Chapter 4: Wild Winds

December 31, Sanctuary

Valera Greymoon stood at the temple of Gaia, her eyes closed. It was the highest point in Sanctuary atop the Heart of the Forest, the oldest tree in the Great Woods. The temple was carved from the tree itself. A circular space was left untouched, nothing occupied the sacred space, only the image of Gaia carved from the very wood of the ancient wood itself. There were no walls, the large branches of the tree acting as the only protection from the elements, curling elegantly around the space, creating a dome of bramble and foliage.

The winds blew fiercely as Valera stared at the image of Gaia. The spirits have been unsettled for the past few days, it felt something close to agitation. Something was coming and Valera had an inkling as to what it was. The nights were colder recently.

She hears soft footsteps from a distance, most likely her disciple checking up on her. She opens her eyes and turns around to the entrance. Soon enough, Yoona walks into the room, her long hair swinging in the breeze.

“Master, the council has been looking for you.”

“Let them be, there are more important things to worry about,” Valera says her voice calm. She turns back to Gaia and heaves a soft sigh.

“The world as we know it will soon change, Yoona, soon enough we will have come out of hiding.” Valera declares, her voice stoic.

“Then it is true then, what the council has been worrying about, the time has truly come,” Yoona says, moving closer to her master, her voice unsure.

“Yoona, I have not trained you to sound so pitiful,” Valera scoffs, her eyes now trained at the image of Gaia.

“I apologize, master, it’s just that we only have Jongdae, Chanyeol, and Kyungsoo, and as capable they are—” the druid pauses, eyes trained at her master, “Is it enough?”

The wind picks up.

“Time waits for no one, it moves on its own accord, it follows its own rules,” Valera’s says, gaze moving from the effigy to the night sky.

“Oh, the sky is clear tonight, Yoona.” Valera mutters off handedly.

Yoona follows her master, looking into the deep darkness above them.

“Yeah, not one star in the sky.” Yoona mutters.

 “Have faith in yourself and the 12,” Valera then says, her voice soft, “Because in times of darkness and despair, hope will be the light that will guide you forward.”

“Hope is a star in the blank night, when the moon is absent and the world is bleak.” Valera mutters as the breeze flows, taking with it a few of the leaves, “Hope will light the way.”

Valera opens her eyes, the vibrations of the air resounding in her ear, the message of the world clear. She slowly turns and faces her apprentice, her eyes soft as she observes her pupil.

“Oh, look, a star.”

Yoona looks up again, and sure enough there is a solitary spark in the darkness.

“The world is changing, Yoona, there’s no time to be afraid.” Valera finishes, now fully looking at her apprentice.

“I don’t know if I’m ready,” Yoona confesses.

“No one is ready, not even the gods.”

Yoona nods, her mind still unsure, but her heart beating forcefully in her chest.

“Do you know what’s beautiful about a raging storm” Valera asks her pupil, her skin tingling at the wind that has grown stronger and stronger. Valera could feel the energy racing throughout the sky, it was calling—the spirits were calling.

“I don’t know.” Yoona admits her head cocking in confusion.

“It makes us resilient,” Valera mutters almost in a whisper, her voice going dreamy.

“It breaks us, but we do not yield, our spirits are too stubborn,” she says, her voice comforting.

Then there is a rumble, a disturbance in the air. Suddenly, a beam of light races to the sky, breeching the clouds and engulfing the night in a brilliant glow. Yoona stares in awe at the sight, brilliant and beautiful. Valera looks at it with understanding. She then turns to face the image of Gaia, her face gaze filled with an understanding, like it was an old friend that she had not seen for a long time, a friend she did not fully understand.

“Look, Yoona, a star is born.” Valera says smiling towards Yoona, “Isn’t it beautiful?”

Yoona even in fear could only nod in response.

“Call them. Meet me at the War Room.”

Yoona nods, before racing down the tree to collect Kyungsoo, Chanyeol and Jongdae.

---

January 8, The Great Woods

Jongdae grasps the leather glove dirtied with mud. Hope and fear flourished within him, hope that they were somewhat closer to fining the two runaways, fear in the fact that the orcs may have taken them. 

His grip tightens, he has to inform the others. The faster he informs them, the faster Jongdae could clear up the fear clouding his mind. He pockets the glove then moves to sprint back to where he left his two companions.

His feet start moving, his body gliding through the lush greenery, trees start to pass him faster as he moves to a dash.

