Little update: A big thanks to those who are following this story so far! In case you are wondering, this is a self-written story (an amateur attempt I know) during the days when I was fascinated by the stuff about knights, castles, kingdoms and sorcery, you get what I mean. For those who wish to check out the previous chapters, here's the link! With that let the adventure continue!
Chapter 46
At the edge of the woods, Rak saw a peculiar scene in the distance. Throngs of battlefiends were making their way out of the woods and drifting into the city of Doria. Concurrently, he felt strong winds blowing from the area where the battlefiends were. The winds howled through the grassy plains and swept up the sand and dust on the ground. The surroundings started to turn misty and the twinkling stars in the sky seemed to fade off one by one.
Stepping in the thick woods for the first time, Rak was immediately greeted by the extent of darkness. The low visibility in the night was further exacerbated by the thick layer of canopy. Luckily, he had his pouch of crystals with him. He rummaged through it and took out an obitu crystal. It gave a weak light blue sparkle but it was sufficient to light up the way in front of him, yet not attracting attention from unwanted visitors.
Having only the skeletal sabre as a clue to Maltov's whereabouts, he crept stealthily through the woods and scrutinised the ground for any markings. His vagabond instincts came in handy this time as he soon found a large footprint, which he believed belonged to the Perisher. He followed the footprints and after quite some time, his obitu crystal turned crimson red in colour. He quickly used his hands to cover the crystal and peered intently at the stretch of trees ahead of him.
There was a cave about ten yards in front of him. He lay low and crept forward slowly. When he reached the entrance of the cave, he stood up and took a quick peep. The cave was brightly-lit with torches of fire that were perched on the walls of the cave. There were quite a number of creatures in the cave and he identified them immediately as the skeletal warriors.
He advanced a few steps and this time, he saw the skeletal sabre resting on one of the tables! The tip of the skeletal sabre gleamed incandescently, and Rak scanned the area to see any signs of Maltov. Then it occurred to him that unless Maltov presented himself to him, he would not be able to find him. Rak waited for any response or reaction but there was none.
Then he wondered if he should make a dash and steal the weapon. Just as he was planning how to get hold of the weapon, the Perisher emerged from one of the chambers. His thoughts quickened as he watched the Perisher trudge from one side of the cave to the other.
He decided to take a risk - run forward, grab the sabre, and out of the cave. However, just before he made his move, the ground trembled and the skeletal warriors suddenly gathered and rushed towards the exit. As Rak turned around and hid behind a tree trunk, he saw the Perisher right behind the skeletal warriors and it seemed that they were making their way towards Doria.
Unaware that Iglius had fallen, Rak thought that the massive group in the castle would be able to deal with the Perisher and his skeletal warriors. So he waited till all was quiet before coming out of his hiding place and resumed his search for Maltov.
As the night wore on, Rak started to get discouraged and could hardly found any motivation to continue searching. Thinking that Maltov might have made his way back on his own, he decided to return to the castle. He started to track his way back but somehow, he found himself walking past the same spot over and over again. It seems that he was going round in circles. Just as he was wondering how he should get out of this maze, he felt a tap on his knee.
"Are you looking for me?"