‘Well, well, well. Looks like coming out here was a good decision after all.’

   Out of the darkness, walked in a large looking shadow. At first everyone was scared wondering what it could be but soon enough the firefly light revealed who they were.

   It was Millie. She was carrying Brian and Clara on her back as she slowly walked forward and it seemed like there was something else behind them.

   ‘Ari is that you.’ Millie said after seeing Aria. She dropped Clara and Brian on the ground and ran to her.

   ‘MILLIE!’ Aria said while opening her arms like she was about to give out a hug. But just as Millie got in range Aria slammed both her hands into Millie’s face.

   While holding Millie's face in her hands, Aria asked not so calmly, ‘Where the hell were you all this time?’

   Suddenly the shadow from behind jumped forward and tried to slam into Aria which she managed to dodge at the last second.

   To her surprise the unknown assailant was actually a young boy and he was hissing at her like an animal. Millie who had escaped Aria by now was now trying to calm him.

   ‘Easy Kinon. These people are safe. They won't hurt us.’ Millie said while slowly approaching him.

   ‘Miss Millie, what's the deal with the kid?’ Dylan asked as he carelessly walked towards Kinon.

   ‘Careful Dylan! He is strong!’ Brian cried out from behind.

   Before Dylan could process that warning, Kinon had already gotten spooked and had tried running straight between his legs. This caused Dylan to trip over and fall flat on his face.

   ‘Oof. I wonder if he is doing alright down there.’ Milo said.

   ‘He is fine. The ground is soft here. But what about the boy? Shouldn't we go look for him? It's dangerous here.’ Sofia said.

   ‘No don't! You will just scare him more.’ Millie said.

   ‘Millie, is there something you want to tell me about that kid?’ Aria asked.

   ‘Yeah, I will explain once we get back to town.’

   ‘Okay okay. But more importantly.’ Aria said while shifting her gaze to Brian, ‘If you were conscious this whole time then why were you being carried?’

   ‘Well, we were both conscious.’ Clara said while standing up. ‘We woke up a while ago. We just didn't want to get hit again.’

   ‘Don’t stand up so fast. Let me come check you first.’ Sofia said while she went towards the injured pair.

   ‘So Millie, care to explain that “not wanting to get hit again” part to me?’ Aria asked in a very friendly tone.

   ‘Well, it's simple. They kept waking up and tried to restart our fight. So, I decided the easiest way to get back was for me to carry them on my back and knock them out whenever they woke up with a jab to the ribs.’

   ‘Umm, sorry to interrupt but wouldn't it have been easier to tie them up with some vines?’Milo asked.

   Millie looked stunned at the idea. Her face went into deep thought. After some seconds she clapped her hands and said, ‘You're right! That would have been so much easier. Sorry guys.’ She apologized to the two victims who were being checked for broken ribs at the moment.

   ‘Millie.’ Aria sighed.

   ‘What! I said sorry.’ Millie said.

   ‘Uhh. Is she alw-’ Milo said.

   ‘Yes, she is a lost cause.’ Aria said,

  ‘Anyway, how are the patients doing? Can they walk, or do we have to carry them?’

   Sofia had just finished her examination and some first aid. She said, ‘They will need some rest to fully heal but they can walk to the town right now.’

   Dylan suddenly got up from hugging the ground and said, ‘Does this mean that we can go back now?’

   Aria said, ‘Yes. Be glad that we found them without incident.’

   Just as she said that the large mushroom exploded out of the ground. The group, to their horror, saw the creature that had just made its entrance from underground.

   It was a bipedal creature standing at over 8 feet tall. It had a pair of short legs that ended in a flipper-like appendage, the large mushroom was actually growing out its head like a hat and a bunch of leaves from its back like a cape. Its skin was a dirty orange and arms completely humanoid. And its face was incredibly derpy thanks to its small eyes and mouth and round face. In fact his whole torso was kinda round making it look more like a giant pillow.

   Aria while trying to stay calm said, ‘Nobody moves a muscle.’

   ‘Do you know what that thing is?’ Dylan asked.

   ‘I am not sure but I can guess. And if I am correct then it's in our best interest not to provoke him.’

   ‘So, what’s the plan?’ Milo asked.

   ‘Our group has too many injured folks for us to make a run for it. He just got up from the ground so he is still a little drowsy. Keep your eyes down and wait for him to go away.’

