Cursed Healing

Have you ever been in a dream, and you questioned whether that dream was your imagination playing tricks on you, or if that dream was really a lost memory. I always assumed that the dreams I kept having were my mind playing tricks on me. Teasing me just like The Entity was, or The Entity himself teasing me. But the more I experienced these dreams, the more at home I started to feel and yet, though these were just dreams; I couldn't help but remember.

*CRASH*

I wake up instantly startled by the loud noise, I look to the front of the room to see the black flowered Dryad I walked with before panicking.

"THE OGRES ARE HERE." She terrifyingly yelled as she rushed towards me.

"HUMAN WAKE UP, THE OGRES ARE HERE." She yelled again trying to grab my attention as my disorientated self tried to understand the situation.

"Why is it bad that the Ogres are here," I said with a tired voice, confused by why she was in such a panic.

"J-just take your companion and follow me." She nervously said, trying to calm herself down. "I'll explain it to you on the way." As I picked up Venus's unconscious body I noticed that the "medic" had already left, we hurried out of the house and we ran towards the large waterfall near the medic's house.

"As you probably know, the Ogres are an enemy of every race except the Vampires, they work for the vampires and they come to our forest ever so often but they have never been able to break through the barrier. But today they were somehow able to, and we don't know how." She said, breaking up so often to catch a breath, though she was terrified, she still seemed to get flustered when she looked me in the eyes.

"But why would they want to come here so badly, what is here for them?" I asked as we reached the waterfall, before she responded she chanted something to herself. Suddenly roots with black flowers came from the ground and went off the rock next to the waterfall, creating a type of ladder.

I put Venus on my back and I followed the Dryad up the ladder, suddenly she stopped and looked down towards me with a terrified face.

"They are here for me."

She quickly turned around and hurried up the ladder, as I followed her silently. We reached the top of the ladder, there was a giant room behind the waterfall where all the Dryads had been hiding from the Ogres. As we entered the room, all the Dryads looked at us, terrified and angered.

"IT'S ALL THE HUMANS FAULT, IT'S HIS FAULT THE OGRES WERE ABLE TO BREAKTHROUGH THE BARRIER."

"NO ITS LUTEA'S FAULT, HER CURSED HEALING IS THE REASON THEY KEEP COMING HERE IN THE FIRST PLACE."

The villagers kept yelling in our direction. It didn't affect me, but as I looked at Lutea's face I could tell how horrified she was. She wanted to run away, but she couldn't, she wanted to cry and yell, but she couldn't. All she could do was stand there taking the insults, pretending that they didn't affect her.

Suddenly Iris appeared, almost out of nowhere. The villagers instantly silence themselves as they look at her more terrified than before. Iris spotted the villager that started the riot and smiled at him, he looked back at her still terrified, but angered at the same time. Right as he was going to speak Iris cut him off.

"You were the one who started the riot as we are trying to hide from the Ogres, not only are you a waste of life, but you are an insult to our existence." Suddenly the ground shook and from the ground came a monster that looked almost like a crocodile but made from roots and leaves, it swallowed the Dryad whole and the creature retreated back into the earth leaving just a whole from where it came from.

"Does anyone else wish to speak up," Iris said in her usual seductive voice, as she smiled manically at the crowd. The crowd stared at her petrified, and kept their eyes following her as she walked towards us. She then touched Lutea's shoulder, she looked at her mother and hugged her as she bursted into tears

Iris turned to me with the same expression she had when facing the crowd.

Unless you'd want to suffer the same fate as that useless troublemaker, I'd recommend you help us with this little problem we're having": I stood there silently, thinking about my next words.

"No, you won't," I replied. She looked at me in disbelief as I called out her bluff.

"You can't fight them without me. You need me. If anything, you'd owe me"

She looked at me, and her expression of anger turned to one of defeat and frustration. The room was even more quiet as someone dared challenge her.

"Fine, you do have a point, human." She stopped as she took in what I said and what words exited her prideful mouth.

"Look, I'll answer any and all questions you may have and grant you knowledge, but you have to help us." She responded with haste

"Ugh, fine, I'll help, but I need to know you won't try to take this charm from me, ever again."

"I give you my word." She said as she gently pushed Lutea off to the side and got on her knees, signifying an everlasting promise. I gently put Venus on the floor, and whispered to her telling her I would be back, and telling her not to worry.

"Who's gonna help us, do you have soldiers or guards or anything." I asked as I looked around hoping to see soldiers.

"All of our guards and soldiers have died, it's just us." She said as she winked at me, implying some sort of sexual connotation.

"Great," I said as chills went down my back.

"WAIT MOTHER, PLEASE DON'T LEAVE ME." Lutea suddenly yelled just as we were about to leave. Iris walked towards Lutea and comforted her and whispered something in her ear that seemed to have calmed her down. As Iris walked away she said "I'll be back."

Suddenly we heard banging against the mountain we were hiding on.

"WE KNOW YOU ARE UP THERE, HAHAHAH." The Ogre yelled in a deep and almost monster-like voice. Iris and I instantly jumped down the mountain to confront the Ogres, though I was nervous, again I was excited to finally be able to fight again. We landed on the ground, two large Ogres standing in front of us. Their entire body was green as they wore clothes that were similar to those of an ancient tribe, they had two large saber-like teeth coming out of their mouth and two large horns on their head. They had different-coloured horns, one had purple horns and the other had light green horns.

"HAHAHAH, WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU TWO WILL BE ABLE TO DO AGAINST US." One Ogre yelled as he broke into a hysterical laughter. Ignoring the Ogres blatant insult Iris asks him, "How did you break through the barrier."

"A LITTLE FAIRY THAT WE HAPPENED TO CROSS BY HELPED US, BEFORE WE ATE HER HAHAHAH." He yelled again laughing even harder. The more he laughed the more he annoyed me, this type of character was so common, and I've always hated them. Loud, laughing all the time, extremely cocky and thinking they are funny.

[Mana punch, 600 mana]

"Ugh, can you shut up," I said annoyed as I punched him in the stomach. As my punch directly connected with his abs, a large gust of wind was created on both sides of him, but he didn't move, in fact, it did nothing to him. He looked down at me with extreme annoyance as she swung his fist back ready to punch me.

I looked up at him as my fist was still connected to his abs.

"Well shit."