Where the Forest Remembers - Chapter 3 - Natural Disaster in the Guild Hall (Patreon)

Mirella took a step back—her hands falling to the hilts of her scimitars sheathed on her belt—and cursed her luck. After pestering the adventurers at the guild all morning, she’d finally found someone who had agreed to look for her brother. But now an elvish noble was going to ruin everything.

All because he wanted to make a big show of enforcing the edict passed by the unpopular new archdruidess of the grove. She had to do something to stop this fight before Hazel got herself killed.

“She’s a wood elf,” Mirella cried out. “Some of their communities haven’t had contact with the outside world for decades. She probably had no idea about the edict.”

Vaelis scowled. “Ignorance of the law is no defense.”

Hazel glanced over her shoulder at Mirella with a grin on her face. “I can handle him.”

“He has third tier magic,” she whispered back urgently. “There’s no way you can win.”

On her shoulder, Niblet chittered in agreement. Only a handful of adventurers in town had access to third tier magic, and the spells could be devastating. The poor elf probably had no idea what she was getting into.

With a deep breath to steel her nerves, Mirella stepped between them. “I’ll take the punishment in her place. She just agreed to help me find my brother when no one else would. Do whatever you must to me.”

The corner of Vaelis’s lip twitched up in annoyance. “Get out of my way, peasant. I will not ask a second time.”

Mirella lifted her chin defiantly. “I won’t.”

Vaelis rapidly traced a spell with his hand. A gust of wind blasted Mirella and tossed her across the room. She crashed into a table, and the wood shattered from the impact. The air whooshed out of her lungs, and she gasped like a fish out of water on the floor.

She flopped onto her back as cries filled the room, and a rumbling sound, almost like thunder, built to a crescendo. More screams followed, along with the sound of breaking furniture.

When she finally managed to draw in a ragged breath, she pushed herself into a sitting position and took in a scene of utter chaos. A towering storm elemental, its body the color of bruised purple, had been conjured into existence in front of Vaelis and his retainers.

Two of the elves serving the noble already lay crumpled on the floor, while another retreated clutching a blackened arm. Meanwhile, every adventurer in the room had collectively decided it was a good time to leave. Most of them were streaming out of the doors, while a few were climbing out of the windows.

The wind whipped around the elemental, gathering up papers and pieces of broken furniture, as it slowly transformed into a tornado. And standing in the center of it all, untouched by the wind and looking completely unperturbed, was Hazel. This was far beyond third tier magic. This was probably beyond fourth tier magic.

Who in the name of the gods was this elf?

With a cry, Vaelis charged at the elemental with his sword raised. He ducked under a ponderous blow from the creature, only for a bolt of lightning to catch him directly in the chest. The impact hurled him across the room, slamming him into the wall. He slid to the ground, his head lolling to the side, as smoke rose from his armor.

Another elf drew a sword and rushed at the elemental. A bolt of lightning struck near his feet, shattering the floorboards and driving him back. He glanced over at Hazel and then at Vaelis, crumpled against the wall. At that moment, he must have realized the battle was lost.

Mirella watched with an open mouth as the remaining elves gathered up their injured comrades and fled from the room. When one of them reached Vaelis, the noble feebly tried to push him away, but he was in no shape to put up a fight.

As the last of Vaelis’s retainers fled from the room, the elemental blinked out of existence. The sudden silence felt almost deafening.

Glancing around, she searched the wreckage of the table for Niblet. She spotted the squirrel a short distance away, cowering behind the remains of a chair. She slid over and gathered the trembling animal close to her body.

“Are you alright, precious?” she whispered. “I’ll keep you safe.” Though as she watched Hazel walk in her direction, she wasn’t sure if she could keep her promise. This woman might be the most powerful caster she’d ever encounter. She wasn’t even sure if anyone else could cast fifth tier magic in the town, or whatever that had been.

Hazel knelt at her side. “Is your friend all right?”

Mirella nodded slowly.

“I’m sorry I got a little carried away there. I thought Vaelis and his cronies were stronger than that.”

Before she could reply, Edgar popped his head over the counter. With wide eyes, the clerk took in the devastation. “What did you do to my guild?” he hollered. “Who’s going to pay for all of this damage?”

Hazel rose to her feet and regarded him with a flat expression. “I imagine the man who attacked me unprovoked should pay for the damages.”

“But… but… a storm elemental?” he spluttered. “Are you out of your mind?”

Hazel shrugged. “It seemed appropriate for the threat.”

“They were elves! Not hill giants!”

Hazel let out a deep sigh. Then she swiftly traced her fingers through the air, the lines of power growing and expanding as they became increasingly complex. The mana surged along energy conduits, glowing until she disappeared in the center of a blinding halo.

After a few seconds, Mirella couldn’t follow the intricate pattern anymore. She averted her gaze and clutched Niblet close to her chest. Whatever the woman was about to cast felt apocalyptic. She wanted to flee, but she’d never get far enough away to outrun the spell.

“Hold on!” Edgar shouted, holding up his hands. “I didn’t mean to insult you…”

“I’m not going to hurt you,” Hazel replied from somewhere within the blinding light. “Now shut up, because this is difficult to cast.”

