Burning Soul

After a desperate struggle in that forest for almost 3 hours, the convoy finally reached the end of the maze and it was almost night. If they had been late, they’d have just gotten lost in that big forest.

They were continuously walking and spotting the walls in a maze for the correct directions. As they were aware that the walls of the maze change their positions after a particular period of time they had to be very expeditious with their saunter.

They all had an immensely prolonged expedition this time, and every member suffered travel sickness. Therefore, most of them gave a sigh of relief after sticking out of the maze. Some of them cried out happily.

Everyone was very happy. Getting out of the maze was genuinely very strenuous and it was indeed a big achievement for all of them. After a moment Milot hushed down the clamour of a happy envoy.

The pale crescent moon shone like a silvery claw in the night sky. They looked up at the blanket of stars that stretched to infinity. The occasional creaking of small stems and the faraway whistling of some creepy birds broke the silence of the night. The cool breeze touched their skin making them feel better.

“Ahh, that sucked all my life juice!” Milot after walking for that long clearly showed signs of wear.

“C’mon you have been on your feet for so long so what’s the complaint now?” Catherine replied to his complaint,

“That’s the thing!

I thought I’d be able to enjoy the journey and relax for a while.

But, no! The only thing I got was a long tiring walk!

Damn it, It’s not like I hate it or anything but, even warriors like me need rest once in a while!”

He continued in a complaining look, bending down a little and then stretching out his body as possible as he could.

“Just a little more and we’ll be out of the Maze finally!” One of the mages replied to his worry.

“Yeah Yeah it’s not as if she’s going to be welcoming us at the end!” He kept walking and suddenly bumped into something. “What the…!” Only to his surprise and rather everyone’s surprise, it was a person!

“Who are you all?” She asked in a gentle tone, so soft everyone almost forgot she wasn’t part of the convoy.

“Us, wait, what!” Milot screamed in disbelief.

“Ah! It’s your small shrimp!

And you gathered more shrimps around you huh!” The person replied with a chuckle!

He was merely surprised that someone would call a person like him a shrimp. His skin crawled when he heard her calling him a shrimp, heat crept into his cheeks; inwardly he winced, rage bottled up inside him and his every muscle tensed.

“I’m not short anymore, neither am I a kid you old hag…” Before he could continue a bolt of lighting interrupted him for good,

“How long have you been travelling my little ones?

You must be tired right!” She asked the Mages who were staring at her crazy.

“No, not at all, we arrived in a matter of a day!” One of them replied,

“Ah so long…

Wait, just a day?

Not a week?” She seemed surprised to hear that,

She merely got bewildered hearing this. It stole her breath, her flesh tingled, her skin flushed, her knees got weakened. There were many questions popping up in her head. For a common man, it was solely not possible to solve a maze like this one. Because generally, the maze doesn't move its walls which makes it getting solved faster.

But talking about this maze, it keeps moving and changing its positions at least 70 times a day and it is not easy for any common man to solve it. Sometimes if a person is not that capable of making quick strategies and plans for solving mazes he might get stuck there forever.

‘If I remember clearly it’s designed to keep them in the maze of at least a week! How did the’, she thought to herself.

“Thanks to him we could solve the maze so quickly! If he couldn’t see those walls and solve the pattern it was over for us!” One of the mages replied.

“See?

Pattern? This kid?” She looked at Theodore with a surprised look,

“Ah, where are my manners? It's getting late and as a reward for solving the maze I’ll be your host, for the time being, this way!”

With just a wave of her hand there appeared a rather suspicious-looking hut, “Oh don’t worry it’s plenty spacious inside!” She then walked to open the door, over Milot who was still lying on the ground after the hit.

‘One thing is clear, we ain’t bothering with her age ever, like forever!’ Everyone had this one thought stuck in their mind.

Although it happened quickly, no one could look at her face and everyone thought it was for the best or it’ll just end up scaring them.

They all entered the hut one by one and to everyone’s surprise, it was a rather spacious hut. Big enough to accommodate the whole convoy. From inside it was like a big mansion!

As you enter through the front door on the east facade, you pass into a grand hallway. The predominant colours were dark with tan and gold highlights, creating an interesting contrast to the original interior. There were many huge rooms in it. The doors and windows had moulded surrounds of painted wood with bulls - eye cornerbacks and decorative accents on the door surrounds and on the baseboard. The doorknobs, plates and hinges were brass with raised Eastlake style ornament.

“That’s what wizardry gives huh!” Theo looked around in awe,

“Not everything though! Oh, and don’t worry about the horses and their caretakers, they’ll be brought over shortly.” A slender woman, best in her early twenties, replied to his thought. With her crimson red hair, silkier than the silk outfit she wore, and deep ocean blue eyes, she looked nothing less than a princess.

“Who are you?” Theo, just like everyone, was bewitched by her beauty.

“Ah! It was me the whole time!

I’m the great witch of Arnor Amara. Welcome to my humble residence.

Instead of talking about me, I’d love to hear an explanation about the whole being able to see the walls thing! What was that?

How can you see those walls of the maze? And the pattern?

It changes with every step, almost impossible to decode!” She leaned towards him trying to take a closer look.

She was rather taller than him, though he was on the short side being 5.3, she was almost a head taller than him. As she learned he couldn’t avert his gaze from her bust, ‘So close!’ He thought as he closed his eyes instinctively.

“Ahem!

But that’s not what we were told, like about how you look and ….” Catherine, interrupting her move, spoke but Milot jumped and shushed her, “Ah, now that we are here, it’s merrier isn’t it?”

“What about the looks you say, child?” Amara, as she asked, one could clearly see death in her eyes and a non-conspicuous smile.

“Like you were an old person with a screw loose or something, yeah like those typical witches described in the novels…”As she said, Milot could be seen trying to escape the hut through the door, though his attempt failed as the door slammed on his face,

“Oh, an old hag with a screw loose huh!” Milot looked like a small hamster in front of an imposing tiger and it was super fun to see him cornered like that

“Electro!” Theo commented on her elemental magic, “Ah! So you know about the elements?” She replied as she bolted Milot,

“Yeah, I learned about it in the old texts! The basic elements we know about also about many more, it’s just we now rely heavily on the magic devices, so a lot of knowledge is being lost in time!” he replied

“That’s some news! Most people nowadays don’t really bother.

The interesting fellow you have brought with you, Milot! And please fix that attitude of yours, it’s one of many reasons why Duvrion disapproves of you!

Besides, let’s take a seat and have a talk about why are you all here? I’m sure you are not here to show off the fact that you can see mana infused objects or the knowledge of elements!” She flicked a stroke of her hair as she spoke, she looked no less than a princess.