A rolling fire raged under the moon of the forest of the dead, as it has been nicknamed by some adventurers lately.
Between the smoke and the smell of char, the little female elf ran towards the exit.
It's been only half an hour, yet her companions were limping in a hurry towards the forest's exit.
Behind them, several trees were uprooted and many more small round projectiles were hurled towards them.
The air is thick with the acrid scent of gunpowder and the faint, almost imperceptible hum of mana.
Amid this hazardous terrain, three elves dart through the undergrowth, their movements a blur of desperation and determination. The two males, their faces etched with grim resolve, push forward with a blend of pain and urgency. Behind them, the lone female elf navigates the treacherous ground with practiced precision, her eyes scanning for any sign of the deadly traps.
As they run, the ground erupts in violent bursts of earth and fire, one trap after another, detonates with a thunderous roar, sending shockwaves through the forest. Their hearts race in synchrony with the explosions, their adrenaline driving them faster. Splintered wood and debris rain down and the once-serene forest is transformed into a battleground of survival.
"Hurry it up, Hans! We don't have much time before he bleeds out, we must get to the infirmary as soon as possible!"
Yelled Alyssa clutching her arm over the bandaged wound while gazing at the slender elf on Hans's shoulder.
The next trap that exploded sent splinters all over their bodies, but Gabriel was the one who didn't care about such small cuts.
His body was layered with dirt and blood, and his left arm was bandaged to the shoulder.
"If we go any faster, It will only get worse! His entire arm was pierced by the first trap, Alyssa; we can't ignore such an injury, even with the effect of the elixir!"
The fierce warrior attitude Hans exhibited till now had shattered the moment the first trap exploded.
His face paled when he saw Gabriel's arm littered with small holes, going to such lengths that almost severed his entire arm. The only thing saving his arm was the elixir.
Unknown to Hans, the elixir contained the ability to speed up cell recovery and thus helped Gabriel reattach the entire cell structure of his arm back to his shoulder.
Now, only two deep bleeding wounds have remained as a present from the mischievous trio of chosen ones.
Gliding across the forest at a stable pace, Alyssa and Hans noticed a fire ahead, marking the next checkpoint.
The fire was lit by the water mages who were sent along to put out the fires.
They were long finished, yet they started to hear explosions, and a spicy black trail of smoke lifted the air above in the forest.
The smoke was seen from the several villages surrounding the cave.
To the west of the cave, behind it, was a long smooth valley with tall grass and less dense forestry.
The valley wasn't affected by the fire at all, as the wind carried the fire toward the villages.
To the east of the cave were several small villages, several hundreds of people living in each of them.
The village that Fang and Gaia razed during the forest ignition in Gaia's relocation was the closest to the cave.
It was deemed unsafe to even wander close by as the strong carbon smell choked out most of the nearby villages.
Much Further to the east was the elven kingdom, the actual cities Isgram taught Fang about in the cave.
If they wish to survive, they're going to have to know their enemies.
In the cave;
"Fang, I could kiss you right now my brother! Such marvelous ideas you have kid, that ought to show those bastards not to thread on our land!"
Isgram's smile was wide as he drank tea from his steel mug.
The cave was noisy from the movements of Gaia's golems, which showed the mana exhaustion she felt coursing through her body. She described it as sore muscles to Fang, and yet she moved just fine.
She slumped back on her chair and rested her back against the strong rear wooden board.
"IF I TELL YOU TO SHUT UP ONCE MORE YOUR BALLS WILL BE FOOD FOR THE CROWS!"
Yelled Gaia, as she had enough of Isgram's loud behavior. She wanted some peace and quiet as she expended so much mana just to rearm the traps near the cave with her golems.
While other golems were busy resetting the traps, there were two special golems with one task:
Build vents at the top of the cave.
Till now, there wasn't any ventilation in the cave and the forge was in the middle of the cave.
Although they made some doors to their individual rooms in the deeper parts of the cave, the smell of ash and metal was strong in the air no matter where they were.
Isgram has said that he felt lightheaded several times near the forge from the lack of ventilation.
So, under Fang's guidance the two golems cut off some parts of the roof and installed horizontal and vertical bars on each other, and using Isgram's fire magic they melted the bar's connection points.
Isgram said that in his old world, it was called welding, and he worked as a mechanic so he has some faint memories of how to do such jobs.
Finishing up, fang recalled his scout from the top of the cave and went to get updated on the current defensive battle Isgram led.
'more of a slaughter than defensive battle, but if Isgram's can get it done then it's all that matters.
Now we need to sort out the rest of the traps in case they come back with a bigger army.
I should start raising the elven warriors who fought us in the last couple of weeks but the question is if I possess enough mana...
I know Gaia uses roughly the maximum amount of mana I can use and she is this exhausted.
If I want to get myself an army, I should start raising my {int} as fast as possible.
From my experiments till now, I can raise and control only two of those elven warriors.
This took out most of my mana, and they were able to fight each other until one of them was stabbed in the chest and just turned into ash.
From my experiments, the amount of mana I possess can raise two lower-level bronze warriors.
They can pose a threat to me and they are dangerous but they aren't capable of truly pushing me to the limit with my swordsmanship training.
Which reminds me: {swordsmanship 3 -> 5}
And my int went up {INT +4}
Fang who was completely drifting away in his thoughts was suddenly awoken by Isgram's words.
"Are you even listening to me? Like talking to the wall, no response."
"hmm?" Fang hummed in response, feeling tired from the incessant fighting and practice trials on {resurrection}.
" Come on Fang, you can at least pretend to be interested in the fight... we have scared them away for now yet we have a lot to do to deter them from coming again. Do you have any idea on how to go from here?" said isgram smiling with pride and stroking his growing beard.
