I am your Guiding Blade!
Alistair raced away across the rugged ridge, the sound of icy ground cracking beneath his feet. He could distinguish the heavy breathing of the goblins, the clanking of their weapons, and the flickering of their torches coming from just behind him.
With determination, he dashed across the jagged rocks, striving to maintain his balance as the thick darkness engulfed him.
He had no idea of his destination, nor did he possess any concern for it. The sole thought in his mind was that they were closing in on him.
In a desperate bid to shake them off, he abruptly changed his course, venturing over the ridge. "Wait, I'm already at the top...?!" Alistair thought as he realized there was no more climbing to do. "But how do I try to spot anyone from here if these carnibals keep pursuing me?"
He had no choice but to prioritize his escape and find this mountain top later. Throwing his gaze forward, he could see a prospect that lead down a valley.
The scene ahead sent shivers down his spine. Hills stretched across the horizon, appearing even more ominous against the backdrop of the darkening sky.
From his vantage point on the ridge, he could see that they were lower in height, but their darkness seemed to intensify.
To make matters worse, the valley beneath him was entirely engulfed in blackness, save for occasional flickering lights that he presumed to be fireflies.
"This is one hell of a haunted place. Just looking at it gives me the creeps," Alistair muttered. Despite the goblins hot on his trail, he hesitated for a moment.
Suddenly, a javelin narrowly missed his head, serving as a stark reminder of the danger he was in. "F*ck it! I have no other option," he thought, mustering his courage and swiftly descending into the dark valley.
Amidst the intensity of the moment, his foot collided with a rock causing him to stumble and sprawl across the ground. However, he swiftly regained his balance, rising to his feet and increasing his speed.
The curses of the goblins chasing him echoed in his ears, evoking thoughts on how such diminutive beings could pursue him with such swiftness. Or perhaps it was the hidden forces within this ominous valley that hindered his progress.
Yet, he pressed onward, plunging into the abyss below. Approaching the vicinity, an overwhelming darkness enveloped him abruptly, akin to a dark torrent.
The once solid ground beneath his feet became a soggy marsh, while the once fresh air grew stagnant and repugnant. Within moments, he sloshed through a colossal pool of viscous muck.
Suddenly, he came to a halt, capturing a peculiar absence of sound. It didn't take long to discern the cause. "Ah, they have retreated, " he whispered. "But why?"
Alistair fidgeted anxiously in the murky surroundings. "Why are they hesitating to enter this place?" he pondered, feeling a chilling sensation seeping into his boots. "Damn! What could be worse than being in a swamp?"
As he gazed into the distance, what appeared to be fireflies turned out to be much larger. They floated in the darkness, as if observing him.
The number of these creatures multiplied rapidly, slowly approaching him, causing him to clutch his robes tightly.
An unpleasant odor, similar to decaying leaves and moss, filled the air. "Ugh! This place stinks," he choked, unable to bear the smell. With the bugs inching closer, the stench intensified.
Suddenly, a screech pierced through the atmosphere. Alistair winced as the sound seemed to emanate from the ground, the creatures, and the putrid air all at once.
"Confirmed, this is really like being on the set of a winter horror film," he stammered, deciding to hasten his pace rather than remaining still for whatever lurked in the dark to catch up with him.
However, after taking a few steps, he suddenly felt a tug on his foot. He lost his balance and fell headfirst into the disgusting puddle of slime.
To his horror, an unseen force dragged him back through the murky waters, returning him to his previous location. Hurriedly getting up, he shook off the putrid sludge.
"Whatever pulled me back clearly doesn't want me trespassing," he thought, disgusted by the foul odor emanating from his body. "Perhaps, now that the goblins are retreating, I can return to the ridge and search for someone who looks more like a fellow human."
Just as he was about to turn around, the huge fireflies began to gather again, encircling him. The shrieks grew louder, and the stench of decay overwhelmed him. Fear gripped him as he yelled, "What do y'all want from me?"
The bugs closed in, glaring down at him. "I suppose I'm destined to die in this reality without ever understanding my purpose," he realized.
"This is incredibly unfair. Everyone else gets to live while I'm doomed to die repeatedly. I'm convinced that no matter how many lives I live, death will always find me. But can I accept this? Absolutely not! I refuse to accept this nonsense."