   It was completely pouring by now and even the thick trees couldn't stop the water from getting everywhere. This was the worst climate to enter a fight. The wet ground would make it hard to move while the constant water dulled everyone’s senses.

   The creature walked forward towards the group and it stood in front Aria. But after it got there it started fidgeting awkwardly looking this way and that. It looked like it wanted to do something but was unsure how to get about it. 

   A thought occurred to Aria. She looked into her bag and then handed over an old button that she had to the animal.

   He looked overjoyed at having received such a gift. He then walked over to Clara and then repeated the same behavior.

   ‘Listen up, girls. That is going to approach you one by one. When he does, just give him something and then he will leave you be.’ Aria whispered to the group.

   True to Aria’s word the creature went from Clara to Sofia and then finally to Millie.

   While he was doing this Dylan thought to himself that this thing was actually pretty polite. This gave him an idea. If he drew his sword and then stood next to Millie when it approached her then he could later tell her that he was bravely guarding her from a distance. That was perfect he wouldn't even need to fight that eight foot monstrosity.

   Now he just needs to slowly draw his sword and walk close to-.... Just as he tried walking towards Millie his foot slipped on the muddy ground below. This caused his sword to fly away and fall straight through the creature's fungal head.

   Everyone went dead quiet. The creature slowly realized that a blade was poking through his mushroom head. He pushed on the sword to get rid of it and in the process tore an even bigger hole through his hat.

   For some time only the sound of rain falling could be heard. Suddenly Millie broke out into uncontrolable laughter.

   ‘HAHAHAHA

   ‘Huh!? Do you know what kind of trouble we are in right now,’Aria said.

   ‘Sorry, but I can't- it's too funny.’ 

   ‘Millie stop laughing’ Aria said angrily.

   Then suddenly the creature let out a loud scream and charged at the group.

   ‘MUKU! MIKA!’Aria yelled.

   The two wolves immediately got into action as both of them jumped the creature and pinned him to the ground and started savagely tearing into him.

   ‘Everyone, retreat into the forest NOW!’ Aria ordered.

   ‘Why do we need to retreat? Your pets seem to have the situation in co-’ Dylan said.

   But before he could finish, the creature used its stubby legs to kick Muku high into the sky. While he was doing its best bird impression, the creature pushed Mika away giving it enough space to jump after her flying friend. 

   While high in the air, like an expert volleyball player, the creature spiked the wolf violently into the forest. After that creature landed straight onto Mika making her pass out. It then picked up her unconscious body and threw her into the woods as well.

   The creature’s front body was full of wounds. Its right arm was barely still attached. He used his long flipper-like appendage to jump straight towards Dylan aiming to punch with his other arm.

   ‘VITI’ Aria yelled and suddenly the Raven flew out of one of the nearby trees and dived straight into the back of the creature’s head and exploded out of the front of his head in a bloody mess.   Aria took Viti in her arms. He was covered in blood and gore and probably won't be flying for the rest of the night. It was a risky and desperate attack but in return now there was a giant hole in the monster's face.

   ‘Retreat, NOW!’ Aria yelled.

   This time no one questioned the order as everyone ran a safe distance away and the creature's body stood completely still. Rain kept falling on it from above and steam began to emerge from his various wounds. They seemed to be healing.

    Suddenly his almost torn off right arm reattached itself and it tried to give out a howl despite the fact that half his mouth was still missing. It then started to run around aimlessly, hitting and knocking over trees in a blind rampage. He was slowly breaking the forest itself as he opened up the canopy letting more rain fall in.

   ‘What the hell is that thing? How is it not dead?’ Dylan asked.

   ‘Well, do you know something about this creature, chief?’Milo asked.

   ‘As I said before, I don't know for sure. I have never fought something like that myself. But it does match the reports of one infamous creature.’

   ‘A creature that appears to be half plant and half animal. Known for appearing whenever it rains heavily. Whenever they emerge, they abduct livestock and young women from nearby settlements. In battle, they are nearly unkillable. If you ever encounter a Kayeri in the wild then don't try to fight it?’Clara said.

   ‘You have good knowledge on these things, young lady. Consider me impressed.’ Aria said. ‘But yes, that thing is most likely a Kayeri, the nightmare of every settler in Novaria.’