Once we were far enough, and knew we weren't being followed, we got off the wolf.
Hoseok pulled a bag out of his sleeve. It was Taehyungs magic bag. The elf took out all our belongings.
We all got changed quickly looking out to see if anyone was approaching.
Hoseok pulled on his robes and in doing so they changed to regular traveling attire, making him seem less extravagant. He did still look like a magic user, and instead of having a long robe it was transformed into a mantle. His forearms were visible showing off intricate tattoos that looked like magical designs. He took his staff which was made of jade, the top ending with an intricate swirl of a design. As he swiped his hand over it, he casted an illusion spell and it looked like a regular walking stick.
The rest of us were prepared with our weapons and armor as well as our ration packs and money. The wizard tapped Jungkooks' shoulder and reached his hand out.
"I believe I was out first?"
Jungkook sucked his teeth and payed Hoseok 10 gold pieces.
"How did I not know Maldril got to the King..." Taehyung was annoyed that his ability hadn't seen it coming.
"The only thing I can think of is that the Mage had put a spell of some sort to protect the king's mind." Hoseok muttered.
"That's possible" the elf was still beating himself over it mentally.
I squeezed his shoulder.
"It's alright. It could have been worse." we could have been caught and the mage could have gotten his hands on me.
He nodded letting me know he had heard the rest on my thoughts.
"So clearly the human army won't be on our side. What do we do now?" the shifter asked Hoseok.
"We still need to gain people on our side. Before Maldril gets to them first."
"We can't just go to any king though. Derlanty barely worked in our favor. We almost lost Yoongi. We should try to convince people we know would work with us instead of those with the most numbers. Not kings like Derlanty and my father." Taehyung was right. We needed to have better plans. People we could trust.
"The King of the woodlands!" Jungkook was proud to come up with this suggestion.
"Yes! He would never join the arch mage!" Hoseok seemed excited.
"Yes, but Maldril might know that he is the obvious second choice for us."
"Then we'll have to get there first!" I said
We all agreed that our next step would be to go to the woodland elf king, though I was worried about the long travel. I wonder what we will come across and if we will make it there before Maldril gets to us.
We had been walking together for hours. The sun had already set, and the night breeze cooled us down. We were climbing up a small hill. I was quite hungry, wondering when we would take a break to eat.
And once we were at the top, I could see small warm lights shimmering below. There was a very small village.
There's an inn down there, don't worry.
Taehyungs voice sounded in my head. I jumped a little not used to this.
"Oh... Sorry.." he looked away from me a bit shy.
Maybe he was used to communicating like that with me before.
"That's ok. I'll get used to it." I didn't want him to feel like he couldn't be himself.
The village had a cozy feeling. It felt like it could be a close-knit community with a lot of travelers and adventurers to keep things exciting.
We found the inn. It was a lot smaller than the Dragon's den, but I was too excited to sit and eat something I didn't really pay attention to its structure.
We entered and the place was not as busy as what I was used too but it was close to being full.
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"Welcome! Take a seat I will serve you shortly!" a strong voice came from the server of the inn. He was a young dwarf with a short red beard and brown hair tied back.
The four of us took a table in the corner of the inn in front of a window.
The dwarf came to our table and we all ordered food and drinks. The three of them began to speak of things I couldn't really focus on. I had this strange feeling I couldn't shake off. I felt like someone was staring at me.
I looked at the other people in the room and they all seemed to be focused on their food and drinks except one.
At the back of the inn sat a tall looking man. His hair color pitch black, shaved at the sides, the top pushed back and loosely braided. He wore black robes and his eye color was unnatural.... A golden color that seemed to flicker like a fire.
He stared directly at me and the room felt colder, and I couldn't look away.
A smirk formed on his face revealing his dimples, which would be pleasing if he didn't make me feel so uncomfortable.
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"Here you are!" the dwarf broke my concentration and plated the food. It all would look delicious if I hadn't lost my appetite just moments ago. I looked back at the man, but he was no longer there.
"You alright?" Taehyung seemed concerned.
I don't understand your thoughts
He finished in my mind.
"There was a man..."
The elf looked to where my eyes were fixated.
"What did he look like?" he added.
What I saw flashed in my mind and his body tensed. I could feel the intense emotion he felt as he saw what I saw in my mind.
