Slowly, but also immediately, we moved forward. Each of us was waiting for a "miracle". The situation we found ourselves in was not favorable. An icy kingdom, a protective dome that prevents you from getting out, hordes of the dead guarding one of the "possible" exits. And not only that. Draugr, Lich, the unknown, and also a whirlwind, which still haunts me and my comrades.
The source of the roar turned out to be much further away than we expected. During the time that we were moving towards it, we heard the roar of wyverns four more times. Even though we were impatient and in anticipation, these emotions could not cloud our minds. We did not forget about masking or precautions.
Finally, after about twenty minutes, we arrived at the finale of our journey. Peeking out from behind the root of one of the giants, we looked around.
Bright moonlight blinded our eyes. In its splendor we saw a clearing shimmering with different shades of white. The icy grass, within which rays of light played, resembled small particles of the unshakable starry sky, and they stood in the center of the clearing.
Did I mention that the trees we encountered earlier were large? Forget, what appeared before our eyes could not be compared with what we had seen before.
Four giant trees, both tall and wide, were intertwined in a spiral. From the very roots to the top, invisible to us, the rings formed by this interweaving were visible. They looked like snakes that were intertwined in a bizarre dance, frozen in this position forever.
What is noteworthy is the complete absence of branches on the trunks of these giants. Not even the slightest knot was visible, only a "smooth" trunk covered with rough, icy bark. Because of this, these trees did not have crowns that could intertwine with the rest of the "garden" of this bath.
At that moment, by some inspiration, I activated my magical vision. Magical energy flashed in my eyes, allowing me to see the other side of this world.
Geyser, that's what came to mind. All the mana, of which there was already an incredible amount, flowed as if "enchanted" to this clearing, and then "exploded" upward, in an unbreakable stream. Just by inhaling this mana, you can understand some hidden meaning hidden in it.
Finally recovering from the shock, I turned my gaze to the inhabitants of this place. About a hundred wyverns roamed the sky. Their wings partially covered the earth, plunging it into shadow, and their scales shone fancifully in the light of the moon and stars.
This is problem. If they might not notice me, then Ala...
"Al," he mentally called his comrade. After waiting for a response, he continued: "What do you think about this?" - nod towards the wyverns. - "Can you hide from the feelings of wyverns the same way as with draugr?"
There was no immediate response. The werewolf silently turned his gaze to the flying lizards and focused his attention on them.
"I'm not sure," Al finally answered me. - "It's fifty-fifty. After all, they are predators, and if they consider me worthy prey, they may well attack me."
Hmm. As I said before, it's problematic. I alone may have been able to climb higher, after all, the "coils" of the tree were incredibly huge, so much so that they could easily accommodate a walking person, something like a natural ladder. However, I have no idea what exactly awaits me there. Maybe a wyvern nest, maybe some kind of ruin, or maybe just an ordinary tree top.
- "You don't have any skills in camouflage? Or an artifact that helps in this matter?
- "There is no artifact, and the camouflage is not as perfect as yours. I'm not sure how long it will last," the werewolf's voice was filled with excitement, embarrassment and guilt? Does he really blame himself for this? And indeed, after listening a little, I realized that his guilt was directed at himself.
Well, that's just what I was missing. A werewolf who fell into depression is definitely not the limit of my dreams. Something needs to be done and preferably quickly.
"Well, we don't have a choice as such," I tried to reassure him, at the same time "directing" my calmness towards the werewolf himself. I may not have done this before, but empants are quite capable of this - transmitting their feelings to others. Why not try it? - "We need to move forward. Who knows what could happen to our squad, and we shouldn't forget about Ed."
Either my words somehow had an effect on him, or my attempt at influencing him was successful, but Al began to come to his senses. The increasingly flaring guilt disappeared, leaving in its place determination mixed with calm. This is what I need. A strong and sane magician, much better than someone who is the same but not sane.
However, we did not immediately go to the trees, no. Initially, we focused on the "plan" of our future actions, also during force majeure. Having outlined an approximate plan of action, we moved forward.
