The Path of the Adventurer

Chapter 15

"Fire!" Shouted Norder. Immediately, a rapid burst of arrows flew into the cave. Orcs screamed one by one as a storm of arrows peppered them to their inevitable fall. A brief halt then occurred, and during this time the remaining orcs drew their bows. Yet another swarm of swift arrows plunged through their chests before they could pluck another arrow, taking them all to their death. "Cease fire!"

"I think the orcs are gone!" Huffey observed.

"And from the sound of it, Deadeye's calmed down too." Tikana added.

"Oh?" Erion instantly jumped out of the cart and dashed right out of the cave. "You guys take care of Magon - I'll be right back!"

"Wait, Erion! Ye' sure now's the time?" Huffey called.

Leaving the cave, Erion forced himself to move quickly upon the rugged ground. Eventually, he came across a platoon of what seemed like forty archers - and Norder was not visible. The archers' uniforms resembled the ones worn at Venetia and Carolin's castle.

"Excuse me?" Erion asked when he came close. "Can I speak to Norder?"

The soldiers chatted among themselves. From what Erion could hear, many were surprised by his appearance - and the fact that an elf who had barely become an adult managed to survive the mountain.

"Guys, are you even listening to me?" Erion exclaimed. "Where's Norder? I have to speak to him, something terrible has happened!"

A tall, masculine figure pushed his way through the crowd of archers. As he came to the front, Erion could only recognize this figure as Norder. "Erion, calm down! What's wrong? Did you get the Dragonstone?"

Erion cringed. "We did. But Magon... I think he's... dying..."

"What?" Norder turned to his archers and raised his voice. "Stay put! There is business that I must attend to." The guards listened, and then Norder gave his attention back to Erion. "Let's go. This is something we cannot ignore." Norder and Erion walked back down the rugged terrain; the size of the mountain was godlike in size.

"Where did you find the archers?" Asked Erion.

"I found them camping up in the nearby mountains. They said that the villagers sent them to make sure we were safe. Then, they led me here - which was supposedly the only exit to the mountain."

"I appreciate your help." Erion stated.

"Now tell me, what happened to Magon?!"

"T-The dragon woke up and noticed that we took the stone. Afterwards, he chased us down a minecart track. His fire breath got too close to Magon, and as a result Magon passed out. Now we don't know if he's even alive."

Norder glanced at Erion; he seemed impressed. "I must admit, escaping Deadeye alive is unheard of. But forget about all of that for now, Magon's life is what matters the most!"

Avoiding a giant, uneven chunk of rock in the ground, Erion continued, "But what should we do? Huffey doesn't have anything that can bring him back. Should we seek out necessary supplies back in the village? Or search for any nearby plants or herbs that could work?"

Norder stopped and stared at Erion. His hair blew in the midnight wind. "...Have you forgotten?"

"Forgotten what?"

"The concoction that Carolin gave you. Did you consider that?"

"You mean the elixir in my pocket?" Erion replied. "She didn't explain what it was like. It may have negative side effects if we use it on Magon in his current state."

Norder frowned. "Erion, Erion. Think back to what Carolin said when she gave it to you. What exactly did she tell you?"

Erion looked away for a while and thought back to Castle Guardstone. He saw himself and Carolin in Venetia's throne room when Carolin gave him the elixir. He tried to remember everything that Carolin had said word for word, remembering nothing valid except for: