Up in the north, Team Lance is nearing their destination. With mixed feelings, they all are unable to determine what to react and how to calm themselves. And knowing all the stories about the Northern Forest, they grew anxious.
Thenea in particular, who had already met Pygmy from a quest she did before, is even more worried. If the reason why the guardian was in that situation, this would be harder than they thought.
"We can finally see the forest," Lance said, eyes fixed at the mouth of the wooden area. It seems chilling.
"Was it true?" Serene asked, "Did the stories told by the old man really happen?"
Lance did not answer, not even Thenea. True or not, they still can't disregard what the old man told them. They have to cling to every story and guard themselves.
They never knew how dangerous this mission could get, but if everything was just a story, and none were real, they could relax. As soon as they can contact the Earth Elemental Guardian, Pygmy, they're going to flee and report. Escaping the eerie forest at once.
When the three of them were in the middle of their journey, they stumbled upon an old man with a stick to support his weight and prevent him from stumbling down. He looked weary but there was something pleasant about him, they didn't know if it was the look of his eyes, or how he smiled at them.
They whoa-ed their horses to stop and greeted the man.
"Good day, sir," Thenea said.
"Good day, to you as well."
As hoarse his voice is, they can tell he is from a well-off family with how he speaks.
"Where are you headed, sir? Might we give you a ride?" Lance asked.
The old man waved his hand as he chuckled, "no, no. I do this everyday, there is no need for you to take a little of your time for an old man like me."
He studied their stuff and their appearance and asked, "are you perhaps adventurers?"
"Yes, we are." Thenea answered.
"Where is your quest?"
Serene thought he was prying but he might just be interested in adventurers and there is no harm in indulging an old man.
"We're headed to the Northern Forest!" Thenea enthusiastically answered, she loves having conversations with elder people. It reminds her of her grandparents.
Lance could only mentally sigh and slap his face. Not to be rude but, he just wants to get cautious around strangers. Especially to crucial matters.
The old man's face changes, from bright and cheerful, it grows dark and he looks at them with worry.
He sighed.
"I would want to stop you from going," he looked at the direction to North, "but it is not my position to do so. All I could tell you to be extra careful."
Those words that came out from his mouth piqued Lance's interest.
"What was in the forest, grandpa?"
The older man shifted his position to a more comfortable one, still looking up at the adventurers riding on their horses.
"Have you heard of the Stone Slate?"
Thenea's eyes widened with the words, she overheard her grandfather and her older cousins talk about this matter when she came to visit them one day. Although she couldn't grasp the idea of it, she did not ask about the matter as it would be rude to eavesdrop and to pry on someone else's matter.
But that wasn't it, she remembered the story Pygmy told her. Although Pygmy referred to it as a stone, she must keep quiet, it could be a different thing.
"I've heard of it but I don't know the story," she said.
The old man nodded, "very well, the story started over a decade ago, when the current King was still a teenager and is new to the throne."
The three of them wanted to hear more and in a more comfortable setting and so, they all went to a nearby pub and talked about the legend of the stone slate. But as they were all talking, some folks had overheard them, and this led to them gathering different versions of the story. Some were heard from stories passed down, while some were told by those who had known people who experienced the phenomenon. And to stop people from going, others spread the rumors of how it is guarded by an invisible beast, the one who is responsible for the people's mysterious death from an unknown disease it gives them.
Eventually, due to how scared people are, they stopped passing the stories around, forgetting the stone slate within the forest. But the rumors of the beasts grew, and those rumors became true. Just a few years after the discovery of the stone, wild animals from the forest had started attacking people who lived nearby, and one of the victims were Lithea and Mia's parents.
Upon learning this, a lot of people had completely avoided the nearby villages of the Northern Forest. And when people are known to be residing near the forest, they would immediately cut off their business with them. This is why some left their homes to settle in a different place to continue making money.
"We should take it into consideration to protect ourselves," Lance said.
The three had finally appeared before the entrance of the forest.
They gulped.
