The Sorcerer

Chapter Four

Richard used a spell to hide his horse and tent from sight. Then he went to the opposite direction from his tent and horse.

Minutes later, he still hasn't found anything to hunt.

Richard's stomach growled.

"I know, stomach. You are hungry. Just you wait," he said.

But there was a kind-of-a-miracle. A deer gracefully ran into sight. It stopped at a plant.

Richard got an arrow from behind him.

"Relax your breathing, child." He was remembering his basic archery training with Nadur. "Aim, do not exhale, steady, then fire."

Richard relaxed his breathing. He aimed at his target. He is holding his breath. He steadied his aim. Then...

The deer was hit in his head. It fell down. But Richard didn't take the shot. It was someone else's shot.

Richard was near a tree, so he hid behind it.

"Got you now," a voice said. It belonged to a woman.

"Now that I got this deer, show yourself!" The woman called out.

"Is she referring to me?" Richard thought.

"Come out, outsider! I know you are here. I can sense your magic pulsating somewhere."

Richard didn't even move from his position.

"Okay then, outsider."

There was no sound at first, but then a spell was thrown into the tree Richard was hiding at. It was a fire spell. Richard then showed himself.

"So, you still want me to burn you, huh? Who are you, outsider?" the woman asked Richard.

Richard looked at the woman. She has a beautiful, beautiful face. Golden eyes, and full lips. She is wearing hunting clothes, but it doesn't look like she is from Fiedith.

"Speak, outsider!"

"Uh, my name is Richard," he told the woman.

"So, Richard," she emphasizes his name. "Why are you here?"

"I was just hunting."

"Liar."

"No, I'm not."

"Do not contradict me, outsider."

"Well, I am really just hunting that-" He was cut off when he looked at the direction of the deer but then realized that the deer was not there anymore. It is gone.

"Well, I was just hunting that deer that vanished. Where is it?"

"Actually, the deer was just a Conjuration," the woman said. "I knew someone not from here has arrived, and I wanted to draw him out. Well, now I succeeded."

There was some awkward silence after what the woman said, then Richard spoke again. "Uhm, so, shall I go now?"

"Outsider, actually, my rules when someone who doesn't live here enters this forest, dies."

"What?"

"Yes. You heard that right. Now, in what way do you prefer to die?"

"I still want to live, Miss..."

"The name's Lily, outsider. But your choice is not one of what I have in-"

There was a powerful explosion from the direction Richard came.

"What was that?" Richard said.

"I don't know. But I'm going to find out."

She slung her bow behind her. It vanished from sight. Then she walked to the direction of the explosion.