HEALER'S WIND
The morning mist clung low to the earth, the wagon creaked and jostled along the forest road. With the amount of alcohol they consumed at the tavern last night the party should have suffered from a hangover but thanks to Rema's healing abilities.
They were moving early in the morning - quite a miraculous feat since normal adventurers without advance healers like Rema, would have emptied there guts out two miles ago.
Instead, Soren held the reins quite cheerful "I still can't believe we're moving this early thanks to your healing Rema. Usually after drinking like that, we'd depart at noon."
"It's no problem, it's a simple healing spell to improve the constitution and boost metabolizing alcohol in one's body. It was the first spell my Father taught me. I have to say it helped him a lot in his younger years." hands on her lap in an elegant posture
"It sure is handy, you healed all of us before dawn even Nika woke up so energize," Soren watched as Nika moved like a shadow between trees, vaulting onto low branches with effortless agility. She was scouting ahead securing the path for the party.
"I'm just glad I could help. Though…" her expression dimmed slightly as she turned from Nika to Dinisio, "I'm sorry I couldn't heal Dinisio though."
"Not too worry he is a demi-fiend so he's virtually indestructible in the Whispering Forest."
From inside the wagon, came a faint and tragic groan of Dinisio, you could almost see stars floating around his head.
Milani poked him with a staff curious about his state, "That's because he is a demi-fiend," she stated plainly "You have divine healing and fiend physiology rejects it."
Soren nodded. "Ah is that why he's still groaning in pain? Makes sense. Since you're an elf, I assumed your healing was nature-based. Who would've thought even I'd meet an elf using divine healing?"
Rema "I do know a bit of natural healing but herbs and potions take a long time to brew and I was rather in a hurry to get to the next town. Don't worry when we get some supplies, I'll brew a hungover tonic for him."
"Now that's intriguing, an elf-fae that has divine and natural healing." Milani said adjusting her spectacles.
"Well whichever healing it is, our party was lucky enough to have you and don't worry about Dinisio he's experienced way worst. You know you've already helped us quite a lot you even healed Giano's aching knees." Soren peeked at Giano who was guarding the rear of party - or he was supposed to.
With his legs feeling lighter Giano was not on guard but on a peaceful stroll, he was communing with the earth, the trees and even the small bushes. "It's such a good day today!"
"I've never seen him move so fast!" Soren nodded in approval.
"I did notice his right leg was taller than his left leg which cause the aching in the first place. You should remind him to move more or have his legs even out by a lumberjack- " Rema enumerated in her head.
"HEY!" Nika's voice cut sharply from ahead.
She balanced lightly on a tree branch overlooking the narrowing trail before landing effortlessly on the space between Rema and Soren.
"Could you two stop yapping like you're on a road trip? The forest is getting denser and the pathway is barely visible!"
"Ah sorry!" Rema whispered, hands on her mouth.
Soren waved it off casually. "Don't mind her. She's just cranky because she lost the drinking game."
"I did NOT lose!!" Nika's voice echoed. "I clearly out drank you both!"
"But I vaguely remember giving you some water to sober up." Soren remembered incorrectly.
"You did not, and besides Rema" She said inching her face to hers, "You must've cheated there's no way you out-drank me!"
Rema giggled softly. "Well… I am older than you all, after all. I've had my fair share of drinking. Don't worry, your alcohol tolerance will improve over time. Just remember to drink with the right people and not pass out in strange places." she reached out to pet Nika's head.
Nika instinctively jumped away, landing swiftly in the front of the carriage. "I am not a child. Don't pat me as you please!"
From inside the wagon, Milani spoke, her nose still in a book, "She is part-elf, Nika. She is likely older than us." She turned to Rema assessing her from head to toe, "What are you 180 years old or something?"
Rema cheeks turned pink "Oh my you're such a sweet girl … do I truly look that young?"
Soren looked at Rema baffled, "You're older than 180?! No way! You look twenty-one at most!"
Rema covered her mouth shyly. "My young man you exaggerate… is that how you got Nika here to fall in love with you!"
Nika blushed and defensively said, "ME?! with him! Don't say such non-sense! You - you two should focus on our mission right now! and Giano — stop picking flowers!"
Giano turned, having bent over to pick a flower along the road. In his enormous hands was a small bouquet of wild blossoms — delicate pink petals tipped with faint gold, their stems thin and resilient, growing stubbornly from cracks between stone.
He approached carefully and held them out to Rema.
"Here Rema thank for healing my aching knee, I picked these flowers because they're pretty as pretty you!" Giano said smiling.
Rema accepted them gently. "They're lovely. Thank you."
Soren applauded letting go of the rein and driving the carriage to a complete stop. "Giano! That was smooth!"