Thenea fidgeted her fingers and was hesitant but Serene noticed her playing with her fingers. Being the one who drove the horse, and Thenea sat in front of her like a child, she could clearly see what she was doing.
"Are you alright?"
Thenea was surprised at her question and almost jumped. She chuckled nervously, "yes, I'm okay."
"You don't seem okay," Serene pressed, she thought if there is something she won't tell them, it could become a problem later when they start the mission. So it is better for her to tell now that they are still outside the perimeter of the forest.
"Um," she looked at Lance and then back to her fingers, "I might have something that could give us a lead."
"A lead?" Lance asked.
Thenea nodded, "back at the mission I did with Viv here,"
The two tried to recall the story she told them when they were camping on the way to the Land of Scorpion.
"The one we met might be one of the Elemental Guardians," she gulped down her saliva after saying that. Feeling relieved now that she's said it, "or not."
"But aren't the spirits residing at these places only the ones tasked by the guardians?" Serene asked, visibly confused.
"But the one we met has a name," Thenea revealed.
"What's the name of the spirit you guys met?" Lance asked.
"It was Pygmy."
Lance's brain instantly replayed back when he was a child, he would sneak inside his grandfather's study to take a book to read. And one time, he happened to take the book where the history of the Elemental Guardians was written. A book that's hard to obtain.
Lance did not know why the memory did not pop up when Lady Edrei mentioned the mission to them before, or was it because he was too preoccupied with the problem that had risen within the team at that time?
"Do you remember what she looked like?"
"Of course," she happily answered, "she's small and her dress looks like it's made out of flowers, she also has a tattoo on her arm."
"Was it red? Does it look like lines and circles?"
Thenea nodded, "well, yes, except hers looks like it has a drawing of petals around the smallest circle."
"Does it have four dots?"
Thenea nodded again.
"Pygmy, one of the Elemental Guardians. Spirit Guardian of Earth, the one Lady Edrei sets us to find" Lance uttered, he's happy he could still remember some of the details to know if the one in front of them is really the real guardian, "so she lives in the northern part of the kingdom."
"What are you talking about?" Serene asked, she couldn't catch up to what the two were talking.
Lance grinned in relief, "Thenea could make the mission easy."
Serene's brows creased as she tilted her head, 'what the hell?'
"Let's go inside first," Thenea said and with that, the three entered the Northern Forest.
"Let me clarify this," Serene said, "so the tiny tiny tiny person you met that day, the one they want to talk to you for neglecting the forest, is the real deal?"
"Yes."
"And the capital did not know about this?"
This only confuses Serene even more.
"The Guardians should not and will not appear in front of the people like how the spirits often appear before us," Lance explained, "they must have thought Pygmy is only the spirit tasked by the Guardian to watch over the forest."
"Then why did Pygmy act like a spirit?" Serene asked again.
"Serene," Lance's brow twitched, "we don't know all of the answers. That is why we're sent here."
Serene pouted and looked away, "he could have just said it nicely. What a temper."
"Did you say something?" Lance forced a smile, he could slightly make out what Serene was muttering about.
"Nothing!!!"
Lance did not mind Serene further and asked Thenea.
"Say, was there anything you could remember about the mission before, Thenea?"
"Like what?"
"That could possibly connect to the Land of Scorpio. Like the crystals."
Thenea thought for a second and remembered the light that caused too much damage on them.
"There was only a strange red light."
"What about the stone?" Lance asked.
"It could be the same one that grandpa told us, but I don't know if it's related to the crystal tree of the Land of Scorpion," she looked straight ahead, "unless it is the same dark energy."
"Dark energy," Lance blinked, "the mission you did before also consists of dark energy?"
"Yes?"
"We should hurry and find Pygmy, this might be related to the Land of Scorpion," Lance said in a hurry, "Thenea, tell us where to go."
"Near the forbidden area, that's where we found Pygmy."
"HYA!"
Lance whipped the reins of the horses to make it run faster, "let's hurry, we have already lost time when we stopped to listen to grandpa."
