In the wild forest, they entered uninvited. The sun sent warmth above their heads as they walked. Soft breaths from horses blended in with the sounds of their trots.
"The sun is soaring high. Let's take shade under the trees for a while," Leofric said. He looked behind at a person and called, "Wizard Draz, I want a word with you."
"Yes, Your Majesty," Draz answered.
They walked mounted on their horses far from everyone else, heading toward a tree for a shade. Leofric was ahead of Draz. He pulled the reins upon arriving, calming his horse by giving him caresses before hopping out.
A thud came in when his feet met the ground. "There are tens of caves in this wild forest. To be specific, 21," Leofric started. "Will you kindly tell me how many have we been to?"
Draz climbed down on a knight's horse. As his feet touched the grass, the knight excused himself by holding the reins and pivoting away with his horse.
Draz replied, "I believe we visited three caves, Your Majesty."
"And?"
"…And we have not seen a temple."
"No temples," Leofric echoed.
With a sweat falling from his forehead, Draz explained, "Y-Your Majesty, this is just the first day of our search. There is no need to fret. We will find the temple before the full moon. We still have two days and one night."
And the second day of their search arrived. The sun was rising on the horizon. Yesterday they had not encountered a monster. However, that early morning after sleeping through a quiet night, a group of dire wolves knocked on their tents.
Leofric woke up quickly. He took his sword and headed outside to help the knights slay the visitors who startled them.
"Great job, everyone," he said, swinging his sword in the air to get rid of the blood. They won; the little scare wasn't enough to get them in trouble.
After the sun rose again to announce the third day of their search, a thick black blanket slowly hid the skies for that morning. Draz told everyone it was about to rain, and they should get ready for more visitors.
As the long night came, the rain extended it and made things difficult. Intelligent monsters were hunting them: dire wolves, owlbears, and green dragons. If they all went out in one time, Leofric and his knights would—
"Fuck these bugs," Leofric cursed outwardly.
The awakened trees jumped first, and they evidently won the first wave. However, as five groups of werewolves relentlessly followed for the second wave, Leofric and his knights suffered.
A squad of 9 knights and a wizard versus five groups of werewolves with twelve each in a group — the answer was obvious. What if the six green dragons lurking around appeared next?
Leofric slaughtered a group of werewolves by himself while his knights killed another. But the monsters kept coming. And to avoid losing his men, Leofric called for a retreat.
Everyone jumped on their horses, except for Leofric. Half of them were bleeding; terror was visible in their eyes.
Veins popping on his neck, a deep line between his eyebrows, Leofric yelled, "I'll distract these wolves! Draz, draw a shield spell around the group and heal the wounded! Never spread out and look for shelter!"
He drove out his knights. When he saw their backs were drifting away, he immediately flew on his horse. Leofric took the reins and rode his horse at the fastest speed.
Clippity-clops, the sounds of the horse's hooves as they dash through the towering trees of the wild forest. The crunches from the trampled branches mixed through. Of course, the nightmare included a background piece made up of piercing screeches of the owlbears and sonorous growls of the green dragons following behind Leofric.
His horse began gasping for air, raising the apprehension of Leofric. "...You can do this, Nova! You are not an ordinary horse!" He pressed his body on his horse. He caressed Nova's neck, and he received a snort.
They took another dive deep into the wild forest, begging to find a cave. Leofric planned to use an explosion spell to block the entrance, but this meant he would also trap himself in the cave. "I don't have a choice—"
"Run to your left!" A command rang in the back of his ear. Leofric looked behind to see who had whispered to him too closely. He saw nothing but the monsters. "I said to run to your left if you want to live, deadass!"
Irked, Leofric still did what the voice told him. He took a turn and dashed into the shrubs. "Straight ahead, human," said the voice. "You'll see my cave."
…
Leofric opened his eyes. He rose from the cold ground and groaned. He did not know that he lost consciousness after he entered a cave. Leofric stood on his feet and brushed the dirt off his clothes. A little later, he walked his gaze at his surroundings.
The moonlight that came from the large hole of the cave's roof became his only source of direction.
It was cold inside. Leofric felt the breeze blowing the threads of his hair. The wind was blowing through the hole through the roof of the cave; the drips falling from the ceiling mixed in.
He remembered following the directions of the voice he heard during the chase, and he did not regret it. The moment he saw the cave he prepared to throw a fireball, however, a voice warned him: "Stop, that's unnecessary!"
When Leofric finally set foot in the cave, the monsters chasing him stopped before the entrance. They screeched and growled as they hesitated to enter. The second they forward a foot, they would fall back two steps behind. It was a battle if they would continue hunting Leofric.
As Leofric watched the interesting event unfold before his eyes, the voice roared a laugh. "Now," the voice paused, "you are in debt to me, human. You owe me a wish."