Gah-Hal proud with his purchase continues his trip with bag over his shoulder and a quiet humming.
The road stretches out before him, leading him onward toward his destination. The sun is high in the sky now, casting a warm and inviting glow over the landscape. He walks like that under the shine of sun. Today's air temperature is quite high which is around 86°F. There is no forest or anything where Gah-Hal could hide behind from the sunbeams. However Gah-Hal still has his robe and clothes on him.
Instead of taking at least a robe off he keeps walking like that showing no sign of being affected by high temperature which in current situation would make him sweat very badly. He just keeps walking like he is immune to high temperature. Another impressive sign of his durability.
30 Minutes Later
Quietly humming and making light steps on his way, Gah-Hal still unaffected by heat sees that he will soon pass through a bridge going over the river. River is around 180ft wide which looks like a good place for fishing, but actually isn't.
Next to the river there are few platforms on the sides of river where few fishermen are seen trying to catch some fish with fishing net. One of them is seen struggling catching any fish while another once manages to catch only some small fish once per several series.
Gah-Hal looks at the attemps before he reaches the bridge that leads to another side of the river. That bridge is also quite wide, it looks like it can fit up to 3 caravans standing side by side to eachother. Bridge is made out of stone with a bit of damage made to it because of historical reasons.
Before Gah-Hal crosses the river he spots another forest on the horizon. Forests aren't too rare to see, but on this road it's been a while since there was one on the way, especially as big looking as the one in the distance.
"Maybe I will run. Just this once." Gah-Hal says to himself.
Once Gah-Hal takes the last step off from the bridge, he starts to increase his walking speed with each step. Few steps and he's jogging. Antother few steps and he's now running. It's scary how fast he is running. One could compare it to cheetah's speed. He will never stop being impressive.
If he walked on foot it would take around 30 minutes for him to reach this forest. But with his current running speed he got there in less than 2 minutes. Once he is now one step in forest he starts to slow down and then just walk again. For once again he doesn't show the signs of fatigue.
"That's much better." Gah-Hal says while casually walking further with a smile.
Gah-Hal's display of casual overpayment and his subsequent nonchalant sprint to the forest further solidify his image of being both wealthy and incredibly capable. His actions are as much a testament to his confidence as they are to his unique abilities.
Entering the forest offers a respite from the direct sun, the trees providing a cool and refreshing shade. The air is filled with the scent of earth and leaves, and the sounds of birdsong create a soothing melody. The forest is dense and vibrant, with various shades of green, brown, and a hint of color from wildflowers that dot the undergrowth.
Gah-Hal walks through the forest with a sense of leisure, his steps unhurried as he takes in the beauty of his surroundings. He listens to the rustling of leaves in the gentle breeze, the distant calls of birds, and the occasional scampering of small animals.
The forest offers a stark contrast to the open road he had been walking on. Here, the atmosphere is more intimate, as if the trees are guarding ancient secrets and stories. Gah-Hal finds himself captivated by the tranquil ambiance, the forest providing a welcome change of pace from his journey.
As he walks he suddenly stops and looks at one branch on a tree. There is a unique looking bird on it which pinques his interest.
"Oh my. It's dulungan. How incredible." Gah-Hal says to himself with his eyes locked on the bird.
Gah-Hal's keen eyesight catches sight of the dulungan, a rare and beautiful bird known for its vibrant colors and melodious song. The dulungan's song is indeed enchanting, a melodic trill that seems to resonate with the very heart of the forest.
Gah-Hal remains still, not wanting to startle the bird. He watches in awe as the dulungan continues its serenade, its song weaving into the natural symphony of the forest. It's a moment of connection with nature, a reminder of the wonders that exist beyond the bustling world of sorrow.
Captivated by the dulungan's presence, Gah-Hal takes a few cautious steps closer, his movement slow and deliberate. He doesn't want to disturb the bird, but he's eager to observe it more closely. As he draws nearer, he notices the intricate patterns on the bird's feathers, each one a work of art in itself.
The dulungan seems unperturbed by his presence, continuing to sing its melodious tune. Gah-Hal takes a seat on a nearby fallen log, his gaze locked on the bird as he enjoys this unexpected encounter with nature's beauty.
