First Trial Part 2
Geralt stood inside the main hall of the fortress, facing a massive crowd of boys of all ages. Elder Recens stood on both his sides, and they also looked over the kids.
"As tradition dictates, Enrilth Keep and the school of the Recens, once every 10 years, the Trials commence. All the candidates will be dropped off at random locations throughout Elor's Swamp; your goal is to survive and come back alive." The headmaster looked around the anxious and fidgety boys and continued.
"If you wish not to attain this trial, leave now. Behind you are leaders of several mercenary bands. You will choose which band to join and discuss further details with the leaders. As for those who wish to become part of our brotherhood, I wish you a sharp blade and a wise mind." He then pointed at the newcomer, a tall and well-dressed man, and continued.
"This gentleman beside me..." Geralt mouthed the word with difficulty as though it was vile poison before continuing. His pause was barely noticeable. "...is Count Obasha Rusoh. His men will lead and drop you into the swamp. That is all."
As the headmaster's words fell upon the crowd of Recen trainees, silence overtook the hall. Several young men stepped away from the crowd and approached the five mercenary leaders. The rest of the candidates remained still, waiting for something to happen.
Suddenly, the hall's doors slammed open, allowing many armored men to quickly enter.
"Do not resist, and follow these men." The headmaster instructed and turned around, glaring at the Count, the latter blatantly ignoring the heated gaze.
An armored man approached Alex and slipped a blindfold over his eyes before grabbing him by his arm, leading him to who knows where.
A moment later, everything changed. The only thing that gave away something had happened was a sudden loss of balance, as though the floor was swept from under Alex's feet.
The first thing that hit him was the sound. The area was too quiet, totally unlike the Grand Hall he was previously in.
'Was I teleported into the swamp? Was there a Mage with that noble? Maybe I was drugged and brought into the swamp?' Thought Alex as he hastily took off his blindfold, quickly taking in the surroundings. 'No, that's not it. What happened?'
Alex's assumption seemed correct, finding himself surrounded by thick foliage and thigh-deep water.
His pants were wet - he didn't remember when it happened - and his boots filled with muddy water, but he ignored all that as he focused on the most important thing.
Unsheathing a short sword provided to him by Elder Larok, the young teen carefully looked around, making as little noise as possible, watching for potential dangers.
'No immediate threat.' He sighed a few seconds later. There was no nearby danger, but that didn't fool him.
Ambush predators are particularly good at making themselves hard to spot and might lurk nearby, so he didn't let his guard down.
Thinking for five seconds flat, Alex made his way in a random direction. He needed to find a safe and dry spot, to rest and start a fire. The temperature will go down at night, not enough to kill, but if one were waist-deep in water, it would be a different story.
Hypothermia would set in about 40 minutes. After two hours, one would lose consciousness and die an hour later.
*Crunch*
A crunching sound caught Alex's attention. Underneath his foot, a thin bone snapped in two, making him furrow his eyebrows. 'Is this some hunting ground?'
There was no way something small died here for no reason. Alex looked up, studying the dense canopy.
*Whoosh!*
His eyes suddenly widened and dodged to the side.
*Splash!*
In the place where he had previously been, a long and thin bone needle planted itself into the muddy ground, splashing water in a three-meter radius. The power behind that needle was clear to see.
Alex instantly took off, not staying in the same spot as a confused deer. He practically smelled the arrow that narrowly missed its body.
He hasn't seen the attacker back there, only the needle itself.
'What kind of beast attacks from a distance?' He wondered, bewildered. Attacking from a distance meant the beast had some bit of intelligence. Alex knew of no such beast.
Alex moved on from useless thoughts. What he needed to think about wasn't 'how can a beast attack from a distance' but 'what can he do to survive this.'
He ran up to a nearby tree trunk, placing the tree between himself and the attacker's previous position. Or where Alex thought it was.
What he did know about his enemy, however, is they were somewhere in the canopy, attempting to shoot him down. Judging by the fact that the beast didn't make their presence known meant whatever attacked him was an ambush predator.
A moment later, he moved again, running from tree to tree after random intervals of time. He couldn't allow the beast to find a rhythm to his movements.
After moving far enough from the hunting ground, he allowed himself to run further without stopping in between as much.
By now, Alex should've left that beast's territory, so he should be safe as long as it wasn't starving. If that were the case, Alex could breathe calmly.
An ambush predator chasing after its prey is predictable and will be noisy. Alex could use this to fight back or even turn the situation around. He hoped that would be the case.
One couldn't sleep after knowing something caught his scent and could follow behind.
If possible, Alex would somehow get the beast to follow him into an ambush or off a cliff. But, before he could do that, Alex needed to prepare the ambush or scout the area. And who knew how many horrors reside in this godforsaken place?
He could use his bombs and gear to kill the attacker, but Alex couldn't allow himself to stay in one place. An ambush predator has ways of sensing where prey is, and Alex couldn't know whether that beast lost his track.
Lost in his thoughts, Alex didn't pay as much attention to the ground and his surroundings. The consequences of this were immediate.
"Shit."