Living the life of a warrior was unpredictable. You never knew where you would end up, what would happen in the battlefield, will you see your loved ones ever again or how long your comrades would stay by your side. The scent of blood and death would follow you everywhere you go. The possibility of you perishing was a constant fear. If that wasn't enough, in this world there also was a chance that you would end up as a puppet of Wraiths after your death, as they had this atrocious ability to reanimate corpses. Then they would use you in a fight against your former comrades. All of these things were constantly happening in every corner of Perfect World, and you never knew when it would be your turn to fall victim to these incidents. You don't definitely want to think about these, even though they're looming over your shoulder.
As skilled and excellent warriors, Mirskyn and Rhynx knew the dangers in a battlefield. But still, that wouldn't prevent them from experiencing mishaps.
A sudden increase of monsters in Rook's Valley was alarming. Since Mirskyn and Rhynx had been traveling through the valley, they took it as their mission to inform people in King's Feast that help was needed. The small village of King's Feast was located relatively close to Rook's Valley, but it was positioned in much higher ground that only Winged Elves could possibly reach with their wings. The only road leading to King's Feast was by Hill of the Old King, a rather steep but accessible path near Black Mountain. And to get there, one had to travel through the lands of Winged Elves.
With swift feet the two men crossed the valley and the verdant Forest of the Plume, which was quite tranquil and beautiful place. After the forest, the road was leading the men near the banks of Lake of the Plume, then diving into the foggy Bamboo Forest of the Shining Moon. And following the road, they eventually reached Black Mountain.
It didn't take long for Mirskyn and Rhynx to get to King's Feast and deliver the message. This concluded yet another of their missions. The two men decided to rest for a couple of days in the village, relax for a short bit before rushing into other quests. They really needed that.
But when they had rested enough and were about to head out, something peculiar occurred. A villager of King's Feast came to them in panic, spluttering something about a monster he had spotted just outside of the village. He informed that it was something he hadn't seen ever before in his lifetime. And with that, Mirskyn and Rhynx promised to take a look at this matter, thus rushing out of the village, engaging in yet another monster hunt.
Surprisingly, they found the creature rather easily. It had been lingering around the road that leads to King's Feast, as if waiting for something. It was completely black, quadruped being about a size of a horse. It kind of resembled some twisted, deformed wolf. Its limbs were really thin, looking fragile. Wicked red eyes were staring at the men, calculating. A strange, shadowy aura enveloped the creature, radiating a feeling of anxiety and giving a sensation that something is not quite right. However, the men had dealt with lots of monsters during their lifetime, and with the safety of their experience, they would take on this monster as well.
But almost as soon as Mirskyn and Rhynx had drawn their weapons, the creature decided to flee, heading away from the village. Its movements were odd, it almost looked like it was gliding over the ground, resembling a haunting ghost. The creature was quite fast and the two men had a little trouble following it, even usually agile Rhynx was now facing some difficulty. Mirskyn cast few spells targeting the monster, and actually managed to hit with couple of them. However, they didn't seem to have much effect. When the men chased the creature to Hill of the Old King, close to the road that sloped down to Black Mountain, the critter disappeared, just faded away like ashes in the wind. This surprised the men and caused great confusion, so they stopped for a little while.
Everything was silent. Only sound was the breeze caressing the trees. The creature had disappeared without a trace. It probably had leaped downwards, the men assumed. Carefully they walked along the road, ready to strike at any moment. But as they glanced down the path that went to Black Mountain, they saw nothing. Nothing at all. Weapons still in their hands, they began to descend from Hill of the Old King, staying vigilant.
For a good while nothing seemed to happen. The men could walk down the road without any interruption. The only sign of life was the flock of birds that flew over them. Further and further down they were allowed to stroll, until they eventually found themselves at the foot of the hill. At this point they pondered had they completely lost their target.
But this was the opportunity the critter had waited for.
Suddenly, when the men had stopped being so alert, the creature emerged from the ground, silently like a shadow, attacking before Mirskyn and Rhynx had time to react. With its vicious fangs, sharp like blades, it struck at Mirskyn, sinking its teeth into his flesh, biting him just barely above his waist. However, this attack made it also vulnerable for a second, which was all the time Rhynx needed. The Tideborn hit the creature in the head with one of his daggers, soon followed by its twin. The monster whimpered, releasing its jaws from biting Mirskyn, falling to the ground, dead. Blue goo was leaking from its head, right from those spots where the daggers had struck the skull. And just like that, the creature faded away, its life extinguished. The men would probably never know what it actually had been.
But they had other, greater concerns right now.