Then Jongdae hears something, even in the rush of the wind, he knows it’s a rustling. Something was watching him. Hours of hunting and sensing for prey has gifted Jongdae with very keen senses, hearing in particular.

He stops his run. Jongdae tries to look around him, trying to look for orcs or young boys. He instinctively reaches for his short sword hidden under his cloak. His bow would not benefit him if the battle would be in closed quarters. Jongdae continues looking about, trying to sense where the disturbance in the air was coming from.

There’s another rustling.

Jongdae’s eyes are wild now, looking at the sky, the ground—looking for any signs of movement. Being a hunter, Jongdae liked observing his target, finding the perfect spot for the kill—the easiest, swiftest kill. He didn’t particularly like the swishing and slashing of swords, he liked eliminating his target without them even knowing he was there.

Jongdae wasn’t used to being watched. He didn’t like being prey.

Then there is a swish and flurry of movement.

Behind

Jongdae pivots on the spot just in time to parry a dagger that was supposed to slit the nape of his neck. He catches a glimpse of fluttering black before it’s gone, replaced by the sight of trees.

Black Devil

He’s about to shout, but he gets a kick to the face as his assailant pops by his side, causing Jongdae to fall to the ground. The hunter is ready though. Using the momentum from his fall, Jongdae flips himself upright, preparing his short sword. The Black Devil is gone once more, but the hunter is sure that the boy was coming back.

There’s another poof.

What Jongdae isn’t expecting was for the boy to appear right in front of him. The hunter moves quickly, evading a dagger directed at his face. Jongdae expects the boy to disappear again, but is surprised that his attacker chose to fight him head on.

Jongdae moves to the defensive, evading dagger strikes the boy is directing straight towards him. He analyzes the boy’s movements, trying to discern the fighting pattern. As the assault continues, the boy uses a variety of kicks and jabs at him, keeping Jongdae on his feet.

The kid knew how to fight.

However, Jongdae finally finds what he’s looking for when the boy directs a strike towards Jongdae’s lower abdomen, Jongdae moves to jam the strike causing the boy to slide a bit too forward for his liking.

That’s when Jongdae hears it, a hitch in the boy’s breath and a sharp intake of breath. There’s a slight slump in his body, and sound of gritting teeth.

The Black Devil was injured.  

Jongdae leaps back as he assesses his situation. Now it made sense why the boy wasn’t teleporting. It took too much energy, precious energy that the kid couldn’t expend haphazardly.

Jongdae finalizes his plan and lunges forward, it was risky, and it would really may knock him out if it doesn’t go well, but it’s the plan that would cause the least amount of harm. He takes on the offensive, moving his sword to strike the boy’s limbs. The boy is swift thought, blocking and evading Jongdae’s somewhat sluggish strikes. (He regrets skipping on some of his sword fighting sessions with Chanyeol.)

He doesn’t want to hurt the boy, he was merely hoping that the boy would take the bait.

Jongdae continues his charge, swiping at the boy with half-hearted intent. Then it happens, the boy almost slips trying to evade one of Jongdae’s strikes. The boy, knowing he could no longer linger in this onslaught does the most logical thing—he teleports.

Gotcha

If his calculations were correct, then after the boy poofs, he would appear behind Jongdae with a dagger strike ready to kill.

Jongdae hears the poof, he surely would have been dead if he didn’t move quickly.

Good thing light traveled faster than sound.

In a split second he releases the energy he had been gathering and channels it throughout his body. Then everything stops, the breeze stilling, the dust freezing, as his body becomes a flash of electrical energy.

Jongdae never really liked using this ability, it was too flashy, too noisy—it wasn’t really his style. Jongdae much preferred hiding in the shadows.

There’s a quick flash and a loud crash as Jongdae disappears from his spot, quickly appearing behind the very surprised Black Devil. Once Jongdae was in the required position, he directed a quick jab to the base of the boy’s neck, transferring a jolt of electricity down the boy’s spine.

The boy convulses, then drops to the floor unconscious.

Jongdae releases the energy churning through his body, feeling the fatigue quickly taking over his body. His muscles are stiffening, he can feel his legs almost cramping, but he fights it. He carries the boy’s body over his shoulder, the boy slumping languidly on his back.

Then Jongdae looks up and cups his lips and utters a high pitched caw. After a few moments, Jongdae hears the familiar flapping of Gertrude.

