The carriage reached a large walled garden, and Cerilla looked outside the window, “We’re here,”
SWOSH! Isdis pulled her head inside, “We just got attacked, don’t poke your head out like that!”
“But they failed,” Cerilla opened the door, jumping outside with a smile, “See, No attacks,” She puffed her chest.
“Be more concerned,” Dalla looked back, walking down to stand beside her.
Arad looked at the old crumbling walls. He could see traces of blue magic glittering between the cracks, followed by a golden haze.
He walked forward, extending his hand, touching the cracks, “Hehehehe,” At that moment, he could feel a sharp pain surging from his fingertips, his mana getting sucked out like a flowing river.
“GAH!” Arad cried, pulling his hand out and staring at the wall with a sweaty face, “This thing absorbs mana like hell. We shouldn’t touch it,”
Cerilla put her hands on her hip, “I already knew that. Couldn’t you want me to explain it?”
“Forget that now. I will jump over the wall and see what’s inside,” Arad turned toward the wall, squatting as the muscles in his legs bulged.
Cerilla sighed.
BAM! Arad jumped into the air, almost getting over the wall. CLANK! He suddenly hit an invisible wall, feeling his mana getting sucked out.
“GAH!” As he gasped, his body fell on the wall, taking a second hit before rolling to Aella’s feet. “We can’t jump over it,” He said.
Cerilla walked toward him, “Stop jumping in and let me guide us inside. This place is protected. It would defeat the purpose of the wind spirit if you managed to get in with ease,”
“Fine, what should we do?” Arad stared at her, not bothering to stand.
“Are you giving up? I honestly expected you to be able to break in with all the insanity you did earlier in the castle.” Cerilla smiled.
^[This barrier doesn’t seem like the work of the wind spirit. It’s the work of a pixie, a powerful fairy to be exact.]^
Arad stood, approached the wall, and stared at it, “Is there a door around here?” ｂ𝚍ｎｏｖ𝚕．ｃｏｍ
“It’s over there behind the corner.” Cerilla pointed out.
Arad approached the door, looking closely at it, and then smiled, “I have a solution, but it will take some time,” He touched the door, sending waves of magic into the metal. He then extended his second arm back, letting Doma absorb mana from the air for him.
“I will stuff the door with mana until it explodes,” Arad smiled.
“Are you insane? That must be painful as hell!” Cerilla cried, glaring at Arad as he started channeling mana.
“If it’s just pain,” Dalla looked at Cerilla, “Arad won’t stop,”
Eris looked at Aella, “Is this your house? It’s quite big. Was your family rich or something?”
“I won’t say rich,” Aella scratched her cheek, “We worked as high ranking archer family. Mother was the ranged general of the kingdom,”
Isdis stared at Aella, shocked, “You know how important is that?”
“I know, but the title is linked to the person contracted with the wind spirit. Only mother enjoyed that privilege, or should I say responsibility?”
“Having great power always comes with great responsibility,” Lydia approached Aella, “Don’t worry about it,” she smiled.
Aella looked at the door, “It’s been a while since I’ve been here,”
“RWA!” They suddenly heard Arad cry as his body flew back, half charged as he rolled on the ground, “Damn it, I overloaded my body with mana,” He sighed, barely sitting.
“I have to rest a bit,” Arad took a deep breath and then looked at everyone. “What?”
“Nothing. Did you give up?” Cerilla stared at him with a smug face.
“Not yet, need to rest for a moment,” Arad replied with a stern face.
HOP! Aella ran away, hopping with a smile on her face.
Eris looked at Arad, “How can you even absorb so much mana that you burn yourself?”
“I don’t know,” Arad replied.
Thud! Aella put a wooden table in front of the carriage with a chair, “Arad, you can rest here a bit. I will pour you some water,”
Arad smiled, sitting on the chair as Aella started pouring him some water.
“Was this table on the carriage? I didn’t see it?” Eris stared at the strange wooden table and chair. She was sure they weren’t with them before.
“Those?” Aella smiled, “We always keep some in the warehouse for when people want to sit outside,”
“Weahous? Where?” Isdis looked around, seeing no such building.
