Salem saw the duo walking away and did not chase right away. He decided to chat with the Chieftain a bit more. The amount of details he made were adequate. Salem wanted to see if there were any maps or creatures of note that could be written down, or made aware of by some of the other villagers. It was an occupational tendency that Salem developed over time. Knowing more of the rules to the game made it easier to play, and easier to win.

In a place filled with an abundance of natural mana Salem normally had a connection. Except mana corruption had a tendency of being able to mess with his wild fae senses. Sometimes even parts of nature itself was not a fan of Salem. If he was near an active volcano or thunderous region he’d be lucky if he knew which direction he was going based on his senses. That is why Salem used his senses as well as previous research. It went hand in hand and kept him aware of most things.

Salem only noticed how late it was after they were about to switch to a different night guard team. It was pitch black outside to most.For Salem and his magic eyes. He could simply start walking to the mountain in question. Letting the chieftain know that he was leaving and will most likely return with the others after the mountain problems have been solved Then he scampered away in the dead of the night.

The illumination of the moon was more than enough for him to move about. Since his time in the ancient runes Salem noticed how he no longer cared if an area was light or not. It was all the same to him. It was peculiar for him when he came across a bear in the forest. This bear was not like the normal ones he was used to dealing with, or even the human ones he plays with. This bear had jet black fur and gave Salem the vibes of Demons. That made the fae hate it. He did not hesitate to hit it in the head. If it was daytime it would look like an explosion of strawberry jam painting the ground. This time Salem did not even bother to clean it up.

When Salem made it to the base of the mountain he could see the fire that was lit. Then he could also see the tent that he believed was hosting his teammate and the companion. Salem did not think they were close or had any reason to be. He would have been a bit weirded out by it if he knew but would not have been vocal about the judgment. To him Pixies were of the same race but like a special breed of Spirit. Like when a mother gives birth to a vegetable kid, you’ll love them but understand that they are not right. Add it on top that Humans were an okay race. To go back to the example, a pixie dating a human, would be like a wheelchair special needs person dating a silverback. It could happen but who would think it was natural?

Not wanting to disturb him. Salem made his way a short way back to the forest. He climbed up a tree and promptly went to sleep. He slept well even if he wished it was raining a bit. Salem loved the sensation of rain, and the wetness on his skin. The moisture in the air made up for it a bit. It allowed Salem to sleep well and go into a decent slumber.

The short sound of a fight was enough to wake him up. By the time he was semi cognizant he could make out Yuurei, putting away his weapon. He got out of the tree and made his way over. He kept his own personal weapon in his glove, since he did not need it at the moment. He waved over at Yuuki as he got closer, not wanting to startle the jumping rabbit. “Good morning!” Salem spoke in a chipper voice. Feeling good and happy as the morning dew covered a part of his body. “Nice job taking out the draugr” Salem identified the beast at a glance. It was a corrupted monster from what he had learned from the villagers. Usually harmless but not so much recently.

Salem casted a cleaning spell when he got within striking distance of Yuuki. It was a low rank spell that he made to clean his boyfriend before. The dude was a hairy mess that would smell like wet dog if he did not. “I hope you did not have any trouble.” Salem would go into an explanation of some of the things he learned last night. The parts that were pertinent to the quest really. He would simply chat while the other two got ready to hit the road.


[823]

Yuuki had heard movement a little ways away and in the dim light he seen a figure approaching as he went to draw his katana the figure seemed to wave and call out to him 'Oh great Mr.Pschopath is here' Yuuki thought as he wondered if he attacked him if anyone believe it was a accident and misidentification, but he decided against it the amount of paper work and convincing proper authorities that would take felt like too much work for sot little gain so Yuuki decided against it "If you could call it that." Yuuki said harshly as he hooked the katana to his sword belt " Some of us didn't have to sit guard to protect others." Yuuki said flatly as he went to the tent to grab his pack and some rations out of it so he had at least had something to fill his belly.

Yumi heard familiar voices outside the tent one was Yuuki's and the other was that other guy who showed up after them at the Village chiefs house. Yumi got dressed and walked out of the tent hugging Yuuki in a intimate manner from behind before slipping around in front of him and giving him a kiss on the lips "Good morning love." she in a sleepy manner as she sat down by the fire Yuuki had re lit during his hours keeping watch. Yuuki was momentarily distracted by the hug and the kiss but heard salem say good job at killing the Draugr "So that's what that thing is ?" Yuuki questioned before turning his attention back briefly to Yumi "How'd ya sleep?" Yuuki asked "With you by my side most the night it was bliss." she said giving Yuuki a knowing wink before turning to make herself some breakfast as she was hungry.