Suddenly, he felt something akin to a vine creep into his hands. Looking down at it, it truly was a vine, that extended before his eyes until a lotus bloomed at its tip.
"Shit! My killer!" Alistair exclaimed, trying shake off the vine, but it had wrapped itself endlessly alone his arm down to his palm. Something he didn't notice until now.
He could feel the stalk of the lotus throbbing like a pumping vein. Suddenly, a single line resonated through his being. "Fear not, for I am your guiding blade." He didn't just hear it, but felt it as well.
And as though these words decided to prove themselves, the Lotus started to extend from its center. As it did, it's stalk began to materialize into a hilt, then extend into a guard, and finally a blade that shimmered with the hues of twilight.
"W-What the...?!" Alistair exclaimed starring at the sword in his hand, that rippled ever so slightly.
These hues, although dull, wrapped the surrounding air, causing the livid stench to grow thinner, pushing darkness enough for him to see the wretchedness of these fireflies who now faltered from closing up on him. "Yuck! These things are hideous." Alistair grimaced, pulling the sword right in from of him.
Their shrieks ceased as a sense of freshness wafted from the sword and into the air. At the same time, the sword's glow started to expand. Within seconds, hues of blue, pink, orange and purple illuminated his entire body.
"The murky on my body, it's leaving." Alistair exclaimed as he watched the black ooze on his arms and chest evaporate. "So it's indeed protecting me. Did I misjudged you?" He asked the sword, not really expecting a reply, but the weird part was that he got one, except not one to his question.
"Thrust me into the ground as hard as you can!"
"What?" Alistair hesitated, not really understanding what good that would do. As far as he could tell, holding it up in front of him, kept these things at bay. "I'm better off wading forward with you in front of me." He said.
However, out of nowhere, the screams started again, this time with even more intensity. The large fireflies, continued their approach as if they had already grown immune to the sword's effects.
"I would escape this haunted swamp, no matter what!" Alistair declared while pressing ahead.
He waded through the murky puddle, feeling it constantly leaking into his boots.
"If I even make it out of this alive, I would need an entire day of foot-scrubbing to get this nasty sensation off my feet." He thought, but suddenly, he felt something pulling him down and sucking him. "Shit! I am sinking."
The bugs surrounded him once more, and the rumbling grew louder. "Back off! Wretched things!" He ordered, as he adjusted his grip on the sword, causing the insects backed off slightly.
But it was no good, he still felt the swamp swallowing him, and with every passing moment, everything, from the horrid bugs to the noise and finally the stench, built up some kind of resistance to the light from the sword, and came closer.
"You have no time left, I said thrust me in." The voice rippled through him once more. But he still hesitated, "are you sure about this?!"
His limbs, strained from holding the sword, grew numb and weighed down by the eerie energy that enveloped the area. Each step became increasingly challenging, and every breath felt forced.
Alistair could sense his strength waning, as if the marsh itself was draining him of his vitality. As his endurance diminished, the fireflies closed in.
The rumbling intensified, and the putrid smell of the swamp became more unbearable. The marsh seemed to stretch infinitely in all directions as he walked. And then, suddenly, everything engulfed him, smothering his senses.
"NOWWW!!!" The voice thundered within him, and with it came an electrifying energy zapping through the sword and into his arms.
"Aaaahhh!!!" Alistair screamed out his lungs, thrusting the sword into the depths of the marsh that was engulfing him. It was already around his waist, causing his face to plunge into it with the thrust.
There was a sudden ring, like the sound of a pindrop, echoing far and wide. Then the black ooze around the sword started the boil in response to the blinding glow emanating from the depths.
Instantly, a torrent of white energy blasted outward, searing away the untire swamp until their was only solid floor in sight.
The constant wails, the stench, the glowing bugs, everything was gone with the swamp.
"Shucks! Couldn't you be a bit gentle? All that stunt you just pulled, went through me as well..." Alistair said in a muffled voice, as he stumbled and fell to his knees, barely hanging on to the sword.
He tried to lift himself, but he lost his balance due to the sword bursting into tiny particles of light. He slammed hard onto the barren floor, passing out.
***