There were twelve bandits in total, and after collecting the blood, I was at a full tank. I went over and pulled each arrow out and used the spell Heal. Both thanked me, and Kevin promised more good food along the trip. Gastbo was of two minds on the matter of me and our party, but there was no denying that we saved his life. He was thankful, but scared of me and the girls now, which was fine.
We just had to keep our end of the deal up until we got to Dyster, and then he would be on his way back. For now, I just wanted sleep, the transfer of Mana when I healed had exhausted me, and I would have to be careful about how I used it in the future. Ideally, testing it would be the best route, but I would have to cut myself to heal something without asking another.
Unless ambushes like this were a normal thing, and if that was the cause I might get more practice than I wanted. We moved the wagons close to the cabin and Mark and Kevin had already checked the cabin and it was deserted. I got everyone inside and Corbit offered to get the wood, then he came in to get the fire started.
"Sorry I didn't do anything. Tim told me just to stay hidden," Corbit explained as he struck some flint, getting the fire going the first time.
"He was right, they had bows, and these ribbons only work in the dungeons. If you die out here, there is no coming back. We are still all learning so you should play to your strengths and it's best if you don't try to fight ranged combat head-on unless I have their attention."
Corbit didn't say anything, but he had a smile on his face as he walked away. Lesha came over and stood behind me putting hands on my arms, and I leaned back into her arms. I was starting to feel drowsy, and that was the third time I had used the spell since learning it.
Lesha guided me to a couch, and I sat down with her help. Now I knew how Mei had felt after using her magic so much the other day, the feeling was like a grow tired that was slowly trying to claim me. I wasn't able to stay awake for the food, instead, I drifted into sleep tucked into Lesha's arms. Together we let the night gently drift away.
The next morning it was Lesha in my arms, and I woke her up with a passionate kiss and some playful hip and breast grabbing. Soon, we could hear the sounds of men and the two of us sat up from the couch and straightened our clothes out. Corbit and Mark walked in from outside and smiled at us.
"Did you two have a good sleep? You two make a good couple, nice to see, but Gastbo is ready to go, and everyone else is packed up," Mark said with a smile while scratching the back of his head.
Both of us jumped up and headed out with the men, I didn't think we had slept that long or I would have got up right away. It was almost embarrassing being the last ones up, but no one, not even Gastbo was complaining about our slow start. The girls were waiting for us in the carriage, both had small but knowing smiles as we got in and started to travel down the hill.
"Did you two have a good sleep?" Gloria asked me, raising an eyebrow at me, but I could see how Mei was lying against her, smiling.
"Did you two have a good sleep? Didn't you have the bedroom alone?" I asked, stretching to wrap my arms around Lesha and kissing her cheek.
That made the two of them separate and look away from each other, and I raised my eyebrow, but my attention was drawn to the fog-covered forest that stretched out below us. I almost climbed over Lesha until she switched places, swatting my backside as I passed, but I was glued to the scenery that we were descending into.
"Pretty amazing, even from up here there is no end in sight for the sea of forest, but only because of the fog."
I looked up to the front where Tim was looking out into the forest.
"We will need to start paying attention now, there are things far worse than men in this forest. Keep everyone on alert, I am going to go upfront, maybe you should come and sit up here. We should make it through the Silent Forest today, but we need to expect trouble from large green panthers that blend into the environment. I have already seen some, and that means that they have seen us," Tim explained while getting the driver to stop.
We were halfway down the mountain, and when we stopped Tim went upfront. I sent Corbit in, and Lesha joined me with our driver, Gerald. I was starting to feel tension building, and I was looking almost frantically for some sign of movement, but our driver's voice calmed me down.
"Don't try to find them, just keep your eyes out. Your job is to stop them before they get to us, but we aren't at the bottom yet. Let your mind get used to the dark greens, they are a lighter color," Gerald explained.
"You know a lot about these things?" I asked, while still looking around.
"Oh, you could say this isn't my first trip down the mountain," Gerald said, pulling back one of his sleeves to reveal his forearm that had a large chunk of it missing, healed over, and scar tissue now.
The part missing was massive, meaning the head would be three to four times the size of my own. My nerves were starting to come back, but I had to stay strong.
