Part Two - New World - Chapter [039]

When the rain finally stopped, we decided to start heading up the Hill of Miter once more, even though things were damp. 

I decided to ask Apollo for some shoes that were water-resistant and took them out of my item box without Arslan noticing. Since he was already making his way up the mountain much quicker than me. Most of my cardio consisted of running on flat surfaces, so I wasn't prepared for climbing. I was taking it slow and at my pace, Arslan was the sort of person to brute force his way through making a path - which I could easily follow. 

It didn't take long before we reached our first destination. 

Arslan had mentioned it before but we had to pass through the first checkpoint. 

It seemed a race of secluded elves lived up here, they were called The Elves of the Red Oak.

However when we finally arrived at their town - the sight was ungodly. 

I could feel the miasma in the air, but I wasn't sure of the feeling.

It was new. 

I first inhaled when we saw it. 

The Town of Red Oak.

Completely and utterly devastated. 

Like a tsunami had passed through, and in its wake, a purple haze had been left behind. 

Arslan threw on a handkerchief he had in his pocket and used it for breathing. 

[Miasma Detected]

[Threat Level - BLUE 10]

That didn't sound so bad, but as soon as I inhaled it, a rage of coughing began. It was like inhaling cigarette smoke for the first time. It hurt my lungs and my chest seemed to contract, my eyes opened up to let in more light and my heart started racing.

My brain chemistry changed and I felt - almost pleasant.

This air - You know it's bad for you - yet there was some addictive quality to it. 

I got reminded of the time Arslan had supplied the Emetic Bezoar.

The effect was constant and it did tingle my brain, but it instantly disappeared and I wanted more. 

[Purifying] 

Magic sparkles crossed around me and a circle appeared beneath me. As I walked, the circle purified the grass behind me, making it grow into flowers, that would soon die out as more miasma made its way around them.

Just my little spot was enough, like a little bubble that kept me safe from the miasma. 

I brought up to Arslan and grabbed him by the waist. He looked at me surprised. 

"Walk with me tiger," I said and he realized what was happening. Apollo understood the assignment and made the circle big enough for the two of us. I could feel how it cost more mana, but I was okay with it, as long as Arslan was okay.

He kept his handkerchief to his mouth, as the smell wasn't going away, but his left hand wrapped around my shoulder and my right around his waist. We walked together like this through the town. 

Our closeness made me realize just how much bigger he was than me. 

"How tall are you anyway?" I asked as we walked through the destroyed town. 

"190, and this isn't the time love," he objected. 

He was right, I shouldn't make light of this situation. The ambiance was heavy and morbid. 

Corpses were played out on the street, feet dangling just at the entrance of homes. 

This place was hell. 

My brain couldn't let go of the fact he had used centimeters for his height.

"What happened here anyway?" I asked. 

"This is what the miasma does, with enough of it, murder and tragedy are left in its wake," he reasoned. 

"It's airborne, but miasma can also be in the water or food, it can be transferred by any means it deems necessary, it's a disease and once it finds its grip, it doesn't ever leave."

"Unless it's purified - right?" I remarked. We made eye contact, I could see he was proud I was quick on the uptake. However, his face was stern. 

"That's right - we need to find its source and purify that, then like a waterfall everything else will follow…" before he could say those last words. 

From the corner of a decrepit house, a person flew at us. It took us by surprise, but Arslan managed to push me to the side and get behind him. He left the purify circle for a moment and slashed his sword as fast as he had pushed me behind.

His reaction times were intense. 

However, because he had to move me out of the way, the beast managed to get the jump on him, Arslan blocked him but was pinned to the ground. I didn't know what to do, but the beast seemed like he wanted to eat him. 

I took out my staff, but not quickly enough, Arslan pinned him around and managed to hit its head against a nearby rock. The creature was stunned for a moment, and that's when Arslan pressed his sword against its chest. 

The creature let out an ungodly scream. But was soon no longer with us. My staff retracted into my sleeve. Making itself tiny.

Just like that the person that had jumped us was not moving anymore. 

"I got this -" he said swiping of sweat from his forehead and flipping his golden hair back. He was full of confidence. But still, he had a heavy breath.

That had been an intense encounter.

He motioned me for us to intertwine again. 

"That's a Fiend," he started. I managed to get a good look at him. It looked like a person, but it was something beyond that. It looked almost animal. Its eyes were concave and wide open, its mouth had fangs for teeth, and its nails were claws like fangs. Its skin is almost sickly. The sight was ungodly. I wanted to puke. But I didn't - that was a person once. 

I couldn't help but notice the pointy ears. 

It was one of the elves that previously lived here. The miasma had turned him into a fiend! 

I couldn't help but feel a sense of dread.

"This is the price for going beyond humanity," he explained. "Ravaged beasts with no ability for rational thought," Arslan pondered. 

"Will there be more of them?" I asked. 

"More than likely - the miasma is fresh, which means more beasts are to be around here." 

I couldn't help but feel anxiety, we needed to pass through this town to reach the dungeon. 

That's where the source of this miasma was. That's the source that was originally corrupted. That's where we needed to go.

Apollo was protecting us for now, but how was Arslan supposed to fight?

[New Skill Found!]

[Purification Circle]

Huh? I looked into it. 

It seems like I just learned a spell that allows for a purification circle to be cast around us. 

I cast it right out of the gate. Instantly around us, an AOE took place and we were allowed a little bit more breathing room. 

"This is great!" said Arlsan unlocking from our grip and moving about the area that was being purified. The miasma circles us like some sort of force field. The air became cleaner. What's more the corpse of the fiend, went back to being elvish and human-looking. Its skin looks normal - at least for a dead person that is.

He started skipping around the purified land.

I took a step.

Atslan stopped in his tracks. It was almost comical.

The circle diminished back to its two-person-only mode. Arslan made his way back and locked shoulders with me again. He went back to being moody.

"Sorry - seems like the spell deactivates when I take a step," I pointed out. 

"Right - then if we need to fight, you'll have to stay put love, is that okay with you?" He asked. 

More than okay with me, being a healer I didn't have a lot of attack spells, at least not right now, and the ones I did were kinda weak. Typical stuff for mages in RPG's.

So having Arslan do all the fighting seemed like a fair trade-off. This is one of the reasons why a Shepard must bring along a warrior.

"Perfectly so!" I said with a smile. He started blushing.