"All hail the honorable team who have slain the creature by themselves! To you Sylvanora owes eternal debt, my children.", the king said as he heard the tale from the five.
"Hail!", yelled the knights.
"Thank you, your highness, for believing in the five of us. We would love to stay and be a part of your celebratory feast tonight, but I'm afraid we have a long journey ahead, we require rations and weapons from your end and we promise to return with piles of gold to help reshape the kingdom itself!", said Emma bowing to the king.
"Ofcourse, my child. You five have proven yourself beyond I thought you could, you have my eternal respect. If you five don't mind I'd like to put forth something before you leave.", said the king boldly.
"Ofcourse, your highness.", said Trent stepping up. The king then waved his hand signalling Dane to fetch a Knight's Spear. Dane gracefully placed the spear in the king's palm.
"Trent, my child, you've proven your intellect to this entire kingdom, I'd like to give you this spear and knight you!", said the king approaching Trent. This was a huge moment of him, for his parents too were knights and now it was his time to follow in those royal footsteps. However, Trent knew it would be wrong of him to claim the honor all for himself, for he was nothing without his team.
"Your highness, I more than appreciate this gesture, to be part of the same royal blood my parents were is more than just an honour, but I'm not the reason we bested the Aquillith. That honor belongs to our cave troll, Gavin, for he single handedly held the thing by its teeth and dove into its mouth with no fear, I request you to knight him, my highness. I will be willing to accept a spear once I'm back from the journey and have truly earned it, but as of now the spear belongs to Gavin, for he's shown courage I never thought possible.", said Trent as he put his hand on Gavin's strong Troll shoulders.
"As you wish, my child." said the king as he walked towards Gavin, who by now, was shivering in excitement.
"To Gavin the Troll I lay this spear, and I knight him as the protector of Sylvanora!", yelled Omair as he tapped the spear on Gavin's shoulders.
"Ooh goodie! Gimme that!", said Gavin as he snatched the spear and was dancing in the courtroom, overjoyed. The king and the team couldn't help but laugh their guts out.
"You may take all rations and weapons as you please, nothing is off limits for you, my children.", said the king as the knights escorted him out of the hall.
So the journey began, every member armoured and in possession of luxurious weaponry. They bid the kingdom farewell and made way towards the forests of Wispwood. The forests weren't far from Sylvanora, all they had to do was cross The Great River and walk a few miles until they could see the mouth of the forest.
"Alright, we're at this stupid River again. Plans on getting across?", asked Ann as she drowned her hand in the River water.
"As a matter of fact, yes. I borrowed this pocket sized orb from the king and modified it with my toolkit.", said Trent as he pulled out a bright wooden sphere with a lever on top. "Watch.", he said as he struck the lever with his thumb and tossed the sphere into the river.
The sphere unfolded several times as more and more mechanical parts began to appear, all coordinated to form a raft.
"Holy crap! How'd you do that?!", said Ann as she hugged him.
"Well, a little magical sphere held a large shield that the knights use, I just reshaped the shield and forced it back into the sphere. Easy peasy.", he said dusting his trenchcoat.
Four of them got on the raft, Gavin jumped into the water and paddled his feet to push them forward, for a Troll can easily resist the flow of water. They crossed the river and made way on foot on a dusty path that marked the entrance of Wispwood. The dusty path became greener the farther they travelled, after about an hour or so they were par the rivers, through the path and gazed at the mouth of the forest.
It was thick and dense as far as the eye could see, no clear path was carved into it, just acres and acres of greenery. Trees, shrubs, vines, leaves, swamps and what not together made up this Titan for a forest.
"Alright, so we're here. Now how the fuck do we navigate inside?", said Stephen who couldn't see anything but trees.
"Relax. We've got the map and we know exactly where we are, plus we can climb a tree and check our trail at any point. Worst comes to worst, Gavin will chuck you thousands of feet into the air so you can report to us what it is you see.", Trent chuckled as he stepped into the forest.
"Trent! You better be kidding!", yelled Stephen as he followed. Soon the entire team traced his footsteps and were inside the forest of Wispwood.
The forest was mighty green, peppered with trees as far as the eye could see, no sign of any path, any animal or even any water, it was all just miles and miles of bright green.
"I must say, despite its enormous size it's truly a majestic plain for a forest. I've never seen trees as pretty as these before!", said Emma. She could sense the trees in their jolly state, perks of being an elemental were many.
They walked and walked through the forest, trees would often block their path, they would either tread on their sides or have Gavin uproot them with his own bare hands to clear the way.
"Alright, we've travelled about a tenth the distance into the forest, let's set camp and start again tomorrow.", Trent said as he opened his bag to remove tent cloths.
"A tenth?! Ughh I'm already tired.", said Stephen panting. You see, his imp legs weren't built for long walks.
The team napped the night in their tents which were planted in the middle of the thousands of trees. Often a harsh rustling of leaves would rouse them, they would step out their tents with lanterns to examine and see beautiful deers, buffaloes and jungle cats. The night passed as the light shone again, despite the canopies of the forest it remained just as bright as the outsides.