Serene followed him, "hold on tight, Thenea."
The further they go, the darker it gets inside. No sunlight was able to penetrate through the thick leaves and tall trees that make the forest. Before the incident, this was one of the most popular hunting sites, and most hunters would prolong their stay to rest.
This was once a relaxing place for them. But now, it looks like an abandoned and haunted area.
"Stop! We have to walk from here!"
Thenea's scream halted the horses and it gave a hard time for Serene and Lance to steady the panicked stallions.
"What is it?" Lance struggled to ask.
"The horses can't stand the heat once we enter that area," she pointed at a place one hundred feet away from them, and despite distance, they can feel the atmosphere changing and how it grew from refreshing forest temperature to indescribable warmth.
"What about us?" Serene asked, if animals can't stand it, they too, can't.
Thenea whispered something to her staff and the three of them were wrapped in a white glow.
"This will protect us for some time, until we can find Pygmy."
Serene looked at Lance for assurance and he nodded to her before saying, "let's go."
"I have no idea if the wolves are still lurking around, we have to keep an eye for those dogs," Thenea said, "they might still be affected by the stone."
Lance sensed something different from Thenea, as soon as they set foot inside the forest, she's not her usual cheerful and positive person. It is as though there is something keeping her nervous, keeping her at bay.
At the very moment, Thenea remembered how she couldn't protect Viv and was bitten by the wolves. And although she was taken to the center, it still took some time for him to recover, and while he was recovering, Thenea made it her personal mission to look for a medicine that could help Viv. She returned to the same place, the Northern Forest and both her and Pygmy investigated the matter.
There, they found out the dark energy on the wolves that could have possibly turned them to madness, and when she used her magic to trace what was left in the area, it returned to the where the stone slate was located. Since it has an invisible barrier that strikes them back whenever they attempt to enter, they couldn't investigate further.
Pygmy gave her a vial of sample energy and she asked her grandfather if he has any knowledge regarding it but to no avail, he doesn't. Although the sample was sent to the laboratory, the J.I's scientific team still can't penetrate its compositions.
Viv somehow survived the attack, but due to the wolf's affected rabies punctured in him, his madness tendencies would become even more dangerous. And when Thenea learned of this, she promised herself she would help Viv snap back to reality whenever it devours him.
'If this is the very same darkness Viv and I encountered back then, then what Pygmy said might come true. Everyone will die.'
Thenea's grip on her staff tightened, 'Please Pygmy, I hope you have the answer.'
As the group were approaching, with these talks and alert senses, Pygmy heard all of their rustlings. She tried feeling the energy of those who dared to walk within this part of the forest, the last time someone stepped inside disappeared at once. And up until now, she has no idea where that person was sent to. It was like he completely vanished from both the surface and beneath the earth.
But there was one energy she's familiar with.
"Pygmy?" Thenea yelled when she found the area familiar, it was where they first met. She stood near where the trunk had been and continued calling the tiny creature, "Pygmy, it's Thenea!"
Pygmy's eyes sparkled in excitement and disappeared in a puff.
"Pygmy, can you hear me?"
Suddenly, a light ball of leaf puffed in front of Thenea and a tiny female creature floated before her, "Tiniiii, you're back!"
'Tini?' Both Lance and Serene blinked at the nickname the guardian gave Thenea.
"Oh, Pygmy!" Thenea's tears formed and felt her knees weakened and she fell on the ground, sobbing "Pygmy."
Pygmy hopped down to her thigh, "what's wrong?"
"I need your help."
Pygmy gave her a gentle smile, "of course! Pygmy always here to help Tini."
"Thank you," Thenea had a hard time forming the words coming out of her mouth between all the sobbing.
Pygmy leaped and landed on Thenea's shoulder and tried patting her head to comfort her, with how happy she is to have Thenea again, and despite the state she's in, Pygmy's imaginary tail wags.
Serene's eyes widened in surprise and pointed at Pygmy, "seriously, no one is seeing this?"
Lance looked at Serene in disbelief and shook his head.