Buried Object

Alfroth slowly opens his eyes, his vision adjusting to the dim light filtering through the dense forest canopy. As he blinks away the remnants of sleep, a sense of unease creeps over him. He turns his gaze to the source of his disquiet and sees the imposing figure of the Wayran. Its large, white form looms before him, and the blue gem at its center seems to pulse with an ethereal light. A shiver runs down his spine as he realizes the gravity of the situation.

Alfroth gathers himself slowly, pushing up from the dewy forest floor and cautiously positioning himself behind the tree. His heart races as he takes in the vast expanse of land where the formidable Wayran stands. Panic grips him as he realizes the absence of his sister. Frantically, he turns his gaze from left to right, feeling the sense of abandonment grow at his core. "Did she leave me here to die?" Alfroth thinks to himself, his pulse quickening. Peeking out from behind the tree, he looks towards the field; many broken trees and rocks are visible, clear evidence of a fight.

"The Wayran seems more active and focused than when I first saw it in the forest. It was probably Il who engaged with this thing, but where is she?" Alfroth ponders, a tinge of worry surging through him. "Wait, what if she got killed?" He pushes the nasty thought away, forcing himself to focus on the situation at hand.

"That can't be true, can it?" he mutters to himself.

"I need to calm down and think about what I can do now. If I stay here, I will become that thing's food for sure. The only thing that comes to my mind is running and gathering people to save her, but is this the right thing for me to do?" The Wayran starts turning its head in different directions.

Alfroth immediately retreats to the cover of the tree. "I can't be this slow about making my choices right now. I need to decide before it catches onto me," he thinks to himself. Peeking again from behind the tree, he sees the Wayran still moving its head as if looking for something. It stops and positions its head looking towards the sky, its eyes focused. Suddenly, all the eyes relax and start looking around. Alfroth keeps peeking, trying to find his sister in the mess, still unsure if he should run or attempt to rescue her.

After a minute, Alfroth notices that the eyes have stopped moving, fixated on him; fear runs through his whole body. "The only way out of here is if I run straight back to where we came from, but if it catches me, I will be dead in a second," Alfroth thinks to himself. He readies himself and starts running.

"I need to run faster than ever before. If I don't, I will—"

Alfroth closes his eyes out of fear. He could hear the sound of trees breaking, feel the wind coming towards him. Out of a moment of bravery, he turns his face towards the sound, opening his eyes; he sees a white tail approaching him, breaking trees in its path.

"Am I done?"

"It can't be, this is my first outing."

"Wait, why am I not running anymore?" Alfroth's legs froze out of fear.

The tail draws near, and Alfroth, filled with dread, pleads, "Please, this can't be it." He squeezes his eyes shut, bracing for the inevitable pain.

But instead of agony, he feels warmth enveloping him and the ground shifting beneath him. Tentatively, he opens his eyes to find himself in Mauka's protective embrace. She holds him close with one arm, while the other wields the great sword, blocking the Wayran's lethal tail.

The Wayran retreats its tail, and Alfroth cries, 'Mauka sis, you're alive.'

'Of course I am, I'm not dying to a dragon with attitude,' she says, still catching her breath, which brings a smile of hope to Alfroth's face.

'Sis you are bleeding.' Alfroth speaks with concern.

'Don't worry about it, this much is fine for me. I am just a bit out of shape. But listen carefully, I am going to fight this thing, and you run to the village to ask for help. Do you understand?'

'But I can't leave you, not in this state,' Alfroth hesitates.

'Listen, you will only slow me down. So the only way to help me is for you to run and get help. Do you understand me?'

'Yes, I do, but...'

'No buts, go now or I won't be able to fight with my full strength,' Mauka says, annoyed at him.

'Okay,' Alfroth whimpers.

As Alfroth disappears into the distance, hoping to make it to the village or find somebody as fast as possible, leaving Mauka behind. Mauka stands firm, her eyes locked on the Wayran before her. With a deep breath, she grasps the hilt of the great sword, her blood seeping into the clothing covering the sword. With a swift motion, she rips apart the wrappings shrouding the metal revealing a great blade, dull and grey all over. Its translucent nature makes it seem like it is made of glass.