Nika threw her arms skyward.
"Is no one listening to me? We could be ambush at any moment —"
An arrow screamed past her ear.
It sliced between Soren and Rema, tore clean through Milani's open book, and landing right into Dinisio's fluffy silver hair.
He did not move.
The arrow quivered.
Everyone stared.
"He's alive, I think..." Milani poked Dinisio with her staff.
"…I think it improved his hairstyle," Soren commented.
The bushes exploded.
Goblins poured out—armed with steel blades and worn armor.
One leapt onto the road.
Then three more.
Then six.
Shadows shifted between the trees as more shapes crawled from the undergrowth.
By the time Soren finished counting the first ten, he stopped counting altogether.
They were surrounded.
Soren sighed almost casually. "See, Nika? You really should learn to speak softly."
"ME?!" Nika eyed him furiously but drawing her two short blades and assumed a fighting stance towards the direction of the arrow.
Sore drew his sword. His demeanor changed instantly. Gone was the carefree leader as his eyes sharpened.
A goblin lunged towards the horses and Soren parried cleanly and cut the weapon from its grip in one fluid motion.
"Giano! Protect the cargo!" Soren commanded. "Nika the archers!"
Giano slammed his hand into the ground burying it onto the earth,
In a split second there was rumbling and the earth split. Thick roots burst upward, twisting together into a living wall around the wagon just as arrows swiveled toward the party.
Two goblins charged straight into the barrier.
Thud.
Their blades hacked at the bark, but the strikes glanced uselessly off the dense wood and stone-like roots.
Soren maneuvered his sword against not one, not two but three goblins. Exchanging three blows with skillful evasive turns and parries.
He heard one Goblin commanded "That one's human, the boss doesn't want his kind. Only grab the other four!"
In the commotion the archers had not notice that Nika already maneuvered into there back line.
She shot up a tree trunk, claws digging into bark, scaling vertically toward the hidden archers before they could nock another arrow.
"Check for the fiend - there's a half-fiend traveling with them, the boss says he wants that one the most!"
A few goblins had managed jump from the trees, entering the Giano's defenses and climbing on him, shouting "The boss will like this one cause he's so big!" Giano picked a couple of them and hurled them back outside.
One managed to reach the wagon and stared at Rema almost drooling, "This one's good! She's an elf"
Scared Rema moved back her wings flipping upwards ready to flee,
"and she's got wings! She's so pretty too with you I can redeem my entire family!"
Milani calmly smacked it with her book.
Once.
Twice.
Three times.
Until three distinct lumps formed on its forehead before it toppled backward.
Nika dropped from the trees, kicking another Goblin square in the face knocking it unconscious.
"What are you doing, Milani?! Use your magic!"
"I do not wish to waste mana," Milani replied flatly.
"Then use low-level spells!"
"Nika, behind you!" Rema panicked.
The goblin raised a huge net, entrapping Nika in it, "I got one! I got one!"
Nika squirmed trying to free herself from the net, she hacked at it with her blade but goblins started dragging her away.
Soren was to her side, steels exchanged between three goblins and Soren. He managed to knock the kidnapping goblins of their feet.
Nika was still fighting her way out the nets "Hey get me out of here."
But Soren saw, behind the trees were more and more Goblins, he acted quickly and picked up Nika like she was a bag of potato sprinted toward the wagon.
The group of Goblins closed in.
He jumped over Giano's defensive walls and called out, "Milani! Shield!"
A glowing barrier burst into existence—shaped like an enormous open book.
It unfolded above Giano's wooden wall, the two luminous pages angling downward like a roof over the wagon.
Goblins' spears and swords hammered against the barrier.
The shield flared with light, shimmering violently as steel after steel struck its surface.
More goblins emerged.
Not a scattered ambush.
An organized formation.
Steel armor.
Disciplined movement.
Arrows and weapons we're weighing down on Milani's barrier.
"There's more of them!" Nika said coming to her senses.
The horses reared.
"We're outnumbered!" she snapped.
"We have to turn back!" Soren ordered. "Milani, how long can you hold the shield up?"
"Not long!" she grunted, straining.
"We- we can't!" Nika said a little more loudly finally finding her voice.
"If you're worried about the reward and quest it's not important right now." Soren tugged her away from the edge of the barrier.
"We can't retreat! If we retreat we'll lead them straight to town! The people there Soren!" Nika stood her ground tears in her eyes. "We have to fight them here!"
"Alright now, no need to cry." He said patting Nika the head. He nodded to Giano a secret signal between them.
Giano nodded in quite response and was ready to take action.
The goblins surged forward—
Soren held his sword tight ready to fight.
