The Other Side/Rise Of The Crow

It's been four hours since Layla first go poisoned and Mari has been healing her the whole time. Sachi and I are keeping watch while Jack is getting fresh water from the river north of us. Everything that could've gone wrong went wrong. I'm starting to think Vedora put a hex on us.

"I'm done!" Mari yells out as Sachi and I walk back into the cave.​​

"Will she be okay?" Sachi asks as we kneel down and observe Layla.

"She needs rest but otherwise she's pretty stable again. That poison was pretty intense even with her Frodian blood trying to fight it back. The best thing we can do is… " Mari says as she slowly loses consciousness and starts falling towards the ground.

"I got you babe!" I promise as I catch her before she falls.

"I figured she was tired. Because of Master Celine's teachings, her skill with healing magic is quite extraordinary but every powerful skill comes at a cost for us, especially because we're still half-human. Here, let her lay on my sleeping bag! She's gonna need rest too." Sachi demands as she hands her sleeping bag to me.

"It's okay… You can rest for now Mari." I reassure as I stroke her hair and kiss her forehead.

Suddenly, we hear a stick break right behind us.

"Who's there!" Sachi yells as she readies her bow.

"Take another step and I'll cut your head off!" I shout as I ready my dagger.

"It's just me!" Jack responds as he walks into the cave with buckets of water and firewood strapped to his back.

"Sorry, should've been able to pick up on your scent!" Sachi apologizes as she lowers her bow.

"My bad bro!" I add in as I put my dagger back into its sheath.

"No worries, I'd be angrier if you guys weren't in defensive mode! Sheesh, now Mari is out too?" Jack asks as he drops the buckets of water and puts the firewood under our cooking pot.

"She did everything she could to make sure Layla stayed alive. She sacrificed all of her Taqa to help save a friend even at the risk of her own life. Mari truly is something else… " Sachi comments as Jack and I start up a fire.

"Yeah, she really is." I reply as I look at my beautiful girlfriend sleeping peacefully.

"At least we have heat now! It's getting pretty cold in this forest with all this damn rain!" Jack sighs as he puts his hands near the fire and his stomach starts growling.

"Crap, both of our best cooks are out for the count! Mari and Layla's spicy soup would hit the spot right now… " I lament as I feel myself getting hungry too.

"We'll just have to rely on rations for now. Kira gave this to me earlier just in case!" Sachi says as she throws me and Jack a loaf of bread.

"It's not fancy but anything will do until they're good again." I say as I chomp down on the dry bread.

Several hours pass by as the sky starts getting really dark and nighttime is imminent. We've all been switching off on watch guard duty to let all of us get a little bit of rest.

"Hey Crow, do you need a break? I can take watch if you want." Sachi asks as she slowly gets up and sits next to me at the entrance of the cave.

"It's okay, you've been keeping watch for us for most of the day. I'm night owl remember?" I smile as Sachi hands me a warm cup of tea.

"I may not be the best cook but my tea should keep you warm! Anyway, we gotta think really hard about what we're going to do. With Mari and Layla benched, it isn't going to be easy for us tomorrow. You and Layla's speed is one of our greatest strengths as a team, to be honest. It gives a chance for the rest of us to do what we do best." Sachi says as I can tell she's really worried.

"I say we still stick to the same plan we had before. We need to figure out the layout of this forest so we'll have an advantage over the other teams. Hopefully, by the time we do that Layla and Mari will be back!" I reply as Sachi nods her head.

"You're right! Ideally, it would be best for us to go for enemy flags on the third day. Everyone will be scrambling by then to get some flags and more importantly most of the teams will be tired by then! But the question is when should we map out the forest?" Sachi asks as I think hard about it.

"We should go now. It's night time and any team that's competent enough should be asleep. If we go during the daytime we'll definitely get attacked so this is probably our best chance!" I suggest.

"Hmm, I don't know Crow. We'd be leaving our hideout pretty open. Are you sure we should be leaving right now?" Sachi asks as she seems pretty hesitant.

"Jack is a one-man army on his own. If we're quick enough, we'll be back before we know it!" I assure.

"Alright, we gotta be fast then! Jack, wake up!" Sachi shouts.

"Ugh, I was really knocked out! What's going on?" Jack asks as he sits next to us.

"We're going to check this place out so Sachi can make a map! Be sure to look after the girls while we're gone!" I command as Jack yawns.

"That's all? Don't worry, I won't let anybody lay a finger on them! Get out there and do what you gotta do!" Jack reassures us he pulls out both of his axes.

"Sounds good, we'll be back in a bit Jack!" Sachi promises as she and I leave the cave and dart out into the forest.

Sachi and I sprint the forest at staggering speeds as we mark down any areas that catch our eyes. During our map run, we see multiple Colossi who are all fast asleep making sure to sneak by them quietly. After an hour of searching, we've combed through a good amount of the forest without seeing any enemy teams.

"I'm surprised, I thought for sure we'd run into any enemy team eventually." I whisper as Sachi and I walk carefully through the dark forest.

"You almost sound disappointed. Let's be grateful we haven't because we'd probably be outnumbered. During our run, I did sense someone's Taqa but it was very calm. If anything, our enemies are hiding really well and are just that skilled. There's a reason this event is invite-only." Sachi shares as we both try to find our way back to the cave.

"Well, we did what we came for so now let's get back before day breaks. HUH?" I reply as Sachi pushes me to ground and holds my mouth.

"Shhh. Enemy team up ahead." Sachi whispers as she points to a campfire.

"Damn, I can sense at least four of them now. That's pretty bold of to have their base out in the open like that." I remark as we both lay on our stomachs and hide in some bushes.

"Wait, did you just say four? I sensed five!" Sachi replies her voice full of worry.

"Gotcha!" A familiar voice says as all of a sudden a trap goes off.

"Crap!" Sachi yells as she gets caught in a wooden cage trap that flies to the top of a tree.

"Sachi! YAH!" I yell as I jump as high I can to try to set her free.

"Sorry, can't allow that!" A Bracadier boy says as he attacks me with a club and smashes me into the ground.

"AGH! What the?" I yell in frustration as I fall to the ground in pain.

Suddenly a figure approaches me from the shadow with a bow aimed right at me.

"Fate sure is something, isn't it Chosen Child?" Mine asks her voice full of sarcasm.

"It's you again… " I realize as I slowly get up and ready my dagger.

"I knew we'd face each other one way or another but I was hoping it would be a little bit later! Also, why would you two come out here by yourselves? I'm guessing something must've gone wrong with the rest of your team so you guys were trying to compensate. correct?" Mine asks as she walks towards me with a lot of confidence.

"One thing I've learned about you Frodians is that you're a very proud race of people. You think people owe you answers just because you ask. As far as I'm concerned I'm not telling you jack! I'll let my blade talk!" I yell as I unleash my Taqa.

"Hahahaha! I like you, you're very similar to me but still so different. I respect your guts and how you stood up to that pretentious king like I did but nonetheless we are in the heat of battle! Alright guys, let's show this Chosen Child what we're capable of!" Mine shouts as she unleashes her Taqa.

"Can't play games with you, can I? Oh well, Scavian Art: Flight of The Crow!" I yell as I sprout my wings and prepare for battle against Mine's party.