Seraphina stood still, her eyes fixed on the small deer. The vine around her foot tightened slightly, but it didn't hurt her at all. Edwin, Harold, and Samuel remained on alert, their hands on their weapon, ready to respond to any sudden threat.
"Should we just kill it?"
Samuel said as he was about to draw his sword, however, he was stopped by Edwin.
"Lady Seraphina, do you think the deer is trying to tell us something?"
Edwin asked, his eyes focused on Seraphina's actions rather than the others. So far the deer hadn't attacked them even though it had the chance, so he knew something was odd.
Seraphina nodded slowly, her mind moved as she pieced together the situation from the little information she had. Every time she tried to go forward, the deer would stop her, it only did it when she went forward.
It was clearly trying to stop her from going there, but why.
"It's not attacking us. it could be warning us about something ahead."
She knelt down to gently touch the vine, which loosened its grip slightly. The deer continued to watch them, its eyes glowing softly in the dim light of the forest.
"What should we do?"
Harold asked, his voice tense.
Seraphina took a deep breath and stood up, her eyes never leaving the deer for a second.
"I think we should follow it. It might lead us away from danger."
The knights exchanged wary glances but nodded in agreement. Seraphina carefully moved closer to the deer, holding out her hand she made sure to show she meant no harm to it.
The deer watched as she approached, then turned and started to walk away, glancing back occasionally to make sure she was following behind it.
The group moved cautiously through the forest, following the deer's lead. The terrain grew more challenging as they moved, with thicker underbrush and twisted roots making the journey difficult. Despite the obstacles, they did not come across any danger.
Seraphina trusted the deer to guide them, and the knights trusted Seraphina to take the lead, as such they pressed on.
After about an hour of following the deer and running across no other creature, they emerged from the overgrowth bushes and into a small clearing. The deer stopped at the edge and looked back at them, its eyes conveying an unknown emotion.
"This must be the place."
Samuel whispered, his grip tightening on his sword in case anything jumped out, he still didn't trust the deer.
Seraphina on the other hand walked forward, her eyes scanning the clearing as she moved. As her eyes scanned the area, it landed on a large rock formation in the center.
Something about the place felt different, almost as if the air itself was thicker. The air felt almost, fluid, as if filled with an invisible energy that made the hair on her arms stand up.
Edwin stepped forward, his eyes narrowing as he examined the rock formation.
"There's something here. I can feel the aura inside of me moving on its own."
As they approached the formation, the deer moved closer to Seraphina, its eyes focused on her. She reached out a hand as the deer moved closer, and the deer nuzzled it gently before stepping back.
Suddenly, a low rumbling sound filled the clearing, and the ground began to shake. The knights drew their weapons, forming a protective circle around Seraphina.
The rock formation started to shake, and cracks began to form around it. A bright light leaked from the cracks, and as the cracks grew larger, the bright glow embraced the area more.
"What's happening?"
Harold shouted, his voice barely audible over the loud sound of the rumbling.
"I don't know, but stay alert!"
Edwin commanded, his eyes locked on the light, as his body moved closer to Seraphina to defend her if something happened.
The light grew brighter, and the cracks on the rock widened. Finally, with a loud explosion that carried no force, the rocks shattered and turned into a cloud of dust.
As the dust settled down, it revealed a hidden chamber beneath. The light dimmed as the rocks vanished, revealing a stone pedestal in the center of the chamber. On top of the pedestal was a glowing crystal, pulsating with an ethereal light.
Seraphina's eyes widened in awe as she stepped closer to the pedestal unconsciously, her body moving on its own as it felt attracted to the crystal.
"This is... incredible."
Edwin moved cautiously and stopped Seraphina, who snapped out of the dazed state and focused on the situation at hand. Their eyes scanned the chamber for any signs of danger.
"It looks like some kind of magical relic."
The deer, having done its job, lowered its head slightly to Seraphina, rubbing its head against her side before it turned and vanished into the forest.
Seraphina was confused, but she felt a sense of gratitude towards the creature, knowing it had led them to something extraordinary. In fact, she didn't even know what the creature was, but it was clearly not normal.
As they examined the crystal, Seraphina addressed the group.
"This must be what the deer wanted to show us, it knew this was here. It was probably waiting for someone to find it."
Samuel nodded, his eyes filled with wonder at the sight of such a magical thing.
"But what does it do?"
As they moved closer slowly, Edwin approached the pedestal to get a closer look; his sword ready in case something happened. However nothing as expected happened, instead he noticed markings on the pedestal that held the crystal.
Kneeling down, he wiped the dust off and read the name that was carved into the stone.
"Arcane Crystal."
As everyone heard the word, there was a mixture of reactions amongst the group. For Seraphina and Samuel, who had never heard the name before, they were both still confused.
However Harold's eyes instantly widened in surprise, and Edwin was not much different.
"Wait, I think I know what this is."
Edwin said as he stood up and turned to address the group; however, before he could finish speaking something unexpected happened.
Harold grabbed Seraphina suddenly from behind, and placed his blade on her neck; binding her from moving. Taking a short step back, he spoke loud enough for everyone to hear.
"No rash movements, one wrong move, and her neck is opened. I'm sure you know I can kill her quicker than you can reach me."
"What the..."
The situation escalated so quickly that Seraphina didn't even have time to react, she didn't expect Harold to suddenly grab her from behind so she wasn't on guard against him. By the time she had registered what was going on, she was already in a dangerous situation.
"Calm down Harold, what are you doing?"
Edwin said, his voice stern but calm, trying to de-escalate the situation.