Perspective : Conrad Garnier
As, I glared deep into a never ending hellscape,
Thor Gild commented, "If you fell there not even your bones will be found".
"I wish .... I could throw you in myself .... but there are too many witnesses".
I replied, "Yeah ... you would love that .... won't you?".
Thor Gild shrugged.
He was clearly revealing his true intentions. so, I had to keep a close watch on him going forward. Sensing the impending danger, I quickly stepped away from the edge, preventing Thor Gild from potentially throwing me into the deep abyss below, as I found myself standing on the brink of an unfathomable chasm.
We were traveling for 3 hours straight. Ever since, we left the City of Ustrax this morning.
The guild assigned 20 adventurers to this expedition, had some familiar faces and some new ones, that the guild deemed strong enough to let them participate in this wild goose chase.
They gave us three carriages worth of supplies and 4 carriages for carrying us . Because we were climbing a snowy mountain with a narrow foot hill we needed to walk, the horses would not be able to drag us along with the cargo.
That's why, I followed the convoy on foot.
After trekking through the snow for some time, we finally reached a flat area. I climbed onto my carriage, taking hold of the reins. Yuna then joined me at the front and expressed her exhaustion, saying,
"I'm tired of smelling that male musk ... while sitting in this damp carriage... I need some fresh air."
Since there was enough room for both of us, I responded,
"Yeah sure."
I gently petted the horses, the carriage started moving.
Yuna took out a bottle of wine from the cleavage of her giant breasts, and was about to have a sip, that was, when I stopped her.
I said,
"You are going to start drinking this early in the morning".
She replied,
"There is no time or place for drinking".
I commented,
"Too much drinking is not good for your health you know".
I said in a haunting tone,,
"It might even kill you".
Yuna giggled,
"Don't do that .... you look hilarious".
"I am already 400 years old, kid ... trust me ... if it kills me that would be a favour for me .... I have overstayed my welcome anyway".
I didn't knew how to respond to that as it appeared both sad and self centred.
So, I stayed silent.
But for some reason I had a urge to stop her from drinking, call it a premonition if you will. I had a gut feeling, that we were going to need her down the road, and If she was plastered, she won't be of any use.
So, I said
"We might need you .... being tipsy this early might not help".
She agreed and discreetly returned her bottle to her breast's cleavage, creating an intriguing sight. However, it's best not to think about it too much, as it could be interpreted as a wrong gesture.
She said,
"Since I am not drinking .... you have to entertain me along the way".
I wasn't aware of the kind of entertainment she hoped ,that she would get out of me.
Prompting me to ignore her.
She said
, " You know I am a witch right .... I have the power to predict your future .... want me to do it for you?".
She offered out of nowhere.
Even though, we live in a world full of magic and unbelievable things that don't follow logical explanations, which we often attribute them to a higher power called "God." Personally, I was never the one to get caught up in pointless predictions or speculations because it takes away from the joy of living. Life is more meaningful and enjoyable when you don't know what's coming next—anticipating everything in advance would make it boring.
So, I declined her offer.
She became furious and asked,
"Why did you say no .... don't you believe me?".
I replied,
"I believe you but knowing what's coming will suck the joy out of living".
She replied,
"I understand .... have to tell you I am quite impressed .... whenever I say that I can predict the future to other people, they would often ask me to predict the result of a gambling bout or, something about their love life".
In appreciation, I replied.
"I am glad you understand".
But she insisted anyway,
"Since you are being so much of a gentleman, I would do it for free this time".
And she didn't listen to me, she threw whatever I said to her, straight out of the freaking window.
She took cards out of her cleavage,
Then I heard a voice,
"Future".
It was Regina she was peeking her head out of the curtains.
I said in a distressed voice,
"And what do you want?".
She puffed her cheeks and said,
"It's way to damped and hot in here".
What did they think I was?, a moron, we were in the middle of a snowy expanse and they were feeling hot!
Yuna shuffled her cards and said,
"Come on pick one".
I replied, "Even though I said no, you are going to do it anyway".
She replied, "I am bored ..... so hurry up and pick one .... or else, I will pick for you".
In a furious voice I said,
"Then why don't you look your own future?".