The werewolf walked first in his "reduced" form, while using his method of camouflage. His walking was quite simple, Al passed mana (external) through himself, thereby becoming practically invisible in magical vision. "Almost," that's the rub. If you concentrate hard, it won't be difficult to spot a werewolf. Visually, Al relied on animal instincts. Still, a wolf is not a priority target for wyverns, and they will not be able to discern a werewolf in it.
Immediately after Al I followed, of course, in visa. Even though my disguise is more perfect, we don't know who is waiting for us at the top. It is quite possible that I will be discovered on the way, then Al will act as my defense. Whatever you say, I'm still a child, so he feels responsible for me.
We managed to get to the giants without any problems; the wyverns flying in the sky did not react to us in any way. Maybe they didn't even see our movements.
A slight hitch arose when trying to climb the tree itself. Alas, the first turn was at a level of five meters from the ground. However, such a distance did not become a big obstacle for the werewolf and metamorph.
Once on the tree trunk, I felt an unprecedented surge of strength. Mana flowed around the tree, in the plant itself, and also in us. Each breath oversaturated our magical origin. I wouldn't be surprised that Al will be able to gain minimal abilities in the future at the cryokinesis school.
Looking up and not seeing our destination, we began our ascent. Exciting hours of travel await us ahead.
*****
As I expected, the climb took several hours. Still, the dome was quite high, the turns of the tree were located very close to each other, and we were not moving so fast, but rather, on the contrary, quite slowly.
After overcoming the next turn, we stopped in place to look around and take a short rest. The werewolf technique required quite a lot of strength to support, especially in movement.
Slowly but tirelessly we moved upward until we reached the final destination of our journey. All the way we had a leisurely conversation with the werewolf using artifact rings. We didn't discuss anything, from the banal weather (why?) to preferences in girls (these questions put me into a stupor for a brief moment, which did not escape the eyes of the werewolf). I also happened to learn quite a lot of interesting information. By the way, Flitwick handed over his leadership position just seven years ago. Before this, the group was under his command. Basically, all operations took place during the holidays (usually summer). If a job appeared at a time when the half-goblin could not be present, then Croco took over the command. He was the professor's deputy, and then Al's.
Listening to this, I couldn't help but have a question: Why didn't Croco become a leader? The answer was banal - he didn't want to. The usual reluctance, that's the whole reason.
I also managed to touch Crystal a little. As I understand from the fragments of sentences, Susan is not on good terms with her family. I don't know what exactly, but it seems to be connected with her gift in necromancy.
Surprisingly, the wyverns paid no attention to us. From the word absolutely. No, of course they noticed us, but they didn't do anything. I didn't even try to understand why, yet at the moment I cannot find out the exact reason for this action.
Having climbed almost to the very top, we stopped in place. Something was wrong with this place. Not only I felt this, but also Al. He looks forward so intently.
- "You feel?" — the werewolf asked me warily.
- "Yes. And I'm worried about something," my answer came immediately.
"But we don't have a choice," Al answered somehow doomedly.
- "That's for sure."
After standing still for a little while, Al finally moved forward. Step, next step, third fourth... but as soon as the tenth happened, the wolf's body disappeared, as if plunging into water. From the place of Al's disappearance, rings spread out across space, like ripples on water.
Illusion? Mirage? Or something else? Everything can be...
- "How are you?" — the werewolf asked intrigued.
- "..."
- "Al?" - there was no answer. - "Al!?" — silence again. Has the connection been broken? - "AL!?"
"You should see this," an excited, slightly detached voice unsettled me.
- "What exactly?"
- "Just cross the cher-mouth."
What was it that took Al's breath away? Interesting, very interesting. I want to know.
As soon as I crossed the invisible line, I began to look around in bewilderment. Crystal City, that's what I would call this place where I found myself.
Translucent buildings that allow moonlight to pass through them without refracting it, dotted with various runes. Countless buildings: houses, buildings, and also a castle. All this was in front of us.
