The forest of Silnerpine was full of life, the grey trees were slowly lit up by the rising sun, allowing them to see the brown vines coming down from the branches.
Oresus noticed a few figures sleeping on the trees, invisible to most.
When they walked under them, those magical beasts woke up and stared at the at their surrounding with vigilance.
The mercenaries leading the group were moving with caution. They had heard that this forest had been explored by a few teams from the capital. This forest was the home of high stage magical beasts, thankfully they lived in the centre of the forest, as long as they avoided that place they could quickly traverse the forest to reach the city of Terrouine.
Among their circle, it was usually recommended not to step foot in this forest, because it was the habitat of countless magical beasts. This had been the heated subject of discussion of whether going through of bypassing it entierly among their group. In the end, it was the few merchants among them who convinced them to take this path.
It was currently the middle of winter, they had few rations and magical beasts are everywhere in this region, some desperate for food would not mind attacking a large group.
Bypassing the forest would cost them many additional months, in exchange more than half would die of hunger and cold, if not by magical beasts attacks.
If they wanted to save as many as they could, taking the risk of going into the forest was the correct choice. Additionally, it would allow them to pick valuable ressources and have bountiful hunts.
As they lead the refugees deeper in the forest in a tight formation, they prayed not to meet a 2nd stage magical beast or higher.
On the other hand, the refugees were unaware of the warriors' worries. All they currently cared about was to find something to warm themselves and food to eat.
Along the way, many of them would inspect the surrounding in hope of finding something they could use, or something to eat.
They had been warned not to do that by the warriors, but there was little they could do, they had to survive and feed their loved ones.
Just a few days prior, a woman had found a bush with a few delicious looking fruits behind a tree, hidden by sight. Thinking that she had found food, she hurried there where the mercenaries weren't looking. Only for her body be eaten by the bush, who was actually a carnivorous magical plant.
The warriors used this a warning to the rest of them, but some refugees would still take the risk than suffer from hunger.
They were a little more than two hundred people, the warriors could only hunt when they stopped to rest or during the night. They did not dare take the risk of foraging for food while travelling, in case it was a trap by some magical beasts.
It wouldn't be the first time a warrior died thinking he was smarter than a wild creature.
After a few hours of walking, they had managed to find a clearing with a lake in the forest.
It was a rarity that could provide both clean water and safety so the mercenaries chose to rest here.
Since the source of the water was a magical plant deep in the lake, the mercenaries specifically warned the refugees not to directly drink water from the lake.
Instead, the warriors would withdraw water from the lake for them.
Magical plants producing water was relatively common, but there was still some danger, like if this lake was connected to a wider expanse of water through an underwater tunnel, it could mean that the magical plant was a high stage creature.
Oresus sat by the lake with his eyes closed. Maia stood by his side, munching on a thin green stick as silently as she could.
It was what the mercenaries gave them for lunch, a bamboo-like stick they gathered from the branches of a two centuries old magical tree. There were dozens of bamboo sticks, it was full of nutrition and after cutting them in smaller pieces, there was enough for everyone to eat, even keeping some for later tonight.
Castiane was also by the lake, only she wasn't standing still. She had convinced a few warriors she had befriended to allow her to catch fishes in the lake with her bamboo stick.
It was laughed at, but since she had the strength to protect herself, they let her try.
A warrior with light brown hair watched her with a smirk of derision. Openly making fun of her to his friends.
[Catching a fish in a lake with a bamboo stick, only something a desperate villager would think of.]
[Maybe she'll succeed, who knows, if she sings a song, they would want to eat her.]
The two men laughed while patting their stomach, tears in their eyes.
A third man by their side, silently eating his bamboo stick glared at the two.
[Leave her alone, she could be your grandmother. Finish your meal and rest while you can.]
Suddenly, a shout came from the lake. Castiane stood near the water, holding a green bamboo stick with a fish the size of her head gnawing at it.
She held them with a face full of pride, smiling widely at people looking at her with shocked eyes.
She paraded like a peacock, swinging her stick left and right in front of people's eyes before preparing to enjoy her meal with Maia and Oresus.