Yuuki turned back to Salem with a grin on his face when Salem spoke about hoping Yuuki didn't have any trouble as he felt a spell wash over him seemingly cleaning his clothes of the grime and gore that dotted his clothing after slaying that creature " Thanks... I guess." Yuuki said before turning to Yumi "We shouldn't be gone long but I'd feel safer if you made your way back to the village and took shelter in the village elders house." he said giving her a warm but loving smile she nodded and indicated she would do so after eating. Yuuki turned to Salem "Shall we be off then." as he started forward up the mountain trail.

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Salem raised an eyebrow. He thought the kid was being unnecessarily hostile. But he would continue to ignore it. It was not worth the effort for him to react. He wanted to make sure they could get the job done with minimum chance of permanent death. Since Sleeping Calamity was a semi-sister guild. Salem wanted to make sure that he stayed in decent standing, if only to avoid the annoyance of what would happen if he did not.

The kiss and closeness displayed really surprised him. He was not the type to knock on love but he was surprised. A Pixie with an ability to grow was not common but not something that would surprise Salem. It was the fact that it was into Yuuki. They were not the brightest bunch. If Salem did not think Yuuki was a decent character, he would have believed that the young one tricked the poor Pixie into it. Still Salem tried to not be obtuse and let the duo have their moment.

When they were done. Salem had a grin on his face. The young one made a call that he actually agreed with to an extent. Such a dangerous journey like this would have put more stress on them than needed. It would take more mana and effort for him to keep an extra body alive, unless she was more useful in combat than what people would believe.A sentiment that Salem doubted from a Pixie.

“Yep~ I am ready to go. We can get this stuff over with.” Salem said without much of an issue. Then he held up a hand creating a magic shield in front of him. A hawk-like creature that came out of nowhere ran into it. It was covered in darkness and did decent damage to the low level shield. Salem gave the hawk a smack on the head into the ground, before stepping on it’s stunned neck to finish it off. “That thing was trying to kill you since the draugr died. The Marocs are great at stealth and just luckily terrible at outright battle.” The poor bird probably would have gotten anyone else in the party but surprise, it was a shame that Salem had a natural resistance to illusions and the like, like how most Fae were. It made what the maroc tried to do utterly pointless.

Salem made his way over to the mountain, leaving the body of the maroc. It was like what he did was simply step on an ant. Salem was relevant to life but also death. They were two sides of the same coin, so any type of death that he granted was simply the way of life. It was the main reason why Salem had no qualms about killing. It was time for him to climb up the mountain with Yuuki.


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"Let's Id rather not leave Yumi alone for long." Yuuki said as he was about to start up the mountain when Salem seemed to hold his hand up for a random reason, until Yuuki seen something smack into an invisible wall in front of Salem causing cracks to appear in the barrier, Yuuki's eyes went wide seeing this as Salem wacked it on the head before crushing its throat under foot while it laid dazed on the ground " Kill me ? because I killed the draugr? I thought draugr were not sentient enough to form bonds with other beings?" Yuuki asked in a curious manner wondering if they were dealing with something a bit more devious than normal versions of these creatures and if so, what was so intent on preventing them from ascending the mountain.

Yuuki started up the path yet again hoping nothing attempted to stealthily assail him again, but after a few hundred feet of walking up the narrow and winding mountain trail Yuuki began to relax, although his left hand still gripped the scabbard of his katana that way he could be prepared if anything jumped out at him. Yuuki didn't have to wait long until a draugr jumped out ahead of him a few feet away and charged him. Yuuki cut the poor creature in half, as he watched the creatures two parts tumble over the side of the cliff and bounce off the rocks below.

Yuuki felt the hair on the back of his neck stand up as he jumped back another one of those hawks swooped in grazing his left arm with its talons. Blood trickled freely down Yuuk's non dominant left arm as he struck out at the bird with his katana removing one of its wings as he watched it helpless fall from view down the cliff and likely going splat on the rocks below, while it wasn't the most glamorous way to go Yuuki felt no pity for the creature as it had been trying to attack him "Damn bird." Yuuki said as he now had time to address the damage the bird had caused to his left arm. The talons had left a shallow but long gouge from his elbow to his shoulder the injury stung but it was not unbearable though the scent of blood now filled Yuuki's nose and permeated the air around him.

Yuuki looked behind him down the path a bit and seen Salem some distance away "A little help doc!" Yuuki shouted down the path behind him pointing at his bleeding arm before sheathing his katana and sitting down against the wall while he waited for Salem to make his way over. Yuuki was beginning to think that something did not want us to reach the castle a little further up the mountain as that was the second draugr he had killed and first hawk like creature, but there was no mistaking that something did not want them getting to the castle. As to what that something was Yuuki had no idea he just knew that something able to command yoki was likely very powerful indeed.

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“Hmm? No they were not in a team up. The Maroc just noticed you when you killed the Draugr.” That was what Salem believed. The villagers mentioned that while the monsters and such would try to kill them together, it did not mean they actively worked together. They had records that showed that. It was why Salem answered his question without much thought.

