The cuts inflicted on Barlow by Rollin were small and superficial. Even the blood dripping from his eye, where he had been spat on, seemed more serious than the cuts themselves.
In the room, everyone faced each other, except for Martin, and Tello's dog Arrow who remained in his steel cage barking at the enemy. As for Martin he was long gone nowhere to be seen after his opponent had attacked Rollin. As for the enemy they had one, she had been completely obliterated by Tello.
It was now three intruders against Rollin, Tello, and Joey.
Tello, Joey, and Rollin immediately fell into an old formation of theirs, countering the enemies' tactics. Sensing the danger, the second woman unsheathed her elegant sword, and Barlow rushed toward his axe, which now emitted a vibrant, bright green glow.
However, Joey intervened, unleashing a volley of multiple arrows to prevent Barlow from reaching his weapon.
Fortunately for Barlow, his companions swiftly deflected the incoming arrows with her sword, demonstrating remarkable speed and skill. This allowed the axe to be safely reunited with Barlow.
Just as Rollin and Tello closed in on the intruders, Barlow sliced his glowing axe towards the trio who were too far to be physically hit. A green rift opened up; the three intruders then leaped into the shimmering green portal.
"What the fuck was that Tello!?" Rollin shouted at Tello in frustration.
Equally frustrated, Tello shouted back, "How the fuck am I supposed to know? Do you think I would be caught off guard if I knew there was a hit out on me?!"
Meanwhile, Joey surveyed the wreckage, suddenly the entirety of Scorched Mountain began rumbling once again. "Ahhh, shit! The post-breach system is activating. Brace yourselves!" exclaimed Tello.
As soon as Tello finished his sentence, the entire mountain vanished. A giant crater was left in its place it was Scorched Mountains signature of its time in the forests of Asutan.
The displacement of such a vast amount of space created a vacuum effect, collapsing the air and uprooting entire trees and animals.
Amidst the debris soaring upwards, a dark-skinned, naked man could be seen, screaming at the top of his lungs. It was Martin, the moment he saw the opportunity to leave he ran.
MOMENTS AGO:
Martin had sprinted down Scorched Martin somehow avoiding all the rune minefields. He put to use the muscular tall physique; he was given sprinting at top speed. He entered the forest with great stride but in an instant, the Mountain behind him vanished into thin air.
A powerful gust of wind erupted due to the space displacement caused by the massive teleportation, lifting him into the air alongside a whirlwind of dirt, trees, and wildlife.
Amidst the chaos, a thunderous clap resonated from above, and Martin began falling.
However, the ground below was strewn with the remnants of shattered trees softening his landing.
After crawling out of the wreckage caused by Scorched Mountain's teleportation, Martin gazed up at the morning sky he was naked with tears streaming down his face. The sun still hung low, casting its gentle glow upon the earth.
PRESENT TIME:
Somewhere through hyperspace a pale mountain with a weathered and scarred surface drifted by before vanishing from sight.
In a distant land a tremor reverberated through the ground, followed by a resounding explosion. It was as if Scorched Mountain itself was announcing its presence.
However, before anyone could fully take in the sight of the strange mountain, it disappeared, cloaked by its magic.
Fortunately, there were no witnesses to the event. In fact, there didn't seem to be anyone within visible distance.
At the summit of Scorched Mountain, within the dilapidated mansion, Joey was puking up clumps of red hair, while Rollin expelled large quantities of uncooked beans, succumbing to nausea.
Meanwhile, Tello took a deep breath, seemingly having held his breath throughout the ordeal, managing to avoid vomiting. "Come on, guys, this isn't your first ride. You should already know how she works," Tello remarked in a condescending tone.
Once he had regained his composure, Rollin surveyed the damage caused by the intruders before remarking, "I could really use something to kick right about now. Where's Martin?"
Joey, having finished extracting the last strands of hair from his tongue, replied, "While examining the remnants of the woman that Tello had eliminated, I noticed faint footsteps leading up the stairway. I'm sure they belonged to Martin."
Rollin responded, somewhat exasperated, "Of course they did. That slippery weasel has a knack for slipping out of trouble. Anyways, Tello, where the hell did your Mountain transport us to?"
