A Witch’s Curse

BuangKo's back ached as he stood up. He hit his back squarely against the tree and a few of his bones were broken. He groaned while helping SiraUlo stand whose blood was gushing out of his forehead. His skull was split open but for some strange reason, he was fine. They were all fine and stood up as if nothing happened. They didn't look for their captives that just suddenly vanished. It was as if everything they'd done for a couple minutes didn't happen at all and were forgotten.

They went ahead and did what they usually did, forgetting about Marty and his group completely. What remained was this empty space in their memories. It would remain like this that no matter what they did, they would never remember what had transpired like an itch of a long amputated limb.

SiraUlo's skull has started to visibly heal on its own to the point that not even a single scar could be seen. Like the rest of the inhabitants in Murkwood Peninsula, they too, have mutated in some way.

However, the kid from the hawk tribe and the witch could only watch at the empty spot where the group had vanished from. A flash of blinding red engulfed them and they disappeared.

With the absence of intruders, the witch retreated back to her hut, while Andy returned to his home to add the Crystal of Truth to his collection.

Meanwhile, in a small clearing by the soldier's camp, two silhouettes slowly materialized, taking the form of two humans, a man and a woman. They were Jasper and Linda.

Jasper was having difficulty breathing. His vision was starting to blur while sweating like crazy from nausea and severe pain.

"Huh?" muttered Linda. She was confused to see Jasper in front of her when she was just with the others a moment ago. And then she finally noticed his dire situation.

"Hey, uh, are you okay?" she asked and almost had the urge to facepalm herself. He obviously wasn't fine.

Jasper didn't respond. Other symptoms of venom include dizziness and confusion but when Linda saw the tourniquet wrapped tightly around his left leg and the two holes below it, she immediately understood the situation.

'A snake bite. And a big one too,' she thought. 'Venomous and must have been from a while ago.'

Using the random knowledge she had as a former web novel author, she quickly did what she thought was best in that situation.

"Hey, listen to me," she spoke to Jasper. "I am taking the venom out. I want you to bear with it a little. It's going to hurt. Please do your best not to shout."

She then kneeled by his left leg and inspected the wound. Purple bruises had started to form around the bite area.

The first thing she did was bind his leg to the ground to prevent it from moving and his back against the tree. She was already sweating bullets with just this.

Jasper struggled to keep his eyes open with his consciousness barely hanging by a thread.

"I'm starting now," she told him and inserted her finger into the hole, causing Jasper to clench his teeth from intense pain.

Putting most of her focus on her sense of touch, she circled her finger around the area, looking for the venom and after a while, she finally found it. The venom had a different consistency and feel compared to the surrounding bodily fluids. It was stickier, thicker, and had an oily texture.

Without wasting a beat, she began to bind the venom to her finger and when she was done, she took it out and grabbed a small rock and bound the venom to it.

Both of them collapsed as soon as she was done. Linda from exhaustion and Jasper from relief.

***

Meanwhile, inside a cave with glowing stones in its every crevice, two people materialized. They were Marty and Eli.

The walls were cold and damped and the sounds from small animals could be heard not far away.

For what felt like an eternity, they stood in silence, trying to comprehend their situation. Eli was the first to speak.

"Uh, what the heck just happened?"

Marty simply shrugged as his gaze scanned the surroundings. "I think we're in a cave."

"I think so too," replied Eli before adding, "I'm sure it's that rabbit's doing. But… heh! In the end, we still ended up having to work together, huh. Like what I told you in the kitchen, remember?"

Marty just stared at him, trying to understand what he was so happy about when their situation didn't even change one bit. They could still die any moment. 

At that point, translucent screen monitors then popped in front of all the participants. They all received the same notification.

[From this point onward, you will be working in pairs. Those who got the same recipe are paired together, Good luck!! 🐰]

It was a message announced in a haste. And upon reading this, Eli's eyes widened in surprise as he blurted out, "Huh? Then does that mean we got the same recipe?"

Marty just shrugged and showed his screen after pressing the TAB on the keyboard and realized it was useless because only the owner can see their screen. So with a sigh, he said to Eli, "Mine's Mystic Stew."

"Ho. I wish we knew sooner. Bu—"

Before finishing what he was about to say, Eli bent forward and started to cough as tiny black spots started to grow all over his skin.

"Oi! What happened to you?" Marty immediately asked but then he suddenly felt his throat itch and he too, like Eli, started to cough non stop with black spots growing to the back of his hands.

The cause of all these was obvious. It was the witch's curse.