Salem was keeping his eyes wide open. He was feeling an odd sensation in his body. At first he was not sure what it could be. Salem felt similar moments before but he could not place it at this time. It was just so familiar as if he had felt it before. It actually put a frown on his face because he could not place it immediately.

This distracting feeling kept him from even realizing that Yuuki had been attacked. When it caught his attention Salem noticed some other disturbing details. The fact that the bird was not alone was going to be more of a pain in his backside then he would have appreciated. Salem took out his staff and prepared for battle. The invisible birds drawing near to the mountain climbing duo. Salem counted about four more. The only positive notion from fate was the fact that the birds in question were smaller than the ones they had killed earlier.

Yuki asking for Salem to hurry did put a spring in his step. He made a quick dash towards Yuuki. “Duck down for a moment!” He shouted loudly as he tapped his staff on the ground. A spring of green water spouted from the ground. It generated a fine mist that covered Yuuki healing up the damage on his arm. The birds that were diving to bombard them hit the mist and started to screech. His power seeped into their lungs to start damaging them. Their bodies dropped from the pain, becoming visible to all around. “You take two. I'll take two.” Salem said with a light teasing tone in his voice.

Salem picked up his staff then he brought the butt of it down. Stabbing it bluntly into the bird. The maroc was lucky that it was weakened. In all honesty it would have suffered before it died if it was not weak before. Since they were already down Salem did not want to lift up his weapon again. So he stomped down on the other maroc to send it along its way. Giving it a chance to fly with its family in the afterlife. “I finished. Did you?” Salem turned back around asking.



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Yuuki seemed indifferent at Salem's comment about the Maroc and the Draugr not working together as it mattered little to the situation at hand although it was a curious coincidence none the less, as it was something think about while he waited for the healer to catch up and heal his arm so he could be ready for anything else the mountain might decide to throw at them as Yuuki had the sneaking suspicion that this was just the opening act of a far grander play then either of them expected considering the fact that minor monsters like this were likely not the ones responsible for the possessed children and were simply just pawns of a much greater being or beings, which meant things were only going to get tougher from this point forward and the likelihood of losing ones life would greatly increase when they reached the castle which hopefully housed the masterminds of this entire possessed children thing as Yuuki had some shit he wanted to work through in the form of violence.

When Salem finally caught up to Yuuki he shouted for Yuuki to duck but considering Yuuki's height he didn't know how far Salem wanted him to duck so he just hit the deck as Salem seemed to cast a healing spell that apparently worked as a barrier. Yuuki felt the pain in his arm begin to subside immediately after the spell was cast as Yuuki watched the birds hit the barrier and fall to the ground twitching on the ground here and there 'Huh I guess he can be useful.' Yuuki thought as he picked himself up off the ground and went to finish of the two birds Salem had tasked him with taking care of. Yuuki stabbed one in the head before crushing the other ones skull under his foot which gave a satisfying crunching sound as his foot pressed the head into the rocky ground of the mountain trail.

Yuuki turned to face Salem at his comment which could be taken a variety of ways, and Yuuki didn't particularly wanna think about another dude finishing so he ignored the innuendo "Sure both of mine are dead." he said flatly "But thank you for the healing." Yuuki said genuinely before turning to face back up the trail " I can see the tower of part of the castle we don't have much further to go, we can take a break and sort out anything up near the castle before we take it on. " Yuuki said as if he was trying to take the lead which may have been partly due to his elven blood  as he headed up the trail towards the castle.

It did not take long for Yuuki to reach the the castle as they were not bothered by anything else after that last encounter with the bird things. Yuuki set his pack against a rock just outside the castle gates and sat down to take stock of things.

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The fact that Yuuki said thank you made him seem adorable. The little guy tried hard and Salem was proud of that. “It was no problem. I am glad you are okay.” When he said it and saw how Yuuki turned around, a thought occurred to the Fae. Here in Joyan they had these marvelous books filled with knowledge called manga. Inside of these books Salem came across a young man that was warm on the inside but cold on the outside. The sacred Joyan texts called them tsundere. He nodded his head sagely after thinking about it. The man was young. That could be what it was. He chuckled as he walked to the castle. Thinking about the Joyans and their odd habits. He made sure to agree with Yuuki about taking a nice rest.

Salem got closer to the castle. It did not seem like a bad time to take a rest before going in. That gave Salem some time to really look at the castle. When he saw the design he could not help but feel a tinge of annoyance. “This bitch. She really could not have waited till I left the country.” Salem whispered to himself underneath his breath. If he was not sure about it before, he was sure now about what they were going to face. It would also give an explanation of why the spell earlier took more out of him than anticipated. This was gonna be an uphill battle. At least when he went through all of this before he was with Erebus. The man was a loon but a lot stronger. It made it easier for them to get bye. Salem was calculating this would take a more more effort.



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[Exit]