After running for a while in the woods, I eventually slowed down my pace as I stopped hearing the sounds of fighting between the hunter and the beast. I finally have a chance to catch my breath and think again. That's when I realized something important...
"....Where am I?"
I'm lost.
I've been running around the woods for a while now that I completely forgot which direction I came from. The only thing I could see are trees, and to make things worst...
"The mist is getting stronger..."
The longer I continued to walk forward, the more the mist seems to thicken into a fog.
Should I take a different direction? But I remember a random video I saw about survival tips saying that if I'm ever lost in the woods I should choose one direction and stick to it, or was that a video of what not do in this situation...
I stopped in my tracks and readjusted the wounded woman in my arms so it will be easier to carry her and see where I'm headed. Then I take a deep breath as I whisper to myself.
"Luck don't fail me now."
As I started walking forward
The more I walked, the more thicker the mist got until it turned into a fog.
The fog grew thick enough, to the point where I can't see my own legs.
I kept walking until the mist eventually began to lift revealing a silhouette. As I kept walking the silhouette reveals itself as a wooden cabin.
The cabin was not too big or too small, with a porch in the front and several glass windows attached to it. There was no light coming from inside the cabin but it looked fairly well maintained.
I approached the front door and see a door knocker attached to its center. I took a deep breath and knocked twice, at the second knock the door opened on its own sending shivers down my spine at the thought that this place might be haunted.
I slowly and carefully entered the cabin. Inside I see an unlit fireplace with a cauldron attached to it, facing it is a small table and a couch. Besides the fireplace is a counter with several shelves and cabinets. The floor is riddled with books, upon closer inspection the topics on these books cover a wide range of topics from human anatomy, alchemy, zoology, botany, history and sorcery.
Wait alchemy?
I gently laid the woman down on the couch and picked up the book about alchemy, then I started reading.
Hellfire Butterfly Wings... Flower Tears... Amethyst Dust...
The book was filled with various recipes and instructions on how to use alchemic ingredients.
Yep, these are the recipes for alchemy I made. I never thought they would be written out like some sort of encyclopedia though. The only reason I ever made it this detailed was because of a 5 minute burst of inspiration I had. To bad I never used it again after 2 chapters, but it looks like they've come in handy. Wait this isn't the time to be amazed right now.
I flipped through several pages until I get to a page titled Redroot.
________________________________________________
Redroot
One of the two types of roots that come from a plant called Panaceon. A plant that has a distinct silver stem and a large red bulb coming out of the top, which is actually the seed of the plant. Redroot as its name suggests, is a thick root but without any lateral roots or root hairs, seemingly only made up of the primary root. It has a distinct bright red color and has a scent which was described by one alchemist as a mixture between a cherry and an apple.
Redroot has properties that can help the with the growth and regenerative qualities of lifeforms, thus redroot is usually used in many medicines and tiny bits of it are added into high quality fertilizers. Many alchemists from past to present have been researching a way to mass produce redroot, or make a breed of panaceon that is easier to cultivate.
________________________________________________
Found it!
I scanned through the section and found the recipe on how to treat an open wound with redroot. It listed the items that I would need for this:
-Mortar and pestle
-Measuring dropper
-Water
-Redroot
If the owner of the house had a book like this around, then there's a good chance that person practices alchemy and has all necessary equipment. I went over to the counter and started rummaging through the shelves and cabinets. There I found a mortar and pestle, and a glass jar with what appears to be a redroot inside of it. I found an item that might be the measuring dropper, it looks like a measuring spoon with a cap on top and a small hole in the bottom. But after trying and failing to understand how to use it, I decided to look for the water instead. I continued to search for a container of water, but sadly I couldn't find any at all, instead I found what looks to be some sort of short twisted metal with a pointy end.
?!!
Is this a?!
I could hardly contain my excitement as I start rummaging through the shelves again and pull out two glass containers, one filled with purple dust and one filled with blue dust.
If I'm right then these two should be amethyst dust and river tears...
I was so excited that I didn't even bother checking the alchemy book this time. Slightly dipping the twisted metal into the container of purple dust, then right after that, dipped it into the container of blue dust.
I held the twisted metal in my hand while it slightly shakes from excitement and nervousness. I silently gulped as I swung the twisted metal in my hand downwards. The twisted metal then lights up with a blue hue as water starts pouring out of the end of the metal. Barely containing my excitement I grabbed the empty glass container that used to house the redroot and started filling it with water. It was no ordinary piece of twisted metal, but a wand.
As I see the container being filled with water, I wanted to scream, but then I remembered that there was someone resting right now. So instead I started silently screaming.
Magic! Magic! I MADE MAGIC!!!!!!!
My body could barely contain its happiness as it starts quietly hopping. It is every fantasy fan's dream to be able to use magic, and to see it happen with my own two eyes and to use it with my own two hands made me start shaking like a chihuahua on meth.
Eventually I calmed down and started the recipe. First step was to cut a small portion of the redroot and then to crush it with the mortar and pestle. Next step is to pour 500 mg of crushed redroot to an ounce of water. But since I don't have/know how to use the measuring dropper, I decided to rely on assumptions instead as I take a small pinch of the crushed redroot and dropped into the glass container filled with water, before giving it a stir. The mixture's color then turned into a deep shade of red just as the book said. The book then states that I should use a piece of cloth to apply the mixture to the wound.
I go over to the woman and slowly opened the part of her clothes where the wound is located, timidly trying to avoid as much skin contact as I possibly could. Around her stomach is a deep wound that is around 5 inches long, the wound seems to have stopped bleeding but the woman is still breathing so she hasn't died because of blood loss yet.