Mirskyn had fallen to his knees. The wound that the monster had inflicted was bleeding abundantly, dyeing his white clothes red. Rhynx inspected the injury, feeling a bit relieved as it didn't seem to be too deep. But there was something very odd about it. It had left parts of the damaged tissue black, almost like it had been scorched. This was very concerning thing indeed and would require some medical attention as soon as possible. The closest towns were Tusk Town and Bamboo Village. However, Tusk Town was surrounded by cliffs and the only road leading to it was way too long. Mirskyn's condition wasn't good enough to pull off that travel. They should head to Bamboo Village, then. Rhynx helped the Nightshade to get up, supporting him and together they began their painstaking journey to the nearest settlement.
Soon it came clear that Mirskyn was in a very bad shape. He was sweating, perhaps being even a bit feverish. His movements were rather sluggish and weak, Rhynx was almost carrying him. And yet, he didn't utter a single complain or wish to slow down. Even in this weakened state of his, he tried to remain strong. That's just how he was.
While they were attempting to get closer to the village, Rhynx was wrestling in his heart with emotions he had never had before. When he had met the Nightshade for the first time, he had been very much cold-hearted. He hadn't valued life, not even his own. When general Summer had ordered them on a mission together, he hadn't really cared much about Mirskyn. Their teamwork had worked, though, so they had got assigned for mission after mission. During this time, the men had started to get to know each other more, and formed a relationship that somewhat resembled lovers. They slept with each other, but weren't really connected on emotional level.
But now… Rhynx realized that he had some kind of feelings for the Nightshade. After getting wounded, ending up in this bad shape, it had stirred something deep withing the Tideborn's formerly cold heart. For the first time in his life, he was fearing for losing someone important to him. When it had happened that he had developed such bond with someone, he didn't know, but it was now perfectly clear that his heart was beating for someone. He was concerned and afraid and wanted desperately to get to Bamboo Village already. He tried to muster strength to his arms, aiding Mirskyn to move as fast as he could in this state, the despair granting them power.
The road to Bamboo Village felt longer than it should have. But bit by bit the men were getting closer. When the familiar fog in the Bamboo Forest of the Shining Moon greeted them, a tiny piece of hope found its way to the Tideborn's heart. They were close, and not a moment too soon. Mirskyn was barely conscious at this point. Rhynx had no idea how he still managed to move his feet. Just a little bit further… They were almost at their destination.
As the men reached the village, Rhynx collapsed from exhaustion as he had been practically dragging the other man. He was panting heavily as the concerned residents of Bamboo Village, Winged Elves, began to flock around the arrivers. It didn't take much time for the villagers to understand what was going on. A couple of the Elves carried unconscious Mirskyn away to some house, preparing to heal him. There probably was some fine clerics in the village, so Rhynx could trust them to take care of his beloved Nightshade. Meanwhile, he could have some welcomed rest.
Winged Elves offered Rhynx some broth and the Tideborn gladly accepted it. He sipped a tiny amount of it, finding out that it tasted rather bitter, but not in a bad way. As he consumed all of it, he could already feel his strength coming back. The Elves, however, still suggested that he should take it easy and one of the clerics came to check his condition as well. She cast some sort of spell, sending waves of warmth and relief across the Tideborn's body. A tranquil feeling conquered him, almost like everything was well in the world at that one fleeting moment. The Elves recommended that he should get some sleep. Rhynx listened them, and thus, one of the villagers escorted him to one of the houses where travelers often stayed. The Tideborn headed to bed right away and he didn't have to wait long for sleep to come, drifting to the land of dreams where nothing was wrong and both he and his beloved one were safe.
It was around midday when Rhynx woke up. He stretched his muscles and cranked himself up from the bed. He felt well-rested, as if the exhausting ordeal at Black Mountain hadn't happened at all. The broth and the healing spell had done miracles. Now, the first thing he should do was to go check how Mirskyn was doing. With that, he exited the building where he had rested, heading to the one where Mirskyn was being kept.
As the Tideborn opened the door and entered to house, an acrid smell of herbs infiltrated his nose. The interior was quite dim, but you could still see around. He had come to large room with many beds. Currently, only the farthest one was in use; Mirskyn was laying on it and a couple of Winged Elves were treating him. Rhynx walked across the room to get to see how the Nightshade was doing. As he came to the bed, he noticed that Mirskyn was awake. That was a huge relief for the Tideborn – even though he didn't show it.
The clerics had done good job. Though, they admitted that the wound had been strange to them. And yet, they had managed to treat it well. At the moment it seemed that Mirskyn was just feeling weak. He wasn't feverish anymore and the wound was almost gone, thanks to the healing spells. Only a bruise remained. The Nightshade would recover soon.
After having this conversation with the Winged Elves, Rhynx left the building. He didn't admit it – probably not even to himself – that he was feeling incredibly relieved that Mirskyn was doing fine. This had been a grim reminder that anything could happen in the battlefield, even for experienced warriors like them. And in his head, Rhynx swore an oath for himself to protect and assist Mirskyn as well as he could. He didn't want to experience this again – or something worse. But, of course, he would keep this just to himself.
For now, he would stay in Bamboo Village and wait for his partner to get better. Who knows where their path would next lead them to.
