Arcadia's Ignoble Knight: Dark Elf Arc

Chapter 7

After leaving Axium, Elincia and Caspian hopped onto several trains that took them through the country. Dorumhold was located on the opposite side of Arcadia as Axium. According to the research Caspian had done, it was built next to a large inlet that led to the ocean and was connected to both Moksha and Elysium through it.

They weren't on a train at the moment. Their previous train stop had been what Caspian would have called the end of the line. No trains from the town they had stopped in traveled to Dorumhold, which would have required them taking a very roundabout route that curved around Arcadia, traveled through Cassadinia, and hit several more towns. That would have taken a lot more time.

And besides, he and Elincia had another reason for stopping.

Elincia stood in the shooting stance she'd been taught by Alex back in Axium, her eyes narrowed. Her target was a lone tree standing 200 meters out. There were many such trees surrounding this grassy field, but they were all spaced fairly far apart save for the few copse located here and there. The bow made a low groaning noise as she drew the arrow back.

"Thor, could you please bless this arrow?"

At Elincia's request, a sudden explosion of mana caused the hair on Caspian's arms to stand up. He was standing several meters behind Elincia. As he watched, the arrow was suddenly engulfed in lightning. Blue arcs of electricity skittered across the surface. Some of those arcs struck the ground, exploding and gouging out chunks of the earth. Oddly enough, Elincia didn't even seem to notice.

Taking in a deep breath, Elincia released the arrow.

Caspian was not sure how he could describe what happened. The arrow traveled in a straight line toward the tree, struck it, and exploded with a force so incredible it nearly knocked him and Elincia off their feet. Lightning burst from the ground. A blinding flash of light covered their vision, forcing them to close their eyes, and the clashing of thunder made their sensitive ears ring as though someone had blown a horn directly into them.

When the light and howling winds died down, Caspian and Elincia opened their eyes and uncovered their ears. Having crouched down sometime during the detonation of lightning, Caspian stood to his feet, and then walked over to Elincia and offered the girl his hand. He pulled her up and they both turned to stare at the damage that had been done.

"Huh... that is a big crater," Caspian murmured.

"Wow," Elincia whispered.

The area where the tree had once been was now nothing more than a large crater. Caspian couldn't judge how large it was, but it had to be at least a dozen meters across and several deep. He and Elincia walked up to it. They stopped at the ledge and looked down. The crater was shaped like a perfect bowl, though hundreds of cracks were running across the bottom to form what resembled a spider's web. Most of the cracks were small, but a few were large.

"I didn't think an arrow blessed by Thor would be this powerful," Elincia muttered in shock.

"Me neither." Caspian wanted to whistle, but he held himself back and shook his head. "Anyway, I think you've practiced enough for today. Let's continue our journey. If we begin walking now, we should be able to make it to the next town."

"What is the next town called?" asked Elincia as she and Caspian began walking. They were a little off the beaten path, so they needed to walk a few minutes to reach the dirt road that would lead to the next town.

"It's called Lígoton," Caspian said.

"Lígoton..." Elincia murmured as though trying out the word for herself. "What an odd name."

"No odder than Axium."

"I guess not."

It didn't take long to reach the dirt road, which was just a huge stretch of dirt that cut through the grassy plain. There were only two directions to go. Caspian and Elincia took off in the direction they needed to. As they did, Caspian decided to begin asking her about something that made him curious.