How the Emperor trapped a Witch

Chapter Nineteen: Into the forest we go

Note: There is violence and gore in this chapter.

It was surprisingly dark in the forest. Shadows flickered between the trees as we walked on and the feeling of being watched caused small goosebumps to appear beneath my sleeves. I rubbed them lightly when a fire light was suddenly created above us.

I looked over and saw that it came from one of the men in our group, a young man with dark red hair and glasses that covered his brown eyes and freckles. He held a long staff which the fire light was suspended a foot above. This told me that he was a Magician, which is similar to being a  Witch.

The main difference between Magician and Witches are how they create magic. Witches draw magic from nature while Magicians use magic from special stones inside magical creatures. Becoming a Witch is far more difficult then becoming a Magician since you need to have an affinity with nature.

Magicians were more well-liked then Witches since there was a better understanding of that type of magic. One way to put it is that Magicians are like industrialized products which outputs the same amount of magic for each person regardless of their talent.  Witches magic is more unique to the individual but incredibly dangerous; there can be extreme backlashes if one is not careful, plus the fact that a Witch needs a familiar to officially become a witch- some apprentice Witches have been eaten by their familiars.

I made eye contact with the young Magician who blushes and quickly looks away. I sighed in disappointment because I had wanted to talk with him about Magicians, since my knowledge was about 85 years old but my sigh was heard by Alaric who inserts himself between us.

I looked up at him and raised an eyebrow but he simply smiles as we walked on. I discreetly used search magic so that we would know if there was any hostile creatures near us, mostly since I didn't know if Alaric had said anything to the rest of the group. I trust Alaric and Kimbra, but I didn't know the others- Witches are still hated in most of the continent.

The main reason that Witches were hated was because of one particular Witch. Her name had been long since forgotten but her deeds were not. The Witch destroyed over four countries and created the monsters which are still around today. Monsters are not ordinary creatures, they are things that are full of malicious intent to destroy and kill everything in their path. The main problem is that sometimes they look exactly like a normal creature and they can infect others to become monsters.

So once there are signs of a monster, adventurers are sent to deal with them before any harm is done. 

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We've been hiking in the forest for about three hours and have yet to find any signs of monsters. I expanded the range on 'search' but still haven't found a thing.

"Something isn't right." I say out loud once we stopped for a break.  "I haven't heard any birds."

"Birds?" Alaric asks me as he hands over a water skin. 

"Normally, there would be birds chattering." I took a long drink of the warm water and passed it back to Alaric. "They went silent about an hour ago. It's never a good sign when there are no birds."

I glance over at Kimbra who nods at me as she rubbed her thumb on the hilt of her sword; it seems that I wasn't the only one who noticed. 

"Alaric." I pulled on his arm and moved to the side. "I haven't found a single sign of any animals around here at all." I say quietly. "Search has turned up nothing."

Search was really reliable since it was just earth magic that showed the positions of any animal that is touching the ground or trees. 

Alaric opened his mouth to say something but we were suddenly interrupted by a shout.

"WE'RE UNDER ATTACK!!!!"

The large overly muscled man yells as he held a rabid wolf by the throat then threw it against a tree. 

"CIRICLE UP!" Alaric yells as he pulls me over to them and stands in front of me with the rest of the group-me and the magician being their center. Kimbra lets me out of the circle to stand between her and Alaric then hands me a spare sword. 

More and more wolves appeared and completely surrounded us as the ground become slick with blood. My arms grew tired with each swing of the sword- this was the first time that I was putting my swordsmanship training into use: man, am I out of shape.

A wolf jumps towards my face and catches my blade against its sharp teeth. I could feel its hot rancid breath wash over me as it's weight started to knock me over into the waiting wolf pack when I felt a hand grab onto my waist and yank backwards. 

I quickly regain my footing as the wolf that had attacked me was slashed in half. I didn't have a chance to thank Alaric before I was attacked again; we were quickly getting overwhelmed.

I pulled back out of the circle and dropped the sword. Reaching into my cloak, I pull out my wand putting my forehead on it's tip. I take a deep breath and say "Earth spikes!" as I swung my wand around my head in a big circle- including everyone so that they were out of the line of fire.

Nothing happens for a second, before the ground starts to rumble and roar causing the ground to crack.