Chapter 90

Our journey continued at a steady pace but the longer we traveled the more it seemed likely it was going to rain today. Dark clouds were covering the sky and it seemed gloomy and grey out. I didn't feel disturbed by it though, something about the smell of rain and wet grass felt nostalgic to me. It was pretty obvious the coachmen and adventurers were becoming increasingly concerned though.

Our lunch was a bit early and quite a bit rushed. The cook once again made salads for lunch but it was noticeable that the ingredients were haphazardly sliced and prepared as quick and possible. All being said we were stopped, fed and back on the road in less than 30 minutes. This evening I was on uuna duty again. Morrigan made a point to sit with Bella this time. She said it would be safer for Torien to be alone than it would be for Bella. I wasn't sure if it was because we were in a rush or the guy really didn't care, he switched with her without a word.

The thunder in the distance made the uuna uneasy. She was the same one I rode yesterday but she was much more jumpy and less responsive to signals than the day before. I was becoming more and more concerned that I was missing something about the situation but by the time I came to this conclusion it was too late to ask anyone. The only one near enough to me or in range of [Soultouched Connection] was Mimi.

I focused again on the road and my surroundings. It was nearly pitch black out despite being the early afternoon. Most of the people in the group were humans and Demi-beastkin but it suddenly became quite obvious that I might have the best eyesight in the group.

"PORT SIDE!" I yelled at the top of my lungs. There was something heading our way and it was huge.

There was no hesitation, it was as if a rope snapped. Nearly everyone jumped into action simultaneously like they had all been waiting for this moment. Swords were drawn, the uuna riders fanned out, and dozens of icicles appeared in the air that hung above our moving wagons like glowing daggers.

I quickly cast [Light Beam] as wide and as bright as I could make it with my 120 effective Magic Force and 80 Magic Control. Whatever I was expecting it wasn't whatever the fuck that is.

A giant four legged beast the size of a two story house was running at us. It looked like some kind of slimy amphibian with large spikes coming out of its back. The second it was properly lit up arrows and magic began flying at it. To me the monster looked like a natural disaster but I noticed that the adventurers weren't panicking. They had been ready for this.

The caravan sped up and the monster was following us down the road now. The other uuna riders were attempting to circle it and were throwing spears connected to long chains attached to the back of their saddles. I quickly looked to my left to see one of the spears secured to my own saddle, it had blended in with everything else and I hadn't even noticed it there. I reached to the side and unlatched it from the saddle and had Nikka start fanning out with the rest of the group. I anchored the giant spotlight my light skill had become onto the wagon in the back of the caravan. This way it would stay as fixed on the monster as I could make it without controlling the magic directly.

Before I committed to throwing the spear I watched closely what the other riders did. The person directly in front of me just hurled the spear like a javelin at the rear legs of the monster. When it failed to connect he yanked back on the chain before gracefully catching the shaft in his hand and making another attempt. I was in awe of the insane physical feat performed right in front of me. And they all were doing it.

One of the spears finally connected with the monster's back. It had gone a little higher than most of them were aiming but it had a solid enough tether that the uuna it was connected to could start pulling it back. The monster shuddered and noticeably slowed allowing two more spears to embed themselves into its body. A particularly good shot speared into the back of the monster's knee causing it to hobble and slow even further. The monster lurched and stopped running all of a sudden. It spun its giant body around trying to flail at the uuna riders with its tail, unknowingly tangling itself up in the chains.

The monster was now much more vulnerable and started flailing only for the last of the uuna riders to fling their spears at the beast. I took the opportunity to help here, much more confident in my aim now that I had a stationary target. My spear connected and without any need to give a command Nikka turned around and started pulling its body weight against the chain, helping to tie the monster down like Gulliver in Gulliver's travels.

Once the monster was sufficiently tied and tangled, several adventurers wielding glaives the length of pikes rushed over from the caravan and begun stabbing the monster with them under its chin until they carved a big enough hole to sever its throat. The monster finally stopped thrashing and lay dead under the chains.

[Your group has defeated a Stream Stalker]

[Light Manipulation has increased from level 8 to level 9]

I saw the other uuna riders releasing a catch on the back of their saddles letting the chain fall into the mud so I followed suit and unlatched my own chain. The adventurers that weren't on uuna-back quickly got to work detangling the monster and dismembering it on the spot. The other uuna riders fanned out again and kept watch around our now stationary caravan. I followed suit and dropped the light spell since it was messing with my night vision and was much less helpful now.

Once the monster was completely disassembled the pieces were wrapped up and thrown on top of one of the carts filled with stone before the entire caravan began moving again, back in formation like nothing had happened. There were no congratulations, no cheering, no excitement. We weren't out of the woods yet so to speak and it was still raining.

