The goddess be damned!
Elessar and her party of four members embarked on the journey towards the north of the village where she and Finrod had come from. With her was a fire mage of level 13, a healer of level 11, a Rock tank of level 20, and a rogue of level 21.
She had the best of the village on her side and they went beneath the tree canopies that covered the floor in darkness. The team debated between splitting up to increase their chances of finding her mother faster or going in as a team, and after a few minutes of a back-and-forth argument, they settled for going in as a team. Most of them had been traumatized by the transformed Graimpuf that had appeared the night before and they feared coming across it alone.
The soil was dark with the team stepping on dead plants, leaves, the rotting corpse of animals and occasionally poop. It was a messy journey that Elessar recalled wasn't as messy the last time she passed.
The system apparently had altered some of their features, just at minute levels however. Elessar, the rogue and the tank had known, the terrain of the forest after the advent of the rifts and demon wasn't exactly new to them, they used their better eyesight to the best of their abilities meanwhile the Healer and the Fire mage were in awe of theirs.
Elessar lightly scoffed, she was certain that they had been using the new improved eyesight, that everyone had, they just had no idea as they didn't pay that much attention to details.
She heard a sudden light step and then a hit on the tree next to them and she saw that their unhorned rogue clad in black and jumped on it. He jumped to the next and then to the next till they saw him no more.
"Did he just…"
'What did we discuss about staying together as a team?' Her brows furrowed, she was annoyed. Pouka, noticing this, licked her face and opened its mouth excitedly, exuding a stank breath of meat that made Elessar force a smile and turn away.
Soon as she did, she noticed Na'se by her shoulder and then she smiled once more. She realized that her creature companions–although they were their own beings, they felt like they were an extension of her, that their presence made her feel ever confident that she sometimes even forgets their presence.
After some steps forward, they spotted the rogue up above attached to a tree stem like a gecko looking forward.
He whispered, "I heard strange sounds and I thought to scout forward. There's a demon up front burying itself in the soil. It has large hands and claws which it uses to burrow. However, it poses no trouble to us."
Elessar nodded and walked forward some more and she was able to use identify on it.
It was about eight meters away in front of a bush digging up dirt. Its arms were so powerful that sand particles jetted out of the spot like a perpetual splash of water.
Elessar squinted her eyes as dirt fell on her. She could only see the feet of the creature and its large flat tail beating on the ground with its other parts submerged below the soil.
[Lesser Demon-lvl 16]
"Pouka." She called and instantly, the Graimpuf growled aggressively and launched at the demon.
She jumped with a spin and clamped on its tail with a bite pulling it out and then proceeding to beat it around until its tail snapped flinging it away.
The rogue swiftly burst into action. The demon had crashed into a bush to the side away from the Graimpuf, if it was clever, it could still escape but the rogue funari wasn't going to have that.
He jumped off the tree and threw forward multiple daggers that struck the beastly demon once it got on its two legs.
The knives embedded themselves on its chest arranging themselves in vertical lines down to its guts. It winced and then blood poured from its mouth and then it fell, a few seconds later, a notification came up in the rogue's mind.
[You've defeated a Lesser Demon-lvl 16
You've obtained the appropriate experience points]
The party saw that the demon wasn't moving and they let down their guard. Elessar looked up at the rogue standing on a low branch not seemingly blending in with the dark atmosphere. She nodded at him and he saw her gesture and returned it.
"That was quite fast." Said the healer.
"That's why he was our boss for the scout." The large dark-skinned funari of the tank class said.
"Remember protecting her is a priority. We all can handle ourselves." Elessar said to their stone tank and he nodded like he had heard the line a million times already.
"Yeah yeah, I heard you the first time."
The healer on the other hand couldn't help but feel that she was being patronized, she didn't like how the only other woman in the group treated her like an infant and she pouted furrowing her brows and letting out a "hmmph!". She turned away her eyes.
The group continued their journey further down. The forest was massive, it would take them weeks to cover it all although they didn't plan to scout that long.
Elessar felt an unease, like something bad lurked.
'I was too optimistic about this. It can take us over a week to find mother.'
She released a sigh which everyone noticed.
'Mother, where have you gone? I hope you're alright. You're the only one I have, don't leave me.'
The thought of praying to the dead goddess crossed her mind but she scoffed at it and made the thought disappear.
'This is all her fault, had she not been so bereft of competence, this wouldn't have happened. Had the elves not stolen her attention, had she not relented in her duty.'
Rage built up in her, and she turned to her left and punched a dent into the tree that stood next to her.
"The goddess be damned!"