Chapter Forty: Bad Weather

"Wow, a storm, this early in the morning. Is it man made, again?" a guard said, while using his bowl-like helmet to block the wind and rain.

Standing on top of the wall, the guards were the first to witness and experience the coming storm. The wind picked up with ferocity and rammed into the guards. One of the younger men almost fell off the wall, from the powerful gust; while the others held onto their spears, using them as masts.

A heavy downpour followed, as it became impossible to see anything. The rain muttered on the ground, as puddles formed in the streets. Many were unlucky and got drenched by the sudden change of weather; quickly searching for shelter.

…

"This energy, it's from Jantyr, something's happening!" Jasmine said. Thinking for a moment she stood up from her couch, facing the fireplace, which was burning brightly. With a sigh she turned to her mom, who was enjoying the harmonious sound of rain, while warming herself by the fire. "I'll be going out for a bit, mom!" she said and left the living room. She walked to the hallway and slipped into a brown coat.

Jasmine stepped out of the door to her mansion and walked down the empty streets. In her hands was the staff she's had since the tower. Unlike before, it was now over 1.4 meters tall and had grown into a staff, big enough to reach her head. Allowing her to use the staff as a walking stick, traversing the empty streets.

Jasmine's footsteps, and the rain, was the only source of noise in the village. Everyone unfortunate enough to be outside had already returned home, now hiding from the rain. Normally this wouldn't be the case, but because of the intensity of the rain, they had no choice, only the guards stayed outside. But they weren't inside the city. Instead they guarded the entrance.

The rain was heavy, so heavy Jasmine could barely see anything a meter in front of her, but she still persisted on going towards the massive outbreak of energy, radiating like a beacon; a second sun. Once she reached the exit, her clothes were already drenched and her brown hair had become wet too, even though a layer of clothing was protecting it.

Noticing someone arriving, one of the guards yelled. "Halt, who goes there?" making Jasmine stop for some seconds and answer. "Jasmine, lord of this village, I'm going outside to check on the current situation!"

With her explanation done, Jasmine started walking again, eventually leaving the village and stumbling towards the forest. Once she was outside the range of the walls she casted a simple ward spell, meant to keep out rain and weaken the winds. It wasn't too taxing, but still helped.

"So, mind telling me what's happening now, lord Jantyr?" Jasmine asked, while walking towards the forest.

"Rolf's been injured, Nevan, one of the adventurers died and a tier on orc is the cause. Several adventurers are coming your way; not all from their party of course. If you don't mind, guide them back to the village, as they can't traverse the rain like you!" Jantyr told her and Jasmine adopted a thoughtful exterior.

"A tier one orc, outside the orc village, this means they got tier one to spare, right?" Jasmine asked Jantyr.

"Most likely, now stay sharp, the first adventurer is headed towards you right now. Help him." Jantyr ordered his worshiper.

"Fine, but I won't go back and forth, I'll gather all of them first!" Jasmine said and ended the conversation.

The next half hour was spent fishing for adventurers. Expanding her ward, she housed several adventurers with her, while searching for more. They followed her every move without complaining, despite wanting to return home already. The last group to arrive was Rein and the two friends, While their swordsman, who had gone with them, was the first.

"Let's go back, it shouldn't take long!" Jasmine ordered them and walked back. Many adventurers watched her in awe, as they followed. It was easy to forget that Jasmine was a full fledged witch, about to become tier one herself. But her abilities had reminded them of her status as a mage and noble.

When they reached the wall Jasmine transferred the responsibility of the adventurers to the guards and left. Then she began her long journey to the forest.

…

In the midst of a gigantic hurricane, over fifteen meters wide was a lone man. He was the eye of the tornado and everything circled him.

"To think he'd lose consciousness at such a critical time!" Lenart complained, while dodging random debris, picked up by the hurricane. "How long do you think it will take before he's completely ascended?" Lenart complained to his deity.

"Well, about ten more minutes, or more. He's taking longer than usual, as he is going from 0A to 1F instead of 0S to 1F. That also means it's way more painful, hence why he blacked out, just deal with it and stop complaining!" Jantyr answered, incapable of doing anything major to stop what's happening. He kind of started it, afterall.

Outside the hurricane, clouds and ground had started to merge, as lightning and rain ruled the world, the body of the orc had long since been consumed by Jantyr, replenishing ten faith points, almost nothing compared to what he lost.

The storm was moving further into the forest, yet, the further they got, the less they affected the trees. Like they grew stronger, the farther they went and they did. Trees grow stronger with time and these trees have lived much longer then those on the outer layer, for no lumberjack came this far into the forest and only the strong trees survived in here. As they would have been destroyed long ago by the monsters.

With each meter into the forest, it became more alien-like. Glowing mushrooms, weird fauna and everything, new kinds of animals and insects. A place no Falken should venture. Here creatures far beyond Lenart or any other creature under Jantyr could deal with.

The forest was thin, but big at the same time. In this specific place it was somewhat smaller in width, due to the ocean, but it didn't stop there. The forest expanded for thousands of kilometers along the coast. Many monster lords had lived in this forest throughout time and some may still remain.

This was something Jantyr hoped to avoid; provoking an unknown powerhouse.

At some point the storm no longer affected the forest, despite its increased furiosity. Thankfully it seemed to be dying down soon, as the energy grew unstable and started to return to Rolf's body, signaling the end of his ascension. Just in time for Jasmine to arrive at the scene.

"So, what did I miss?"