169 Forced Rest
[Friday chapters 2/3]
Lydia glared at Arad approaching them, steam gushing from his nose as he panted. “You have the sorcerer wings?” She stood, “How could lift them all?”
“It wasn’t easy. Gravity magic made them lighter.” Arad replied, panting, “But it was quite exhausting.” He sat on the ground.
Mira took her bag out and pulled a bottle of water, rushing toward Arad. “Here you, drink some.”
“Thank you,” Arad took a sip and relaxed.
Mira started poking his arms with her finger, “You aren’t sweating.”
“I used a lot of magic, and the wind must have dried any sweat,” Arad replied with a smile.
Mira grabbed his upper arm and started quizzing it. Her palms barely covered his biceps. “It’s both soft and springy.”
“Yeah, can you please stop touching me?” Arad glared at her.
“Give me a moment.” Mira didn’t stop, “I can feel your heart pounding a lot, are you okay?” She glared at his eyes.
“Yeah, I’m fine.”
Mira looked at Lydia, “You are a healer, check him out.”
“He must be fine.” Aella approached.
“No, let her check him.” Mira stared back at her.
Lydia sighed, touching Arad’s shoulder. She blinked twice, “It’s erratic! He should rest a bit.” She looked back at Aella and Mira. “You lit fire, you go check in my bags and bring the bag of mint. Jack, you gather some branches for the fire.”
[You’re a dragon, your heart beats differently than humans. She must have mistaken it.]
Arad sighed. “Fine, but we should move quickly.”
“You need to rest. Don’t try something that extreme again, your body isn’t used to those wings.” Lydia growled at him. “I heard of people who couldn’t handle transformation and died. Next time, we run or think of something else.”
“Don’t worry about me. I can keep going.” Arad relaxed, pointing at the fire Aella tried to start [Bonfire] He ignited it for her.
~You’re strong, you might be able to beat the elder tree.~ the fairy stood facing Arad.
^Don’t tell me there are more of those things ahead. If that is the case, it’s too dangerous to take them with me.^
~It’s already too late to back off. Soon you will find the core. I hope you can deal with it.~
^Can’t you say anything that could help me?^
~When you find the elder tree, pull it out and burn its roots. Otherwise, those things will keep appearing.~
^Do you know its location? Tell me and I will go there right now and end it.^𝐞𝗼𝐯𝐞𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝗺
~I can’t feel it anymore. You have to find it alone.~ The fairy disappeared, but that seemed strange. Her voice cracked at the last moment as if she was forced to stop talking.
VOM! At that moment, Arad could sense a slight shiver in the ground. “Did the ground move?” He looked at Lydia.
Lydia stared at the small iron cauldron, the water had tiny waves. “Yeah, probably a weak earthquake, or one of those monsters is getting closer.” She glared back, “Jack! Aella! Look around if any large monster is approaching.”
Arad sighed, he tried to stand but Lydia pulled him down. “Rest. You can fight or run if a monster appeared, otherwise, you’re recovering.”
Arad started at her, “I heard you shouting at Jack yesterday. Was it because of something like this?”
“What?”
“I can move,” Arad replied.
“Listen, sit, and rest for a few moments.” She sighed putting the mint to boil in the small cauldron.
“There are no monsters around.” Aella came back, “But I saw a huge ravine to the east.”
“I found no monsters, but the trees are getting freaky toward the east.” Jack came back at the same time.
“So we’re heading to the east,” Arad said, looking at Mira.
“Yeah. Those strange trees have elder wood traces so we should find the elder tree if we followed them. Since we found the fairies dead, I bet the tree is ready for harvest.” She smiled.
“The quest said to only report its location,” Lydia said.
“They would cut it anyway.” Mira smiled, “The forest seems to be suffering, we should cut it down.”
Arad nodded, “I was about to say the same thing. Let’s just rip it apart.” He smiled.
Mira nodded with a smile. She then turned back and poured the mint tea for Arad, “Drink this.”
Arad took a sip, “It’s good.”
“Don’t overexert yourself. Sudden outbursts can hurt your heart.” Lydia looked at him.
Arad nodded, “You don’t have to worry about me. How many times do I have to say that?”
“I’ve seen many people kill themselves by overexerting their bodies. I do remember a certain fighter. He could only use action surge twice but he forced a third one in a fight and beheaded Bodak. His heart stopped and he fell to the ground shaking and fuming from his mouth.” Lydia looked sad.
Arad scratched his head, “It won’t happen to me.”
“It could. You could have died, don’t force yourself when it’s not needed.” Lydia stood, making sure Arad understood what she was talking about.
“Listen to her. You are strong, we know that. But you don’t have to risk your life.” Mira patted Arad’s shoulder, he looked at Aella as if asking for help.
“They are right, you should watch your health more.” She smiled.
^You know I’m a dragon and this isn’t much.^ Arad growled inside.
Aella stared at Arad with a grin, ^You should learn to hide your powers. Don’t go around flying and blasting monsters.^
After the short rest, they kept moving toward the ravine. Arad started feeling weird. The dirt felt strange on the ground. He looked down, “Is it shaking again? And it’s a bit hot and humid here.”
Everyone took a moment to feel the ground, “You’re right. The dirt is warm, the air is humid and the leaves are vibrating faintly.” Jack touched the ground.
“Something is happening here. We should move carefully.”
^Fairy! Fairy! Do you hear me?^
Arad got no answer.