It looks pretty deep... should I just apply it as is?
I continued to read trough the book and found a passage on the same page as the recipe.
In case of any deep wounds, you should first stitch the wound close before applying the mixture...
Stitching? I don't think I can pull that off, I'll probably mess it up and accidentally stitch her intestines or kidney or something...
That's when I had an idea. I ran back to the counter and started rummaging in the shelves until I found a glass container with a solid dark green substance inside it.
Swamp Muck... It looks like a dirty piece of homemade slime...
I go back over to the woman, there I started to try and scrape some of the swamp muck off of its container with the wand. The task proving to be difficult because of how sticky the swamp muck is, but eventually I managed to scrape of a decent portion of it. Then I started tearing the swamp muck into even smaller portions in my hand and rolling it into small balls. Next I slightly dipped the small balls of swamp muck into the redroot mixture. I then attached the small balls of swamp muck at the edges of her wound.
"T-this will p-probably hurt... A lot..."
I then used my hand to squeeze her wound close. I see her face writhe in pain, but it ultimately worked as the wound is now closed. I then tore off a piece of cloth from the rags I'm wearing and dipped it into the redroot mixture, then gently wiping it the wound with it.
Eventually she seems to have calmed down as her breathing looks more relaxed now. I breathed a sigh of relief as I picked up the wand and go over to counter. There I picked up a small glass container filled with orange dust, which is most likely hellfire wings.
I'm just doing this to light a fire in the fireplace so both of us can stay warm. This is definitely not an excuse to use magic again, definitely not, absolutely not.
I slightly dipped the wand in the glass of amethyst dust then dipped it again in the glass of hellfire wing dust. I then swung the wand and aimed it at the fireplace, releasing a burst of heat coming out of the end of the wand as the fireplace lights up the room. Seeing the fire leaves a satisfied grin on my face.
I then spot a small standing mirror in the counter that I couldn't see before because of the dark, and I was reminded by my sudden appearance change.
But why did I suddenly change? Is it because I encountered a chaos beast and a weird connection transformed me into this? Or does this transformation only happen when my life is in danger?
I then thought about what the chaos beast said to me.
Am I really the Archdemon or did it mistake me? I never really described what the archdemon really looked like under all his armor. The similarities I do share with the Archdemon is our horns, eyes, wings, and tail but besides from that... How am I sure that this isn't a common look in demon kind? How should I know? I've never seen any demons, and I only wrote down two other demons in my novel. For all I know there could be a lot of other demons that look similar to the Archdemon.
I then continue to look in the mirror and tried to stretch my wings. The wings are much bigger than my own body and surprisingly it didn't feel weird to move them, it felt natural like I was moving my arms. I look back to try and see my tail, but it's too short, and I only got to see a glimpse of the tip before it disappears behind me.
Is this what dogs feel like when chasing their tails?
I then look back at my wings, moving them up and down.
Wait... what if I?
I spread my wings, and pulled it back, then I flapped them. A strong gust of wind comes out, causing the fire to be blown out and several of the glass containers knocking over their contents in the counter and floor.
"Ah."
After relighting the fire I then started pouring the alchemic materials back into their glass containers, after which I started placing them back on the shelves.
*Yawn*
"Now that I think about it, I've been running all day... I should get some sleep..."
Not seeing a bed anywhere, and the sofa being taken, I decided to sleep on the floor close to the fireplace. As I laid down, the wings on my back made it extremely uncomfortable and I was forced to sleep sideways.
*************************************
A Witch's Perspective
I wake up from what seems to have been a long and painful dream. I try to recall what happened before I passed out.
If I recall correctly I was being chased, and I was wounded by hunters, then a young man helped me.
I had to periodically stay conscious to stop my wound from bleeding any further, so I could recall some parts of what happened.
Then I was chased by an otherhunter and I recall being attacked by a chaos beast, then...
I open my eyes and I was greeted with the ceiling of my own house.
I'm back home?
I slowly get up and feel a tinge of pain in my abdomen. I look over to see the massive wound on my abdomen has now disappeared. It was replaced by a long scar on where the wound used to be and the lingering scent of cherries and apples.
It seems someone used redroot to treat me...
I look over to my counter and see several containers misplaced, with tools laid on top of it and dust stains on the floor.
It seems to have been my redroot.
I look over to the fireplace which has been lit and in front of it is a person with long bat like wings and horns in his head.
I thought it was a hallucination when I was suddenly carried by a demon, but apparently it was not.
I have heard many stories about the armies of chaos and the demons that commanded them from the murmurs of the nearby village where I buy my ingredients from, and from the witches at the Coven. They said that they have burned cities and committed many atrocities for no apparent cause. The demons where said to lead the chaos beast into battle, acting as their commanders, and one of those demons is currently sleeping in front my fireplace.
...
I get up from the sofa and make my way closer to him. He seems to be in a deep sleep, tired most likely. He seems to be at peace and vulnerable to attacks.
Why did he save me, to even go as far as to treat me? Did he plan on using me? If so, then why is he blatantly showing off that he is a demon? What is he trying to accomplish?
I knelt down and poke his head, only to have no reactions nor sense any sort of spell that protects him.
I stand back up and raised my hand, the ceiling of my house started twisting right on top of me forming something akin to a spear with a spiral tip. I bring my hand down and the spear fired off like an arrow from a bow and stopped right at the man's eyelid.
...
...
No reaction...
*sigh*
With a quick wave of my hand, the spear returns to the ceiling of the house.
Another wave of my hand causes the floors in the house to gently lift the man into the sofa.
If he planned this, then he has thoroughly tricked me.