After a time, the dulungan's song begins to fade as it hops from branch to branch, its performance seemingly complete. Gah-Hal watches as the bird takes flight, its colorful wings catching the light as it disappears deeper into the forest.
"Beautiful." Gah-Hal says to himself satisfied with encounter.
After few moments he starts walking again.
"Another reason why I'm not in hurry. Possibility of seeing something like that." Gah-Hal says to himself.
"Actually. I want to see what else I can find deeper in this forest." He says to himself again.
Boy once again strays from appointed road and goes deeper into the forest with excitement of seeing something similar as that. The forest is thick which lets only a bit of sunlight inside.
He walks confidently deeper inside showing he has a lot of fun with that. Goes deeper and deper until eventually he finds what he wanted. He sees a very small pond and certain creatures around it... Grass slimes.
Grass slime is harmless and friendly type of slime mostly living mainly in moist forests. Cute creature that are very often showing curiosity towards people by approaching them and sometimes rubbing themselves on one. Average sized grass slime has the size of a human head.
Gah-Hal right away came closer to the pond a bit away from slimes to not startle them. He sits by the pond and looks at creature's next moves.
Gah-Hal watches with a mixture of amusement and fascination as the grass slimes approach the pond. They seem to be completely unbothered by his presence, displaying a friendly curiosity as they investigate their surroundings. Some of the slimes dip into the water, creating gentle ripples that reflect the filtered sunlight.
As he observes them, Gah-Hal can't help but smile at the sight. The innocence and simplicity of the grass slimes' actions bring a sense of warmth to his heart. He's experienced moments of wonder and connection on this journey, from encountering the dulungan's song to now observing these playful creatures.
Feeling a desire to interact with the grass slimes, Gah-Hal carefully extends his hand toward them, palm up. He remains still, hoping that his gesture will convey his peaceful intentions. One of the slimes, its green body shimmering in the sunlight, slowly approaches his hand.
Gah-Hal's heart flutters with excitement as the grass slime gets closer. The slime gently bumps its body against his outstretched hand, its texture surprisingly soft and cool to the touch. The contact is delicate and almost ticklish, but it brings a genuine sense of connection between him and this curious creature.
This wholesome view will forever stay in Gah-Hal's mind. If only more intelligent creatures for example humans were as innocent and friendly to eachother. This view would definitely calm down most people from any kind of stress.
Once Gah-Hal makes sure that slime isn't afraid of him, he gently pick the creature up with both his hands and places it on his laps. Then he simply pets it like a cat. He does it with a smile while also looking at the other slimes minding their own business and sometimes glaring at him.
"I guess slimes really can attract anyone. Or at least most." He speaks to slime who is sitting on his laps like an animal.
50 Minutes Later
Boy who is totally satisfied with this encounter decided that it's time to go. There will be a lot of opportunities to come back here or see such creatures in different places on the world.
He gently picks up the slime on his laps which looked like it was comfortable and places it next to him. Then he stands up, looks at slimes again and smiles before heading back to the road. His smile fades slowly with each step he takes back to the road. Before he reaches the road he suddenly sneezes after a second. And then again.
"Bless me." He says to himself.
Once he is on the road he keeps going to his destination. He doesn't want to shorten his trip by running, knowing that he wouldn't be as bored if he got in place much quicker. He just wants to enjoy the landscape while also enjoying the peace for a while before he gets into less peaceful place which is the capital of his kindom, Glazes.
He walks forward for quite a time and so far he didn't see anyone passing through since he got back on the road.
"Now if I think about it. Joining Adventurer's Guild won't really be a bad idea. Environment, fresh air and possible cool feeling of adrenaline would really be a way to live. But that still depends on what kind of adventures will be available. Passing the test to join won't be a problem, it's just quests that could be too repeatable or so easy I wouldn't enjoy doing them. Ah well. Always worth to-" Gah-Hal's thought is quickly halted from something sudden.
TWANG
Gah-Hal very quickly jumps back with his head lightly moved back. What he just did was dodging the ARROW which came from the bushes.