“It’s right in that corner inside the garden,” Aella pointed toward the wall. ZIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII! The open door cried like it was never oiled in decades, sending an ear-piercing screech.
“You opened the door?” Everyone gasped at the same time.
Aella looked at the door, confused, “I just walked in out of habit,”
Cerilla looked at her, “I was about to use this to open the door,” She showed Aella a ring that belonged to her mother, “You should keep it now,”
“Wait? I could open the door?” Aella gasped.
“Whoever is protecting the house. It can recognize you and your mother, but it’s stupid enough to be fooled with a ring.” Jack approached Aella, “Can I look at that ring?” He asked with a smile.
Aella handed Jack her mother’s ring, and he inspected it. “Impressive craftsmanship, elvish in origin, but it has a hint of halfling touch. A marvelous ring that could go for up to one platinum coin for the right buyer.”
He then threw the ring to Arad, “Does it have any magic?”
Thud! Arad caught the ring, “None that I can see from a glance, A mundane ring,” He stood and gave it back to Aella.
Aella put the ring on and walked toward the door, opening it wide for everyone to walk it. “Please come in slowly. I don’t know if the barrier is down.”
Everyone walked behind her safely, “This place is big,” Arad looked at the large plants in the garden, “How long do you need to leave grass for it to grow this big?” The single leaf was almost five times as tall as he, sending a menacing shadow.
“They shouldn’t be able to grow this big,” Cerilla gasped, looking around with amazement, “This place must be blessed with life.”
“You didn’t know about it?” Jack looked at Cerilla, “Didn’t people complain about it growing out of the walls?”
“No,” Cerilla looked at Jack, “No one did.”
Jack stopped in his place, “Fuck me…” He looked back at the wall, seeing it extending to the clouds.
“The grass isn’t the one that grew big. We got smaller,” He gasped.
“Hehe!” They could hear the faint giggles of a little girl carried by the wind, “You’re a smart one, artifact holder,” The voice grew closer, but it was louder.
BZZZZZZZZZ! BZZZZZZZZZZZZ! BZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ!
As everyone glared around in shock, they could hear something buzzing above them. They looked, seeing a giant woman flying with butterfly wings over them.
The fairy landed on a grass blade, dangling her legs with an amused smile as she glared down at them. “Welcome to my play house,”
“Get us back to normal,” Arad growled.
“You have to play with me first,” The fairy smiled, staring back at him.
Thud! Arad cracked his fists, “How about I pull your wings instead? Would you get us back?”
The fairy looked at his, shaking one finger, “No! No! No! The spell would become permanent if I was harmed, or killed,”
Cerilla walked forward, “We will play your game. What is it?”
The fairy smiled, “First, my name is Zephyr. I’m the daughter of Mei, the Pixies’ queen. You know me as the wind spirit if I’m not wrong,” She looked at Aella, “I’m the one who let you inside.”
“Then? What’s your game, or are you going to explain something?” Eris stared at her.
Zephyr smiled, “I want to play,” In the blink of an eye, she caught Aella between her toes and flew to the sky, “The game is to catch me!” She smiled.
VROOM! As she flew away, she could feel Arad after her, “Give her back,” He growled.
“You have something else to deal with,” Zephyr smiled. CRACK! Something stabbed Arad’s back, ripping his wings off.
“The hell?” Arad growled, looking back to see a cow-sized wasp. No, the wasp wasn’t large. It’s Arad that is small.
“See you inside,” Zephyr flew away with Aella as a swarm of wasps attacked Arad, dropping him to the ground.
Arad gasped, coughing blood as he healed, “Bugs, I will burn them to ash,” He lifted his arm, pointing at the swarm.
CLACK! As he aimed, a large web fell on him, tying him to the ground. Right behind him, a large spider glared menacingly.
“A wolf spider! Burn the web and run away!” Dalla shouted as she slapped an ant on the face, killing it.
Arad growled, burning the web and standing. He looked around and clenched his fist.
“Spiders, wasps, ants, cockroaches, worms, and even more, all the bugs of the garden are attacking us,” He shifted into his draconic form, remaining as small as a beetle.