Giano moved to his spot, a retreating position to gather party to safety.
And then— just when Milani's shield flickered and died.
Wind exploded.
A violent tornado ravaged the Goblins in sight, lifting goblins off their feet and hurling them like leaves.
Weapons scattered.
Trees bent.
The party shielded their eyes. Giano had to root himself to the ground shielding the wagon and the party from the strong wind.
Nika and Soren looked at Milani, expecting her to have casted a crazy spell. But Milani was doubled over, and out of breath clearly not the caster.
There eyes then went to the only other person - Rema.
Rema stood on her seat, one hand raised.
Hair whipping in spirals.
Draconic wind magic roared around her.
The air itself obeyed her.
"Well," she said pleasantly as the Goblins were swallowed by the swirling vortex of doomed and carried out of the forest. "I think that'll clear the pathway - "
The party was dumbfounded, blinking in disbelief.
Nika stared. "W-What was that?!"
KING'S COMMAND
High above the clouds, within Orecul Castle, the King's bathing chamber held a reflective pool, it swirled around reveavling an image.
Malrek watched.
The water shimmered with the exact image of Rema standing amidst swirling wind as if he was a fly on the wall witnessing her heroic rescue.
A slow smile curved his lips.
"Such power," he murmured sipping on his goblet, "For such a petite creature."
Then his gaze dropped.
To the flowers in her hand.
His expression darkened.
The mithril goblet in his grip shattered.
At that moment, Aldren entered.
"Your Majesty, I have dispatched a search party, since it seems that you are not prioritizing her Queen's disappearance I have gone ahead and ... " He froze at the suffocating pressure in the room. "Forgive me your majesty! I dare not overstep, I did not command the your royal army I assure you. I have only dispatched my disciples."
Black mist coiled around Malrek like living wrath.
"That's right," Malrek said softly. "The royal army. Aldren how soon can the army bring me someone's head?"
Aldren dropped to one knee. "If someone has offended you, I personally shall take vengeance and serve their head to you sire."
Aldren swallowed he had not suffered such bloodlust from his king, something dire must have happened.
Unbeknowst to Aldren Malrek's eyes were on the flowers being held by his wife and the unfortunate bloke who dare gave it to her. "I suppose it won't be easy, she'll stop you for certain - "
"Even the six dragon kingdoms combined would not stand a chance against you your majesty, if you require somebody's head you only need to say there name..."
Malrek looked at Rema's smiling face as she brushed off the debris on that Giant's face and the other person who was smoothly chatting and smiling at her. "She does not like needless murder," Malrek mused to himself.
The mist shifted from black—
To red.
This time it was exuding Malrek's competitive nature.
"Dispatch the armada."
"As you command!" Aldren said with the heart of a warrior fighting for his king.
"To every kingdom, village and island in all the known and unknown realms..." Malrek's gaze sharpened and whispered the command to Aldrens ear.
Aldren blinked and looked at his king's face. Malrek looked like he was a young lad that hatched a brilliant plan. "Y-your majesty? The entire Armada "
"I do not like repeating myself, Aldren. They are to be here before dawn. Go." With a flick of his hand Aldren vanished - dismissed once again.
Moments later, Aldren reappeared in the Hall of the Eight Scales. The eight Great Generals of the Dragon King of Orecul were gathered there, discussing matters of the utmost importance.
The generals froze, eyes wide."Lord Aldren—?!" one finally gasped."What… what has happened? Why are you here?" another demanded.
Aldren's face remained stone as he raised the golden twin dragon tokens, their weight immense—symbols of the King's personal command, capable of ordering the mobilization of all forces across the Orecul kingdom. Even holding them felt like carrying the authority of the King.
"You… you have the twin dragon tokens?" a general whispered, voice trembling. "Are we… at war?"
Aldren straightened, the room heavy with tension. Every eye on him waited for the decree that could change the fate of kingdoms.
"The King has issued a command," he said solemnly.
All eight generals immediately knelt before the tokens, their expressions grave.
Aldren closed his eyes briefly, as if bracing for the magnitude of the order he was about to deliver.
"…Ready your soldiers. We are to collect every flower in existence."
The Hall went utterly silent.
"Flo… flower, sir?" one general asked, tilting his head, suspicion and disbelief warring across his face.
"From every kingdom, village, and island, in all the known and unknown realms," Aldren repeated with rigid formality.
The eight great general's reaction we're simply, ...
.
.
.
.
.
.
"EH??!" their confusion echoed through the lower realms, including one realm where a lone goblin crashed into a tree trunk after spinning from a hurricane.
Where Rema was diligently aiding her companions, completely unaware that an entire armada had just been mobilized… over a bouquet.