Return to Jorgaldur Volume II: the druid archer

Dark Spirits

"Here they are. I told you. Ha, ha," a voice laughed evilly in front of Goldmi.

"They're already ours, they can't escape. Mmmm, they look delicious," another one threatened, behind her.

They were beings with a certain similarity to the spirits, like a deformed and evil version of them, and which were enveloped by a dark aura. Goldmi put an arrow in her bow, ready to shoot at any moment.

"Can that mortal see us? It seems she wants to attack us," another one asked, with more surprise than fear.

"She may be sensitive to our presence and may have perceived something. But it's impossible that she can see us, let alone attack us," replied another, which seemed to be the leader of the group.

"Heh, heh, of course. How is a stupid mortal going to see us?"

"Look what I've found," another voice announced suddenly, coming from behind.

And as the spirits huddled around Goldmi, terrified, another one of those beings appeared. It was dragging a spirit, like those who were accompanying the elf, taking him by the hair.

"You can keep it. Here there are enough for everyone," laughed the boss.

"Heh, heh."

That giggle made the elf and the spirits got goosebumps, but not as much as what happened next. The newly arrived being opened its mouth and bit the spirit's arm, ripped it off and began to chew it.

The spirit made the gesture of screaming in pain, but no sound came out from his small lips. However, the intensity of the pain that invaded him was reflected in his face.

Horrified, Goldmi shot the arrow against the one which had bitten the spirit, an arrow that the rest of the newly arrived beings ignored.

"We are going ahead, you can continue eating."

But, when it turned, its ally had disappeared. On the ground there was a one-armed spirit, dying, but no sign of which had brought it. An arrow stuck into a trunk of a tree, just beyond it, didn't even make sense.

"Where is...?" he asked, turning to the others.

Then, he saw as another of its allies was attacking one of the spirits hidden behind Goldmi, but, before arriving, a sword pierced it and split it in two, causing the being to volatilize.

"How... How can it be...?"

It was in shock, paralyzed at an impossible scene. They all knew that mortals couldn't see them, and, although their weapons or spells could reach them by chance, they couldn't harm them. At that moment, it remembered the arrow stuck in the tree, realizing what had happened to its other missing ally.

"Run! Get out of here! She can kill us! We have to tell...!"

But there its words ended, since an arrow had pierced it, achieving the impossible to make a hole in its spirit, and ending that life that had been corrupted.

The others tried to flee, but the archer was faster and precise. An arrow pierced the head of one of those ethereal beings. The next projectile hit another with the same precision. One after another, they were pierced and killed by a physical weapon that shouldn't be able to do them any harm, by someone who shouldn't be able to see them, but the truth is that they all disappeared from the world forever.

Goldmi then ran to the spirit lying on the ground, while the lynx was looking at her. She couldn't see what was happening, but she could partly sense it through the link that bound them together.

The other spirits emerged from their hiding places, gathering around the wounded who was missing an arm. Then, they put their hands on him, and a soft glow ran through them, transferring to the wounded spirit.

Little by little, the lost arm was again taking shape, while the spirits shrank slightly. The grimace of pain disappeared from the spirit's face, who looked at his new arm with wide eyes, and then jumped on the elf. The jump catch her by surprise, as well as the kiss he gave her on the cheek, or the hug with his tiny little arms.

They all jumped up and danced happily, celebrating that they had survived, that they were alive. They continually thanked the elf, bowing before her, also kissing her on the cheeks or hugging her, and while she was watching them in wonder.

When they calmed down, they began to argue without sound. They continually gestured, pointing either way, more than once toward the elf, lynx, or village direction. Finally, they calmed down, having reached a decision.

They said goodbye, waving their hands vigorously until they were lost in the thicket, all but two. Those two guided them through the jungle, avoiding the dangers lurking in the shadows.

Goldmi was unclear if the other animals were afraid to approach, if they somehow respected or revered them, or if they were simply capable of avoiding danger. The truth is that they reached the edge of the beginner's village without any setback.

Goldmi and the lynx crossed the barrier that protected it, but the spirits remained outside, saying goodbye as their friends had, and also getting lost in the thicket.

"They're gone," the elf told, to which her sister simply nodded.

She had told her everything that had happened, and they were both worried about the appearance of those dark beings, whose aura even the feline had perceived. They didn't know who or what they were. They could only speculate that, perhaps, they were some kind of evil version of the spirits, or perhaps some other kind of beings. But they were clear that, whatever they were, they weren't beings that belonged to the jungle, or that had come with good intentions.

But, for now, it wasn't something they could do anything about, they lacked too much information, so they looked back at the village.

There was no one, not a trace of the vigor that had existed there in the game. They wandered around the empty place, where only the abandoned workshops stood out. Some tools had started to rust, and some materials showed signs of deterioration, such as leather or fabrics.

She decided to save them in the inventory, there was no point in letting them go bad there. Although she didn't master any of those professions, perhaps she could give them to someone, to Eldi, as always.

She stopped and sighed. Eldi wasn't there. Neither did Gjaki. Perhaps they had also arrived in that world, or perhaps not. It was impossible for her to know, it was impossible for her to know if someone else had arrived besides her, and she had no way of finding out. What she was clear about was that she couldn't rely on it, she had to take care of herself.