"That freak Lambard almost took out half of my people!" said one of the cloaked figures. He is now inside a dark cavern, reminiscent of a cave, but the several torches on either side of the wall suggest that it was manmade, or at least modified by man. He was dragging behind him the remains of his earlier companions who failed to leave the area of the meteor's impact on time
"Well, at least, 'you' got an unexpected treat this morning. Here," he said as he tossed the bodies into the abyss. Soon after, a large hand grabbed the bodies and dragged them into the darkness. The sound of chains jiggling accompanied by eery crunching sounds and bones breaking filled the dark room.
"Eat to your heart's content. There's plenty more where that came from," the man said as he watches the 'thing' devour his companions with a devilish smile.
The 'thing' growled in response to his laughter, its two red eyes shining in the dark.
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"Is everyone accounted for?" Lambard said as he checked each individual group. Assuming their silence as an affirmation, he then declared the resume of their journey. Howling Pass is only a half-day trip, so they are expected to arrive there by nightfall.
The Korvac's spoils were left in their makeshift camp, protected by Lamabards earth spells. Some monsters are known to scavenge on anything that they can get their claws on, so they ensured that the remains are well-hidden and protected.
"Hey, did you seriously fight all those monsters?" asked Rembrandt. He was the only one left inside the camp when the monster parade happened. By the time he woke up, the fight was over, and everyone was busy dismantling the monster materials. "And why do I have to carry all of her things?" he asked, dodging the large rucksack he got from Deirera.
"Well, we sort of started to have a contest to see who can have the most monster killed. You were sleeping, so your kill count is zero. Deirera said that the one with the fewest kill will be our porter," explained Vince.
"But that's ridiculous! I didn't sign up for this!" Rembrandt complained, stomping his feet on the ground like a child.
"Hoo, you have something to say to me, 'porter'?" Deirera asked him, her arms wrapped around Rembrandt's neck.
"Wha- where did you come from?" he asked, surprised that he failed to detect her presence at all.
"I was here all along. After all, I have to make sure that you are CAREFULLY carrying my things," she said, her hold on his neck tightening ever so lightly.
"O-okay! I concede, so stop crushing my neck, please!"
Seeing him plead so eagerly, Deirera smiled a bit before releasing her vice-like grip on him. Immediately after, Rembrandt massaged his neck, checking if they are still fine.
"See you later then, porter boy," she said as she skipped joyfully along the trail.
Seeing her disappear into the front of the line, Rembrandt let out a breath of relief.
"That damn Amazon!"
"Better watch your words, Rembrandt," Vince advised him. "Deirera can easily overwhelm us," he said.
"I know that! Do you think I'll let just someone suddenly boss me around? If it weren't for her gorilla-like strength, then I won't be complying like this!" he said.
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Back in Drethia. The king received the report of their encounter first thing in the morning.
"This is earlier than what we expected," the king said, burning the piece of paper he was reading, turning it into ashes. His attendant and right-hand man watch closely as he disposes of the message.
"Yes. Lambard believes that the demons might have caused the event," he said.
"Lambard, huh? We can't really just brush off the hunch of an "Arch Mage", can we? Well then, tell him to keep us updated on their journey," he ordered the man.
"One more thing, " his servant gave him another piece of paper.
"What is this?" the King took the paper, unfolding it only to reveal a list of households accompanied by a number on the side.
"That, my King, are the households that were affected by Lambard's [Meteor] spell earlier. The number represents the cost of damage that was made," he explained.
The King couldn't help but massage his temple as he could feel his brain starting to ache just from seeing the total amount of the repairs,"
"This trip better be worth it!" he said as he stamped approval for the release of funds to compensate the damaged households. His attendant took the paper and took off, probably to work on the paperwork that needs to be done.
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Back at the academy, Principal Steibern was looking toward the explosion made by the [meteor] spell.
"That damned Lambard, showing off his magic like that, what was he thinking?" she said as she puffed out a cloud of smoke from her favorite wooden pipe. "Must have been a serious situation for him to use that spell, oh, here comes the shockwaves,".
Sensing the foreboding wave of shock caused by the [Meteor] spell, Principal Steibern chanted a spell of her own.
"[Protect]" she chanted.
A series of white-like screens appeared out of nowhere, enveloping the entire academy in this white sphere. The shockwaves came, but the spell made them bounce off and head in another direction. The area around the academy was affected, but the academy remain unscathed.
"You're not the only Arch Mage in Drethia, you know?" she said as she entered her quarters but not without leaving a trace of fragrant smoke.
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At the infirmary, Cybel was woken up by the sudden explosion. Astounded by herself, her ears are now more sensitive than ever. She was able to notice as well the [Protect] spell that Principal Steibern used, and her exact location by following the scent of her smoke.
She slowly got up from her bed, careful not to wake up the other patients, while she looked out of the window. In the distance, she can see the light of an explosion, probably the one she felt earlier.
"Such destructive power," she said as she marveled at the sight. She then looked at her own hands, clenching them as if affirming their strength. Her arms are still wrapped in bandages, but she knew that they are already healed. Still, she requested to leave the bandages on for 'reasons'.
Looking outside her window, she checked the ground below. She is on the 5th floor of the building, but somehow, the height was not as impressive as she initially thought it would be. Actually, she find it rather low, or perhaps, simple, that even she can make it down unscathed if she jumped. That was her thought.
(What am I thinking?) she thought to herself, laughing at the idea that just occurred to her. She was about to head back to her bed when she was surprised by a mouse that suddenly ran across her feet.
Yelping, she jumped a few steps back to evade the creature. However, she forgot to take note that she was near the edge of the window. She suddenly found herself staring at the early morning sky, the cold morning air assailed her body as she falls from the 5th floor to the ground.
"Eh?" Cybel was caught unaware of what just happened. With a dumbfounded expression, she was late to realize that she fell from the window. Looking behind her, she can see the ground slowly getting closer and closer.
"Ahhhhh!" she let out a scream as she closed her eyes and waited for the impact. A few seconds passed, but Cybel did not feel any impact of sorts. Actually, looking down, she can see her feet planted perfectly into the ground. Her left hand, holding the facility's wall, was embedded deep within the concrete. She tried pulling out her hand, yanking it a few times before finally dislodging it from the wall.
"What the ..." Cybel was surprised as she saw her hands formed claws and scales. But as soon as she notices it, her hands returned to normal shortly. She stares in shock at the development that just happened.
"What are you doing out here so early in the morning?" asked one of the patrolling nurses. She was carrying a lamp, perhaps checking on the scream she heard earlier.
"Oh, umm, I was just doing some light exercise. You know what they say, that the morning air is fresher, things like that, he he," Cybel said as she made an impromptu alibi. She really can't say that she just fell from the 5th-floor window, can she?
The nurse, seemingly convinced by her reason, only parted her a few words before leaving.
"Also, keep it down. The other patients are still sleeping," was her remark.
"Yes! Sorry," she replied.
Seeing the nurse go off to patrol the other areas, Cybel wrapped her arms once again with the bandages she had with her. Looking above, she can faintly see the claw marks that she made with her left hand.
"What is happening to me?"