Rise of the Devourer

Chapter 24: Escort Mission

Noah wiped sweat of his brow, squinting his eyes against the blinding light from the midday suns that hovered overhead, casting two dark shadows under his feet. His horse continued to move through the open grasslands with a steady gait, which he was thankful for. He didn’t think he could’ve dealt with being jerked around in this heat.

“How much longer?” Noah asked in a whine.

“I don’t think asking that again and again will make you get there any faster,” Aurelia said.

Noah groaned, feeling the heat starting to get to him. He had always been more comfortable in cooler temperatures, and the sudden heat was making him feel uncomfortable and sluggish. “Can’t we take a break or something?” he asked.

Aurelia shook her head. “We need to keep moving. We’re on a tight schedule, and we can’t afford to waste any time.”

Noah sighed, knowing that she was right. Though the knowledge of her rightness did not make the heat any less worse.

“Why is it so hot all of a sudden? The weather was nice till now,” Noah asked, fanning his shirt.

“The suns are closer today. They cycle every fifteen days,” Aurelia replied after a quick glance at the sky. “It’s nice weather, if you ask me.”

“You’re insane,” Noah said. “I wish my magic powers gave me magic cooling abilities, too.”

“They could if you gain heat resistance,” Aurelia replied with a shrug. “High Constitution also will help.”

“I really hope Windrest is nicer than this,” Noah murmured. He let his sight wander, looking out at the landscape all around him. The change in environment was quite sudden. Where if the cultist hideout and forest had felt distinctly temperate in their biome and temperature, the path Noah took felt quite arid. The ground was a lighter shade than before, with thorny bushes forming the majority of the vegetation.

In the far distance, Noah could see the silhouette of giant tree from the direction they’d come from, which at first he’d mistaken to be mountains in the distance. “Do you guys have this kind of patchy biome everywhere?” Noah asked.

“What do you mean?”

“Just that, we were just in a forest, and I can see those absolutely massive giant trees in the distance, but now all of a sudden we’re in a desert like area,” Noah said.

Aurelia thought over it. “I guess so? Biomes are determined by mana type and grade. Right now, this place has solar mana stones, so it’s much drier. Layfar had earth, the forest had a mixed bunch, and Windrest has, as the name suggests, wind. So it’s entirely dependent on that.”

“I hope there’s not many places with solar mana stones then,” Noah grumbled.

Aurelia chuckled. "You'll get used to it. The key is to stay hydrated and take breaks when you need to. We'll take a small break soon enough, and you can rest and cool down then."

Noah nodded, before letting his focus drift. With not much else to do, he reached out to his Astral script, trying to find a way to distract himself. But despite his best effort, he still found a sharp pain pierce through his head. “How long will my head hurt when I try to reach out to my Astral Script?”

“A day a two. Your soul is like a muscle, so it needs time to heal when you pull it. The pain isn’t really real, but a warning sign from your soul telling you to not mess with things any further. You can still access your Astral script just the same.”

“I see. Lesson learned, don’t fuck around with my soul,” Noah said, putting it away. Thankfully, his inventory and abilities seemed to work just fine, even if he couldn’t summon his astral script properly. Noah pulled out a water skin, taking big gulps from it, before letting it return back. “I swear a week of this will drive me mad.”

“Do you see that?” Aurelia asked, looking in the distance.

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“See what?” Noah asked, turning further ahead. At the edge of his vision, Noah could see dark figures moving against the blinding light of the sun. “There’s people there. But also, I see something else behind them,” Aurelia said. “Let’s hurry,” she added, kicking her stirrup as her horse raced ahead.

A lot more clumsily, Noah kicked his own stirrup as he followed behind.

Their sight got a lot clearer as they got closer, and Noah found a couple of carts being pulled by giant oxen with four horns. Noah used identify on both.

[Merchant - ?]

[Quarox - ?]

As they approached, the man sitting on the cart jumped up in joy. “Has the guild already sent people?”

Noah looked at Aurelia in surprise, who glanced back at him, sharing his confusion. “We’re not from the guild. Just two adventurers making their way to Windrest. Is something the issue?”

The man’s face fell at her words, as he sat down once more. “There’s been a landslide in the valley and the way ahead is blocked. Memphis knows how long they’ll take to send the Geomancers for clearing the way out.”

Aurelia frowned, before turning her gaze ahead. Noah followed her sight. In the distance, he could see the path move up to a valley section, and if he squinted, he could roughly make out a giant pile of rocks blocking the way in.

“Is it supposed to look like that?” Noah asked.

“No,” Aurelia replied, pulling out her map, as she began to check. “We’re definitely at the right place…” Aurelia said, biting her lips.

“What now?”

“We could take the shorter route, but it’s risky. And I have no intention of sleeping in the forest, so we’ll have to travel through the night,” Aurelia said, glancing back at Noah.

“Are you insane? You’ll go through Serpent’s grove?” the merchant who seemed to have been listening to their conversation butt in.

“What’s the matter? Besides the terrible name, I mean,” Noah said.

“There’s rumours of a Wyrm in that path. I know you’re adventurers, but I wouldn’t risk my life for that.”

“Nonsense,” Aurelia spat back. “A Wyrm? Here? There’s barely enough mana for a wyvern here, much less a Wyrm.”