THWOCK
As the arrow hits the tree on his left, boy immediately runs to retrieve the arrow stuck on the tree. Within a second he takes the arrow out and prepares to throw it back to where it was shot from. His face showing seriousness this time.
Before he throws the arrow back at where it came from, someone stands from behind the bush and raises his arms up.
"WAIT! IT WAS ACCIDENT! I WASN'T SHOOTING AT YOU!" The voice came from the person behind the bush.
Gah-Hal holds his position ready to throw the arrow back anytime.
"You shot perfectly at my head so I suppose it wasn't really an accident. Explain yourself before you feel what I was about to feel if not my reflex." Gah-Hal says sounding intimidating.
The man from the bush points at the arrow.
"I was trying to shoot down a bird flying through but I missed. Look at the feather." Shooter says.
Gah-Hal looks at the arrow and indeed sees that there is a feather penetrated with it.
"What kind of joke is this? You literally almost killed me with your aim, though almost hitting a flying bird like that would be impressive, but still Im not buying it. You went right for my head." Gah-Hal sounds intimidating again.
"I'M SORRY! I WAS CALCULATING IT'S MOVES AND I REALIZED TOO LATE THAT YOU ARE ON THE WAY!" Shooted leaves the bush by taking few steps towards Gah-Hal.
Gah-Hal gets ready to throw arrow.
Hunter drops himself on the ground with his face to the ground.
"Please forgive me for what I was about to do. Even if I shot you I would've found a way to fix it." Hunter says.
Gah-Hal relaxes and stands normally now while still holding the arrow aimed at the guy.
"Please forgive me. I don't want to die so young." Hunter says.
The hunter just like Gah-Hal looks like a teen with a lot of life ahead of him.
"Stand up. Keep your arms up. " Gah-Hal says to him.
Hunter does as he says slowly standing up and keeping his arms in the air. His panicked face looks like he would do anything to stay alive now.
Gah-Hal looks at the arrow, takes the feather off it and drops the wooden arrow on the ground right next to his feet and examines the feather not turning his head away from the shooter.
"Feather of a bluebird. I will guess and say that you are training your aim." Gah-Hal asks while holding a feather on sight along with stranger.
"Correct. I was just training aim." Stranger replies.
"Then you are doing it the crappy way if you dont look around while doing it. What kind of a skilled archer would an archer be if he had good aim but 'accidentally' shot everyone who were between him and target." Gah-Hal says dropping the feather.
"I just-" Stranger is interrupted.
"Don't answer this question." Gah-Hal approaches the guy.
Hunter backs down a little scared of Gah-Hal slowly approaching him.
"Don't even think about taking that sabre out." Gah-Hal tells to him while pointing at the sabre that the hunter has sheathed still approaching.
When Gah-Hal is is now two steps away from hunter, within a second he unsheathes his sabre and attemps to cut Gah-Hal's head off.
Gah-Hal once again smoothly dodges the sabre moving his head back so the sabre passes right above him.
Gah-Hal kicks the attacker on the knee and jumps away. The attacker loses his balance a little, but doesn't fall.
"You asked for it." Gah-Hal says while preparing his fists.
Attacker startled by the sudden dodge quickly puts himself together again with his heart beating like crazy. He is shocked by his opponent's reflexes.
Gah-Hal runs at him very quickly and punches him in the stomach, before the hunter even managed to react.
When hunter falls on ground, Gah-Hal steps on his right hand to make him drop the sabre, once he does it he grabs his right arm and runs like cheetah with him like that 100 feet. After that he throws him at the tree. The sound of cracking ribs can be heard.
The attacker lies near the tree with a lot of pain and difficulty at breathing. Attacker pants and groans from agony while Gah-Hal stands above him and looking at him intimidation.
"Very unfortunate. Should have listened." Gah-Hal says to the suffering attacker.
Gah-Hal then turn around and goes back for the sack he left behind. When he arrives to where the sack is, he picks it up and goes back to enemy again.
He once again stands above him looking down on him. Until eventually, the hunter exhales for the last time. He is now lifeless.
