A Remaining Podeshire 1

Chapter 9 (Part 3)

     Panting, Gregory fumbles in his pockets and waistcoat for the glowing potions. Without a second thought, he hurls them all at the approaching bear, hoping to deter the creature from attacking. However, it only causes the animal to growl with its ferocious teeth.

     Gregory grabs the last potion bottle from his pocket, aiming it at the spilt liquid on the ground. With a loud yell, he splashes the potion towards the bear. Then, it summons a sudden burst of raging flame, startling the bear and causing it to retreat.

     Oliver crouched behind the nearby boulder and watched his friend fend off the bear. Oliver gasped as he rose and approached Gregory with a proud smile. Seeing Gregory's braveness caused Oliver's eyes to glisten as the two men stared at each other.

     As the wind extinguishes the flames from the potion and blows a cloud of greyish-brown smoke into the air, Oliver and Gregory sigh in relief. Seeing that the immediate danger has passed, they look at each other with a light smile. However, their grins are short-lived as the bear reappears from the grass, sprinting towards them with renewed ferocity.

     Gregory frantically burrows his hands in his pocket, his fingers digging through the fabric. With a quick snatch, he pulls out a small bottle filled with red liquid. He then freezes, staring at it.

"T-throw it!" Oliver yelled in a panicked voice.

"This is my last healing concoction!" Gregory hesitated, tightly holding the bottle in his sweaty hand. "What will this even do!? Heal the bear or possibly make it stronger!?"

     Startled, Oliver thrashes his arm and points it at the grizzly bear. Suddenly, his hand releases a flaming ball of fire and shoots towards the bear's path, igniting the grass. The fireball forms a wall of flames, blocking the bear and causing it to flee from Oliver and Gregory. Meanwhile, Oliver and Gregory stand still, stunned by their fear and adrenaline.

"W-wow..." Gregory breathed.

Oliver stared at his palms. "...Did I forget I have elemental powers...? Did I forget I have elemental powers!?" Oliver muttered in shock and disbelief.

"Come on," Gregory grabbed Oliver's shoulder as they hastened away. "We must move quickly before the beast returns."

     Oliver snaps his fingers, extinguishing the fire and preventing it from igniting the entire area. Oliver and his friend quickly hurry to the opposite side, sprinting across tall, sharp grass. They run as fast as they can, not daring to turn their heads and look back.

     After what felt like an eternity of running, Oliver and Gregory halted and gathered their breath. They wiped off the sweat on their faces as they panted loudly. They paused for a brief second and glanced around nervously.

Gasping for breath, Gregory pointed at a shimmering body of water on the horizon. "Is that... is that the sea?" His voice became a whisper. "Oh, wait, no. I think it's the Asbranne Lake?"

     Following Gregory's finger, Oliver quickly turns his head to the lake. It appears like a sea as it stretches into the entire horizon. As he looks at the vast expanse of crystal blue water, he feels the lake itself washing over him. The gentle waters have no waves to disturb its serene surface as it reflects the soft glow of the bright sun above.