Chapter 221: Droskar Dominion. Part 2.

Chapter 221: Droskar Dominion. Part 2.Lee began to consider the possibility that the higher he climbed the mountain, the stronger the beasts he would face. If the encounters were one on one, he didn’t mind, at least for now. But if two or three bears of similar strength to the last one would attack him at the same time, his chances of survival wouldn’t be that great.

The problem was that for now the forest was still thick and Lee still had to go further up to have a good chance of finding signs of civilization. He could try to wander in a random direction, but his guess was that he could easily get lost for a month or two and that would inevitably result in his demise sooner or later judging from how savage the world was.

With these thoughts Lee came across a cave opening, around six feet tall and wide. He froze, looking for the best way around it, not intending to find out who the inhabitant of the place was, but strange sounds attracted his attention.

It seemed almost like he heard children talking, ones who hadn’t learn how to properly speak yet. Except these spoke in a more distinct and clear fashion. It was also possible that it was some kind of a dialect Lee didn’t recognize, especially because the conversation sounded like an argument. Voices were also slightly high-pitched, suggesting they were likely women.

Carefully, without making a sound, Lee approached the cave to take a peek inside. If these were local savages living in the mountains, it was unlikely they could be of any help. On the other hand, maybe these people were some kind of an advanced tribe and if there was a chance to get any information from them, he didn’t want to miss it.

They weren’t.

The moment Lee poked his head in for a look, a choir of screeches erupted, almost deafening him. The sound was so piercingly high-pitched, it seemed that if the cave mouth had a window, it would have instantly shattered on the spot.

Realizing the inhabitants of the cave were anything but humans, Lee rushed away, but it was already too late. He heard quick footsteps from within the cave, which a split moment later transformed into the swooshing of flapping wings.

And that was only the beginning.



Turns out there were several more caves from which these bird-like creatures kept storming out. Apparently the cave system was connected to some kind of a nest, and Lee managed to provoke the whole flock.

A glance over his shoulder told him these probably weren’t that dangerous. The beasts were only four feet tall, with the wingspan of, probably, seven to eight feet. It was possible to cut them down as they came and he probably only needed to kill a dozen or so for the rest to flee.

Lee paused, summoning Soulclever in his hand, and lowering his center of gravity, preparing for the attack, but the next moment he regretted it.

Despite having sharp, bony claws, the beasts didn’t try to attack him with those. They flocked around him, in a safe distance of several yards and nimbly maneuvered between the trees, at the same time not running into each other.

The problem was – the kept screeching at him, the same high-pitched cries, and Lee realized that either from the intensity or maybe the frequency of the sound waves, he became dizzy and his ears started to bleed.

’Not good!’ Lee inwardly shouted, and dashed up the mountain slope.

Any other person in his stead would be likely disoriented, or maybe already convulsed on the ground in agony, but to Lee it wasn’t the worst pain he had ever experienced. In fact, the ever aching Dantian region was probably acting as a neutralizer in this case, counteracting the suffering caused by outside stimuli.

Probably because Lee’s escape looked like an act of panic, the flock rushed after him, intending to make sure he remained there. Apparently sensing they had the upper hand, the beasts became braver and few dived in, intending to plunge their claws in Lee’s back, but this what he was waiting for.

He stopped, and with a wide motion turned around, cleaving two beasts in halves and cutting off large parts of wings of two more. Strangely enough, it didn’t have the deterrent effect he was going for. For some reason the beasts went completely berserk, and charged at him all at the same time.

The forest was already relatively dark, but Lee felt like someone had thrown an oversized blanket on him, so dark it became. The problem was that this blanket kept screeching and clawing at him.

Fortunately, the chaos the beasts created turned into their own detriment. Their wingspan was too wide and they constantly got in each other’s way. As the result, before the last few fled, the largest damage Lee took was a deep wound on his cheek, right below the left eye.

The multiple claw marks on his neck were also bleeding, and, from the looks of it, the chest armor was ruined, but it was the prospect of becoming blind with one eye that terrified the shit out of him.

In the end he won, and after quickly taking care of his wounds, left before more trouble arrived.

Turns out he had been unlucky. It took only another mile to leave the forest and finally the incredible sight of endless greenery below and three snow-covered peaks above came into view. At that moment the air felt particularly fresh, even sweet, and despite the sun was already setting, it seemed gentle and warm.

Normally Lee’s artistic soul would’ve cried in ecstasy at the sight, but now he was ready to weep because there were no signs civilization, only endless forests, swamps, and marshes. In theory he was prepared to go around the mountain, maybe even all three of them until he found signs of people. Unfortunately, the bitter taste of disappointment spoiled the mood.

***



For the next half month, Lee continued to travel south along the tree line, hugging the western slopes of the mountains. He had grown so accustomed to beast ambushes that they became a routine.

During the encounters with multiple beasts, he was occasionally injured, but the pain from claws and fangs barely registered anymore – he slowly grew numb to anything from outside. Just like the three tall mountains to his left and the endless forests to the right, the wounds became another part of the landscape.

His water spark was working in overdrive, fixing him every night. That, in turn, created imbalance between the elemental particles within and resulted in internal agony.

When Lee arrived at the very southern part of the third mountain, before turning east, he spent several days recuperating on a safe spot next to a small brook. He meditated, stabilizing the condition of the three elements within, until he felt fresh enough to continue on his way.

***

It was many days later when Lee had to pinch himself from how unreal the sight in front of him was.

He no longer knew how long he had been traveling, and sometimes wished he would wake up and discover he had never gone to the Droskar Dominion in the first place. Sadly, it was a fact he was here.

What shocked him, though, was the sight of the shabby wooden shack in the distance. There was no doubt it was man made, and Lee could clearly hear the irregular sounds of someone cutting wood on the other side. It didn’t make sense for anyone to be in this place, in the middle of nowhere, but meeting a lone hunter clearly wasn’t the worst thing that could happen to him.

The hunter living here had chosen a good spot – right in front of the middle mountain. He surely enjoyed picturesque sunrises, and never lacked anything. There was a stream running hundred or so yards from the house, and the woods below were full of game. The last part Lee knew better than anyone.

He quickly hid Soulcleaver in the glove, and cleaned up, patting his clothing. After verifying he looked harmless enough, he put on the brightest smile he could and stepped towards the shack.