'I can't win this, not as of now.'

'But I have to keep this thing engaged until Al leaves the forest. After that, my turn will come. But for now, I need to make this thing bleed as much as I can,' Mauka puts on a determined smile, shifts the great sword to her shoulder, and readies herself.

The Wayran, sensing the shift in Mauka's demeanor, recoils slightly, its fierce gaze fixated on the warrior before it. It lunges forward, its razor-sharp claws slashing through the air. Mauka dodges and weaves, her movements fueled by adrenaline. The blue gem on the head of the Wayran glows more and more with each passing second. Mauka, still dodging all of its attacks, the Wayran, sensing its target slipping through its grasp, finally unleashes the glow from its head, firing a beam of blinding light towards her.

With swift movement, Mauka seizes the hilt of her sword and charges straight toward the wayran. It tries to follow, but she proves quicker. In a last-ditch effort to stop her, the wayran ceases the beam and extends its wings. Mauka, ready for this, deflects the incoming wing with her sword, sliding gracefully on the ground and driving the blade inside the wayran's exposed flesh, dragging it across its body. Her charge ends with her going past the wayran. She looks back, realizing that the cut she manages is not that deep.

"I am regaining my strength back, the strength that i used to have when i was with the guild" she faces the wayran once again.

"maybe i can survive this and even if i don't, i am going to give this thing a one hell of a scar" mauka look at her blade dripping with bright blue blood, she smiles and readies herself for another charge.

Alfroth sprints through the forest, his heart fills with regret and his eyes blurred with tears. The echoing cry of the Wayran pierces his ears, causing him to freeze in his tracks, his resolve wavering. 'I am abandoning her, again' he murmurs, the weight of his decisions crushing him. Alfroth weigh his descisions again and again, should he run and save himself or go back to the fight, he knew how useless he is in this situation.

"Why is this happening to us? Is it because of my selfishness or foolishness? I don't know, bu... but I need to go back, i can't loose her again " Alfroth turns on his heel and charges back into the forest, hoping to make it before anything happens to her. While he ran, many questions invaded his mind "What will he do?", "The best strategy to take the wayran down", "Would he be able to even do something", "Will he perish". He tried to answer all of them but couldn't, he knew his limits but stopped listening to them.

Alfroth gets closer and closer, the sound of battle grows louder, filling him with hope. It's a good sign – it means that Mauka is still fighting and has not been devoured by the wayran yet. His heart pounds with a mix of fear and determination and foolishness driving him to reach Mauka and make amends for leaving her behind. Alfroth pushes through the brush only to step in a field clear of trees and rocks, he sees mauka still giving her all fighting the wayran.

She jumps in the air only to get blown away by the wayran's tail landing into a tree, 'MAUKA SIS' he screams. Mauka looks at him standing at the edge of the empty field "Why is he back, doesn't he understand i am fighting with death for him".

Alfroth takes out his short sword from its sheath on his waist and throws it at the Wayran's head, causing little to no damage. Agitated and filled with anger, the creature turns its head towards Alfroth; its scattered eyes focus on him, filling him with fear. In a sudden moment, it charges at him blindly with its mouth open, ready to devour him. "Am I going to die here, like this? It's fine if she can live instead of me; it will probably be for the best." Alfroth stands, already accepting his fate.

Mauka leaps at the Wayran's head with her great sword, slicing through its face and severing several of its eyes. The gruesome impact sends the creature's head lurching to the left of Alfroth. Filled with fear, Alfroth couldn't let out a single word when Mauka landed near him. With pain, the Wayran recoils backward, blood spewing from its wounds on its face. Mauka walks up to her brother, Alfroth, who finally finds comfort in her presence and goes in to hug her. But the moment they reach each other, Mauka slaps Alfroth, leaving his face burning red.

'Are you a moron? Why did you come back?' Mauka shouts in anger at him.

'I didn't want you to die,' Alfroth says, hugging her after being slapped.