When Jongin came to his senses, he hands were tied, but he could feel that his wounds were bandaged. He opens his eyes, to a blurry sight before him. He sees a fire, and two shadows hunched over it. His eyes slowly adjust to the sight before him. The moon was still up, and his limbs felt numb. He tries to remember what happened, when images of orcs, a flash of light and the feeling of electricity flowing throughout his body flashes through his mind. He groans trying to get up, but his limbs are still unresponsive to his ministrations. He looks over the campfire and sees that that there are two figures, one with his back towards him, another, smaller one, directly facing him. The man facing him notices the movement coming from the corner and moves to stand, motioning for his companion to follow.

Jongin peers at the shadow approaching and sees a boy slightly older than he is. He’s decked in a thick iron armor plate and leather breeches. He has short black hair, large owlish eyes, and the most luscious lips he has ever seen on a person.

He doesn’t know what comes over him but he cannot let the image of those lips go unrecognized.

“You’ve got really nice lips,” were the very first things his captors hear. Then there’s a sniggering, as Jongin peers over to the other boy, much larger than the other boy, with wavy black hair, large protruding ears, the most ear-splitting grin Jongin has seen in a while.

“Soo, instead of finding a demon thief, I think we found you a boyfriend,” the taller boy snickers.

Luscious lips is not amused, “Black Devil, we have some questions for you.”

At this Jongin is finally fully awake now, the memories now swiftly coming into his mind as Jongin sits up, causing his muscles to groan in protest and his head ache in the sudden movement.

He then shoots up, which causes his captors to flinch in response, their face slowly turning more serious.

“Black Devil, calm down,” comes the tone of the smaller man, “You have to calm down, your bodies still a bit stiff from your fight with Jongdae.”

Jongin ignores the calm remarks from the boy and tries to teleport his way out of here. He tries to channel his energy, but he merely jerks himself, before landing once again on the ground.

“Jongdae temporarily halted your energy flow, you can’t teleport,” the luscious lips says.

Jongin is frustrated and frantic. He had to leave, he had to get Baekhyun back. He needed to save his friend.

“Let me go! Please, let me go! I need to go, they’re going to kill him if I don’t!” Jongin cries desperately.

“Jongin, calm down, we’ll get Baekhyun back, I promise you.” The smaller one says.

Jongin’s eyes blow up trying to move away, but he can’t, “How do you know about Baekhyun, what do you want from him!?” Jongin asks frantically.

“Black Dev—urgh, can you give me your name?” the small one says, “I don’t want to keep calling you Black Devil.”

Jongin is hesistant, but relents, “You first. Who are you, and what do you want with Baekhyun!?”

Luscious lips sighs, “I’m Do Kyungsoo,” he says pointing to himself, “This is Park Chanyeol,” he says gesturing to giant ears, “And the one sleeping is Kim Jongdae,” Kyungsoo says pointing to a lump on the ground near the fire, “ he’s the one you attacked.”

Jongin nods.

“And as to why we want with Baekhyun,” Kyungsoo begins, “Actually, what we want from both you, is nothing but your safety.”

Jongin scoffs, “As if.”

“I know it’s hard to believe, you and Baekhyun have been trying to look for answers by yourselves,” Kyungsoo says in a calming voice, “you’ve been all alone all this time, it’s hard to think that someone cares for you well-being, no?” There’s no malice in Kyungsoo’s voice, it’s soft and sincere.

“But the three of us know what you’re going through, we know how it feels to be confused, looking for answers, looking for an explanation to all these unanswered questions,” Kyungsoo continues slowly approaching Jongin.

“It’s quite simple why we would care about your safety, it’s because we’re just like you.” Kyungsoo concludes, his hand on Jongin’s shoulder.

Jongin’s not familiar with the feeling, it’s warm and somewhat comforting. Baekhyun had been his first friend, but because of his hands, they never came in contact with each other. Feeling Kyungsoo’s hand on his, it was a feeling that he was not familiar with.

“What do you mean you’re like us?” Jongin asks.

“Do you know the tale of The 12?” Kyungsoo asks, his hand still on Jongin’s shoulder.

“The fairytale about these 12 chosen by the gods to save the world from the rise of the demons?” Jongin asks, confused as to why the boy was asking him about fables.

“Well, what if I told you that it was true?” Kyungsoo says, “what if I told you that these heroes do exist?”

Jongin lets out a soft chuckle, “What then, I’m the Mind Walker?”

“No, I’m pretty sure you’re the Arcane Assassin,” Kyungsoo says plainly.