"Day two. Let's get going before we get too comfortable.", said Trent as he put on his backpack and resumed the walk.
"One day, when he's asleep, I will knock him out.", said Stephen under his breath as he struggled to keep his legs intact.
They walked again, for hours on without stopping as they exchanged laughs and memories through the journey. One remarkable thing they had going on for themselves was compatibility, they perfectly locked into one another and would often pass hours as seconds just by talking and fooling around, such deep was their relation. Another day had passed and they once again stopped in a bushy place.
"Let's set camp here. Gavin, dear, would you help us check the surrounding by climbing that tree?", said Emma as she pointed at the tallest tree she saw.
"Watch me go!", Gavin said as he pulled himself at remarkable speeds towards the canopy.
"Any news?!", yelled Ann's voice from down below.
"All Gavin sees is trees.", he said disappointed.
"We're still at the heart of the forest, which means we must be closer to our desired location.", Trent said as he opened his map and laid it on the forest floor.
"Hey, Gavin, do you see any gradience in color? Is any region lighter than where we stand right now?", yelled Trent's voice from below.
Gavin examined the premise to the best of his Troll eyes, they weren't suited for long distance. He looked and looked until he noticed something peculiar, a certain strech of the forest was mighty green compared to the already lush surroundings.
"Okay, I'm seeing something! To our west there's this weird patch of green trees which are like really green.", he said narrowing his eyes.
"We're on the right path, then!", said Trent as he rolled the map into his backpack.
"You can come down, oh our friend who we pretend is normal!", yelled Ann's voice from below again.
Gavin jumped from the canopy, a mile high, and landed flat footed on the floor creating a thud as he did.
"Show-off", said Stephen as he continued walking.
"Trent, darling, what exactly do you have in mind? Where are we going?", asked Emma approaching Trent.
"You're the wise one, Emma, use your mage eyes and you tell me.", he said biting his nails.
"Cut the crap, just tell me.", she said annoyed.
"Fine. We're headed to the gardens of Floriana.", said Trent.
"Ah! I've heard of those. Mother would often talk to trees there before she-", said Emma. She stopped talking and her eyes moistened.
"Hey, it's ok.", said Trent hugging her, "Remember, we're doing this to reclaim our lost wealth. In the path you'll find your mother within your own soul, my love. I'm more than certain it's just as pure.", he continued as he wiped a teardrop off her gorgeous cheeks. Emma kissed his hand and they continued their journey.
"We've literally been walking for two days, why the fuck are we not seeing anything but trees?!", asked a frustrated Stephen.
"Don't you worry, you sad little imp, we're only meters away from the gardens of Floriana.", said Trent opening his map.
"Great! More trees!", said Stephen, annoyed.
Another hour or so of journey and the environment around them begun to change. The trees seemed happier and mist scented with divine honey which filled the air.
"That smells darn good! I bet there's beehives nearby!", said Ann as drool left her mouth, she loved honey.
"Not just beehives, my love, every form of sweet nectar you'll ever taste!", said Emma as she took a strong whiff for herself.
"Alright! Let's break for food. Everything here is absolutely delicious, so I think we should feast from the forest and not waste rations for now.", Trent said as a plucked a pink fruit from a nearby tree and bit a large chunk out.
Everyone feasted on different fruits in this never ending forest, some vibrant and some pale, yet all just as good. The gardens of Floriana are mentioned in multiple myths, they're vibrant forests home to delightful creatures. Once one enters these gardens they're enchanted by smells of honey and the sound of wind rustling against green leaves, it truly is a sight to lay eyes on.
"Burp. That was fucking amazing!", said Stephen with a full stomach. "Why do we even eat meat when this shit is twice as good?", he continued said stuffing berries in his mouth. "Umm Emma, these berries won't poision me, right?", said Stephen getting a little pale.
"No, my darling, they're safe.", she said chuckling.
The entire team was laughing and enjoying as they always did, drowned in each other's eyes.
"Alright, let's make haste again. I chose this path for a reason, it will reduce our travel time significantly.", Trent said walking through the trees.
The entire team followed with Stephen in the back, a truly slow imp he was. They were roused by multiple chimes and chirps from all sorts of animals that left them all in a dazzling mood. Suddenly, however, Emma heard a rash rustling voice.
"Huh? Anyone hear that?", she said turning to the source.
"Emma, learn to chill, it's leaves for god's sake. Honestly you're such a puss-" Stephen was about to be vulgar as always until a strong and bright green vine latched around his legs and dragged him away from the group.
"Ahhhhh!", his cries were lost in the distance.
"Fuck! Time for mythic two, I guess.", said Ann whipping out her bow and enchanted arrows.
"Trent! Any news?! The fuck was that?!", said Emma as her eyes turned purple.
"I can't tell by a single vine, Emma! Get that bitch out it's hiding hole and I'll say!", he said as he opened his mom's book.