In the dim light of the cave, shadows danced along the rough stone walls, their flickering shapes mirroring the turmoil in Fang's mind. He sat cross-legged on the cool, damp ground, golden eyes reflecting the faint glow of the torch flickering nearby. The air was thick with the scent of earth and moss, and the smell of burnt wood started to once more fill the forest from the far-away fire rolling towards the open fields to the west.
Beside him, Isgram, the stout dwarf with a braided beard, shifted uneasily. His usual bravado had dimmed under the weight of the question he had just posed: "How do we move forward with the plans? We need a good enough way to get them to leave us alone."
Fang's heart raced, uncertainty coiling tightly in his chest. He was only sixteen, barely more than a child in their old world, yet here he sat, the weight of responsibility pressing down on him like the stone overhead. He glanced at Isgram, seeing the expectation etched on his friend's face, the trust placed in him that felt both heavy and daunting.
There was no fleeing from here to any unknown land as they did not know the beasts and kingdoms of this world, their only knowledge was this cave. This forest. This kingdom.
If Fang decides to run, who knows what sort of dangers they'll run into?
He took a deep breath, letting the humid cave air fill his lungs as he searched for clarity. "We could take the path through the valley," he began, but the words felt hollow, echoing back to him like a distant memory. They had discussed that route—its treacherous visibility and hidden dangers. But was it the right choice?
The dwarven shadow of Isgram darkened as much as his smile darkened:
"To run away is a death sentence. No shelter nor security, we could be the valley's new prey, nothing more. We should stay here fang, but how do we break their spirit without inviting their army here?"
"How big is their army?" fang locked eyes with isgram and for a moment had an insane look in his eyes.
The dwarf didn't let that relentless look pass and answered straight:
"To fight the entire elven kingdom means to take on at least 100,000 warriors of all ranks and a couple hundred mages. Not an option Fang."
"I see... I guess the only way to solve this is either peace or relocating. I suggest we take the right way and try to get autonomy under their rule. Maybe we can supply them with something valuable enough for them to let us live."
"What do you think has such value that they'll let not one, not two, but three chosen ones live in their territory? Unless you plan to buy the land from them in some way?"
Fang considered this, his brow furrowing as he weighed the idea. Fang felt a flicker of hope. Perhaps leadership wasn't about having all the answers but about guiding others through uncertainty and finding strength in collaboration.
Fang's mind drifted toward the impossible, the question now a thorn in his thoughts. The tension between their small group and the Elven Kingdom loomed over them like the stone ceiling of the cave—heavy and precarious. They had made a fatal mistake by exposing such strength to that empire that could squash them like flies.
Isgram's question had cut deeper than Eldrin wanted to admit. They had two choices: face the kingdom's fury head-on or attempt a diplomatic miracle. With only three of them—himself, Isgram, and Gaia the currently exhausted mage—they were no match for a kingdom. But maybe they didn't have to be.
"I guess we should start our new campaign by establishing contact with their nearby villages. We should gift those villages some meat and maybe have some dry wood made by your magic delivered to them. as a sign of peace offering. That should at least help us rally the villages around the idea of peace. If the elven kingdom sees such movement we would have a higher chance of communicating through the village with their officials. Other than gathering some meat, I can try to approach the now fleeing elves. You said that the first trap injured one of them, right?
I will approach them and try to give them some healing salve I made from the healing leaves I used on you when you first met me. If we decide on such steps, we could potentially set ourselves free or at least able to grow enough to defend ourselves from even such armies."
The dwarf's expression softened, and a hint of a smile broke through his serious demeanor. "Aye, lad. I think you're onto something."
Isgram's brow furrowed as he considered. "Offering them tribute might work. If we negotiate on their terms—bow to their traditions, speak their language... but what makes you so sure they'll even listen?"
Fang smiled faintly, though his eyes were clouded with uncertainty. "Because they've seen their fears justified. We're 3 right now, but they only know of the two of us. I suggest keeping our plans hidden especially the existence of Gaia. To the elven kingdom, we can offer a steady supply of Iron ore by using Gaia's skills and maybe even you taking the helm by forging them some weapons. We both know that spears and swords are almost useless against a silver-rank mage like you and Gaia. In the time we'll earn we will train enough to change the peace agreement in the future. In any case, we can start by bringing me bodies of wild pigs to resurrect and build some kind of small beast army. Once the mana is in their bodies, they run endlessly on that amount of mana, the only way they die is by fracturing their mana channels by injuring them."
The plan was risky, and Fang knew it. But between brute force and diplomacy, he had no doubt which path could lead them forward. And perhaps, just perhaps, the elven kingdom would accept a price for peace.
"Three of us against a kingdom," Isgram murmured, weighing the odds. "It'll take more than just words."
"We can gather intelligence first," Fang suggested. "Learn their intentions and figure out what they value. We'll need to be strategic. We need to hear from the villagers what use they have for iron or steel and to price it highly enough for them to keep us alive. If we go by the common sense of this world, chosen ones are highly dangerous and if a kingdom can employ the service of one of them then wouldn't it only empower them?"
Isgram nodded agreeing to the sound logic Fang had just presented him with.
As they stood, a sense of resolve filled the space. Fang's heart raced, not just with the weight of leadership but with the hope that peace was within reach. In that cave, beneath the looming shadows, he began to see the glimmer of possibility—a way forward not just for themselves but for their people, a chance to forge a new path amidst the ruins of conflict.
A chance to make a haven for their kind.
"Well then. Let's rally the other villages around us and share your plan with Gaia. I'm sure she'll be thrilled by being an ore mine for elves. In the meantime strap some medicine on your belt cause our next stop is the injured elves." said Isgram smirking.