Now that he had one of the creatures trapped in a cage of roots and wood, all he had to do next was slowly constrict the cage until he crushed it to death.
Which is exactly what he did. The creature, sensing its impending doom, began whimpering like a hurt puppy.
That sound was enough to make the girls feel pity for it even though it was trying to kill them.
"Emrys stop!" Alannah called out with tears forming in her eyes. Emrys was so blinded by anger that he almost didn't hear her.
But he managed to come to his senses and released the creature. Still unable to see them, they all waited for the next attack but there wasn't one. Fortunately it seemed they were scared off.
Emrys calmed himself down and slowly shrunk back to his normal size. Alannah ran over to Marissa to check on her.
Thankfully she had no injuries, she was just shaken up a little. Marissa vowed to never leave the city ever again. This was the second time her life was put in danger in just two short days.
The two remaining cerberus ran over to Emrys now that the danger was gone. He gave them both a pat on the head for doing a good job protecting the others.
Then he absorbed them back into his body to regain his life force. Doing this should have healed his previous injuries but they persisted, no matter what he did he couldn't heal the claw wounds on his body.
Was this another of their abilities? Emrys thought about it for a moment. Something about these creatures seemed familiar to him.
That's when it struck him like a lightning bolt to the brain. He recalled back to the days when his kin were still alive his father had gone off to the edge of the forest to help fight off an invasive creature that was praying on the creatures of the forest.
A few days later when his father returned, Emrys noticed these deep claw marks and bite wounds all over his body.
No matter what they did they were unable to heal the wounds. Even their most powerful healer couldn't find a way to fix them.
Emrys remembered these wounds persisted for the rest of his life. His father was always in constant pain like the wounds were still fresh.
At the time his father had told him about the beasts he had fought that day. He called them barghest, they were ferocious wolf like creatures that caused wounds that never heal.
If what attacked them was a barghest then these wounds would never heal. This was probably the best outcome, if one of the others had been injured, no matter how small, they would have died.
The only thing Emrys had to worry about was the pain.
No matter what they needed to leave this area before they decide to come back and finish them off.
"Emrys, your hurt." Alannah noticed his wounds. "I think I have a healing potion in my bag." She turned to get the potion but Emrys held up his hand to stop her.
Emrys didn't know such a potion existed. "Don't waste your potion. If I'm right then those creatures were barghest. The wounds they create will never heal."
Hearing this Alannah looked concerned. "If that's true then what will you do?"
Emrys stayed silent. He had no idea what to do, he would just have to live with it for now.
"I might know someone that could help once we get to the capital." She said while holding her chin in thought.
"For now we should get moving." Emrys said just as the the sun started to peak over the horizon. Once everyone recovered from the daunting experience they all got back into the wagon.
Emrys sat in the front where the driver usually sits and asked the horses to start moving.
The wagon lurched forward as they took off towards the capital.
The trip took them a couple of days but they could finally see the capital in the distance. It was a massive city with a large wall surrounding the whole place. It was such a large city that one could hardly see one side from the other.
Emrys was utterly shocked, this was the first time he had seen the human capital. Although he had heard stories before from his kin but that was many, many years ago.
They seem to have grown a lot since those times.
Emrys's train of thought was broken when he heard Alannah's voice in his head. "Emrys lets stop here for a moment."
With that the horses came to a stop and they all left the wagon. Before Emrys could question why they stopped Alannah was already giving orders to her maids. Then they rushed off in the direction of the capital.
"I sent them ahead so they can get you something to cover up with so lets wait here for them to return, okay?" She explained.
Emrys had almost forgotten about his appearance. "I see. Thank you."
Alannah gazed off into the distance while stretching her arms. "I cant wait for you to see the capital up close. Its a wonderful and lively place. By the way, what are your plans once we get inside?" She asked curiously.
Emrys walked over and stood next to her. "I don't know anything about the human capital and I have very limited knowledge about humans as well, so maybe a bit of exploring first."
Alannah glanced at Emrys's injuries and cringed. "While you do that I think ill try to get in contact with someone that might be able to fix you up. And because I forgot to say it earlier, thank you for protecting us." She bowed like a proper noble should.
"Do not worry, it is my purpose to protect others from harm." Emrys said while thinking about his forest and the terrible shape its taken.
"Wait it is? Why?" She questioned.
Emrys was confused for a moment. He had never been asked such a question before. He had never once thought about why he was the one that had this job. As far back as he can remember he and his kin always protected the forest.
Emrys was stunned for a moment. "It is what my ancestors did, it is what we have always done. I'm embarrassed to say that I don't know the reason."
"Surely your people didn't take on such a task for no reason, right?" She said, looking like she was in deep thought. "How long have you protected the forest? How old are you if you don't mind me asking."
He looked at her and answered with a completely straight face. "I've lived for a couple of centuries at least."
"What!? Centuries!?" She was shocked to hear this. She had never heard of any person or creature living for so long.
Seeing the look on her face confused him. "Is that strange? How long do you humans live for?"
"We humans, if were lucky, can live to be one hundred. So you can see why something like that would surprise me. Its probably best if you keep that information to yourself while were here." She said.
Emrys nodded his head to say that he understood. Before they could continue their conversation, Marissa and Georgina returned carrying an article of clothing.
"Were back my lady, and we brought what you asked for." Then she handed the clothing directly to Emrys.
"Good work you two." Alannah looked at Emrys. "Its a magical robe that has a disguising effect. You can use this to blend in with other humans."
Emrys unfurled the robe and held it out in front of himself. If she hadn't said so then he wouldn't have known it was magical. This was the first time he ever used clothing of any kind so he struggled to put it on so the maids stepped up to assist him.
Once the robe was settled on his body the magic inside was activated. It didn't actually change his appearance but it made it so any exposed skin was covered in shadow. Only his head was showing normally until he put the hood up, then you could only see darkness when peering under the hood.
"How does this look?" He looked to Alannah and asked.
"You look kind of shady but it will definitely keep your identity hidden." Alannah said and both of the maids nodded their heads as well.
With that taken care of they all got back in to the wagon and rode down to the front gate of the capital where multiple guards were checking something before letting people through.
Using telepathy he asked Alannah. "What is the purpose of those armored humans?"
"The guards? They take a toll from people before they are allowed to enter the city." She explained. "Don't worry, ill cover your fee. Consider it as thanks for saving our lives."
When it was finally their turn to enter the city, one of the guards stepped in front of the wagon to force them to stop while another came up to the side.
"What business do you have in our fair city this day, traveler?" The guard asked in a rough voice. His hands were covered in calluses showing just how experienced he was. He wore shiny iron armor leaving only the joints uncovered for better freedom of movement.
The guard tried to see under Emrys's hood but his face was covered in shadow. Before he could get too suspicious, Alannah called out to the guard from her window.
"Sir, I have the toll for me and my friends here."