The buildings were located on a translucent "crystal" platform in the shape of a circle. She was a kind of part of the tree trunks, as if cutting through it. If you look at this place from the outside, it may seem that all this is a giant mushroom. The Crystal City is like a hat, and the intertwined trees are like a leg.
However, if all the buildings that we had previously seen were made in the elven style, then this part was not like that. This city was not elven, it was not "living". The city was built later, but it is not known by whom.
Without saying a word, we silently walked forward, walking through the streets of this strange city. Taverns, shops, stalls, a tailor's house, a forge. All this and much more flew past us. We were even able to go into some of these buildings.
What can we say about this? A very detailed city, inside the buildings there was all the furniture, utensils, and things. All this was present here, but there was no feeling of life here. The city was fake. It is not clear why it was made, of high quality, but still a fake.
What's strange is that I couldn't find out where all the avalanche of mana that was coming from inside the snow bath had gone. She seemed to have disappeared. The city had and felt the usual mana background. Strange…
But I still wonder who needed to create this city? Moreover, it is so similar to the elven one. Von Al is firmly convinced that it was built by elves. But he does not see the hundreds of thousands of runes that were located on all the things of this city, be it a house, a door, a lamp, or coal in the fireplace. Another strange thing was the feeling of this place - death and emptiness, which is the opposite of elven buildings.
I could have continued to ponder the strangeness of this city, but we were interrupted. Slowly, unhurriedly, a resident of this place came out to us right from behind the wall of another building. An incredibly powerful figure, covered in a thick layer of armor, clutching a black, incredibly bulky claymore in his hand. A pair of horns grew from the temples, piercing the helmet, and intelligence was read in the dead eyes.
- "R-knight die!" - Al exclaimed in panic. - "Kol!" Run!" — in an incredible leap, he rushed towards the new opponent, taking on his threatening wolf form right in the air.
The knight did not wait for him. Squeezing the sword, he pulled harder to meet the enemy. Raising the blade above himself, he forcefully brought it down on the werewolf's head. At this moment, the blade of the blade glowed with a poisonous green light.
At the last moment, Al managed to remove his head from the attack. The blade clanged to the ground. Green mana flowed in all directions. My senses immediately began to scream with good obscenities about the danger of this smoke. Without resisting them, I instantly climbed higher, simply jumping onto the balcony of one of the buildings. I don't know what kind of smoke this is, but it obviously won't do me any good.
Meanwhile, the battle was only gaining momentum. A blow with a blade, the werewolf jumps to the side. An attempt to bite - the dead man puts his shoulder pad under Al's sharp teeth. Ripping his hand out of the grip and grabbing the werewolf by the neck, the knight hit the body of my comrade with his other hand.
A pitiful whine was heard from Al. Having strained himself a little, he forcefully pushed the dead man away from him towards one of the houses. With a wild ringing sound, it smashed through the wall.
- R-Ah! - With a battle roar, the dead man rushed in the opposite direction. Taking the sword, he tried to put the werewolf on the blade, like a butterfly on a needle.
I watched all this from the side. Throughout the battle, something eluded me, but what exactly I could not understand. Until finally a realization dawned on me.
- "Al! Make him hit the house with his blade!"
The werewolf heard me. In an instant, he jumped away from the enemy and began to back away from him, who roared offended and ran after Al. Swinging his sword, he was about to hit the werewolf, but at the last second before contact with the wall, his attack weakened.
Bingo! The knight cannot destroy buildings. If the "ground" is quite strong and can take a blow, then the house cannot. Something prevents him from destroying everything. Maybe an order from the creator?
- "Run to the city! Weave between buildings! A knight cannot destroy buildings!"
With a roar, the werewolf knocked the knight to the ground with one jerk and rushed towards the city center. I also didn't wait for the dead man to get up and, having climbed onto the roof, I began to run along them right after Al.
Only an offended roar behind our backs accompanied us on this journey.