Jongin doesn’t know if he wants to laugh or scoff, so it comes as a weird noise from his mouth.

“I think he’s confused,” came the amused smile of the taller one, Chanyeol.

“I know it’s something that’s overwhelming at first, but why do you think you’re able to do something no other human can do?” Comes the voice of Kyungsoo, who has not withdrawn his hand from Jongin’s shoulder. Not that Jongin was overly opposed to it.

“I can poof here and there if I want to, so what?” Jongin scoffs, still not believing all this fairytale nonsense the two were spewing out.

“See, Soo, poof” Chanyeol chuckles. The smaller boy gives him a pointed look, causing to Chanyeol to mutter an apology.

“You’re not just ‘poofing’, you’re tearing the fabric of this plane and exiting it, then creating another tear and re-entering it.” Kyungsoo clarifies.

“You’re special.” There’s sincerity in Kyungsoo’s tone, and it calms Jongin.

Jongin shudders at the words. He only ever heard this phrase directed at him from Jeremiah, long before, when he was still very young. The man would applaud him after Jongin, still a young boy, would retell his day conning rich merchants. Jeremiah would smile his hearty smile, then squish Jongin’s cheeks together before saying, “Ah, Jongin, what a tale,” his eyes crinkling in delight at the sight of Jongin so happy, “You’re so special.”

Jongin huffs, “My name is Kai.”

For the first time that night, he sees Kyungsoo smiles. It was very nice.

“Good, let’s get you up, then we can start talking.” Kyungsoo props Jongin on the tree before sitting in front of the boy, Chanyeol following suite.

“So what are you guys, then?” Kai asks once seated properly.

“Well, I’m the Stone Sentinel,” Kyungsoo says motioning to himself.

“Fire Dancer, at your service,” Chanyeol chimes cheerfully, “That lump over there with the oversized chicken is the Praetor of the Storm.” He continues gesturing to the corner of the camp.

Jongin peers back at the lump and does recognize that there is a gigantic feathered beast slumbering peacefully next to it.

“He has quite a grander title, don’t you think” Chanyeol starts to ramble, “Jongdae’s far from being a praetor though, he’s more like The Flying Idiot of the Overcast Clouds, if you ask me.”

“Chanyeol, stop talking.” Kyungsoo scolds, effectively stopping Chanyeol’s rambling.

Jongin lets out a small smile.

“I don’t believe this The 12 stuff, but I think you guys won’t harm me or Baekhyun,” Jongin says.

“That’s enough for us,” Kyungsoo responds.

“How did you find us anyway?” Kai then asks.

“Well, it’s been difficult,” the small boy begins, “We’ve been tracing your steps ever since Everdale.”

Jongin eyes go wide, as far as he knew, there wasn’t a soul that knew him or Baekhyun, well almost.

“How did you even know that Baekhyun was alive, no one knows Bakhyun even exists?” Jongin chortles in surprise.

“Our leader sent us to retrieve the boy who caused the light, we only found out about Baekhyun and your identity once we arrived at Everdale,”

“And you didn’t make it easy on us!” Chanyeol adds, “Good thing Jongdae knows a thing or two about footprints and tracking,” the tall man says in something not far from a scream.

There’s a soft rustle and a, “Shut up Chanyeol,” from the lump as Jongdae attempts to sleep again.

“Hey, I’m complementing you here” the tall man scoffs in disbelief.

“You called Gertrude a giant chicken,” Jongdae points out groggily.

“I never said such things,” Chanyeol argues, “I would never disrespect chickens like that.”

There’s a rustling as Jongdae moves to stand up approaching the huddled group.

“Whatever, you big oaf.” The hunter says taking a seat next to Jongin.

“You did a number on me back there,” Jongdae smiles.

“Yeah, sorry about that,” Jongin murmurs not meeting the eyes of the hunter.

“Oh don’t worry, it’s good. I was pleasantly surprised at how you fought,” he says cheerfully, “A lot of variety in your movement.” Jongdae praises.

“If you weren’t tired, there was a good chance you would have beaten me.” Jongdae muses happily.

Jongin can recalls the battle, the swift clashing of blades and trading of blows. Then he remembers a flash of lightning.

“What did you do there, when you knocked me out,” Jongin then asks.

“Ah, that,” Jongdae says face scrunched in slight dismissiveness, “It’s called Quick Step, I can channel energy throughout my body so that I turn into a flash of lightning for a brief amount of time,” he continues, “But it really takes a toll on my body because of how fast everything is, puts quite a strain on my muscles,” he finishes, pointing to his arms.

