Heading East

The group used horses prepared by the king of Cista to leave the kingdom. Vorbuk was able to keep up with the group by foot. Since he was a wolf he had no use for a horse like the others did. Though the distance was far and would take some time to reach Theapan many chances to rest would occur along the way.

After a while their first stop was taken by a stream flowing through the terrain from the surrounding mountains. The water was clear and cool to the touch. While drinking it Vorbuk could feel a comforting cool sensation throughout his body. It was because the water in the east was rich with mana.

His ears flicked at the sounds of what resembled cracking glass came from the distance. The sounds were in sync as if someone was walking towards them. There was no scent of human outside of those who were in their group. Beside him the prince was knelt down washing his face while observing the way Vorbuk was acting.

"Did you hear something?" Leo asked him when he saw the look on Vorbuk's face.

"I'm not certain.. It sounds like something is out there but it is not giving off the scent like anything I've come across so far." Vorbuk responded to him while trying to understand what he was sensing.

Around them the forest was silent. The only sounds that could be heard were from themselves. I was a heavy silence that made them both feel a bit tense.

"Master~ Are you ready to go?" Ashley asked while walking over. Everyone was ready to head out again after catching their breath briefly.

Leo's cold glare caused Ashley to smile as he stood there silently.

Vorbuk sighed as he wondered if he should just let go of it. If there was something following them things could get dangerous later. Though he was not certain what it was to do anything about it. Pushing those thoughts aside he stood up and headed towards the direction of the others without saying a word further to Leo.

Crackling..

The sound of crackling got closer. He could see everyone beginning to turn their gaze into the distance behind him as the noise got louder. It was getting closer to the group!

GGRRROOOOAAARRRR!

A loud roar sounded throughout the area from the throat of the beast. Standing tall upon a cliff above them it observed them closely. Its body was that of a massive white tiger, but along the body of the beast it was covered in mana crystals that were embedded within it. The golden eyes of the beast felt as if it could see through their every movement.

As the beast took a step forward the ground beneath its paw as it touched the ground turned to crystal. The crystals spiking out from the earth as if the force of the impact upon the step had caused a heavy impact.

[ WARNING! ]

[ Crystal Tiger has considered your group a threat to its territory! ]

"That's obvious! Do you have any suggestion? Or do you just like pointing out the obvious?" Vorbuk argued with the voice as he tried to remain aware of his surroundings. The others were all nervous and pondering if they should run or fight the beast. If they ran it was obvious they might not be able to escape in the end. In the end their only choice was to fight the beast if they wanted a chance to make it out of the situation alive.

[ Side Mission: Crystal Tiger Hunt

Details: Slay the Tiger and locate his den.

Reward: Unknown ]

Can I disown you? Go away and stop adding more onto my plate! Vorbuk thought to himself as he wanted to shout at the voice. Keeping his frustration to himself he could only accept the extra task for now and worry about it later.

The Tiger's jaws opened once more like it was about to roar. It's sharp white fangs reflecting the light from the sun. In front of its muzzle a swirling white light began to gather like wind. Lighting up before shooting forward.

"Careful!" Daryl shouted over at Zoe as he dashed to move her out of the way.

Daryl's back hit the ground hard as he held onto Zoe who had landed on his chest. Her face was scrunched slightly from the pain of the landing.

ROOAAARRR!

The beast called once more before dashing straight towards them. Every step turning the ground below to become covered in crystal. What would have been dust flying up as it ran sparkled and shimmered in the light. It was like shards of broken crystal.

"Bredret!" Daryl shouted quickly at the only one he could think of to shield them from the impact.

"Tsk!" Bredret clicked his tongue at the idea of being ordered around by a lower creature. He did not like the idea of his pride being walked all over if he responded as Daryl ordered him to.

It would be a pity if something happened to them though when I'm not yet tired of them... Bredret tried to rationalize himself a reason to obey the request.

"Damn it, Bredret!" Daryl shouted at him once more causing Bredret's face to twitch with annoyance. He was not in the mood to deal with Bredret being stubborn.

"Alright!" Bredret shouted as he jumped in front of the group. It was obvious that Daryl was frustrating him at the moment but Daryl did not care about upsetting Bredret. Getting themselves a chance to escape for now was more important.

Inhaling sharply, Bredret filled his lungs with warmth. His body warming up from head to toe quickly before exhaling. The moment he released the air within his lungs fire burst forth. Scorching the earth in front of them all.

The fire did not dim in the least as Bredret continued to step forward. Blazing flames flared up wildly as a wall of fire stopped the Crystal Tiger from closing the distance any further. Its roars could be heard from their side as the heat caused them all to sweat. Bredret's flames burned endlessly but they all knew they could not stall their leaving for long. It was only a temporary fix to stop the tiger from running towards them.

"Go! Go while we have the chance!" Leo shouted as they all rushed to climb onto their horses. It was only a matter of time before Bredret's trick ceased to work anymore.

Ta-Dak! Ta-Dak!

They all rushed the horses to move leaving nothing but dust in the wind and a blazing wall of fire. Among the flames of that wall of fire a large white crystal tiger leaped forth. Landing gracefully on the side where they had just been seconds ago.

Flicking its head up it glanced in the direction the people had just gone and growled faintly for a moment. Without hesitation it darted after the prey it had chosen to hunt. They had intruded on his territory and that made them fair game to the beast. Its eyes flickered with light from the excitement of finding prey that would not fall too easily. The beast enjoyed hunting the most.