God of Discovery [high fantasy, slow build, mlm]

Arc 3 - 24. God of Instinct

D'Argen decided to wait until the sun was high in the sky right above them before he helped the group of mortals across the still water. When they got to the shores, there were no sinking bodies or floating eyeballs. A pack of coyotes scattered back into the forest when they saw the group, but the crows continued pecking at the dead in the water without a care.

"You two first." D'Argen pointed to the burliest of the group and the one that had needed help to walk. "Close your eyes and hold your breath," he said. As soon as he wrapped his mahee around the two mortals, one hand at the back of each of their necks, he ran across the water. He slid to a stop right before they hit the trees and did not wait for them to recover before dashing across again.

The next group he tried to take three and though he could not touch all three of them, his mahee wrapped around them so completely that even their weapons felt light. By the time he crossed for the final time with the last three, the first two were steady on their feet. The stink of where each of them threw up was nothing compared to the dirty water at their backs.

"I cannot go with you further," D'Argen informed them. "But it should be two weeks, three at most, straight south. I'd suggest veering a bit further away from the river though as demons have been advancing everywhere."

"Thank you," one of them said.

D'Argen ignored them and ran back over the water. This time, he did not stop for the forest. Instead, he recalled the path the white shadow had laid out for him and followed it until the trees thinned out and he could speed up even more without hurting himself.

Like the first time he was in the eastern part of the continent, he only killed the smaller demons or groups he found. When he came across the largest demon he saw, a huge thing that walked on six legs with a scaled tail that dragged for at least twice its length, he sheathed his sword and used his mahee to keep his steps light. The wind under his feet was a comfort that also helped him stay out of sight.

It took only a few days before he came across the first camp of mortals. The six-legged demon was easily dispatched with a slash that cut it in half. It was a gamble whether the mortals would want him to take them back across or shun him, but D'Argen felt he had to offer anyway.

"I was wondering how long you would track that one," a familiar voice made D'Argen turn on his heel.

"Haur! I didn't see you at all!" D'Argen greeted with a wide grin.

The camp of mortals did not look surprised at all. They barely even looked up from the fire between them.

"Are these your people?" D'Argen asked.

"What are you saying?" A woman in front of the fire snapped at him. "Look. Thank you for taking care of that, but we could have done it on our own. As we have since this whole mess started."

She looked barely old enough to have been able to hold a sword when the demons first rose, but D'Argen kept that thought to himself. Instead, he smiled and asked, "Are you on your way to the west? There are refugee camps and safe places for everyone."

The woman scoffed in answer.

D'Argen looked at Haur and the man shrugged.

"Do you require any assistance at all?" D'Argen asked.

"No. And I apologize for Mina's rudeness. Not a lot of game around here," another mortal answered him.

"Ah. My speed will probably only chase others away."

"Let us go," Haur said and motioned away from the camp. "I want to ask you a few questions and they clearly do not need our help."

D'Argen nodded, looked over the group of mortals one last time, waiting for a rebuttal or one of them to change their mind, and when nothing came, he left.