PERIL 9

Not far enough we already heard a series of howlings from the wolves. This means that their layers were only a few meters away and probably it's in the cave that is covered with many boulders.

"I hate dogs"- Zeke scoffed. "They are no dogs"- Axel inserted. "But still they belong to the family of dogs though"- Theodore said.

"Gesielle, don't forget what the wise goblin said. He gave the bag to Connor"- Lance reminded. I only nod and right on time, I see many giant boulders, bones everywhere, caves, and even tall trees. I gulped, gosh the wolf's layer was also creepy.

"Alright, grab something in that bag and throw it"- Calix said. Connor hand me the bag and I took a meat-like food and throw it into the center area.

Not long enough we see wolf cubs coming out of the cave one by one. "Aww they are so cute!"- I squeaked. Then, one of the biggest wolves came out and so as the rest of the other wolves. "I thought I smell of a goblin's meal. Guess I was right"- this may be the Alpha since it was the biggest of them all and not to mention, the rest of the wolves pay their respects to him as he passes his way.

"Hello, I was..."

"Yes young wizard girl, I know your purpose. The devil has been talking a lot about you."- did he just say, devil?!

"Did you just say, devil?!"- Hunter asked.

"Yes, dear boy. No one can resist the gossip from the devil. I know that he was only sharing it to aware all monsters about you, and he also said that you were trying to rescue your Grandma and searching for all 18 Dolls that belong to the dollhouse that you found in the first town"- he narrated.

"Well then, can I ask you how can I defeat the witch that guards the river? She actually got my talking doll."

"Give me that bag first"- he ordered. I only used the wand to make its way to the alpha. He opens the bag and eats some, the rest is he uses his magic to feed the rest of the pack.

"One way to defeat the witch is to play this Piri."

Then he also used his magic to hand me a flute-like object. "What's this for?"

"A Piri is a flute that the witches hate the most, and the moment they heard the sound of it. Most witches die, I only have this one left in order to defend our pack from any sort of attack. This Piri can also control the one you pointing at. A Piri is also a signal for an emergency like alert or healing."

I then tried to blow the Piri but it resulted in the Wolves' reactions to become annoyed by the sound of it. "Oops, I'm so sorry. But does it have any note to follow?"

"Here, have a magic scroll. But all notes got mixed up so the magic of the Piri doesn't work properly anymore. The witch knows the magic on how to fix all the mixed-up notes."

"Ok Mr. Alpha, thank you so much for your help."

"Before you leave, accept this gem."

A gem floated and it went to the very right hole. Its color, White. So this is the gem of Purity. "Go on and finish your journey. Good luck, young wizard"- the Alpha said, I didn't get why they bowed lower than me even if I was in the horse, not to mention I'm just a normal human girl who happens to be on a journey and unexpectedly I met a lot of monsters and even including of finding all 18 dolls. "Have a safe journey."- The Alpha called and I smiled at him.

We now continue our journey to the river. But we stopped halfway when it started to rain. It was a heavy rain and the thunder and bolts of lightning are everywhere in the dark skies. "We need to find a place to stay"- Hunter said. "There! On the big trees!"- Lance pointed. We went our way to where Lance pointed.

I used the wand to make some house-like form out of these big trees. "Go go!!"- I signed them all and then uses some big leaves to cover some areas here in order to protect us. We just let the horses on the porch and I made a roof for them in order to keep them dry, and food. "When does this rain's gonna stop?"- Fred asked. "Nobody knows. We need to stay here for the night, and the horses seemed exhausted today"- Calix said.

"Good call......Woah! What's that?!"- we look at Connor who seems to be in trouble. "Are you alright man?"- Zeke asked in a concerned way, Connor was about to reply but then I also heard his tummy rumbling just like Connor's and I couldn't help but laugh. "Me too! What is that thing on my stomach?!"- Theodore wondering why. And that makes me burst into a laughter,

"Yah Gesielle, stop laughing. You look like an idiot"- Fred snorted. "You guys are hungry. That's what humans feel when their stomach is empty."

"Here"- I used magic to have vegetables, spices, and fruits. "Calix knows how to cook. And I am as well, you guys will rest"- then I helped Calix about it while Lance and the others are there watching the rain. Hhmm...I use the wand to make some beds and even books and stuffed toys. "That's your beds, those are books and stuffed toys, go ahead and make yourselves out, preparing meals for all of us might take a little while."

"Cool, so this what it feels like to be a human."- Connor marked. I see that they are really enjoying those books, the stuffed toys, and their beds even if it's a stormy night. I was observing Lance, he was very distant to them all. He was just staring outside. I did the magic to create a table and chairs for all of us to use for tonight. I sure wish that Mina was here. I excused myself for a while and went to Lance.

"You ok there Lance?"

"Yeah, fine as well"

"You seemed like distancing yourself from them. Is there any problem?"

"Nope, Gesielle. Can I ask you something?"- He shifted the topic, well it wouldn't be bad right?

"Yes you can, What's that?"

Lance breathes silently before he speaks. "By any chance, what's your Grandma's name? Your parents too?"- why would he suddenly ask my family? Oh well, he was part of the group after all and it wouldn't be bad, like earlier, right?

"My Grandma was Margarette Stoneheart-Lee. My Mom is Monica and my Dad is Marshall Pvivroy-Lee. Why do you ask?"- I am wondering why he suddenly got any interest in it. "I was just curious to know and you know, being someone that you can trust. Besides, you look great especially now that you're a wizard. I really hope to have your success."- he smiles. For the first time, Lance smiled. Not bad for a church boy who looks very serious at first and then suddenly smiled for no actual reason. Lance was pretty weird than I thought.

"DINNER TIME!"- Calix called our attention so I went back immediately and set the table.

While eating, Lance kept on glancing at me and I don't know why. And, I felt something weird in my stomach, what is this feeling? Am I sick or...nah, probably I'm just too hungry. Hang on there Mina, we will save you soon enough.