The fish still had his maw on the stick, refusing to let go. From time to time, you could see him jump slightly, taking hold of a bigger piece of bamboo. At least 10cm of bamboo had already disappeared from sight.
[You're incredible, I didn't know there were fishes in the lake.]
Maia was full of awe at Castiane's catch. Her eyes shone brightly as she looked at the live fish.
Castiane gloated as she recounted how people said it was impossible, only for her to do it with ease.
Oresus had stopped meditating as soon as the excited wild elf returned. He rolled his eyes at her before opening his mouth.
[You've cheated them. The fish doesn't care about the bamboo, it's what you've put on the bamboo that lured him.]
Taking her examples, a few refugees were already trying to replicate her exploit. Only, no matter how many times they waved their bamboo sticks in the water, no fish were baited.
[It's the same. I caught a fish, if you don't want to eat, nobody forces you to.]
Having a bucket of cold water poured on her prideful face, Castiane sulked as she tried to dislodge the fish from the stick.
It was a difficult task, it was a stage 1 magical fish and most of its strength was located on its jaw. Thankfully the bamboo stick wasn't robust or else she may have had to sacrifice the stick by roasting the fish directly on it.
It had been a while since Oresus and Castiane ate fish meat, they seemed to enjoy the meal. Maia, on the other hand, had never tasted a fish before.
She kept proclaiming that it was the best food she had ever eaten, and how lucky she was to have friends sharing their tasty food with her.
After the quick meal, with Castiane eating most of it, they rested for one hour leaving the clearing, taking as much water as they could in their makeshift flasks.
But as soon as they walked out of the clearing, they were welcomed by a pack of magical beasts.
Relentless earth leopards, stage 1 magical beasts.
They numbered at least 30, it was little compared to their group, but they only had 20 warriors to face them.
[Do not provoke them, avoid them and leave.]
Everyone followed Leopold instruction, their eyes never leaving the leopards who seemed ready to pounce at them.
Thankfully, it never came to that. After the last refugee left the clearing, the leopards ignored them and went on their way.
Castiane praised Leopold lightly, explaining to Maia about the difference between territorial species and carnivorous species who were aggressive even when not provoked.
Oresus paid more attention to the leopards than others. His eyes were full of curiosity.
When the majority of the group had left, he trailed behind, asking his two servant girls to go ahead.
Using an illusion, he isolated one leopard as the rest of the pack went straight for the lake.
A few minutes later, he returned to the group with a pensive expression.
Nobody had noticed his absence so he just resumed walking like the others.
[So, what was so urgent? A call of nature?]
He gave a mysterious smile to Castiane without answering.
His eyes peered into the distance as if expecting something interesting.
Three days later, they were nearing the centre of the forest, becoming even more vigilant, but with a group as big, it was difficult to avoid trouble.
A pack of ruthless ice wolves had locked into their group for the whole day, pouncing to grab a refugee and running as soon as they held their prey.
It became a headache to the warriors who could not protect the whole group from all angles, especially against wolves who knew how to work together.
The trees around were no longer grey, the further they delved into the forest, the lighter the colour became until they were surrounded by light green and azure trees, making it much more confusing to spot danger in advance.
After losing 30 people to the wolves, they finally retreated into the forest, giving the group a chance to finally rest.
In a strange coincidence, the place they had decided to rest for the night was where several magical plants were growing.
Atop their yellow leaves were strange fruits and rectangular cocoons.
Oresus recognised them as panaceas and magical essence. They were valuable and the mercenaries seemed to know of it as they picked those plants clean. Or at least they did on most plants but failed on the older magical plants that suddenly burrowed under the ground or jumped away.
Magical plants were also living creatures with wisdom. As long as they could absorb the elemental energy from the air, they would become stronger and refine more treasures with their bodies.
Though, those that fled when the mercenaries approached left some treasures underground, where their roots had been. They were half refined magical essences but it was still considered valuable by them.
After a painful day, the warriors had finally a reason to be happy. If they made it to the city, they could quickly become rich or raise their strength above the 1st stage.
The merchants also had their share and their mouths couldn't stop grinning.
Those valuable resources were rare, even in this region. Most people had never even seen them in their lives.