Gah-Hal then continues going forward to his destination. Suddenly after taking around 10 steps he stops and after a while looks back at the body. After a second he goes back to corpse and kneels next to it.
He moves the body to the sitting position leaning it on a tree and once it's in this position he pokes it's forehead with finger with a little grin.
After few seconds, the hunter's body suddenly takes a deep breath with as if he just woke up from a nightmare. His eyes wide open look around until his vision comes back. Hunter stays in sitting position temporarily unable to move from his body being stiff from the miraculous resurrection.
"Breath slowly and deeply. Your muscles and neural connections need some time to reestabilish." Gah-Hal says to him again with serious but less intimidating face.
Hunter calms down and takes a deep and calm breaths.
"You are most likely confused right now. I will explain what happend in short if you dont remember. Basically you shot at me and ended up being so injured from my beating you died. Fortunately for you, I know how to resurrect and I'm not that bloodthirsty." Gah-Hal explains.
Hunter still taking deep breaths, looks at him with confusion still.
"It's not all I can do, but anyways just take your time regaining your strength back." Gah-Hal says not showing sign of hostility.
After few minutes the guy can already move his limbs a bit.
"Why did you do this?" Hunter asks.
"Because you attacked me. If you are asking about revival then it's because I got a nice idea." Gah-Hal replies.
Hunter doesn't answer and tries to pick himself up. He manages to barely stand on his legs. Gah-Hal seeing that also stands up.
"Well. I'm on a long trip to Glazes and sometimes it's very boring if there is nothing on the way. So I thought about finding some company to go with. At least until I reach my destination. Then I will eventually pay or find something in exchange for company to that person." Gah-Hal says with a smile.
"So you-" Hunter is interrupted.
"So I thought about asking you now that you aren't a threat. No worries, even if you attack me again I will use the same cure to make you ignore that idea." Gah-Hal says jokingly.
Hunter now stands normally on his legs with a bit of difficulty but gets used to it quickly.
"Who-" Hunter is interrupted again.
"I am Gahes Haled, but I prefer Gah-Hal." Gahes replies.
"I am-" Hunter is interrupted again.
"Hogel Mitris. I know." Gah-Hal replies.
He looks at him again with confusion.
"How-" Hunter is once again interrupted.
"Magic, heh. It's just one of the many things that I can do. Impressive right?" Gah-Hal replies.
"Y-Yes. Very. Wait. Are you that one high ranked adventurer?" Hogel asks.
"I'm not, but I was recently thinking about it right before you attacked me." Gah-Hal replies.
Hogel looks down.
"I see. I'm sorry for what I did." Hogel says.
"All good now. It was fun actually. For me at least. Can't say the same about you." Gah-Hal says jokingly.
Hogel looks back at Gah-Hal and stands in front of him.
"Thank you very much, for sparing me. Thank you." Hogel says showing the actual real emotions right now. He really is sorry.
"Well now. Since we are good now. Do you want to accompany me? Who knows what we will see on our way." Gah-Hal asks.
Hogel look down and then quickly back up at Gah-Hal.
"Yes. I will." Hogel says with thought that he has no other choice.
"I'm very happy to hear that. Thank you for agreeing." Gahes says.
Gah-Hal then takes Hogel's arm and wraps it behind his neck to help him at walking. This way Gah-Hal continued his journey to his destination and Hogel started his new adventure.
"So. You wanted to kill me because I look wealthy. Honestly I shouldn't spare you for that knowing that you probably killed such people in the past. Be grateful because I know I just traumatised you. I saved you from the actual death that could happen and who knows, maybe even worse that the one I gave you." Gah-Hal says trying to influent his mind.
"I had no choice. I needed money to survive myself. I used the opportunity of them going without protection so I attacked." Hogel says with a little shaking voice.
"When I was still an infant, my father always found some way to gain some money. He chose ways to gain some money by doing what he's good at which is survival and hunting. When I hear 'I had no other choice' before doing something very bad upsets me. Just a naive thought of limited creativity. Real determined person would find other way." Gah-Hal says looking at Hogel.
Hogel stays silent. He is scared of saying anything else as he doesn't want to annoy him too much.