"Let's go see." Tello replied walking up the basement, Joey and Tello followed. The trio walked outside the mansion, finding themselves at the top of Scorched Mountain. From here, they could see vast stretches of desolate plains, with an occasional bush here and there.
"These are the Dead Lands, which means were either at the top or bottom of Asutan and Morroglosa. Actually, not a bad place to be. It's so isolated that we have ample time to regroup and plot a way to figure out why the state of Morroglosa wants me dead," Tello stated.
Joey cast a greedy look at Rollin, who then voiced his thoughts to Tello, "You don't have to ask we'll both help you out with this little problem of yours. After all, we are friends. But remember, you'll owe us big after this. Maybe you'll let us have a look through your grandad's chest?"
Without turning back, Tello responded with a dismissive tone, "Yeah, sure, whatever. But we have to get moving, the faster we move, the better."
Tello swiftly re-entered the raggedy mansion, with a happy and giddy Joey and Rollin following behind.
Tello made his way to the highest floor in the left wing of the mansion closely followed by Rollin and Joey.
This was where his chemical laboratory was located, adorned with glass vessels of various sizes, each filled with vibrant colors.
"The fact that they were able to identify me means they will soon identify the both of you. Their intelligence network must be extensive for them to pinpoint the whereabouts of my grandfather's Scorched Mountain." Tello quickly spoke as he rummaged through different handwritten books of his.
He stopped in a specific page while speaking to Joey and Rollin. "This is a perfect opportunity to see how useful my transformation magic can be," he said with a wide smile.
He then opened an old, ornate wooden cabinet, revealing five glass vials containing a peculiar yellow liquid.
As Rollin examined the room, he couldn't resist taking a few of the vials for himself.
Suddenly, Joey said in a loud voice with a stern tone, "I think not. There's no way in hell i'm letting you put experimental transformation magic on me."
Rollin, realizing why Joey was worked up joined in protest, exclaiming, "Yeah, Tello! We won't let you piss on us like you did on Martin, I'll fucking kill you for real."
Tello calmly picked up three of the five yellow vials, assuring them, "Relax, what I showed you with Martin was the prototype. These five right here are the finished product. No golden showers and minimal flames with this batch." He spoke with a sense of pride in his voice.
"Minimal flames? Regardless, that's not the point. How do I know you can transform us back to ourselves?" Joey questioned, still unconvinced by Tello's pitch.
"That's a valid concern, Joey. But this batch is unique in that aspect. All you have to do is focus on how you originally looked followed by the thought that was in your head when you first transformed," Tello explained.
He added his own personal advice "I suggest thinking of a solid color or a unique word that you won't forget when you first transform."
Tello proceeded to consume one of the vials. Within moments, his skin began to break out in a gentle flame, gradually turning into ash. In a matter of seconds, he had physically transformed into someone else.
Tello was now a medium height brown haired perky girl around her twenties. Joey and Rollin both burst out into laughter as their tall dark-haired friend turned into a girl before their eyes.
"Hahahaha, yeah Tello, I think we'll pass on this one brother, as long as you keep your profile low, we should be good." Rollin said almost crying with laughter.
"Whatever, you're just making things harder now. It's almost noon anyway, and I need to let Arrow out of his cage. After I'll produce a map of our surroundings, make yourselves useful and go clean up the basement" Tello declared.
An hour later, the three walked through the plains. Tello however was now a small brown-haired girl he examined the map he had created.
Arrow was left roaming free back in Scorched Mountain guarding the mansion.
Meanwhile, Joey and Rollin kept a distance away from Tello occasionally looking at their friend still trying to grapple with the fact that Tello really had turned into a girl.
Tello unaware of their behavior loudly said "Guys, it seems we're in the Southern Dead Lands. There's a small neutral village near us. They should have a way of getting us past the border of Morroglosa. These neutral villagers excavate the grounds of the Dead Lands for ancient artifacts, which they use to trade with city merchants of Morroglosa,"
With an exasperated sigh, Joey said to Rollin, "It's Tello. It's better if we just get used to his eccentric behavior now."
Rollin awkwardly paused "Yea I know that but why does she have to be so cute..." he mumbled under his breath before catching up with the both of them.