Arthur follows behind James as they walk back to where Jane and Sophia are, they reach the door, however they don't enter and stand by the edge of the internal balcony to continue talking.
"To think people would turn against each other in a situation like this," Arthur says, crossing his hands and lying on the railing. "I'm glad I didn't run into there scourge guys on my way here, I don't know what I would've done."
"I was uneasy about it too," James says, leaning his back against the railing. "They rarely move alone, and that's another reason why they're such a problem. On the other hand, no one knows what those covenant guys are up to, but it's definitely some shady."
"I'm guessing they move behind the scenes, nothing good ever comes from religious fanatics." He comments, letting out a deep sigh and looking up to the skylight. "Looks like the sun's coming out, it's almost time to leave. Let's wake up the rest."
Arthur stands up straight after talking and walks inside, where he sees Jane awake and already standing as she tries to wake Sophia up. "Oh, I didn't know you were already awake," He claims, walking towards her. "I came to wake you both up."
"I woke up not too long ago," She says, gently tapping Sophia on the shoulder. "I noticed you weren't here when I opened my eyes. Where were you?"
"I was just outside with James, we were just going over a few things," He replies, looking at Sophia as she wakes up. "It seems you were finally able to get some decent rest. I'm guessing the nightmares you've been having have become less frequent."
"Yes, I think so because I didn't have any tonight," She replies, sitting up as she yawns, placing her palm over her mouth.
They continue talking as everyone packs up their belongings and prepare to leave. James walks in, checking to see if everyone is ready and then suggests they eat something before heading out. They all go to the supermarket next door to get food and anything they might need.
"Pack a few things just in case," James suggests, handing them each a bag pack. "Take only necessary supplies, like water and food. There's a clinic on the first floor so we'll get some supplies from there too."
The finish with the supermarket and head down to the clinic, where the picked up bandages and some disinfectants. They finish getting what they need and get on their way.
"It's a two hour walk to the Saddledome, but taking into account that anything can happen on the way it could take longer," James announces, taking the lead as the walk.
They walk for roughly thirty minutes in silence, without encountering any monsters, and Arthur finally speaks. "We're fortunate to have not encountered any monsters at all."
"Don't jinx it Arthur," Jane says, as she walks, holding hands with Sophia.
Moments after she says that, James stops, his brows furrowing as if he notices something. "Do you sense it too?" Arthur asks, looking around.
"Yeah, and it's not just one," James answers, setting his eyes on the corner up ahead. "There's two and the left and another one on the right."
"Wow, he can precisely tell where they are and how many of them there are too," Arthur thinks to himself, amazed by James's senses.
[Well it's due to his high perception. You'll be able to do a lot more when it gets higher.]
They wait anxiously, waiting to see what emerges from the corners as they draw their swords and prepare for battle. Seconds later, humanoid reptilian creatures appear, their heads covered in spikes and horns and their eyes reflective, holding swords and chains.
"What are those? Walking lizards?" Arthur asks, tilting his head to analyze further. "Lizardmen?"
[Close, but not quite. These are the lessers of the lizardmen species, Kobolds. As you can see they're much smaller than the average person unlike lizard men that are way bigger. These are weaker, but you still need to be careful because they're highly intelligent.]
"You take the one on the right, I'll take those two on the left," James says, dashing off towards them. Arthur follows and charges at the one on the right.
One kobold throws a rock at James as he charges at it, however he easily dodges with a swerve to the side. He swings his sword upwards after closing the gap, splitting it in half from behind to top. He continues his advance without letting the other pull any trick and swiftly decapitates it with a clean forward slash.
Arthur on the other hand is bombarded with shots from a slingshot, but he dodges easily as he advances, closing the distance step by step until he finally reaches it. He hits it with a max output arcane impact, killing it in one hit.
"Impressive," James comments, wiping his sword and sheathing it. "To think you'd gotten this strong."
"Haha, what can I say? I train really hard," Arthur says, also sheathing his sword.
[Showoff.]
"Shut up, Rex," He whispers, walking back to where Jane and Sophia are.
"We should keep moving," James says, pointing his thumb in the direction he wants them to go. "There might be more around."
They continue on their journey, being more cautious as they get closer because running into monsters became more frequent the closer they got to the saddledome. They encounter hoard after hoard, however thanks to James and Arthur, they swiftly sweep through them and their destination finally becomes visible.
"I can see it," Jane claims, placing her hand over her eyes to create shade.
Just as she finishes talking, James stops walking, his demeanor changes and his body tenses up as malice slowly fills the air. His usually calm eyes flare in anger as he gets into a battle stance, gripping his sword. "It's them," He says, his tone low with a barely restrained rage.
Arthur feels a chill running down his spine, unlike anything he's felt before, his body tenses up as if urging him to prepare for battle. "What is this feeling? It feels like something is choking me." He claims, as his body slightly trembles.
[That is Murderous intent, you feel it when someone is trying to kill you. There's someone in the vicinity after your life.]
"Arthur, get ready," James says, his eyes set on the figures emerging from the crumbled buildings. "It's The Scourge."
[END]
To be continued…