I had been even more focused on my surroundings after that, keeping an eye out for any more of the giant kaiju lizards. After several more bells we finally got to the next outpost. We stopped our caravan next to the gate only for two dozen men dressed in black brigandine armor to step out of the outpost. I was still in the back right corner so I could barely see what was going on but after half a bell or so Tarklin began leading two of the men into each of the carriages. There seemed to be a bit of a dispute but when nothing came of it, the two men just rejoined the other people in black.

I had been quite worried when the men had entered the carriage Fae and Silva had been hiding in but apparently they were either well hidden enough or this was some different issue. I'd put money on the former of course. Eventually the men were satisfied with whatever conclusion they came to and they all climbed on their own uunas and took off down the road the way we had just come. Tarklin made a few rounds talking to some of the people in the front before the carriages were led inside the outpost.

Right after dismounting Nikka I was pulled aside by Tarklin. He pulled me into a room alone before quickly casting [Zone of Silence]. "Those thugs were looking for the Morrister girl. I thought something like this might happen so I instructed them to hide in the smuggler's wall if someone started coming in without knocking first."

I nodded, reassured by his words. "Did you learn anything about the people looking for them?"

"No, they said they were looking for dangerous escaped prisoners and wouldn't give me anything more. It was obvious they were lying and they didn't even pretend like it was anything else."

"What was the disagreement about at the end?" I asked.

"I tried to press for more information about who they were looking for and they took it as a personal insult. I was only barely able to de-escalate the situation. The whole group looked exhausted, like they had been riding for several days with minimal breaks, even through the rain. Their uuna weren't in much better shape."

"Did you ask them to leave at the end?"

He shook his head, "I wouldn't have been able to convince them if I tried. No, they left because they are still looking for our guests. If we were a single day later they would have caught up to them."

"Assuming Fae hadn't just bled to death by then. I doubt they would have made it to Traehall, especially on foot."

Tarklin let out a grunt of agreement. "Either way you're going to have to make sure Fae is calm. She seems pretty tough for a child but I am unsure if this situation would rattle her or not. I want your servants and her bodyguard to share a room with you tonight, she needs the extra protection."

I hesitated since she had an issue being near Silva but I figured it would be for the best tonight. Things were still too dangerous. "Okay. I'll go get her then."

I was about to get moving before he stopped me. "Oh was that your magic by the way? You were the first to see it but that magic was pretty helpful, what was it?"

"It was just [Light Beam], a pretty basic light magic spell cranked up with Magic Force."

"[Light Beam]? Strange, I've never seen anyone use it like that."

"I have the [Light Manipulation] skill, it's rare apparently."

"Ah, I see. I haven't ever known anyone to use enough light magic to learn the associated manipulation skill. After seeing that I might push a few people into it. That helped more than you know. You did well in the fight too, even if you were a bit slow to throw your spear."

I shrugged. "Like I said, it's been a while."

"See you later. Keep the girl as hidden as best you can. I'll make sure you aren't on watch tonight."

I watched him slip back into the crowd of adventurers and start organizing his team. I felt a little bad lying to him, even if it was a bit of a white lie. I wasn't sure how else to explain my uuna riding to him. I should probably get used to it. He wouldn't be the last person I lie to about my past.

I found Bella, Torien, and Morrigan waiting near the door when I came out. Torien came close and spoke quietly. "Anything we should worry about?"

"All of us will be rooming together tonight, that includes Silva and Fae."

Torien nodded. "I would prefer that anyway."

I looked between the two sisters. "Did you get a chance to talk about the thing I proposed?"

Torien nodded. "I'm all for it. I've thought from the beginning our party needed another fighter or a ...tank you said? She also seems like the type who could keep you out of harms way. It's weird enough that our mistress is standing in front of us in a fight."

As much as I didn't like her reminding me of our standing, it's not like she was wrong about it either.

I scratched the base of my horn. "How do you feel about her personality?"

Torien smiled, "I like her. She seems fun."

Morrigan gasped and elbowed her in the side. "No way! You actually like someone? No 'she's okay' or 'she's annoying' from you?"

With a laugh she pushed Morrigan off. "Hey I'm not that bad."

"I remember on the first night I asked you about Lilith and you said 'she's tolerable' by comparison 'I like her' is like you shouting how great she is!"

"Hey! I told you not to tell people about stuff like that." Torien's ears drooped as she glanced at me.

Luckily I found the situation far too amusing to be offended by it. Instead I just patted her on the head. "Don't worry, you're tolerable too."

Torien grinned. "Come on, not you too."