Return to Jorgaldur Volume II: the druid archer

Intrigues in the shadows

"Apparently, Jrevlo was sent on a mission. They haven't reported or told anything. They may be planning something," revealed Kraro.

"Mmm. Jrevlo is in the unicorn zone. They may've found out something and think they can corrupt it. We can't let them get it. He's loyal to Jralon. They could get the upper hand against us," Kroljo guessed.

"First the immature shadows and now this. We can't allow it!" exclaimed Kraro.

"We have to find out what they're up to. Send Droxdlir to use the troops we've hidden there. If the opportunity arose, he needs to seize the unicorn. Or eliminate it before it falls into the hands of Jralon and his people."

"Heh, heh. Good idea. Droxdlir is the best for these kinds of jobs, and he's close. If he finds any of the Jralon's, he'll show no mercy. They don't have a chance," Kraro grinned.

"News from Jrevlo?" Jralon asked.

"No, none. We've called him, but it's like he's vanished, it's impossible to locate him," Jreneg answered while frowning.

There were only three possibilities if they couldn't find a corrupted spirit whose essence they knew. The first one was that he had died. The second was that he was in an area without miasma, something he could do temporarily, but they had already tried to find him for several hours. The third was that he had wandered too far from his area, which made no sense. At least, not voluntarily.

"It has to be Kroljo. Dammit! Have they dared to kidnap or kill one of us?! They are going to pay for it!"

"But why now? It doesn't make sense, there's nothing important there," Jreneg hesitated.

"Except for the unicorn... Damn, they know something. We can't let them get it, it's too valuable. And it's ours! It's in our area!" Jralon yelled, enraged.

"What can we do?" Jreneg asked, intimidated.

"Send Vrenhjsil. Let him take whatever he needs. If he finds any of Kroljo's lackeys, tell him to show no mercy, "Jralon ordered.

"Heh, heh. Good idea. Vrenhjsil is very good, and he's close. I'm calling him."

Droxdlir frowned. Something strange was happening there. It made no sense that there were almost no corrupted beasts in the area. The only explanation was that they were gathering them, that they were planning some kind of attack. The question was whether their target was the living or his faction.

His flying corrupted beasts hadn't found anything strange either, so he had no idea where they were taking them. He had to report it, but, first, he had to investigate the mystical beast.

He approached the dome that protected that area still alive, the very sight of which made him nauseous. He couldn't bear to be resisted by life, couldn't help but wanting to dominate and annihilate it. But, right now, it was beyond his reach.

There were no corrupted beasts in that place either, even there they had disappeared.

"Have they given up on this, or are they planning something very big?" he wondered.

Although not many, he found some beasts on the other side, which were scattered throughout the corrupted forest. There were less than there should be, but more than he had seen before. A smirk appeared on his face, so he commanded his troops against those corrupted beasts. Any chance to weaken the Jralon's faction should be seized. If they found him there, they would attack him. So, the fewer enemies, the better.

Vrenhjsil approached the place where the entrance to the dungeon was located. It was the last position where Jrevlo had reported his presence, and where he should be waiting, alongside hundreds of corrupted beasts. But there was nothing there, just thousands of footprints that showed they had really been there.

The corrupted spirit was a battle-savvy general, but not a skilled detective or tracker. If not, he would have noticed some holes in the trunks, due to Goldmi's arrows, or even the footprints belonging to her or her sister.

But Vrenhjsil simply ignored them, unable to distinguish those clues from the rest. He wasn't even able to realize that there were many footprints going towards that place, but very few leaving. Had he found out, he might have deduced that something different from his initial guesses had happened, although he could hardly have imagined that an elf and a lynx had killed the spirit and hundreds of corrupted beasts.

"Has Jrevlo betrayed us?" he wondered aloud.

He turned and headed into the forest, followed by the beasts he was gathering along the way.

"Droxdlir..."

"Vrenhjsil..."

The two shadows met while investigating the surroundings of the area where the unicorn was hiding. They looked at each other with hostility, while remembering that, in ancient times, they had been good friends, when they still belonged to the nature and to the forest. But the power by which they had allowed themselves to be corrupted had also corrupted their old friendship.

So seeing each other brought back memories of the past, of when they were alive, of when they were happy being one with the forest. And that irritated them. And for that, they hated each other.

Immediately, the two armies of corrupted beasts charged at each other, by obeying their masters' orders.

Both shadows moved away from the place, so hiding from their enemy, fearing an ambush, fearing the uncertainty of being near that barrier that protected their greatest and hated enemy, life.

Thus, the battle was moving away from the place, as mercilessly beings that didn't feel pain were facing each other. They kept fighting until their last breath, even if they had lost their legs or their heads. It was a fratricidal fight that was weakening the forces of darkness, though in a rather insignificant way.

Since all levels were below 30, it was hardly an appreciable loss for the corrupted army, although it was for the low-level areas, which would be more unprotected. Given the low density of the miasma, they couldn't bring high-level beings there, so their forces in the low leveled lands would be compromised.

They kept fighting for hours, as both corrupted spirits focused their hatred on the other. Until, suddenly, a huge commotion caught their attention. The barrier that had been protecting the unicorn had disappeared.