Chapter 5: Haze

Jaxon tried to calm Orion down…

"Hey, hey, listen to me…." , "okay" Orion said gulping down his saliva.

"We have to get out of here," said Jaxon.

Orion panicked, "and go where? We don't know where we are! How sure are you that they ain't gonna be a bunch of him waiting to ambush us."

Jaxon palmed his face, " urghhh."

He grabbed Orion, "if we stay here…we gonna die. I'm running and you're coming with me!"

Orion nodded and they started running.

Orion and Jaxon sprinted down the winding footpath, the giant troll mere steps behind. The air was thick with the stench of rot and decay as the troll's thunderous roar echoed through the forest.

The ground shook beneath their feet as the troll swung his massive axe in a wide arc.

Orion heard a faint creaking sound and glanced up to see a towering tree teetering precariously above them. With a burst of adrenaline, he leapt onto the footpath, his heart racing.

Jaxon followed close behind, grabbing Orion's arm to haul him to his feet. But their relief was short-lived, as the giant troll loomed before them, his axe raised high.

"Me gristle have your heads!" the troll bellowed, his eyes blazing with malevolent fury.

Orion and Jaxon closed their eyes, accepting their fate. But just as the axe was about to fall, a flurry of sharp branches shot out from the underbrush, piercing the troll's leg.

The creature let out a deafening roar as he stumbled, his axe falling harmlessly to the ground.

The thick mist swirled, revealing a figure with curves that would put a goddess to shame. As the mist cleared, a girl around their age stood before them, yawning and stretching like a cat. Her piercing blue eyes sparkled with mischief.

"I just can't have one good night of sleep without any disturbance…:now can I?" she said, her voice husky and confident.

Orion and Jaxon exchanged awestruck glances, but their attention was soon diverted to the giant troll, which roared in agony as it pulled the sharp branch from its leg.

The girl turned to them and said, "I think this is your cue to run!"

Jaxon quickly helped a limping Orion, and they hid behind a nearby bush. The troll grunted, its voice like thunder, "You dares challenge me, gristle…the greatest troll of all."

The girl giggled, her laughter like music. "Challenge? Ladies don't challenge men, especially giant ones like you. This is more of a beat down! Oh, you don't understand…lemme put it in a language you will understand: Your face, the ground."

The troll roared, its face reddening with rage, and shouldered a tree towards her. But the girl glided effortlessly through the air, avoiding the attack with grace and precision.

"Who is this girl?" Orion whispered to Jaxon, his eyes fixed on the scene unfolding before them.

Jaxon shook his head, equally bewildered. "I have no idea. But we owe her our lives."

Haze stood tall, her eyes locked on the giant troll's axe. She summoned a misty veil, her movements swift and precise. The troll swung his axe in a wide arc, but she was ready. With a flick of her wrist, she conjured a gust of mist, deflecting the axe's trajectory.

The axe swung wildly, embedding itself in a nearby tree. The troll roared, his face reddening with rage. She taunted him, her voice steady and confident. "You're weak! Little troll never grew up"

The troll charged, his massive strides devouring distance. "Me no little, me big and strong." She stood her ground, her mist swirling around her like a cloak. At the last minute, she glided aside, her movements fluid and effortless.

The troll thundered past, his face crashing into a massive tree trunk. The impact shook the ground.

She then summoned her mist, using it to push two thick trees onto the troll. The trees crashed down, pinning the troll beneath their weight.

The troll's roar was extinguished, his massive body still. Haze stood victorious, her chest heaving with exertion, her misty aura strong and formidable.

She landed next to the bushes and turned to Orion and Jaxon, her eyes sparking with fun.

"That was fun! Who's next?"

Orion held Jaxon back, "woooo slow down there, missy. We mean no harm."

Haze laughed, "call me missy again, and you will d*ck ride the wind."

Haze smiled, her eyes sparkling with amusement. "I'm haze , by the way."

Jaxon's eyes widened, his gaze still fixed on the spot where the troll had fallen. "Well, haze…" he gulped.

"That was some nice magic trick you did there."

Haze's smile grew, her laughter bubbling up.

"Magic trick?"

Orion chimed in, "yeah! The flying and the whooshing all over. It was like you had wings or something."

Haze's laughter burst forth, her misty aura shimmering with mirth. "It was no magic trick!".

She jolted her legs together, and the mist around her seemed to respond, lifting her into the sky.

Jaxon's eyes went wide, his jaw dropping.

"Whoa.."

Haze hovered above the ground, her mist swirling around her. "I can actually control the mist," she said, her voice firm. "Which is not wind. I do not control the wind, only mist. I hate it when people get it wrong."

Jaxon looked confused, his brow furrowed.

"But that's not possible. You're…..you're defying gravity."

Haze shrugged, her smile still in place. "I'm just working with what I have ." She gently descended back to the ground, her mist dissipating as she touched down.

Orion looked at her with new found respect. "Well haze, you're definitely full of surprises."

Haze grinned, her eyes sparkling. "You have no idea."

Deep within the forest, the trees grew tall and twisted, their branches tangled in a canopy of darkness. Haze, Orion and Jaxon walked beneath, their footsteps quiet on the moss covered ground.

Suddenly, a rustling echoed through the leaves above. Big yellow eyes emerged from the darkness, glowing like lanterns in the night.

"Hoot hooot!" a voice called out, followed by a laugh so hysterical.

"New players, how intriguing. Master will find this intel most enlightening. Hoo-ah."

With a flick of its wings, the owl vanished into darkness.