Misadventures Of Two Lost Souls

Chapter 4: Elena, Kingdom Of Elves

As the sun reached its highest point in the sky, clouds covering most of it, the pair of adventurers were moving quickly through the desert. Hyaci was trying to clean the inside of her helmet as they went, Alric stiffly staring at the distance. There was an uncomfortable silence between them, but neither tried to break it. Things were indeed tense, with their heads feeling stuffed with cotton and too many things at once.

And now, it seemed like the knight and the thief were travelling together as an alliance. A weird one, sure, but it wasn't going to last long. Both of them knew it.

As they mulled over the recent events in their heads, they reached the first few trees of the forest. Of course, the sand couldn't keep carrying them, and they got up and walked into the forest.

Entering this forest made more noises surround them. Instead of the quietness of the sand, the green area brought the noises of various animals and creatures. Birds chirping, the sound of wind dragging sticks and leaves, footsteps from the creatures that roamed around. The trees, all with leaves going from greens to yellows, to reds and to oranges and browns.

The adventurers were surrounded by nature, and they both had to stop for a moment to take it in. It was the first time they were in such a lively area after all. (At least from what she could remember.)

Hyaci took a deep breath as they walked through the trees, the smell of oak and flowers filling the air. She even stopped again to feel the fresh air as she took a deep breath. She felt calm, and she couldn't know this might be one of the last times she would feel like this.

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The travellers made their way through the forest while the sun was starting to set.

Hyaci was walking in front of him, in her full set of armour. Alric came behind, stretching his arms over his head. The comfortable pace they had set and the silence between them was interrupted when they were ambushed.

An arrow with a golden tip went past Hyaci's head, so close she could almost feel the cold metal hitting her metal helmet. She moved to the right, a shield formed in her left hand. She was about to shout something to Alric, however, she turned and he was gone. She looked around herself, hoping to see an attacker or Alric himself.

From her right, an elf with beautifully made armour appeared with their sword ready. Gold and silver trim around the edges, shapes well defined and smooth. And not only did the ears from the helmet they wore showed their race, but the graceful way of standing at the ready pointed this too. Hyaci turned to them, a bit shocked at the elvish features but quickly getting over it.

"I didn't come here to attack or hurt you." As she spoke, our knight took off her helmet and showed the elvish traits on her.

The attacker hesitated for a moment before lowering their blade. "We were not expecting an elf to come to the forest, even less so after what happened to Hammerhold. My apologies for attacking."

Ten or fifteen feet away from this, Alric awaited completely still on top of a tree. His instinct told him to run immediately as soon as he was in danger, hell he reacted completely on reflex for that one. And no, it wasn't teletransportation, he could just move that easily if he felt in great danger, not a plot hole.

He was trying to calm his breathing as he felt another arrow pass near him. This time he simply jumped and held onto the branch above, kicking at the arrow that could've pierced his shoulder. What he didn't realize though, was that the branch on top was not as sturdy as the one he had been on.