Flying through the darkness, Alistair wrapped his arms tightly around the broomstick. By its angle, he could tell that he was gradually gaining altitude.
He clutched tightly at his pocket that contained the totem, his ticket to the next training, according to the witch.
"I wondered what scary creature I would have to put up with next. And what gruesome training I would be put through, that would be enough to take down this Ignitius character." He thought.
Chilled air flowed over him, so strongly that his eyes began to water, sending thin streams of tears across his cheeks.
He advanced at a pace, not faster than a race car, but beyond human capabilities. Honestly, he was thankful for that.
Because, he could cover more ground before daybreak, without worrying too much about dying by a psychotic broomstick, zapping at the speed of light.
As he soared through the air, he focused all his attention on the sounds that echoed in the darkness.
The broomstick beneath him emitted a whistle that reminded him of the powerful engines in high-performance cars from his past life.
"A well-maintained witch automobile," he chuckled. In this moment, he savored the exhilaration of flight for the first time in his existence.
The surrounding darkness only intensified his feeling of boundless freedom, free from any constraints.
With the wind against his face, he caught a glimpse of the extraordinary sensation that gliders experienced. He strained his eyes to push back the thickening darkness as he made progress.
The dense, black clouds poured over the Dark Hills like a flowing ink, enveloping them just as they did him.
"It's as if I'm flying over a perpetual night," he mused, tightening his grip. With great effort, he managed to perceive some shapes of the hills rising below.
At one moment, he witnessed the land drop into a steep valley hidden by a dense forest, accompanied by the eerie hoot of an owl. Soon after, the echoing cries of goblins mixed with the flickering light of a group of flaming torches.
And to the east where he was headed, he saw an eerie light in the trees that looked like the trees were on fire.
Then came the screams of a girl, loud enough to reach him. It sounded more humany than anything he had heard since he entered this world. And it was coming from the fire.
"None of your business, Alistair. You've got an agenda of your own, just stick to it." He persuaded himself to keep going, but his curiosity was too strong. Sometimes, he believed it would be the end of him.
"Well I've got this witch bicycle. I could swoop out of the place in the sight of danger." He thought, divided headlong towards the cover of trees near where the flames raged.
As he ventured into the forest, his broomstick emitted soft, pale blue light that gently pushed back the darkness. He navigated through the towering trees and tangled branches, a peculiar sensation gradually crowding him.
He attempted to identify the source of this feeling, considering the presence of goblins, another swamp, or even the mere absence of light. Yet, it was unlike any of those possibilities. Or perhaps came from all of them combined.
"Feels like someone or, rather, something is watching me. Whatever or whoever it is, they are aware of my presence. Have I made the correct decision in coming here?" Alistair pondered within himself, cautiously gliding about five feet above the forest floor.
Then he glimpsed a pair of red butterflies floating among the mesh of branches. He watched as they got themselves trapped in a thick silk of spider web. Then the giant spider with a network of many red eyes pounced on them.
He turned to the sound of a squirrel with large eyes staring at him, until a carnivorous plant opened it mouth and bit hard on it. All this was increasing his fear of this place.
As if that weren't enough horror, He heard a series of loud caws, causing him to turn to the sight of countless crows flapping his way.
"Shit!" He exclaimed, in response, the broomstick burst in speed, heading right towards the flame a few clicks ahead.
Regardless of his speed, they were gaining on him. What Alistair has learned so far was that every territory was owned by someone.
"This could be their vicinity, and I'm trespassing." He screamed inwardly, with panic written all over his body. It felt as though they were faster, or the forest was just slowing him down like the swamp.
And not long after, their talons clamped down on his shoulders. Then, with might creak of their wing bones and flaps of their feathers, Alistair felt himself being lifted.
"Aaahhh! They're taking me away!" He screamed his lungs out while spinning uncontrollably from losing his balance.
He flew in circles, bashing into the canopies of branches all around him, yet, he couldn't shake them off. In a reckless attempt to lose them, he charged towards a large tree a few meters away.
Suddenly, one of it brunches bent backwards and snapped at him like a slingshot.
"F*ck!" He gasped, slanting to the left to attempt a sharp detour, but he wasn't quick enough. The thin and leafy part of the branch lashed so hard at him that he was swept off the broomstick and went tumbling several meters away.
"Aw, aw, aw! That fucking hurts! What's wrong with everything in this world?" He writhed in pain, neither from the bruises on his body, nor the few broken bones he could feel, but from the area that was struck by the branch. It felt and stung like a lightning bolt.
"I feel there's a cut, I just hope it isn't deep enough to kill me over time." He said, lifting the witch robe to examine the area. However, to his utter surprise, there was no cut on him, and the pain had already disappeared.
"How is this possible?" He exclaimed, tightening his grip on the robe, and that's when he felt a slight warmth from the robe, which quickly left it. "Might it be this tarted rug I am wearing?" He asked himself, unable to figure out any other reason.
He was sure that strike would have killed him if it weren't for the robe he wore. Not only that, but he realized one good thing though—the crows were gone after he got swatted away.
Suddenly, the same scream that led him here in the first place, struck his eyes against. Alistair threw his gaze wayward towards the blazing fire in the distance, and that's when he saw what he could only describe as a struggle.
Gradually he crawled behind a tree and climbed hand over hand onto a branch where he perched and watched the scene.
In the glow of the fire nearby, he could clearly see it, a battle between what looked like a fragile red leafy girl and a group of horrifying spider-like creatures with massive jaws that could crunch out fate.
One of those particularly vicious creatures lunged at her, clamping its jagged jaws onto her fragile arm. The moment of impact was met with an explosion of colors, as her vibrant red blood splattered onto the face of the creature.
"Shit! At this rate, they are going to kill her!" Alistair exclaimed, not knowing whether to jump in and help her. "Ridiculous, what can I even do to help?" He thought.
But to his astonishment, the crimson blood caught fire upon contact, engulfing the creature in a searing blaze. The creature convulsed in agony, its dark exoskeleton ablaze with a terrifying brightness.
"Whoa! So she was the one starting all the first." He thought out loud, as he could hardly believe the strange power her blood possessed.
As the flames consumed the unfortunate creature, the rest of them showed no hesitation. They lunged at her with ravenous fury.
Panic seized her, injecting primal instinct into her being as she fearfully ran through the twisted undergrowth of the forest.
"Shit! I have to do something, anything." Alistair thought, throwing himself down the tree without a second thought or fear of breaking his leg.
"Where's my broomstick, I need my broomstick." He said, running towards the direction he last saw it drop. But then, he was suddenly struck by something.
"Aw!!" He gasped, glancing down at what hit him. "Oh! You came!" It was the broomstick. It seemed to have answered his call by showing up, but he just wasn't aware to grab it before it struck him.
Picking it up from the ground and straddling it, he blasted away in a gust of wind.
With the speed at which he flew, it didn't take long to find their trail. As he got closer, he could feel her footsteps pounding against the forest floor, accompanied by the frenzied sound of snapping twigs and rustling leaves.
"It's now or never, Alistair…Be a knight in shining armor for ones." He yelled, zapping right past the creatures with such speed that ruffled every plant around.
He now rode right behind her. Without hesitation, he swooped by, had grabbed hold of her arm. She shrieked from the fear of having been caught. But Alistair wasted no time in propping her up and onto his back.
The extra weight had slowed them down a bit, causing the creatures to catch up a bit. Upon realizing he wasn't one of those things after her, she gripped on tightly, making him feel the thump of her heart and her heavy breathing.
"I made the right choice by coming to her rescue." Alistair thought, zapping away in an increasing burst of power.
***