Chapter 24:

After the stream, the path narrowed and became uneven. The ancient trees loomed taller, and their gnarled roots made rapid escape almost impossible.Nick wasn't too worried about it. He probably should have been, but now that he could feel the threads of mystery begin to unravel, he couldn't wait to learn more.

He was almost certain that the Green Ocean was about to go through the high tide of one of its cycles. That would mean the appearance of dungeons and a massively increased population of dangerous monsters pushed toward Floria. By all rights, he should have been horrified and called the expedition quits.

Nick didn't even consider the option. It was reckless, but the two easy victories bolstered his confidence. And though he knew better than to think of himself as invincible, the temptation was too great to go back now.

After another half-hour of walking, the trail finally opened into a vast meadow. Wildflowers swayed in the light breeze with bright colors that contrasted with the omnipresent rich greens. The meadow seemed untouched, save for the occasional trace of animal life having moved through—broken stems here and a scuffed patch of dirt there.

"This is the spot where master took me," Rhea said, exhaling in relief. "The two times he took me with him, we found several bunches of Blooming Valerian and a few valuable mushrooms.”

That alone would be worth several silver coins. Enough to live off of for months. No wonder adventurers risked their lives on the daily.

Despite his desire to rush ahead, Nick forced himself to be careful. worked overtime here, allowing him to scan the meadow for any possible ambush. When he was sure they were alone, he stepped forward, "Looks safe enough," he said. "Elia, keep an eye out anyway."

The foxgirl nodded, climbing onto a large rock. Her tail swayed in idle movement, but her ears remained perked up. "I'll holler if anything moves."

Rhea was already kneeling by a patch of herbs, slipping on a pair of worn but sturdy gloves. She began to dig carefully in a seemingly barren patch of dirt until she unearthed a cluster of dark red, tuber-like growths. "Ember roots," she murmured, holding them up for Nick to see. "Good for burns and minor injuries if you know how to process them. They are also the base of a few offensive potions, as they contain a minor fire essence."

Nick hummed in surprise that they had found such valuable ingredients so quickly and walked toward a massive fallen tree lying on its side. It was ancient, with cracked bark and a mossy surface. He rounded it, his instincts buzzing, and his reward came when he spotted a treasure trove nestled at its base.

The mushrooms glowed faintly, their bioluminescent rounded caps reminding Nick of the sticker lights above his childhood bed in another life. Nightcaps.

Kneeling, he avoided touching the mushrooms directly. Their delicate nature—and the toxicity they emitted when disturbed—meant that handling them with bare hands would be a painful mistake. He extended his hand, focusing his telekinetic field, and lifted them individually.

He carefully guided each mushroom into his ghostgrass pouch. Its unique properties would keep the ingredients fresh and neutralize their active effects until they could be properly processed.

"You're lucky," Rhea said, joining him with a bundle of herbs tucked under her arm. "Nightcaps are temperamental. If the conditions aren't perfect, they won't grow at all."

Nick hummed in acknowledgment, too focused on his task to reply. His mind wrapped around another mushroom, delicately plucking it from the earth and placing it with the others. There were enough for him to exchange some for an air element ingredient.

He'd lose on the trade, but it'd be worth it.

Rhea crouched beside him, using her gloved hands to harvest a tangle of roots nearby. "These are valor's bane; adventurers use them to repel monsters around camps. They are expensive in Alluria, but here they go for a low price because almost no one is stupid enough to sleep in the forest, and they need a couple of hours to seep into the environment. The caravan that's coming from the city will buy every single bushel available."

Nick nodded to show that he heard but didn't look up. Earning some cash would be nice, as it would allow him to purchase more valuable ingredients, but he didn’t intend to advance only through rituals. He knew a few people who thought they could, and the bargain was almost never worth it.

The two worked in companionable silence, enjoying the meadow's peace. Soon enough, however, Elia broke their reprieve. From her perch, her ears twitched, and her posture stiffened. She scanned the treeline, her bright eyes narrowing. Something was wrong.

"Uh, guys?" she called.

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At first, Nick was too engrossed in his harvesting to pay attention, but Elia's tone made him pause. He turned to her, his brow furrowed. "What is it?"

Elia's tails were rigid now, her ears swiveling toward the trees at the meadow's edge. "I smell something," she hissed, her voice low. "People. Humans are coming."

Nick straightened, his muscles tensing. He followed her gaze to the meadow's far end, where the vegetation was dense enough to obscure sight. At first, it seemed like a false alarm, just the wind teasing the foliage. But as the movement drew closer, it resolved into two figures.

Their appearance immediately set Nick on edge when they emerged from the treeline. Both were men, rough and unkempt, with dirty leather armor and poorly maintained weapons hanging at their sides. Their expressions were hard, and they scanned the meadow like wolves searching for prey.

Nick instinctively grabbed several stones with his mana but didn't lift them, not wanting to initiate a fight. "Let's try to talk first," he said under his breath. If it came to that, he liked his chances, as the two didn't seem like experienced adventurers; however, he would prefer not to roll the dice.

The men stopped a few paces later, staring at the fat satchels at Nick and Rhea’s hips. The tallest of the two, who had a jagged scar across his cheek, grinned humorlessly. "Well, well. Looks like we've stumbled upon some lucky kids."

His companion, shorter but just as ugly, chuckled darkly. "What would your parents say if they knew you were this deep in the forest?”

