Bea showed us her map of the kingdom on the way to the elven border. To avoid the main roads, it seems we'd have to venture through a dense forest and over a mountain, which would take a few days time. As our trip got underway, walking became exhausting, even for me.
"Okay, I think we should take a rest," said Bea pulling out the map.
"Yes. That'd be nice," panted Lyra, falling to the ground, "How far are we?"
"Well, it's only been a few hours, so we're a little ways into the forest. There are paths marked out for adventurers like the ones we've been following, so we shouldn't run into trouble." explained Bea.
Only a few hours. Heck, who am I to have a sense of time anyways. Five years in a dungeon! Sheesh.
"So, about the duck…" said Bea looking at me.
"Quack?"
"Oh, he's my pet." said Lyra.
"A duck as a pet? That's a new one. Most people just eat them."
"QUACK?"
"Duc is a special duck." said Lyra giving me a little head pat.
"Really? Howzzat…" Bea began to ask but I interrupted by casting a little magic.
I was thirsty and didn't want to take from the supplies in case they needed it, so I pulled from the molecules around me and brought a water bubble to my bill. I inhaled the water quickly to quench my thirst.
"Is uh… that a magic…," asked Bea.
"He's a magic duck." said Lyra at the same time.
"Quack!"
The two began to laugh.
After a short break, we got a move on again. A few beasts wondered onto the trails that were supposedly safe but I took care of some of them and Bea took care of the others. She seemed to be pretty proficient with her knives and hatchet. In my world, she would have seemed more like a rogue class of person rather than an explorer.
We finally made it through the dense forest after a day and a half. We were now at the base of the mountain. This mountain seperated us from the elven border. It was very out of the way, but also the only way to avoid regular routes that might be watched by the kingdom's men.
"I know it looks daunting, but it's not too bad. At least, the getting up." Bea said giving an unsure laugh.
"What do you mean?" asked Lyra.
"Well, I basically map what I can see and put the trails. I've got the trails mapped for going up the mountain, but never had a reason to go over and down, but I'm sure we'll figure it out. There's not much out here." explained Bea.
"We've got to do it." said Lyra with determination, walking ahead of Bea and I.
"Quack." I said for assurance.
"To the left," spoke up Bea, Lyra corrected her path as Bea laughed.
I wanted to have faith in Bea's words, but the farther up the mountain we traveled, the more I began to sense hostility. It was bad enough the trip up was grueling and slowing us down a lot compared to the forest, but now something was growing near with ill intentions. Even worse, I can't even convey that to the two girls.
We continued on at a sluggish pace and I remained vigilant. We all seemed pretty exhausted, but Bea said to push through just a little more. So we did. And a short time later we came to a small abandoned camp. It had a couple tattered old tents and even a wooden shed.
The wind began picking up and the cold night air starting coming. High up on the mountainside was proving to be more challenging overall. I saw a cast iron bucket that had been discarded and left, picked it up, and scuttled over to the wooden shed. Bea and Lyra followed me, probably out of curiousity.
The door to the shed wasn't on great, so I easily got it open myself with a wing while carrying the bucket with my bill. I put the bucket on the ground of the small shed near a couple of wooden pieces that maybe belonged to a stool in the past, and put them into the bucket. Then I began steaming my bill as the exquiste fire-breathing duck I am, and lit the pieces on fire to provide some warmth.
"Thanks Duc!" exclaimed Lyra slightly shivering and getting closer to the fire.
"It won't get too cold, a little below freezing, but if you're not use to it, it can be a little much." said Bea closing the shed door as best as she could, "This will have to do til morning. It'll warm back up with the sun."
"S-sounds good."
"Quack."
The night came and the two seemed to be able to rest easy, bathed in the warmth of our temporary little shed room, compared to the cold outside. I, however, still had a bad feeling. While I remember that others can surpress their presence, concealing their natures and mana power, what I kept feeling in the air was fluctuating.
Once moment I'd feel an overwhelming force of anger, and another moment it'd be gone. Either way, I was still sensing multiple beings or creatures on this mountain side. We were not alone.
I suppose I could stand outside, but I might just freeze to death as my little body will take on the cold much more harshly. The main problem right now is that I can't tell if whatever's out there is getting closer or not. Well, I definitely can't sleep like this.
As I moved closer to the door with the intent of going out and just looking around, the ground rumbled and the shed was struck, blowing apart into pieces. Bea and Lyra screamed as they were blown back as I was trying to fly my way out of the mess. Luckily, we all seemed to be okay.
"I've come for your head duck." said a gravely male voice out of the darkness of night.
Men behind him held torches to light their and his way as he got closer. It was Khandre, the man after Lyra. The man we were climbing this mountain to avoid!
What the heck?!
"Quack?!"