Chapter 10

He flipped it over and sighed; it was just an ordinary rock, "Shit" As soon as he turned, the ground rumbled and a small red stud appeared from under the roots and the roots cracked expanding into a long, wavy pathway.

He laughed when it appeared and gazed at the red stud and stepped on it, the pathway withered down to roots and he lifted his foot up again. It reverted to the gateway.

Glimpsing at the sky from the roof of roots, they were not as tightly strung as the ones inside the chasm; He smiled at his progress yet still had to find a way out,

Zenith had made a lot of wrong choices in his "life" and he was to continue in this maze.

This part of Forst was alive and he would have to be careful about everything.

The rock shook and like a magnet, it moved and rolled over the stud.

Zenith turned at the roots closing up swiftly and he fled through the path toward the glint of light, he gazed at the roof closing up ahead, running faster, the roots were revolving and at the same time getting smaller, letting in as little light as the eye could see, he huffed getting to the thicker darkness and he spotted a tree through the hole, hustling closer to toss it through before it closed.

The roots recoiled as he broke out of the hole and screamed hitting the tree. He pulled himself up recovering from the hit and looked up stepping around the shade where green parakeets flapped taking shelter under the branches of the tartar tree and gourds hanging down.

The ground was bare with sand and traces of dry bush with stones of various colors scattered across the field, the only tree at the centre of the rest.

His eyes moved up at the clouds drifting over the Forst, he did see flickers of lightning and thunder rumbled, a parakeet shrieked when he pulled a gourd and yanked it.

His panel blinked and typed. [ Find the archer ]

An arrow was shot across the range, the end fluttered stiffly when it pinned the gourd to the trunk watering down and pouring on the earth, he turned back glimpsing at the figure hidden in the trees and he disappeared.

"Archers," It could only mean one thing.

...

Eve O'Hara

She paced about on the jagged volcanic ash under the scorching sun, her eyes squinted, she could not be exposed to this kind of weather condition as her skin was sensitive.There was no sign of life anywhere, her foot stuck on a bud and she was circumspect of her movement, if anything happened, she would fall head first into the hardened magma.

She suppressed a sob slipping down a smooth slope and to an shallow gorge where iguanas sun bathed on heated rocks and scattered in her arrival.

"Somebody, please help!" She staggered to the other side where there was still a vast range of earthened lava.

"Get me outta here!" She bellowed crying and covered nose at the gases in the air, the back of her head pulsed and she spilled her guts on the magma floor, weak in the knees. She touched down and sat, sobbing. "Please"

That hit was overwhelming, it was a wonder she could make it because, each passing day, she was becoming weaker.

The last thing she remembered were those two men talking, what did they say?

Although the feeling that they were up to no good lasted, sadly it was too late to warn anybody.

Her knees bruised easily and she had blisters under her feet, she could not even take her shoes off because her legs were already heating up, she tried to look past her slender fingers to the bright sky.

There were no birds to begin with, no sign of vegetation, she pushed up when she could muster up enough strength,

The path before her was blurry with rising heat and she swallowed at the geyser simmering from afar and pushed on despite her nerves screaming to be kept in one place but that could be delayed as she reached the geyser to scoop up ashes in haste and keeled over.

Moments later,

Her head spun at the rays of sunlight and a masked man who wore Voltagnan armor, held down a hand and she clamped it, getting up stronger than before, she wondered how she did that without the stabbing pain in her legs. Her grip was firm and she winced at her full toned arms, no pale skin, no pale knuckles or bony fingers. Her skin was a deeply entrenched brown and she pulled up her ebony hair, it was longer and wavy, she yanked it expecting it to fall off and winced at the pain on her scalp, massaging it."Yup, it's in there deep"

He raised an eyebrow "Yup?"

She glanced at the black pack strapped around her arm and unfolded it to pull out a black gem that glittered by the sharp end and closed her hand instinctively when he reached for it.

His eyes moved from her face to it and stepped back.

"You were lost on ghost geyser"

She stood up tall over the sage who wore a black robe with a strange eye at the centre of his face.

"Here's the thing, Grisla is never lost"

A bow stretched out from her hand, she reached down to the magma and pulled up an arrow, she drew the string shooting him.

Instantly, he keeled over and disappeared like smoke.

She clutched the bow and swung it about and hoisted the Rubinet jewel to catch it.

"Hmm"

She strutted over the field and the buds crushed under her feet as she walked casually pulling up her long crimson jacket in curiosity with an extra pocket and her tan vest and black pants with strap pockets around her thighs and boots.

She gazed at the plateau on it and strange birds around it tattooed on the centre of her glove.

She seemed unaffected by the sun, even more nourished, she wiggled her fingers over her head and gazed at the white plasters around them. "Incredible"

She glared at a black ring that looked like a serpent swallowing itself up to hold her finger and tapped the centre.

A partially visible black panel hovered, she touched the signs.

Name: Grisla

Homeland: Voltagna.

Height: 6 ft 5

Weight: xx

Skills: Precision, Whistling

Weapons: Refractable bow, Lavarros

Achievements: 3

Level: 6

"Whistling?" She laughed "I don't think so"

With one curious look, she then braced her fingers in her mouth and blew a loud whistle, tottering at the airflow.

"Whoa" She windmilled when her foot crushed deeper into the ground tilting forwards in a bowing position.

A coal black dragon landed on its limbs similar to a bat's from a distance and she stopped cold, it crawled over by two strides and screeched.

She laughed nervously and drove her hand in an arc. "Hi"

She screamed making devil horns with her fingers as the dragon soared over the dry land. She crawled up to its head laughing.

It was a rusty bat-dragon with fur on its neck and a hard scaly back, the wings of a bat and its limbs were strong as a dragon's.

The sky looked clear from her point of view and the magma glistened with tar bubbling on it.

She was riding the dragon Grisla_she_ battled head to head and tamed in a thirst to end their infestation on Voltagna. Fortunately, they became faithful allies.

Its name was Ox-Snout

Ox-Snout screeched and his ears turned backwards and she looked back at the wraiths coming, she held its gills and pushed it downwards, its spine waved as it dived. Gasping; "Whoa! Holy shit!"

Her hair waved dangerously as it was headed for the ground with the persistent wraiths grappling after her.

The bat-dragon gave a defeaning shriek and recovered gliding over it before it touched the ground.

She stepped up from the saddle and hopped off, sprawling over the ground to make more arrows.

They shone with an orange zest and she pulled three at them, the heavy breeze blew off the smog of their remains, unveiling the others coming.

"Darn it"