Jongin nods in acknowledgment. It seems that the company he was in were quite able fighters, he still had his reservations about them, but it seems that they are trustworthy enough.

“Anyway,” Kyungsoo says while rolling his eyes towards Chanyeol, “Tell us what happened to the two of you, we need to know, so that we can save him.”

Jongin gulps, his eyes downcast, “They took him. The orcs.”

January 7, Northeastern Border of the Great Woods

Jongin and Baekhyun had finally gotten hold of horses when they got to Wolfpine. They were currently making their way to the Mountain Highway, it was nearing afternoon and their journey had been uneventful.

“Hey Jongin.” Baekhyun calls from behind Jongin.

Jongin looks back, acknowledging his companion. The younger boy was sporting the clothes Jongin had gotten him in Dormand, the gloves still fitting snugly in his hands.

“Yes?”

“When we were in Wolfspine, I overheard some people talking about me, well I mean, the light.” Baekhyun mumbles, “And they started mentioning something that had to do with the number 12.”

Jongin, knows what Baekhyun was talking about, Jeremiah had told him this fairytale many times before.

“You mean The 12?” Jongin asks, now looking in front.

“Yeah, that one, what does it mean?” Baekhyun asks.

“Did the Swan Sisters not tell you fairytales?”

“No, they never really read to us, not enough gold to get books,” Baekhyun answers rather glumly.

“Well, the tale describes these twelve warriors chosen by gods to prevent the demons from rising and taking over the world.”

The afternoon sun blazed through the forest, the trees now basking in a golden glow, shadows growing longer, eerier.

“What does that have to do with me then?” Baekhyun asks as they neared a large collection of trees. The path wasn’t clear now, only trees as far as Jongin’s eyes could see.

“Maybe they think that it’s one of the twelve,” Jongin says, “If I remember correctly, one of them had the title, the Dawn’s Reckoning, I think.”

“As if, maybe you could be one, but not me, I can’t even look at my own hands.”  Baekhyun says scoffing.

“Highly doubt that a thief from Everdale would be a protector of the world,” Jongin mutters now looking at the trees around them, then stops.

“Baekhyun, I think we went to a wrong turn somewhere, we should be nearing the mountains, but it looks like the greenery got thicker.”

Baekhyun gives a good natured chuckle, “The great protectors of the world, lost in the forest!”

“Shut up, let’s retrace our steps,” Jongin mutters turning his horse to the direction where they came from. He never got to look back.

As soon as Jongin turned his horse, there was a blur of green as knocked cleanly out of his saddle, as he is sent flying to a nearby tree. But before Jongin hits the wood, he instinctly transports himself, and instead lands in a mound of earth. But the wind is knocked out of him as he tries to recover.

He looks up and finds a two orcs trying to pry Baekhyun out of his horse. He sees the fear in the boy’s eyes as the large creatures grab onto him. He hears Baekhyun scream, but Jongin is unable to move. He tries to move, but his body doesn’t want to listen. The impact took too much out of him. He wills his muscles to move, but it doesn’t respond. His eyes feel heavy, his breath ragged.

The last thing Jongin hears is Baekhyun’s scream.

January 7, Great Woods

“I wanted to try to save him, but I couldn’t.” Jongin says ducking head and covering his face with his hands. He felt useless at not being able to save his friend.

“I think when I transported, they didn’t see, so they just thought I bolted out of there.”

“It’s okay, Kai, there was nothing you could do at that point,” Kyungsoo says placing his hand on Jongin’s shoulder once more.

“If only we went the right way, none of this would’ve happened,” Kai grumbles burying his face in his hands.

“Kai, what’s done is done,” Kyungsoo says, his tone strict, “The best thing to do now is look forward, put all our efforts into saving Baekhyun, understand?”

Jongin looks up and give the boy a small nod.

“But we have to wait a bit before we do anything,” Kyungsoo says.

“Why? We have to go now!” Jongin suddenly blurts out. “They could have tortured him by now!”

“I understand, I want to go as badly as you, Kai, but you and Jongdae have to rest,” Kyungsoo explains, “Jongdae’s muscles are still tense and your back isn’t in the best of shapes.”

Jongin moves to speak, but Jongdae cuts him before he can even begin.