She replied,
"I did, and for the next 1000 years .....I would wonder the world in complete solitude".
Well, that was unexpectedly sad and once again I didn't knew how to react?, so, instead I took a card from the deck, from her hands.
"This one". I said.
She replied, "let me see".
And took that card.
She asked, "What would you want to know?".
As much as I wanted that to end, I could sense Regina's curious gaze..
I replied, "Whatever?".
She replied,
"That's no fun ... you are acting as if I am forcing you ".
"[Because you were forcing me. are all witches lunatics.]"
Then she chose one,
"Let's see about this expedition .... will you die or survive".
I intervened to stop her from finding out if I could survive this expedition or not. If by any chance I didn't make it, I would prefer to keep fighting until the very end, rather than feeling hopeless and giving up. And if I managed to survive, I would like to feel that I truly earned it, instead of being careless and losing something that was more valuable than my own life.
So, I said "No".
Yuna nodded and said "Let's see your romantic life than .... who would be your partner".
I could sense Regina's gaze growing tense.. Maybe, she was just bored.
Yuna began her prediction, saying,
"Let's see, based on this...".
Suddenly, she paused and covered her mouth, her expression revealing shock.
Being curious, I asked,
"What... what did you see?".
Regina also asked with the same curiosity.
Yuna hesitated before responding,
"I'm not sure how to break this to you, but it seems your love life is surrounded by shadows... if you're not careful, these dark entities could consume your entire future."
I didn't knew what she meant but that definitely was nonsense. A part of me knew that she was messing with me.
Then she leaned her head towards Regina and said,
"Let's see there is about a 50 - 50 chance".
"Best of luck".
Regina nodded. I couldn't understand why she would say that, but perhaps she was attempting to provoke a reaction from Regina.
In a sudden rush the cart before us stopped,
So, I too had to stop our cart.
The convoy was halted.
I shouted to the cart in front of us,
"Oye!, why did you stop?".
He said, "There is a frozen lake in front of us".
I replied, "Then what's the problem, let's get moving".
He said, "I don't know If the Ice can hold our carts".
"Sorry can't risk it".
Then another one from my back shouted,
"Then should we turn back".
Out of the blue I heard a sudden knocking sound coming from my cart. To my amazement, a lady with beautiful long green hair appeared before me. Strangely enough, she seemed familiar, but I couldn't quite recall where I had seen her before. She was wearing a vibrant red hood and carrying a gleaming red sword. Interestingly, she appeared to be acquainted with Yuna.
She said, "Might I borrow her for a bit".
I was already fed up with Yuna's chatter, in addition, I was impressed that she asked me before taking her, such respect, I couldn't say no.
So I said,
"Yeah .... she is all yours".
For a while as I sat there enjoying hot tea as the cold winds gently caressed my hands. Then, I caught the sound of enthusiastic cheers echoing from the front. They piqued my curiosity. So, Intrigued by the commotion, I made my way towards the source to witness what was going on.
Along the front carriage, adventurers gathered to witness, what Yuna was doing.
Using her want she flew above the frozen lake and started chanting,
As she finished chanting, sparkling droplets of water fell from the sky, gathering and forming a delicate layer atop the icy surface of the frozen lake. It was at this moment that Yuna, with her ice magic, summoned a mighty gust of wind, causing the water to freeze instantaneously. Reinforcing the already existing ice sheet, enabling safe passage across the lake.
After that,
Yuna once again sat beside me,
She asked
"You saw that right .... my magnificence .... what do you think?".
She said that proudly hoping a praise.
But I replied,
"Nothing .... what else can you expect from an Orichalcum class adventurer".
My response was a bit realistic.
After witnessing "her" magnificence that night nothing would be able to surprise me again.
My lack of response, made her quiet for a bit.
As we crossed the frozen lake, we finally saw the "Weeping Forest".
However,
Inside the woods we heard howling.
If we ventured inside, Dare wolves would attack us.
Dare wolves were really fierce creatures that resemble regular wolves, except they're bigger and they roam in groups of 40 to 60 wolves. If we were to enter their territory, we would quickly find ourselves surrounded by these beasts.