Unknown area:
I dragged my legs across the plains as my dry throat longed for water.
I couldn't think straight and it was unbelievable that I still have collapsed yet.
Blood dripped through my helm's openings and my eyes threatening to close unless I keep my guard up.
'How much time has passed since then?'
I do not know and I would not like to know.
My only focus was to get to safety, although I have left the forest I am in no condition to continue my adventure.
'That creature must've been a familiar, witch familiar are said to have the appearances of goats, rats, cats etc.'
That checked out with the appearance but this one is a bit different.
'Is it really a familiar? They are supposed to able to completely copy an appearance.'
The crude work on it's appearance wasn't something I should be thinking about right now but what else can I do to make sure my mind doesn't go blank or lose consciousness.
'Keep thinking don't stop thinking.'
I don't if it's true or not but I've heard that constantly thinking can help people keep their consciousness during critical moments.
Even if it's a rumour I still had to give it a try.
'The church always scouts out the forest once every month, there's no way such a creature can hide from the goddess's force.'
The month right now is Janus, gotta thank the god of the sun for providing us mortals with his supreme knowledge.
So they must've conducted a search in Decem and they do these at the start of every month.
'So that creature must've sneaked in after the search process.'
'A witch is on the loose.'
I stopped, that makes things complicated.
Witches aren't really seen in a good light around these parts and if they are accused of on, they will recieve the good old burning at the stake.
Atleast that was the case until Victoria took over, now all you can do is to kill yourself before they find you.
'Losing her husband has made the queen go mad.'
The unidentified tortured bodies found floating on the rivers could be potential witches whom were either wrongly accused or really were one.
'Reporting to the church is necessary.'
A witch's main gimmick is to cause troubles but if you think that some good may still be present in their hearts, you would end up being one of those skulls lined up in their collections.
'They have already sold their souls to the Wiccan gods.'
Trusting them means death.
'I am tired.'
I couldn't feel my legs anymore.
Just when I about to sit down and rest, I saw something in the distance.
'A village!'
It was surrounded by a rock wall for safety and the gate was open with no guards guarding it.
'No security?'
That was wierd but maybe something happened inside the village?
Just as I was about to head towards it, a thought popped up in my mind.
'What if the witch had already captured the village?'
That would be a worst case scenario for me considering that I was already weakened.
'But I have no choice though.'
Either take the gamble and enter the village or leave.
'The guard not being near the gate doesn't mean that the village is raided right?'
I should've probably studied more adventurer tips before heading out but there's no need to cry over spilled milk.
I braced myself as I picked up my pace and pushed my exhausted body to its limits.
This may be the most idiotic decision I might have done in my life.
********
Unknown village:
'Completely abandoned and if my theory from earlier was correct, the is already here.'
I sighed, there's nothing much I can do about it, I can only hope that the church of stars somehow gets information about this.
I can try to leave but I am not dumb enough to believe that the witch would let me go.
'My body still hasn't healed from ,the unknown injuries I received from that monster.'
There wasn't any visible injuries on my body,
My forehead and temples were completely fine even though blood was smeared on there.
My main issue is the constant headache and nausea I'm feeling right now, sometimes I completely go off track with my mind and trip on the ground.
My bones hurt, my hands feel so weak and I have already lost my feeling in my legs.
I leaned my back on a house and just stood there with no guards up.
'This might be my end I guess.'
Though death is scary to think about, I really didn't know why people are afraid of it.
Some say it's because you won't be able to see your loved ones, some say it's because you will lose everything you had and some others doesn't know the why.
Their answers would be something like this.
'I don't know but I'm just scared.'
It's a primal fear hammered into our minds,
Shackles of fear binding our potential.
For me?
Death isn't scary.
But losing everything and everyone?
That's scary.
That's why humans love to immortalise themselves.
Through stories, poems, war efforts etc.
I can't say I'm too different.
It's the same for me too, living as an ordinary people doing ordinary things only to be forgotten after a few generations of your family.
'I crave their attention.'
It feels like a sense of accomplishment and I could drunk from those praises I would be showered with.
Curiousity is one major aspect but the false immortalisation is also a goal.
During my rant on false immortalisation, a certain long-eared creature appeared infront of me.
It didn't come from anywhere, just straight up appeared as if it was invisible the whole time.
It had long pointy ears and a small stature similar to a goblin, the only difference being that this creature looked a bit more demonic due to its wrinkles and cracks appearing on it's body and the skin which was similar to human skin.
The choice of clothing was also strange as it wore leather armour which gave them protection from weak attacks.
"An ancient elf?"
I blurted out due to my astonishment, these creatures were the early ancestors of the elves that exist today.
And they weren't the pretty ones like their descendants.
The moment it heard my words it disappeared.
'An ancient elf has the ability to cause and spread diseases and the power of invisibility.'
Their small stature and speed is also a advantage to them and they were known as the silent hunters during ancient times.
'But their way of spreading diseases is a disadvantage and no one really knows why they use it.'
The arrow bounced off of my chestplate as I stood up on my feet.
I didn't take out my sword, I was pretty sure lifting it would drain me of my last bits of energy.
Sweesh
A whistling sound echoed in the air as I turned around and grabbed thin air.
A choking sound was heard as the elf in my hand became visible again.
"Your footprints are a dead giveaway."
Just as I was about to crush its neck, a arrow pierced through my gauntlet.
'Wha-?'
My gauntlet made of metal wasn't supposed to pierced by some makeshift arrows.
I immediately turned towards the direction where the arrow shot out from.
The sight I saw caused my eyes to widen.
Hundreds of elves, each holding a bow pointing towards me and looking at me with disdain.
And then, they all vanished.