Mind Games

"What's up, did your arrows run out again? Why don't you make more?", I taunted them outside the cave. "Swoosh.. Swoosh…". A few of the arrows flew my way, but thanks to the distance, I was able to avoid them. "I mean, you people are rubbish archers. Who taught you to shoot? A blind man?", I taunted even more. A few more arrows flew my way, but then they stopped.

"You think we will run out of arrows? Stupidity must be your main trait, eh? Don't worry, we have enough arrows to kill thousand bitches like you!", the leader shouted. "Heh, yet two of you are already dead, and I'm still standing in front of you", I replied. "Grrr…!", one of them transformed into a wolf-like state, then rushed at me. "Stop, you idiot!", the leader ordered. "Those tricks will not work, but a nice try for a worm", he added.

"Hey, at least worms do it with other worms. I mean, if your mother was a Human… She must've had it tough with that bear", I mocked him. "Speak while you can. You'll regret ever uttering such nonsense…", he could barely contain his anger. I provoked them for a reason, but my intention wasn't to fight that leader. He'd kill me in one on one battle, but he wouldn't approach me that easily. Not with the Voltic Orb in my possession.

'He's also interested in my orb, which means other's will try to kill me once night falls. They know I need to rest, but they have no idea about my plan'. I began to grab the arrows one at a time, always making sure no other arrows were coming my way. They tried anyway, a few fresh arrows flew my way, but missed thanks to me paying attention. "We know you don't have a bow, so collecting these arrows is useless to you. How about you stop wasting our time, and just drop dead?", the leader asked with a laugh.

'You wouldn't shoot these arrows if you knew my plans, you idiot'. "Are you certain? Maybe I have a bow. Send the two archers here, and I'll show them what's what in archery", I mocked him instead. In reply, a few more arrows flew my way. 'This amount should be fine, I can always collect more when needed. After all, they are so nice to gift them to me', I thought.

With about fifteen arrows collected, I could finally carry out my plan. "Thanks for the arrows, you guys are so kind", I said before heading back inside. They must've been clueless, and curious at the same time. After all, there really was no bow in my backpack. Besides, common sense would dictate that I'd already use my bow, especially under such circumstances.

'Hehe, I'm not going to make this easy for you either', I thought while taking out the skin of a silver bear. The distance between us was too big, for them to inflict any sort of damage to the silver bear's skin with just arrows. My sword and dagger could piece it though, which was a crucial point in my plan.

I had to make a few holes in the skin. These holes would be used to connect a few skins together, but also to hang them in front of the cave entrance. That was precisely why arrows were necessary. I could lodge these arrows into the stone wall, and support the skins all around the entrance. This would render them clueless as to what was going on inside.

While working on the skins, I checked up on them once in a while. They had to be aware of me not sleeping, which was actually part of my plan. I planned to sleep during the day rather than during the night. 'They'll probably surround me sooner or later, but that leader of theirs and the archers will not get close. He might sacrifice the two men, but not himself', I thought.

The whole set up took me a while. Mostly because I decided to make that skin to the best of my abilities. Besides using the arrows, I also used strips to tie everything together. 'Alright, this should be done now. Now, I just have to hang it around the entrance…'. This was the trickiest bit, since my body would be exposed. Before fitting the skins, holes in the walls were required.

They were baffled by my actions for sure. I was actually striking the wall with my sword, for what looked like no apparent reason. They even mocked me for going mad. Once everything was ready, and the skins were hung in place, I could tell their playful expressions must've changed. They got played, and played like little kids.

"..How nice, you made a home for yourself? This will be your grave too!", the leader shouted towards me, but I could tell his voice didn't sound so playful anymore. "Hehe, I value my privacy. Why, you don't like my workmanship? I think it looks really good, has great protection against arrows too", I replied.

The cave became dark, which meant locating my exact position would be hard for them. The bird could fly through a small gap at the top, but there was no way a bird could fly silently. With my sword in hand, I grabbed another skin from my backpack and went to sleep. Though uncomfortable, since I had to sleep in a sitting position, but this was better than nothing.