Nick stepped forward, positioning himself slightly in front of Rhea and Elia. His mind raced as he calculated his options. “We've just wandered too far," he said evenly. "We're not looking for trouble."

Scar snorted, glancing at the pouch on Nick's belt. "Looks like you've found something worth a bit of trouble. Why don't you hand it over, and we'll accompany you back to the town like the upstanding citizens we are?"

Nick's grip on the stones tightened, and he prepared to punish their arrogance. It didn't even pass through his mind that he could comply.

Elia slipped down from her perch, flexing her claws as faint wisps of blue fire started to gather.

Rhea glanced between the men and Nick with barely concealed worry. "We don't want to fight," she said softly, but her hand started creeping into her pouch.

Short sneered. "Oh, there is no need to fight if you do as we said. We'll just have to give you something to remember your luck, aye?"

Nick's eyes narrowed as the two advanced, and he could almost taste their malice. "If you harm even a single hair on any of our heads, you'll regret it," he said icily. "My father is the Captain of Floria's guard. He'll have you hanged before you can draw step foot into town again."

That stopped them for a moment. Scar's grin faltered as his eyes swept over Nick's face, narrowing as he studied him. He grunted. "Crowley's boy, huh? I see it now." He gestured toward Nick's jawline with the tip of his dagger. "Same stubborn look. Same big mouth."

Nick's heart pounded, but he didn't flinch. He forced himself to hold the man's gaze.

Short chuckled, though his tone was now openly threatening. "Doesn't matter, does it? The Captain can't do much if he doesn't know." His smirk widened, revealing yellowed teeth. "And people always disappear in the forest. Nobody will know."

The air grew taut as the tension reached a breaking point. Nick mentally cursed himself. He knew he'd escalated things as they went from threats of bodily harm to just outright saying they'd kill them, but backing down now wasn't an option.

Rhea shifted beside him, and Elia's tail bristled. They all knew that diplomacy had failed.

Scar made the first move, lunging toward Elia with surprising speed. The foxgirl reacted instinctively, launching her gathered fire.

The sudden attack was clearly aimed to catch her off guard, and Nick's blood ran cold as he saw the man easily roll beneath the foxfire, closing the distance.

The stones Nick had grabbed earlier shot forward almost without his input, spinning rapidly to gain momentum.

Scar’s reflexes were too quick—again, he dropped into a roll, evading the barrage—but his companion wasn't so lucky. The stones hammered into Short, sending him flying back and breaking ribs with audible cracks. His howl of pain echoed through the meadow as he lay crumpled on the ground, clutching his side.

But Nick couldn't celebrate the success. Scar's boots glowed faintly, and a skill propelled him forward in a sudden burst of unnatural speed.

"Elia!" Nick shouted, but it was too late.

Elia's second fireball went wide once again as the assailant closed the distance, and his dagger came down, slashing across her side, cutting deep and drawing a sharp cry of pain. She stumbled back, her hand clutching at the wound as blood seeped between her fingers. The man loomed over her, poised to strike again.

A furious scream halted him as Rhea charged forward, tackling Scar with surprising strength. The impact sent them both to the ground in a tangle of limbs. But Rhea's momentum wasn't enough to disarm him, and now she was grappling with a man far larger and more experienced in combat.

Nick acted on instinct, grabbing the air around them and pushing it against the enemy, whose weight shifted as he raised his dagger toward Rhea. His sneer twisted into a startled grunt, and an invisible force slammed into his side. It wasn't enough to knock him away entirely, but it gave Rhea a precious moment to scramble back.

Elia staggered to her feet, her wound still bleeding, but her hands were glowing with blue fire once more. She bared her teeth. "You're going to regret that," she hissed, hurling a smaller, faster fireball directly at the man's chest.

This time, the attack struck true, burning through his armor and sending him sprawling with a roar of pain. He rolled away, desperately slapping at the burning leather, but the damage was done. A weeping hole marred his chest, and his movements were sluggish as he struggled to rise.

Short, groaning and clutching his side, made a feeble attempt to stand. Nick wasn't about to give him the chance. Another gust of wind, more focused this time, sent him flying backward into the trunk of a tree with a sickening thud.

Nick turned his focus back to Scar, who had pushed himself to one knee. His dagger was still in hand, though his grip was shaky. He glared at Nick with hatred and fear.

"You've made a mistake," Scar growled hoarsely. "You don't know who you're dealing with."

For a moment, Nick seriously contemplated killing him. He already knew he could. It would be easy, even. But that would be a mark on Elia and Rhea's minds that he couldn't justify.

He'd have to deal with these two on his own.

Stepping forward, Nick made a show of preparing another round of stone bullets. "Neither do you," he said coldly. "Walk away. Now."

For a moment, it seemed the man might try to fight again. But his gaze flicked to his unconscious companion, then to the two girls standing behind Nick. Rhea's hands were clenched, dirt smeared across her gloves, and her expression was one of barely restrained fury. Though wounded, Elia still held a fireball at the ready, and her eyes glowed with a dangerous light.

Scar spat on the ground and painfully staggered back, clutching at his chest. "You're lucky I'm feeling generous," he muttered, retreating toward the trees. He grabbed his companion, slinging the barely conscious man's arm over his shoulder and retreating away from sight.

Nick waited until he was sure they were gone before releasing a long breath. His hands were trembling, though whether from exertion or adrenaline, he couldn't tell.

He grabbed a healing potion from his satchel and made his way to Elia, already thinking of what he'd have to do once they got out of the forest.