“Listen, all I know is that people who went through that route saw something terrifying. So if you want to go, it’s your funeral,” the man said, before pausing. “I guess you could take those three as well, the man’s been begging all of us to cross the serpent’s cross but no one’s quite that suicidal yet.”

Noah glanced at Aurelia, who looked back at him with a conflicted expression. Their discussion gathered attention, as more of the merchants waiting, and planning to set camp began to turn in their direction. Noah spotted a couple looking in their direction, and his eyes met theirs. A moment later, the man began to rush in his direction, holding up his hand.

“Adventurers! Please hold on,” the man said, walking up to the two of them. “I’d like… to offer you a quest. Please, take me and my family through the serpent’s grove. My son is sick, and we need to get him to the city. There’s no way we can wait for a week or more. Please, we’ll compensate you for your trouble.”

Noah used identify on the man.

[Sculptor - ??]

“A sculptor?” Noah asked, feeling surprised.

“I am, a sculptor for the mayor of Altius,” the man said. “Please help us, I can repay you for your troubles. But we really need to get to Windrest as soon as possible.”

Aurelia frowned at the man’s words. Noah glanced back into the crowd, and saw a woman clutching a boy, not more than three or four years of age. His face was a flush red.

“What’s wrong with him?” Noah asked.

“We don’t know. We’ve tried every healer we could find. But they’re saying we need C rank healer or higher, and there’s no one that capable around here.”

Noah turned his horse around, getting off from his mount. Walking up to the kid, he crouched next to the woman. “Can I see?” he asked, extending a hand.

The woman looked at him, before nodding, as she presented the child. Noah pressed a palm on his forehead. The boy was burning up.

Getting up from the kid, Noah walked back to Aurelia. “Can I talk to you privately for a second?”

Aurelia looked at him for a moment, before nodding. Getting off her horse as well, she followed him a little distance away.

“The boy’s dying. His fever is way too high. Surely, we can’t leave them be? Even without the landslide, the kid wouldn’t have made it through the week like this.”

“You’re suggesting we take them then? Going by ourselves is dangerous enough, but bringing escorts? We’d be putting both theirs and our lives at risk.”

“What do you suggest we do then? Leave the kid to die?”

“We could take them to Layfar village. It’s only a few hours away,” Aurelia replied.

“They said they need a C rank healer,” Noah said, before pausing. “I could feed the kid some of my blood. It’ll help for a while. My ability’s strong enough to hold back necrotic poison, so it should keep the kid alive too.”

Aurelia glared at him. “What did I tell you about using your ability publicly?”

“Yes, to not tell it to anyone. And I don’t plan to. I’ll mix it in with a healing potion,” Noah said.

Aurelia paused, before glancing back behind Noah. The man continued to look at them with desperate hope in his eyes, and after a moment of resistance, she sighed.

“Don’t let them see that it’s your blood,” she added quietly.

Noah gave a small smile, before walking further into the bushes. Taking out his dagger, he cut his right palm open, letting the blood flow into his vial of healing potion. It took three slashes for enough to gather, as his wounds kept healing rapidly, but after a while, Noah let the potion mix in, before he put his dagger away.

“Thank you. Thank you so much,” the man said, grasping Noah’s hand.

“I’ve got a potion, which might help the kid,” Noah said, before taking a sip in front of the man.

“It’s alright, we were most likely going to go through that route anyway. I’m Noah, and this is my companion Aurelia,” Noah said, and Aurelia dipped her head.

I’m Leon, and this is my wife, Shaya, and my son Irios,” Leon said, as Noah walked to the little boy, and gently presented the vial to him.

It took a moment for the kid to open his eyes, before he turned his face away, resisting to drink. Shaya, the mother, gently pat Irios’ back.

“Hey Irios. You’re a brave kid, aren’t you? This is just some medicine to help you, okay? We’ll take you with us to the city, so that you can feel better. But you’re brave, aren’t you? Just take a little sip, and you’ll feel better, I promise,” Noah said, coaxing the boy.

After a little nudging, the boy opened one eye, and then took a hesitant sip from the bottle. A moment later, he greedily began to drink the potion, emptying the vial, before closing his eyes, as he instantly fell asleep.

“Let’s head out,” Aurelia said. “If we’re going then I’d rather move quick.”

New Quest obtained!

Quest: Escort Mission

Escort the family of three to Windrest safely through the serpent’s grove.

Difficulty: Hard

Reward: Unknown.

Noah looked at the quest, noting the difficulty, before he shrugged. He was committed now, and he wasn’t going to say no.

Noah nodded, before climbing up on top of his own horse. A moment later, it was obvious that Leon was a better horse rider than him, and he let the man take the reins, sitting behind. Shaya and Irios climbed in front of Aurelia.

“I’ll pray for you,” the merchant who’d first talked with them said, glancing in their direction.

“Thanks,” Noah muttered, looking at Aurelia.

Glancing back at him, she checked the reins on Noah’s ride. “Make sure to keep a tight grip, we’ll be moving fast,” she said, before kicking at the saddle of her own horse. With a kick start of his own, the five of them turned right, and began to make their way rapidly towards the forest.