“The orcs are quite simple beings, if they want you dead, you would be dead,” Jongdae begins, “If they took Baekhyun, there must be something they want with him.”

The hunter stops, then directs his eyes at Kyungsoo.

“The orcs would have setup camp somewhere. It’s just a few hours before midnight, we’ll strike then,” the hunter said.

“Most likely they’ve set up camp somewhere. I don’t think they would do anything to Baekhyun for the time being, most likely their bringing him back to their base,” Jongdae explains, “We should strike at midnight, that’s when they’re most vulnerable.”

“Ugh, but I’m so bad at sneaking around,” Chanyeol whines.

“It’s okay, you’re still better than Kyungsoo,” Jongdae says pointing towards Kyungsoo. The armored boy wearing a flustered expression.

“I excel more in head on battles,” Kyungsoo explains.

“More like head on collisions,” Chanyeol mutters, earning him a smack on the head from Kyungsoo.

It reminded him of Baekhyun.

“I was thinking the two of you can sit this one out and wait by the sidelines while the experts do the sneaking,” Jongdae says now standing up heading over to his side of the camp and gathering something from the ground.

“Kai, I assume you know a thing or two about sneaking around without being caught?” Jongdae asks with a smirk, handing Jongin his daggers.

Kai gives him a sly grin, “I know a thing or two.”

“Hey! So me and rock head will just stand while you guys have all the fun?” Chanyeol barks standing up and pointing an accusing finger at Jongdae.

“If by any chance we get caught, we’ll count on the two of you to make sure that the camp is wiped.”
 

“I can agree to that,” Chanyeol says happily

Jongin peeks at the Kyungsoo to see his reaction and finds the boy sporting a small smile. It looks like the level-headed leader had a soft spot for carnage as well.

“Do you have any food? I haven’t eaten.” Jongin whines.

Chanyeol’s eyes light up and he ventures to his backpack in one corner and takes out a loaf of bread. He scurries back to the group and starts handing out chunks of what Jongin recognized as rum cake. Jongin takes a bite and instantly knows where the giant got this.

“This is from Everdale!” he screams out suddenly, not really meaning to. This earns him some chuckles from the company.

“I bought a few loaves before we left,” Chanyeol explains, “It was too good to pass up.”

“Best rum cake in the land,” Jongin says a bit too over enthusiastically, but he doesn’t hear it.

“I like this guy, he knows what’s good,” Chanyeol mutters to Jongdae who was seated next to him, Jongdae giving him a reassuring smile. Kyungsoo was smiling warmly at the people he was with, there seemed to be something lighter in the boy’s expression. A sense of relief—a feeling of hope.

Jongin smiled, it was pleasant. He had these interactions with Baekhyun, but surrounded by these people, it felt warmer. Something Jongin hadn’t felt in quite a while. The group silently enjoyed the rum cake after this. Jongin slowly nibbling on his piece, enjoying the first taste of food in hours.

Then he hears a faint rustling from somewhere far off.

“There’s something coming, sounds like its running.” Jongdae mutters.

Jongin is shocked at how keen the man was. Jongin himself could distinguish the sound, but the hunter had immediately processed so much information in a fraction of a second. Chanyeol and Kyungsoo spring up quickly before the entirety of Jondgdae’s statement comes out. Kyungsoo’s hands reaching for his hammer and Chanyeol places his hands on the two swords on either side of his person.

Jongin hears it again, but its clearer now, there’s quick padding across the forest floor as the rustling becomes louder. Then Jongin sees it, a large dire wolf races into their vicinity. He expects the two to barrel forward, but the two loosen the grip on their weapons and relax their stance.

The dire wolf looks directly at him, its face unreadable. Then the creature is engulfed in a swirl of green energy. Coming out a tall woman with slender body and long wavy hair. Her eyes are urgent and anxious, shaped into a thin line. Then she speaks up.

 “Kyungsoo, it’s worse than we’ve ever imagined, so much worse.”

---

Author’s Note:

So here is the next chapter! I’m not super happy with all the conversations, but at least there’s a bit of Kaisoo. Don’t worry, Baekyeol is coming soon.

Also, sorry for the cliffhanger. I just realized that I’ve ended the past two chapter with cliffhangers. Don’t hate me too much.

Anyway, the clash with the orcs is finally coming, hope you guys are excited!

As always, leave upvotes and comments, it fuels lonely fanfic writers.

Also, if you guys don't know most of my fics are unbeta'd, so excuse some mistakes. This goes for all the following chapters.