Prologue Chapter 1-1 Chapter 1-2 Chapter 2-1 Chapter 2-2 Chapter 3-1 Chapter 3-2 Chapter 4-1 Chapter 4-2 Chapter 5-1 Chapter 5-2 Chapter 6-1 Chapter 6-2 Chapter 7-1 Chapter 7-2 Chapter 8-1
Ohhhh just a bit more and I'll be done and free to go back to my short stories and my science stuff OwO
Whoever (me) thought it was a good idea to publish an actual novel here honestly has a few screws loose in the head, I swear. Anyways, the next article will be a sort of breather at least OwO
After that, Winthrop kept himself quiet but he did make sure that he had seeds ready in the case a purist would see them. They were both on high alert with each step they took. After a while, they entered a forest. It was kind of assuring to Winthrop who felt at ease being surrounded by plants he could use.
“There they are-” Voices soon resounded in the forest. With Winthrop on full alert, he quickly made use of the branches to capture the source of the voices.
“Audrey…? Alden? Beverly? Cooper? Fleta?” Winthrop inspected them one by one when he was close enough to see them “What are you guys doing here?”
“We couldn’t let you numbskulls go in here alone. You might not come back alive” Fleta told them cheekily as she wriggled out of the branches.
“That, and Alden and Beverly wouldn’t quit until we all went,” Cooper said cheekily while gesturing to the two in question.
“We also found the tunnel you guys used” Audrey added “What have you found out so far?”
Camdyn gave a slight shrug as an answer to her question “Nothing yet, we’re still trying to see what’s at the end of this forest”
“I saw lights a while ago” Winthrop added “It doesn’t look that far from here” He snapped his fingers to release the others from branches.
With everyone freed from the restraints, they all made their way deeper into the forest until they saw a village similar to Uscad. Or what Uscad used to be before both nations merged.
“So this is the purists’ village,” Fleta thought aloud “Maybe I could try to make a map on an aerial view?’
In a matter of seconds, Audrey already had her journal and pen prepared “That’s a brilliant idea! A map would really be of great help to the upcoming battle”
The rest nodded in affirmation. They assured her that while she made a rough sketch, they would be making sure to hide her presence with incantations. So it was settled; They all formed into a circle as soon as Fleta flew over the kingdom. Once Fleta was high enough, they all started chanting together words that Audrey could not understand. The sketch took a while. Beverly and the others didn’t stop chanting
Audrey kept watch with the binoculars she had brought with her. “Guys! I think we should get out of here soon!” She got fidgety when she noticed that there were some figures approaching their direction “There are purists coming this way!”
They all quickly got to their feet in a panic. They needed to make a run for it before they were seen. Luckily, Beverly was able to send a small bird to Fleta as a warning of the purists that were roaming the forest just moments ago.
The map was unfinished, but none of them needed to be captured yet. Fleta zoomed across the sky and over the forest. Her eyes were kept open so that she could easily spot her friends.
“Fleta, hurry!” Alden shouted breathlessly once she saw Fleta flying over the trees.
“She’ll make it!” Beverly said confidently.
Each of them ran as fast as their legs could carry them. They didn’t stop until they reached the tunnel that Camdyn had made. They wasted no time in jumping into the opening. Camdyn was the last to get into, and with his entry into the tunnel, he made sure that the opening was sealed securely so that none of the purists would notice.
Quickly, they all ran through the tunnel with hopes that they weren’t followed. Luckily Camdyn made sure that the path they passed was completely filled, to the point that the ground looked undisturbed.
“Goodness, you people are insane” Audrey spoke breathlessly, yet one could feel the enjoyment in her tone.
“You’re just as crazy,” Fleta said with a chuckle “here’s the map. I couldn’t finish it. But I can still remember some parts of it at least” She was grinning proudly while handing Audrey the small notebook.
“We need to show that to the leaders as soon as possible!” Beverly said excitedly “And while Fleta still remembers what she couldn’t put on the map”
“Just let me breathe first- that was the most I’ve run since we started training,” Said Camdyn, who fell to the ground as soon as he finished sealing the tunnel.
They all agreed to the idea, and for a little while, they all sat on the ground, panting heavily after the small adventure they all just had. Once things seemed to have settled down, they all got to their feet and made their way to the building both leaders were staying in.
“Leader! Elder! We have something to tell you!” Beverly was ecstatic to present their information that she kept knocking on the building’s door despite knowing how late it already was.
“Maybe they’re already sleeping” Alden suggested while trying to get Beverly to stop knocking on the door.
Just as Beverly was about to land a few more knocks on the door, it creaked open. They were greeted by a drowsy-looking Edric who looked just about ready to head to bed.
“Leader! Leader! We have news for you!” Beverly was basically bouncing with excitement as she let herself into the building.
“Our apologies for barging in so late, Leader. We just thought that we should tell you about the map we created” Audrey spoke as she presented her small journal.
“A map of what?” The leader took the small journal from her hands, yet he wasn’t sure how he would go about understanding it “I can’t understand any of this”
“I was the one who made that. It’s a map of the purists’ territory” Fleta said bashfully, a huge contrast from her usual confident self.
The leader looked at them with a shocked expression when Fleta had mentioned that it was a map of the purists’ territory “When did you?!? Did you go to their territory?” He then looked at the map more intently “You need to explain this to me right now.” Immediately, he ushered each of them inside the building.
They all gathered in the usual meeting room they often used. There, Leader Edric set up a large piece of paper, a few quills, and the journal where a rushed map was scribbled in.
“What did you see while inside that territory?” All sleepiness seemed to have vanished when the leader prepared to draft out a better version of the map.
“There’s actually a wall behind that barrier!”Camdyn exclaimed as he recalled “And the barrier is only surface level. It’s kind of similar to illusion magic”
“What’s this about illusionary magic?” Their attention turned to the elder who was making her way into the meeting hall.
“We got into purists’ territory!” Winthrop soon pointed over the drafted map “There’s an open field past the wall. Then a few meters ahead, there’s a forest there that goes on for a few meters”
As they told him everything that they could remember, the leader made himself busy by drafting out everything he could. They all even had a good laugh when they told both leaders about an encounter they almost had with the purists. By the end of the night, they were all pretty exhausted, but with a better idea of the territory they’re up against, it gave them a more concrete plan and formation sequence that would make their victory sure.
