CHAPTER 20

The months of study, the time to get used to my new "eyes", the training, not only to be as strong as before, but even more, to turn my aura into something that is always concentrated around me, even when I sleep, all this will be useless if I don't reach the enchanted woods of the forest, a somewhat ridiculous name for the backyard of the elven palace, but it described exactly what it was and very wrongly what one expects.

The wolves were a great help on the journey, they allowed me to advance without having to worry about my safety, I ran as training, I strengthened my joints again and again, I molded my armor, with its impossibly light weight, with my scrolls, my weapons, the despair of lost time, despite everything, I drank, ate, rested at least two hours every eight, the wolves took turns, The wolves took turns, some left to hunt, others kept the reanimated dead away from me, which was difficult, I would prefer to eliminate each one, but they will continue to leave, while the creatures of the Mark of Chaos continue to spawn and eliminate innocent living beings, the answer to everything is in that palace, but the last stretch I will have to go alone.

The entrance to the palace of the elves is wedged between two huge walls, from the top of them (collapsed by the passage of time) are the nests of the false dragons, perverse creatures, half lizards with dragon genes, I read they can spit acid, they have advanced magical resistance, a lot of intelligence, they do not leave this area because there is always someone to eat, often they hunt the other defenses placed by the high elves so that no one could enter, the main entrance has many magical defenses, The main entrance has many magical defenses, including some that I fear would destroy all records, but the back part is not a service entrance, it is the "Graduation Exit" or "Penance Entrance", when someone wanted to escape the elves' attentions, they would leave this way, going through five kilometers of forest and caves, unarmed, only the strongest would try it, like the old generals of their armies, who after centuries of bloodshed got fed up and tried to win their freedom. ... of all of them I know of none who have succeeded, even in the elven records there were references to the false dragons devouring them, usually coming against them mutilated and poisoned, so it does not surprise me that even when they were large they ended up feeding these beasts.

The beasts don't attack me, I guess they only do it if I have to turn around or if I go too far in, I doubt the elves were confident enough to prevent a full blown attack, I make a slight backward movement at the edge of the forest and immediately I hear them growl, it's the warning I was expecting, they know I could die in there but they know if I don't want to try they have food, at least they think so, but I didn't come to play so I go in.

The fog on the ground is poisonous, not much, just enough to numb the reflexes, the forest itself is not that high, but in the upper trunks you can see a herd of baboons, that coupled with the bright webs of poisonous spiders give you an idea of what awaits me if I happen to walk through the trees, at ground level there were no more than a few poisonous plants and snakes, But I have expanded my field to a radius of about thirty centimeters, which gives me an angle of displacement over mechanical traps not necessarily of magical nature, with my eyes I can see the thousands of corpses, this ecosystem does not exist, it is only an eternal battle of eat or be eaten, the plague may not be magical, but a mist of hundreds of decomposing bodies.

As I go deeper I understand the garbage of the beings that were capable of all this, the caves, the fountains, the plants with tempting fruits, they were carriers of parasites, poisonous or simply had such a putrid taste that to eat them would give away their position and they would be too weak to defend themselves, even the weapons, I have come across several swords of cheap metal, corroded but with very elegant designs, to examine them thoroughly you could see how they stored acid in capsules concealed in the hilt, so to stop a blow or attack this would melt their hands. 

When I reached what I estimated to be half of the route, the attacks began in earnest, from mutated bats that did not eat meat but still tried to spread rage, some jaguars and gorillas of mist, mangy but with a fury that only madness provides, the first attack makes me use my hands, for this one where there are two gorillas, a koatrice I draw, my baculo has stored magic in its stone, All the time I traveled I loaded it for this, a few jets of lava on his way will keep them away, only the koatrice to be magical must die, with his appearance of giant chicken, possesses one of the most exotic poisons, the petrification, his whole body exudes it, when the person feels that it is not worth fighting with the bug it is too late, this has already caused some small wounds that turn into rock, I do a feint and his myopic eyes focus on me, shooting a stream of poison from a forked tongue, instantly the area near me is like a stone floor, not wanting to be attacked from behind I turn my weapon and activate the Rune of Emptiness, I don't dodge the next shot, a blow from my weapon and the liquid returns to its owner without touching anything of mine, I suspect that its skin has the antidote, so the cut not only returns the attack, it inflicts a wound in the animal's chest, this with its huge legs begins to run from one side to the other, the petrification has begun.

I leave it there, flapping its wings and screeching, I could kill it, but I want the other animals of the place not to look for trouble, I want those who think twice or three times before coming, that allows me to move forward without having to fight constantly, The screams of the beast accompany me for several hundred meters, suddenly they stop, maybe it is completely petrified, maybe a more dangerous beast found it, from the records I know that there are things that exceed in evil to this overfed bird, I speed up the pace, I don't want to face one of those, not yet.

For a while I think that the only enemies here are the ones placed by the elves, but just when the night begins to come (I have to go through it making detours to avoid the lizards and more fearsome threats) I can still see the walls a little distant from my position, but I'm close, Plata Liquida, the elf who designed this, also explains the easiest way, Not to help the poor people who dared to enter, but so that the elves who bet on it would know when their bet had a chance and when it was not worth even thinking about and better to return to the bar for another drink, from him came the twisted idea that this was a labyrinth that went in different directions if you came into the castle or wanted to leave it, I was right, I would have ended up exhausted if not badly injured if I had ignored the advice of the bastard.

When there were still a few hundred meters to go, I came to the end of the forest, the "Gate of Repentance" that was written at the entrance, it said here before passing through it, "Repent for having disrespected your superiors, ask for forgiveness" by this time, I am annoyed and tired, how many died over the millennia, how many will be revived by the lynching, how many will be revived by the lynching? I know that if I don't say it, I'm setting a trap, but to hell with this scum with pointed ears and evil intellect, I cross in silence, a red light replaces the peaceful blue light of the welcoming courtyard, there was food there, to celebrate the winner? to welcome him with mockery? was it poisoned? No matter, I prepare a welcome for the squeaks I hear in the distance, the false dragons are coming to finish me off.