A burst of soft light signaled the completion of the spell. A wave of power washed over the room, repairing whatever it touched. The shattered furniture reformed, the floorboards pulled back together, and the glass tinkled as it rose to the chandeliers. Within seconds, the entire room had been restored.

Mirella looked up at Hazel with wide eyes. “Who are you?

Hazel smiled. “Just a druid.”

“Will you train me?”

Hazel shook her head. “I’m sorry. But I really need to complete a quest. And if I were you, I’d stay away from Vaelis for a while. I know his type, and he probably has a bruised ego. Anyone who gets in his way over the next few days is going to have a bad time.”

With her final words, Hazel strode out of the room, leaving her alone with Edgar. She exchanged looks with the clerk, who gave a helpless shrug in response. As soon as she found her brother, she decided she would do whatever it took to become the woman’s acolyte.

*************************              

Hazel hurried out of the adventurer’s guild, feeling a little silly for going overboard. She could have sworn that Vaelis and his thugs were strong enough to face a storm elemental. Yet her summons had mopped the floor with them in seconds.

Thankfully, she’d ordered the elemental to avoid killing anyone. Even then, her minion had inflicted more than a few serious wounds on the elves. Next time, she’d have to try ordering her summons to avoid seriously injuring anyone as well.

Not that the asshole hadn’t deserved it. And he’d given her the perfect opportunity to test out her spells. Now, she’d just have to hope that she wouldn’t be run out of town.

Hopefully, casting [Greater Mending] had helped to smooth things over. Plus, she hadn’t injured any of the bystanders.

So much for lying low.

She’d used fourth tier magic when no one in town seemed to possess anything beyond third tier. And even those with third tier magic were shockingly weak. In the future, she’d have to be far more careful. On the bright side, the rat quest should be a breeze to complete.

Hazel continued through town, ignoring the guards and officials streaming toward the adventurer’s guild. She’d really gone too far. Next time, she’d tried to use only spells third tier and lower.

A short time later, she reached the gates leading out of town. The guards didn’t even acknowledge her presence as she walked into the archway, both of them talking in low tones about something else. Once she’d passed through the walls, she took a moment to orient herself.

If she remembered correctly, the forest should be roughly in the direction of the mountains. Her guide mates had always said head north, but if she didn’t have the mini-map up, she had no idea where north actually was.

Setting out at a steady pace, she perused her spells. She didn’t know what welcome awaited her when she returned to town. If Vaelis wanted to cause trouble again, she should probably prepare a few defensive spells.

As she started to cast [Nature’s Guardian] she slowed her steps. Her thoughts turned back to Mirella at the adventurer’s guild. Something told her that the young woman wouldn’t be content to sit around and wait for her to possibly look for her brother; Mirella was going to head out on her own.

Hazel let her spell fizzle out and changed direction to head toward a copse of trees. Once she reached the wooded area, she settled down behind a bush to watch the road. A short time later, she was rewarded with the sight of a familiar young elf hurrying in her direction.

At first, she considered confronting Mirella and sending her back to town. But the elf would probably only sneak back out into the wilds to search for her brother the moment she left.

I’m not her babysitter.

Still, she couldn’t just leave someone under level 100 out in the wilds alone. Especially when this area of the starter zone used to have groups of level 100 monsters wandering around.

With a deep sigh, she decided to trail after Mirella for a while to make sure she didn’t run into trouble. If it looked like she would be alright, she’d veer off to complete her rat-slaying quest.

Hazel cast [Verdant Camouflage] on herself, her clothing rippling with all the colors of the forest. Within seconds, she’d blended in perfectly with her surroundings like a chameleon. The spell couldn’t come close to the invisibility spell that mages could cast in the game, but it should allow her to avoid any low-level scrutiny.

Hazel waited until Mirella had a good lead before following her. She kept a good distance between them as she moved from bush to bush along the road. If she hadn’t had her camouflage, she would have been spotted almost immediately. But with her spell active, she was little more than the rustling of tall grass.

After a few miles, she started to wonder if she was being creepy. Following Mirella without the elf knowing she was there felt a bit stalkery. She’d done the same thing in Dragons of Lore hundreds of times, as she trailed enemy players or watched over allies. But in the real world, the entire thing felt icky.

As she came to the decision to drop her camouflage and call out to Mirella, the elf suddenly disappeared. One second she was standing there, and the next she was gone. The only sign of her passing was a handful of leaves gently drifting down from the trees.

Hazel blinked, trying to figure out what had just happened. Then she spotted the young elf hanging by her feet high up in the trees. The druid had walked straight into a snare trap.

Hopefully, Hazel would have noticed the trap herself. But she felt a growing sense of unease as she realized she might have missed it. Without a rogue in her group to watch for traps, she had a huge hole in her defenses.

As she watched, dozens of figures emerged from the forest, wearing a patchwork of armor. A few of them clutched spears, while the majority had little more than pitchforks and clubs. Mirella had walked right into the clutches of a group of bandits.

“I hope they have a bounty on them,” Hazel whispered to herself. “Because I really need the money.”