The entire group collected in a circle adjacent each other, they all had their eyes ever watchful. Ann had her bow ready to shoot a flurry of enchanted arrows, Trent had his pistol out, Emma's hands glowed purple aura and Gavin pointed his Crush ahead of his body. No sound came again, infact no sound came for a long time.
"Anyone hear anything?", asked Ann wiggling her elf ears.
"Not yet. Emma, can you sense it?", asked Trent.
"I can try", she said looking into the sky as her eyes glowed brighter and brighter. Just then the same strong vine came leaping it's way at Emma, but she wasn't as easy to catch hold of as the imp. Noticing the vine through her mage senses she summoned a purple bubble around herself, the vine wrapped around the bubble tightly and tried tugging it into the empty void of the green forest.
"Emma!", yelled Ann as she shot the arrows at the green vine, but they just bounced and hit the forest floor.
"nnn.. it's alright, I can resist it.. nnn", she said with great restraint. The tug grew stronger and stronger, but so did Emma's resistance.
"Gavin, chop that thing off with the knight's spear!", yelled Trent as he reach for his 'prototype'.
"RAGE!", yelled Gavin as he leaped into the air and dived onto the vine, sticking the spear into it. With great force he tried chopping it off, it was extremely difficult but the vine begun to loosen a little.
"Move out the way!", said Trent as he pointed his long nosed pistol in the direction of the vine. Gavin jumped away from the range as Trent shot a thick pellet right at the vine, knocking himself back again. The pellet hit the vine and dug into it a little. A strong shriek came from the source of the vine as it let go of the bubble, letting Emma land safely on the ground.
"Alright, clearly that vine is a body part of our next mythic, whenever you see it, attack it mercilessly!" said Trent reloading the prototype. They didn't have to wait for long, for this time the vine came strongly towards Trent, wrapping itself around his long nosed pistol.
"Uh-oh! Little help here!", he said struggling to push through.
Emma mumbled a spell under her breath and launched an array of purple projectiles at the vine, but they all deflected off.
"Don't worry, Emms! I've got this!", said Ann as she pulled out an enchanted arrow, aiming it at the vine she muttered a spell and let loose the arrow, which was now glowing bright white. The enchanted arrow hit the vine and stuck to it after digging it's way in, the same shriek was heard as the vine again retraced it's path, letting go of Trent's prototype.
"Thank you!", said Trent gasping for air.
"Told you I'd always be there to protect you.", Ann said as she reloaded another arrow on her bow.
"Emma, you're the only one who can enchant Ann's arrows, she won't be able to do it herself for long. Me and Gavin will bait that thing out of it's hiding hole while you try and strike that vine as many times as possible.", said Trent as he reached for his handy pistol, for he had to rapid fire many pellets.
The team again formed a circle around one another and waited for the vine to show up. There is was again, from the darkest corners of the beautiful forest, a thick green vine forced it's way at them with great force.
"Gavin!!", yelled Trent as he hid behind the Troll.
"Let's get this party started! Come here viney viney!", said Gavin as he caught the vine with all his strength, pushing against the ground with his Troll legs.
"nnnn... Can't hold for long", came a cry from Gavin's end. In the meantime Emma was spending most her energy enchanting a single arrow that Ann held ready at her bow. Eventually the vine won the tug, it struck Gavin hard in the face sending him back multiple feet.
"Shit! Shit! Shit! I can be easily tossed!", said Trent as he started to run away from the vine.
The vine quickly forced it's way at Trent's body.
"Not so fast, you slimy green monstrosity!", said Trent as he turned around to shoot three pellets at the vine. They did some damage, but not enough to stop it from grabbing his legs. The vines tugged onto his feet and pulled him in their direction, dragging his torso against the forest floor.
"Now!", yelled Emma as she completed the spell.
"Let go of my bestie, you ugly freak!", came a cry from Ann's mouth as she launched the enchanted arrow at the best of her elf ability.
The arrow hit the vine just a little below Trent feet, the enchantment was so strong that it actually snapped the vine right where it caught Trent's legs. Falling with a thud on the ground, Trent was left dazed.
A sharp and horrible sound came from the darkness as the creature cried in agony. It's pain turned into rage as it finally decided to show it's body and take our heroes in a battle to the death.
Coming out from the shadows it stood in front of their eyes as rustling accompanied it's footsteps, it was the Lushwshisper!
"The fuck is that?!", said Ann as she reloaded her bow, for what she saw was horrible.
It was a giant lizard, several feet in height and several meters in length, it had leaves for scales and a vine for a tongue. It walked so strong it's tread shook the forest floor, and it could perfectly hide in the background of trees due to its leafy attire. There it stood, a mythic right above Trent as it glared at Trent with its two leafy eyes.
"Back off, cunt!", said Trent as he shot one of its eye with his pistol, it was his favourite part to shoot.
Unlike the Aquillith however, this did absolutely nothing. The pellet crashed with its eye, blowing away some leaves from its body as it did so, but soon immediately after, the leaves reformed and the creature was good as new. Now they had to face something that could reshape itself using the trees of Floriana! Stephen was lost from their eyes and Trent was underneath a regenerative mythic, they knew they were in trouble.