"Okay, girls, and Corbit, let us know if you see movement, the more people watching, the more warning we will have!"
The name Silent Forest was no understatement. There was barely even the sound of insects, besides some low humming. The only real sounds were the horses, the carriage, and the wagons. I was on high alert, and I was stretching my senses to the limit, but I wasn't hearing or seeing anything.
"They could come at any time, but they will most likely come right before we leave the forest. They will try to turn us around and then pick us off one at a time," Gerald explained while he kept his eyes forward.
"Is that supposed to make me feel better?" I asked with a strained voice.
"No, it's to prepare you so you know what will be happening. We can't get turned around, so it will be your job to keep the path clear or they will try to spook the horses. These things are smart, but If we know what they are going to try and do, then we can plan and be smarter."
That was true, and I felt a bit silly for challenging him when he was only trying to help me get a better understanding of the situation. This place was starting to get to me, and I couldn't wait to get out into the open country again. Not being able to see more than five meters to either side was starting to make me feel claustrophobic and only Lesha reaching over and putting a hand on my shoulder calmed me down.
Then I happened, light green objects started to move and rush towards us. I called out and sucked in blood from all three girls, then using that same blood to create a blood armor shield-like red steel. The other girls also grew the red armor, but the Platelet Service was Gloria's and she was covered in full plate.
The first two panthers had sharp spikes that drove up into them, then they disappeared in puffs of blue smoke, but the damage was done. Still, there were more coming, so I leapt from the top and rolled on the ground as I landed coming back up into a full run to catch up with Gloria, who was at the head of the wagon already fighting two of the two meters tall green cats creatures.
I used red blood to boost my leg strength and smashed into the side of one of the panthers that were trying to attack Gloria, and then Gobby jumped from me and latched onto the cat with a mouth that kept getting bigger until he swallowed the whole thing, then we let the carriage get by, but followed along the sides.
Lesha had stayed back and protected Everyone else and did a great job. We still ran the wagon train out of the forest to show the panthers that going for another round wasn't going to be good for them.
When we finally made our way out of the forest, the break from the fog and poor light was like a massive breath of fresh air. The tension finally started to leave, but I was still looking around. It would be out kind of luck for another band of bandits to be waiting for us down here, but there wasn't.
We all got back into the wagon, but I still felt good, the fighting hadn't taken that much out of me, and I was able to restore my blood reserve to full. So, no chills, or anything like that, but the road wasn't smooth like the mountains path, now we were back to the rough riding. For healing them, Kevin and Mark had made us cushion from weaved grass and packed with more grass.
They weren't something that could be used for a long time, but they did the job they needed to for the length of a trip we were on. We had all thanked them, and now I was silently doing that again. The rough ride was made a lot better with some kind of cushion, and Lesha was laying on my shoulder as Mei was explaining how she 'got the first two.
We made it into Presab by nightfall, but it was worth pushing the extra distance to have a safe place to sleep tonight. After the crazy ride through the Silent Forest, I was hoping there would be a bath or at least a place to rise off.
After finding a place that would be stable and let Mark, Kevin, and Gastbo stay with the carriages. We entered the Inn a few buildings down called The Dawn's Edge and got three rooms, but we all sat in the commons room before going up to our rooms. We had only snacked on dried meats and some bread all day so now was time to get a real meal.
Lesha asked me to try the bacon white sauce pasta dish the place was famous for, and soon it was a unanimous choice around the table. Even the boys chose the same, so the waitress had an easy order, plus water all around for the working people. We could still get called to help at any time.
After our orders were taken, there was some more talk about the Gem Heart diver and different ideas, but I was just enjoying the moment. Plus, I already had a get-rich-quick scheme figured out for the hearts. No, I just wanted to enjoy this moment of peace. We finally got our food brought out to us and everyone dug in.
Weird sensual and just plain wrong sounds came from our table as everyone enjoyed their food just a little too much! I was no exception, it was creamy cheesy but the salt and smoke of the bacon make the sauce less thick. I just really all worked together, and there was no doubt about the level of enjoyment at this table.
Each of us went to lean back from our plates like stacking blocks, but then we all shot up as someone ran into the Inn and started to yell.
"There has been another one killed with all the blood sucked out of the body!" The man cried.
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GOT IT