The journey to Mizan was uneventful for Armand's standard, as there was only a single attack from a mutated monster that resembled a double-headed snake.
Darryl was petrified as it was his first time seeing a monster first-hand, but he was fascinated when he realised that either Armand or Flint could handle the thing personally, which would normally had to be taken care of by a joint effort of a knight legion. He wondered what made one of the honourable World Tree Temple's guardians and a mercenary of Flint's calibre come to a far-distant city of Dohara. However, he knew the golden rule of silence of the underworld, and that sometimes, ignorance was a blessing.
Their path was rugged and mountainous, and the horses struggled to climb the steep terrain after a certain point. Seeing this, they dismounted and tied their horses to a tree near a small stream to graze and rest.
"Where do we go from here, Darryl?"
Darryl hesitated a little bit. He had only been there once when he was smaller, and he knew what kind of strange place Mizan was. But he had doubts whether these two travellers would believe his story.
"Um, so, Mizan is not easily accessed by just anyone." He started nervously.
"Hm.. the Anya lady was an interesting character, so I'm not surprised that whatever she recommended is interesting too. Spill it out, kid." Flint looked up to the sky, which had gotten dark. While he and Armand were both powerhouses, the wilderness nowadays was not safe for anyone, especially after the sun set.
"If we go up this path, we will arrive at a bamboo grove." Darryl pointed to an unmarked path with faint traces of footprints. "But most likely... we will get separated inside."
Armand lifted his brows, while Flint scrunched his face. "More magic?"
"From what I heard, if you have any harmful thoughts, you will never escape the bamboo grove. And if you want to find Mizan, there is one thing you should do."
"What is it?"
"You have to think about a wish that you want to be granted. But you have to think it very strongly, or else you'll just be thrown out....or get lost in the grove forever."
Flint snorted. "A wish, huh."
He disliked it. All of this seemed to be orchestrated by someone pulling the strings. He looked at Armand. "This sounds like nonsense, are you sure about this?"
The light in Armand's eyes was unwavering. "Yes. We've come this far, so might as well try it."
Flint sighed. He knew how far this guy would go to complete his missions, so he was not completely surprised by his decision.
"Fine, let's do it. I'm sure all of us have one wish or two that we'd die for to be granted." Flint said ironically as he stepped on the unmarked path, following Darryl.
As Darryl said, soon they arrived at a bamboo grove. Under the moonlight, it almost seemed alive as it rustled and swayed with the wind.
Taking a deep breath, the three of them stepped into the shadows of the towering bamboo stalks.
*****
"Seraphine."
"Seraphine, wake up!"
A figure of a woman sleeping on a hammock stirred awake. Slowly sitting up, she looked sleepily at an approaching figure - a fluffy and majestic snow leopard who seemed out of place.
"Nyra..."
"They're coming."
"Ah, yes."
Feeling more awake, the woman with a hair colour resembling bluish moonlight gracefully stepped down from the hammock. She dusted invisible dirt from her robe and surveyed her surroundings.
"Well, should we get ready to welcome our guests?"