We were once again on the march again. The sun was once again hanging high in the air, and for the past hour, we were silent. Not because we weren't talking to each other or anything like that. Though we didn't have anything to talk about.
I tried talking to him about the City and how he thinks about the Association. But when I asked him, he just looked at me for several seconds before staring back ahead. I know some people born and raised in the towns don't know much about what happens back in the City, but each time I kept asking him, he just stayed silent. But to be fair, he is still a boy, so I guess not knowing what is happening is normal.
But that wasn't the reason we were staying silent.
"Crouch," Lone hushed out as he bent down. I also followed him shortly. We stayed silent for several seconds as the light above us was covered. The sounds of mandibles clicking and claws tearing at bark sounded above us. We held our breaths for who knows how long.
The creature soon left, taking the clicking noises with it. We waited a couple more seconds before breathing out and continuing our march.
We were being hunted down. The thing that was above us just now was Bestial, which we had encountered more than once in this past hour. If I were to describe it, then I would call it disturbing. It had the shell of a bug, yet from the gaps, white hair grew out. Its head was round, with no eyes or even a nose, yet it had two large, sharp mandibles that clicked constantly. Its lower half was like that of a centipede, and its upper body was like that of a man who gave up humanity and turned into a bug. It had six arms that had so many sharp claws. Worse of all, its shell was a mix of green and brown, so perfect it blended with the trees around us.
We had to ditch our armor several miles back, but for some odd reason, Lone did not toss away his fur cape. I didn't question him, though, since it seemed to give him some kind of solace, which is good for him. Right now, we need any kind of comfort.
You might be wondering why we haven't fought back. The reason is simple, we are far too weak to face it.
Sure, we are both Wielders, and it's just one Bestial. But I am a Wielder who has no clue how to use his abilities, and Lone is just a kid who can use his abilities but will suffer heavy damage from that beast. And if we did fight, more Bestials would be attracted by the noise and attack us during or after the fight.
"... Gods above, I am going insane if I am monologing to myself," I muttered quietly as I gripped my spear tightly, or at least what is left of my spear. I had snapped it a while back when I realized I could not wield it properly since I am used to holding a sword. This sort of miffed Lone off.
"Quickly," Lone whispered out as he moved through the forest. I quickly followed him as I held my blade tightly. We moved through the bushes and twisted around the trees as fast as we could. Why were we rushing was a question I stopped asking for quite some time.
"Click*"
We both quickly got down and held our breaths. The familiar sound of clicking was once again above us. I held my breath as best I could, and so did Lone. I could see the grip on his spear tighten. He wanted to kill the thing above us, but knew he had to hold back.
The beast slithered down a tree, its many legs impaling the tree bark under it. It's hard to grab and rip pieces of the bark off as it moves further down. Its mandibles kept clicking as it kept moving, turning its head so often as if searching for something.
Once it had felt the soft ground beneath it, it slowly crawled onto it. Its body swayed as it moved, clicking its mandibles. It crawled through the ground and began circling. I could only curse in my heart for the creature was circling us. Whether or not the bastard was hunting us or not didn't matter, since it was circling us. Raising its body higher, the more it looped around. The clicking of its mandibles is getting louder and louder. I held my blade, ready to strike at any time.
From its head, a slit appeared. Slowly, the slit opened, revealing rows of teeth circling back and forth. The pulsating sight of gums as the teeth moved in circles was horrendous. It lowered its pulsating maw down, its face inches from Lones. He was wide-eyed, and the spear in his hand was ready to strike down at the beast.
A roar was heard in the distance, causing the creature to jerk its entire body back up the tree and rush towards the sound. The sight of seeing a creature suddenly burst away with ungodly speeds is not a sight for the faint of heart. We watched the creature jump from tree to tree, ripping out chunks as it launched further and further away.
We only breathed out once we were sure it was gone. Whatever poor beast roared gave us time to catch our breaths.
"We need to move, now," Lone whispered out as he quickly rushed away. The sounds of chittering mandibles, roaring of a beast, and the falling of trees rang through the distance. Whatever was occupying the beast did not matter, all that mattered was extending the distance between that beast and us.
We both rushed through the trees, leaving that horror behind.
.
.
.
We were both hiding in the trees above as we looked down and saw a group of Bestials marching past us. They resembled the beasts we killed before, with the only difference being that these ones weren't skinny.
We watched the group move away before we both got down. As we landed, Lone quickly made sure to look around before looking at me, "Are you sure that fort is standing still?"
I stared at him, and I nodded. I understood where he was coming from. The number of Bestials moving around us was far too many. I also believed the fort must have fallen by now, but one sign told me it hadn't.
"Don't worry, it's not snowing so we are in the clear," I said as I walked forward.
He looked at me, confusion obviously written on his face, "What does that mean?"
"Yeah, I guess I should explain," I said as I kept walking forward, eyes looking around, "but basically each fort has a sort of field that covers it, and all the towns are against the harsh snow that is constantly falling in this forest."
Lone nodded as he kept pace with me.
"Now each fort is designed to hold against the Bestials that live deep in the forest, and in case the fort is ever overrun, the barrier that keeps this place warm will shut down. Allowing the land to once again be covered in snow and act as a warning for all the towns to evacuate," I said as I hid behind a tree. Lone followed as well.
We watched as a group of lanky Bestials wobbled past us. They lingered for a moment before moving once again.
Lone and I continued our walk through the woods.
"Besides, we have a Warlord rank Wielder at the fort, so they should be okay," I said as we continued our march.
"What is a Warlord?" Lone asked.
"I guess you wouldn't know anything of ranks. Though all Wielders are given abilities and the ability to wield Arcana, this does not mean that we are all equal in strength," I said as I hopped over a log.
"So they created a sort of rank, though if I am honest, I really don't know how it works," I said as I looked back to see Lone just staring at my back. He seems to be paying attention, but also focusing on the surroundings. Good for him.
"But what I do know is that a Warlord is strong enough to handle a swarm of Bestials for a long time," I said, though if I am honest. I am not truly confident in my words.
After becoming a Wielder, I am beginning to understand my abilities. Though I can't use them properly yet, I can still sense them. But because of it, I am not confident in my words. From the level of the Bestials we are facing, these aren't the normal ones that roam the borders of the forest. These ones are smarter and more cunning than those ones.
Hopefully those at the fort are doing alright.