These Elysians weren't that stupid though. They shouted taunts and whatnot at me, just to check whether I was awake. One thing they didn't realise, is that their shouts actually woke me up. They always got a few taunts and remarks in reply, but then I'd simply go back to sleep.

Living in a forest taught me how to sleep lightly. Otherwise, I'd be in deep trouble. I slept for a few hours collectively, that alone was enough to make it through the night. Of course, I'd sleep during the night as well, they had to sleep too. At least some of them had to sleep at a certain time. In other words, only two, maybe three of them would be awake. Making a move on me at such a time would be unwise, but I didn't rule it out.

Thankfully the past naivety disappeared, because that's precisely what happened. They tried to ambush me during the night, of course not for no apparent reason. When their leader shouted some stuff at me, I decided not to respond. My motive for that was simple; figure out what they'd try once I don't reply.

They started out by sending the bird in. That damned bird was really cautious. I had to feign sleep for about half an hour, before it actually slipped through the hole at the top of the entrance. This was their first mistake. Sending in that bird to the cave wasn't their best idea. I knew what they were thinking. A bird isn't as valuable as a team member. Moreover, it could judge whether I was asleep or not. This would allow others to quickly act and take me out.

Though I couldn't see the bird, my sense of hearing and smell wasn't exactly rubbish to be honest. Patience was the key, and that damned bird was testing mine. That guy just sat there quietly, perhaps looking at me, judging. "Tap..tap..", maybe another twenty minutes later, the bird finally descended onto the ground. That was the second mistake, but this time made by the bird.

Though the bird landed next to the entrance, I knew where it landed. I could hear it, and pinpoint its location. That alone was enough for me. "Swoosh! Cling!", the sword in my hand sprung to action out of nowhere. I used every ounce of my strength for that one horizontal slash. The clang came from my sword hitting the wall, but before that, it sliced right through the bird.

"I told you, didn't I? Privacy is something I value", I said. Two silent growls sounded outside the cave, but I didn't rush out. "What's wrong? Afraid of going in? Come in guys, I don't bite… Unlike you", I taunted them. "Grrr…", "Stop! Get back here you idiots!", the leader's voice sounded from afar. "Your days are numbered bitch. We will get our hands on you, then you'll beg me to stop", the wolf-like man said with his characteristic growling voice.

"Heh, you forgot something", I said before throwing two halves of the black bird outside. They didn't collect the bird, why would they need a corpse anyway? 'They shouldn't attack me again… I think. Getting some rest before morning is a good idea, but, this isn't a solution to my problems', I thought. Although happy about the death of that bird, they had too many advantages. Though tracking wouldn't be so simple for them anymore, my guess was they could still track me. Moreover, they were stronger than me. That leader wasn't someone I could defeat.

'I'll get some rest first, then try to figure something out tomorrow… Before that, I should check my dagger', I thought. No matter how many times I tried to activate the damned thing, nothing happened. Though a bit disappointed that my mother's daggers had no Formations, there was nothing I could do about that.

The rest of that night passed rather peacefully. Rather, because they tried to get close a few more times. Once they realised I'm awake, they'd back off. This sort of harassment was annoying, but much better than a fight.

The early morning was much more peaceful. I ate some cold breakfast, then pondered about my situation. 'This cave is relatively safe. Running through the forest will be harsh, and perhaps impossible. I'll run out of energy before they will, and I'll have to deal with more of them at once… I could potentially run at them with the Voltic Orb in hand. They would shoot at me for sure, but also back away… Hmmm, what if I was the one to sneak up on them, or rather trick them?', I asked myself.

There was a way to make them chase me, without realising that I wasn't actually escaping. The cave would obstruct their view, which meant I could fake my escape. With that bird gone, they had no way of knowing if my escape was real or not. Once they got closer, the Voltic Orb had a large chance to simply take them all out.

There were no better ideas in my mind, than actually using the orb. Running through the forest was a huge disadvantage to me. Staying inside the cave brought no solution, and could bring more problems as they got more impatient. That idea had a chance to work, and get rid of them completely. 'Good, this shall be my plan then. Once my shoulder and chest are in perfect order, I'll put that plan into action'.