'Oh god, why do i have to be stuck with the most idiotic brother in the world?' she says with exhaustion and frustration in her voice. She pushes him aside and tells him to run again. Alfroth denies her. Without any choice and too tired to argue, she tells him to hide and watch her from a distance. Alfroth, still reluctant and worried, complies and hides away in the bushes.

Mauka extends her arm and lunges toward the great beast. The Wayran retaliates by extending its wing with such speed and force that it sends her flying high into the air. As she ascends, the Wayran opens its wings and takes flight, leaving Mauka in a perilous position.

'Shit, this is the worst. I can't dodge anything it throws at me. I'll probably have to take it head-on, whatever it is,' she mutters to herself. With swift movements, she keeps her arms loose while falling, putting in enough effort to keep the great sword above herself.

Suddenly, a burst of adrenaline surges through her, and Mauka adjusts her body, bracing the great sword for one final strike directly at the oncoming beast. She clenches her jaw, channeling all her energy into this one strike, hoping to kill the beast for good.

At the last moment, the Wayran feels a sharp pain in its chest, causing it to shift in pain. In that split second, Mauka instinctively seizes the opportunity. With precise timing, she brings her great sword down with all her might, striking the Wayran's colossal nail on its wing, shattering it into pieces. The impact sends shockwaves through the air; the Wayran flies into the sky, roaring in agony and disappearing into the clouds above the siblings.

Mauka lands on the ground, her whole body heavy with exhaustion. Alfroth hurries to her and helps her drink from a pouch of water. 'I thought I was a goner back there,' she says, feeling refreshed from the water. 'Are you okay, sister? You're not hurt, are you?' Alfroth says, teary-eyed, clinging to her. 'I'm not going to die, you moron. Give me some space,' Mauka pushes her brother away.

'But you are so heavily injured; are you sure you are okay?' Alfroth cries.

'Oh, you mean this. This is not a heavy injury in any way,' Mauka points to her head, laughing.

'Don't worry, it's going to take a lot more than this to kill but al, thank you for coming, you gave me an opportunity i couldn't find for a lont time.' she says as she stands up and places her hand on Alfroth's shoulder, alfroth replies with a big gleeful smile. Together, they walk to the center of the field. On their way, Alfroth asks her again and again about her health, suggesting she leave and get a healer to heal her, but she ignores him throughout the way. "I have gotten weaker, a lot weaker than I thought. These kinds of fights didn't used to faze me at all, but now... even the sword in my hand feels heavier."

'Now we can heal big brother fraadh' alfroth says with a smile breaking mauka's line of thought.

'Yeah, we can finally get him some good medicine he deserves' Mauka replies with a faint smile on her face.

As they reach the center of the field where the wayran stood before, both of them set their eyes upon their reward. Thoughts of a million bama run through both of their heads. Surrounded by charred land, they both looked into the hole with high hopes, only to be shattered by finding no meteorites. Disappointment washes over them, their shoulders slumping as they realize that their efforts seem to have been in vain. Mauka kicks at the ground in frustration, while Alfroth lets out a heavy sigh.

Alfroth notices something buried in the hole and decides to investigate. He grabs a cloth from his pocket and wraps it around his arms. 'What are you doing?' Mauka questions him. 'There's something under the dirt. I'm checking if there is anything useful underneath it,' he explains.

As both of his hands are covered completely, he bends down and starts removing dirt from the top. 'What's the point? There is no meteor here, and we don't have anything to show to Carmilla. On top of that, we are both injured, so it's going to be a four-hour, no, a six-hour lecture on this,' Mauka complains.

Alfroth finds something shining underneath the dirt. Carefully, he places his fingers underneath the object and lifts it up with the dirt. He brings it up to Mauka for her to observe.

'Clear the dirt on it,' Mauka tells him.

Alfroth carefully scrapes off the last remnants of dirt from the object, causing it to shine so brightly that both of them have to look away. 'Cover it with something!' Mauka cries out. Alfroth quickly brings out another piece of cloth from his pocket and covers the object with it. As they face the object again, he asks, 'Is this a box?'.