"Cheer up. I will help you making you more impressed in yourself. The feather that was on the arrow when we met... You didn't hit the bird. You pierced the feather before taking a shot, yes? Of course because I saw while the arrow was still in air." Gah-Hal says with a smile.
Hogel's hearts skips a beat after hearing that Gahes knew it all.
Gah-Hal's words hang in the air, a mixture of judgment and understanding as they settle on Hogel's conscience. The atmosphere shifts and the surroundings seem to darken, casting long shadows over the two travelers. A chill runs down Hogel's spine as he listens to Gah-Hal's eerie observation.
Hogel's mind races, memories of his past actions flashing before him like ghostly apparitions. He tries to steady his breathing, but his heart pounds loudly in his chest, the weight of his choices heavy upon him.
"You have keen eyes and a sharp mind..." Hogel manages to reply, his voice quivering with a strange blend of fear and admiration.
Gah-Hal's smile deepens, and his gaze seems to pierce through Hogel's very soul.
"I always find it fascinating how people justify their actions. The things they do when they believe they have no choice." Gah-Hal muses, his tone carrying an unsettling edge.
Hogel swallows hard, feeling as though he's being examined under a scrutinizing light. The forest around them seems to close in, the trees appearing to reach out with gnarled fingers. The wind rustles through the leaves, creating eerie whispers that seem to echo Gah-Hal's words.
"You see, Hogel, the choices we make are reflections of who we truly are. Desperation may lead us down dark paths, but it doesn't excuse the darkness within us." Gah-Hal continues, his voice now like a haunting melody.
Hogel's breath trembles as he listens, a mixture of guilt and unease washing over him. He's trapped in a conversation that feels both surreal and nightmarish. Each time Gah-Hal speaks makes him feel more and more anxious. It's like Gah-Hal is making him feel like that totally on purpose to destroy his evil will.
Hogel's gaze drops to the ground, unable to meet Gah-Hal's unwavering eyes. The air feels thick with unspoken truths, as if the forest itself holds secrets that are being whispered to the wind.
"What's wrong? Don't be afraid of me. You are actually very lucky to see me. I'm about to show you the great side of the live. Without harm or malicious intentions." Gah-Hal says this time sounding not intimidating at all.
Hogel feels the eerie feeling quickly fading out. Hogel looks up, meeting Gah-Hal's gaze once more. He sees a complex blend of emotions in those eyes. Understanding, wisdom, and perhaps even a glimmer of hope.
"I will try my best to change..." Hogel says.
Gah-Hal smiles seeing the Hogel's changed mind.
"Change is a journey, Hogel. It's not easy and it's not something that happens overnight. But acknowledging your mistakes and showing the willingness to improve is a big step in the right direction." Gah-Hal says, his voice gentle and encouraging.
Hogel nods, a mixture of emotions swirling within him. He feels a strange sense of relief, as if a weight has been lifted off his shoulders. The forest around them seems to respond to this shift in energy, the shadows receding and the sunlight filtering through the leaves once more.
"I know it won't be easy. But having someone like you guiding me... I think it will be possible." Hogel admits, his voice laced with gratitude.
Gah-Hal offers a warm smile.
"Of course it will be possible. Everything is possible. For me." Gah-Hal says assuringly.
Hogel takes a deep breath, feeling a renewed sense of determination. He looks ahead, focusing on the road ahead and the potential for change that lies within it.
"Thank you, Gahes. Thank you for this and for giving me a chance." Hogel says sincerely.
"You're welcome. Let's make the most of this trip together. I'm sure we will have a lot of fun together." Gah-Hal replies, his smile widening.
And so, the two unlikely companions continue on their path, the forest's whispering wind carrying their shared hope for redemption. The eerie atmosphere has given way to a newfound sense of camaraderie and with each step forward, the weight of their pasts feels a little lighter.
Gah-Hal keeps smiling to Hogel each time he looks at him showing his friendliness. However this smile can sometimes hide the most devious and psychopatic thoughts ever known to humanity. At least that's what Hogel thinks.
Sadly for Hogel, he doesn't yet know anything about the person who few minutes ago gave him a friendly talk and motivation to be a better person.