As I watched, a subtle movement caught my attention, almost imperceptible at first. It was as though a section of the tree itself was shifting.
I squinted my eyes, curiosity piqued and anxiety levels sky high. Slowly, the realization dawned upon me—the tree was alive, but not in the way I had assumed.
A slender form undulated gracefully, blending seamlessly with the tree's intricate pattern. It was a massive snake with a body so expansive that I couldn't gauge where its tail was.
The snake, its scales mirroring the hues and textures of the bark, was descending with a quiet elegance that defied its hidden presence.
Its body, a mesmerizing fusion of earthy tones, allowed it to merge effortlessly with the tree.
Sensing that its camouflage had been discovered it changed its color from the brown color of the tree to a myriad of colors, like polished emeralds and sapphires fused together.
I could then see its full outline and could see its terrifying length. It stretched upwards till the rest of its massive body was hidden by the massive tree branches.
The snake opened its eyes showcasing its pupils that gleamed with menace and predatory wrath. As it moved, the massive serpent's sinuous muscles rippled beneath its iridescent scales and each movement was slow and sure, like it was definite that the three humans that it gazed upon were its food.
Sky looked as though she was paralyzed with fear because she stood still and didn't move. Her breath came out in shallow gasps as her gaze locked onto the source of the hissing sound.
The massive snake's forked tongue flickered in and out as it tasted the air.
We all knew we were in grave danger. Snakes could thrust forward in attacks and given the massive length of the one we were faced with, it could quickly reach to us in one thrust covering the wide gap between it and us.
Hassan positioned himself between the snake and Sky (they were the closest to the snake than I was which gave me a momentary relief. At least I knew I was going to die last if things went sideways)
His dagger was ready but he couldn't risk making the first move because of the snake's deadly reputation for swift strikes.
But the snake was still taking its time, slowly crawling down the tree.
"Sky! Jess!" Hassan said, his voice calm despite the mounting tension, "Slowly back away, step by step. Don't break eye contact with the snake."
Sky still stood as though she was held still by an invisible force. Her body shivered so visibly that I could see it even though she was wearing a cloak.
The snake's had its eyes on her as if sensing her terror and its hood flared open to reveal a vivid, mesmerizing pattern. But Sky remained rooted in place, her eyes locked onto the serpent's unblinking gaze and her body still convulsing in fear.
I too was reluctant to move. What if when I attempted to move the snake attacked me instead? That plan of Hassan was a theoretically possible plan but we were just too afraid.
Then Hassan sprang into action. It seemed as if that was the only option left. That was the only option from the start given that we couldn't possibly outrun the massive snake.
With lightning speed, he lunged forward, his dagger slashing through the air. The blade struck true, severing the snake's head from its body in a single, fluid motion.
' That was easy ' I thought as my body eased into a relaxed state and I could then breathe normally.
The forest fell silent once more, the only sound the heavy thud of the snake's lifeless body collapsing to the ground.
Hassan stood there, his chest heaving with exertion and his dagger gleaming with venom.
I rushed to Sky's side and said to her "Are you okay? She was quite shaken, more than I was; her face was pale, but she was unharmed all thanks to Hassan.
Hassan then wiped the venom from his blade on his winter cloak and then turned to both of us.
"Are you two all right?" He asked, his voice filled with concern.
Sky nodded.
"I'm okay," I said to him
For the umpteenth time, Hassan had shown us the benefit we had reaped from being in his company.
He then nodded and his gaze once again scanned the forest for any signs of danger. "We need to get going."
"Yes. We need to" I said.
Sky still remained silent. It was as though she was still trying to compose herself and find her words.
Before I could even try to twist my words to try to calm myself I noticed Hassan hold his dagger in a reverse grip and bent a little bit with his feet wide apart and his attention at the tree that I had been resting on.
Before I could turn to see what triggered that response from him a notification popped up in front of me.
You are in the zone of the serpent of snow. You have triggered a new quest.
New quest: kill 2 serpents of snow (0/2)
'No way! But Hassan just killed one' I thought but immediately I realised what was happening.
This quest was not general but for the three of us to complete individually.
I turned to look at Sky whose face looked severely cyanosed as she gazed in front of her. She must have been looking at the notification.
This time it was all man for himself. There was no way for Hassan to help us.
And now unlike the first snake, three snakes were climbing down the three trees with a ferocious speed.
When they climbed down to a level Hassan lunged upward and thrust his dagger into one of them quickly severing its head from the rest of the body causing it to land on the ground of the little clearing with its body piled into a huge pile.
But that wasn't the end of the fight, it was just the beginning. The remaining snakes went berserk upon seeing one of their own being killed and fell from somewhere up instead of reaching down to the level the other one had reached.
Upon seeing that Hassan grabbed Sky by the arm and yelled "Run! " As they ran I followed behind looking backward to see the snakes moving towards us with an impossibly fast speed.
There was no way we could outrun the creatures. But it seemed that wasn't Hassan's plan at all.
He just wanted us to leave the confined space and move into a larger clearing where it was easier to evade the snakes.
Not like it mattered to me. Because to me I was still slower than the creatures; it didn't matter where we fought...
When Hassan stopped he let go of Sky's hand and lunged towards the snakes and thrust his dagger into their necks simultaneously.
Behind those snakes were more of varying sizes.
They were coming from the area around the little clearing that we had just been in.
Where had they been all through the time that we were there?
Trying mind transfer at that spot was risky because it would leave my body vulnerable to attacks, especially with the way Sky wasn't the best person to rely on with the way she was spooked and frozen in fear.
Action not possible
Action not possible
Action not possible
Action not possible
Action not possible
These three words appeared repeatedly with each attempt.
' What is going on? ' I wondered.
My mind transfer skill wasn't working again.
' What an unreliable skill. ' I thought as a feeling of rage filled my insides.
It felt horrible to be helpless especially when you had something that could be used to help you.
Just then when I was sure all hope was gone there was Hassan with his two hands up in the air and his ice gladius nowhere to be seen. He repeated strange words over and over again and at first glance it seemed as if he was summoning his soldiers.... But his soldiers didn't appear.
Instead, something stranger than usual was happening; a black aura was rising from the three snakes that were directly in front of him. These three massive snakes were held immobile as the dark aura was being drawn from them.
What was the dark aura and how was it rendering them immobile? The two things seemed distinct but it seemed like one was a causative factor of the other.
And no matter how you looked at it, it was as if the dark aura leaving their bodies had caused them to be immobile.
'How does he do that?' I wondered.
But there was no time to do that either. There was something very important I needed to do if we were all going to clear this quest.
I immediately summoned the eye of solace from my inventory. Hopefully, it will be enough to calm Sky down from the immeasurable fear that seemed to have her in a chokehold.
Immediately I felt the amulet around my neck a new surge of energy passed through my body. All the fear that I felt phased out and replacing it was unexceptional calmness.
I looked at Sky and focused that energy on her. There were no guidelines on how to use the amulet but It felt right. In a few moments, Sky stood in a stance similar to that of Hassan and was exuding a different aura; an aura of certainty that had replaced the crippling fear.