Chapitre 67: Goodbye, fucking desert.
Traveling with a unicorn who could find water by some sixth sense made it easier for us to survive in this fucking desert. Even if we didn't always manage to find large enough water springs, even the ones we did find on our way allowed us not to suffer from thirst.
And so the days passed. Day passages and evening breaks for rest. In the evening at a rest stop, I continued to give lectures on various topics or we learned specifics of my interaction with physical objects of this world. We even conducted an interesting experiment, which proved that I and VJ could contact beings with magical powers. That is, I couldn't even lift a grain of sand, but I could scratch a unicorn or give Ciri a nudge.
I even assumed that initially, I couldn't even touch Ciri, but as my astral body becomes more saturated with the magical power that Ciri and the unicorn emit, my ability to interact with them improves. On the other hand, VJ was able to contact her almost immediately unlike me. Apparently, cats have some sort of magical abilities that are independent of the world after all. Kind of far-fetched, but I don't have any other explanation other than that. Fucking magic.
- I'll call you Little Horse! - said Ciri, petting the unicorn.
- You've got quite an imagination and naming skills," I replied, shaking my head and suppressing the urge to facepalm myself. That's Spanish shame for you.
- And you?! All you do is call him a unicorn..." Ciri started to get angry at my mockery.
- Because I don't want to give him a name or a nickname because of the possibility that he already has one. And judging by his cunning look and cheeky face, he definitely has one. What's more, he's a magical creature, and judging by your stories, based on the witchers' bestiary, they have intelligence. So by calling him a unicorn and not imposing a new name on him, I'm showing him a courtesy. Eh, you seem to be a princess and you were raised by clever people, but you have manners like a pig or a thug, - I shake my head and smile, noticing how her face began to blush with anger.
- Marcus! You bastard! - Ciiri yells and tries to kick my leg, jumping up at me quickly.
- Yeah, yeah. But you won't be saved from another lecture on the importance of manners and proper upbringing. At least I don't have to teach you not to slurp at the table or burp like a fed pig. Although..." I took a mentor's pose and stroked my chin, looking doubtfully at the furious Ciri.
- Bastard! - She rushes to the attack, but all her attempts to kick or hit me do not give any result, because I easily either dodge or parry her attacks.
And so the days passed, and our strange company continued on its way through the bloody desert. Fortunately, signs began to show that we were approaching the borders of the desert. Trees, bushes and other vegetation became more frequent. And there were signs of animals, large and small. But if yesterday the tracks of animals went in one direction, today they were different, as if they wanted to go around something or did not dare to enter someone's territory. As if some dangerous predator's den was ahead.
That's when it hit me. A monster that looked like a mix between a scorpion and an antlion. Shit. And it looks like we've already entered its hunting grounds. It's a goddamn minefield.
- Ciri! Look out! We seem to be in the middle of a shit hole. Don't make any unnecessary movements and don't scream.
- Marcus, what are you talking about? I don't even see any footprints or anything. Did you overheat?
- This is no time for jokes, Ciri. There's a creature lurking here that hunts with traps and hides under the sand. We need to take it slowly... - but I didn't have time to finish before I heard a loud neigh from the unicorn, which began to fall into the funnel, from which the claws appeared.
The unicorn didn't manage to escape the trap completely and one of its legs was caught by the monster's claws. But at the last moment, he managed to pull his leg out and hit the sand monster on the head or torso with his hoof, pushing it back down.
- Run! Quickly, towards the stone plateau ahead. We must leave the sands! - I shout loudly and point toward the implicit desert boundary where the sands have been replaced by stone ground.
Without further ado, we all ran with all possible speed. We're out. Almost. At the very finish line, the sand monster did catch up with us and again his first target was a unicorn. This time he couldn't break free in time and the monster was able to bite him with its fangs and poison him. But this victory proved to be pyrrhic. He found himself on solid ground that didn't allow him to hide or move fast enough.
Ciri had been trained by witchers for good reason, and quickly analyzing the situation, she realized that the monster had lost its most important advantage and rushed to attack with a dagger in her hand. Without fear of getting trapped in the sand, she quickly shortened the distance and repeated the attack that had worked last time on the scorpion. Dodge the attack. Prevent the enemy from turning around and going into its flank or rear. And deliver a single blow to a vulnerable point.
The sand monster tried to catch her with its claws but missed and wanted to turn its clumsy body around. The sand monster was more like a scorpion and could not wriggle its body like a scolopendra. This added confidence to Ciri, who soon climbed on his back and ran towards his head to stab the dagger directly into his brain. Ciri tried to pierce through the natural defenses of the chitin, but the dagger slipped, failing to do any damage other than a couple of scratches and a small chip.
- That's no good! Ciri, strike at an angle! Between the plate joints! - I tell her, and I show her exactly how to hit it. I'm not 100% sure it'll work, but at least it'll do some damage.
And the little girl witch didn't let me down. The dagger went in full to the hilt. The monster roared, and when Ciri began to move the dagger from side to side, it roared even more, but if before there was only pain in its roar, now it was full of agony from the realization of imminent death. It tried to throw off its killer to the last, but with each passing second its movements became more and more like the death spasms of a scorpion on which vinegar had been poured. After a couple more moments the monster falls to the ground, its limbs twitching, but it is only a death agony. With a strange gasp or grunt, it dies.
- Well done, Ciri. Good job," I approach Ciri sitting on the fallen monster.
- Yeah. To be honest, it was both easy and hard. It's kind of weird."
- Ha ha. Ciri, you've been trained by the witchers. They always try to take advantage of an enemy's weakness or vulnerability. Or deprive them of an advantage. So you did the right thing here," but our conversation had to be abruptly interrupted when a unicorn loudly neighed behind us.
- Shit. Looks like the unicorn was hurt a lot worse than I thought. Run to him, - and together with Ciri headed to the injured unicorn.
VJ was hanging around and trying to help or comfort the poor guy. Once next to the unicorn, we began to examine the wound. And it was pretty shit, to say the least. The poison turned out to be some wild mixture of acid and neurotoxin. We tried to wash the wound with water, but it didn't help, the poison was already inside, and I didn't even want to express stupid ideas like sucking out the poison, because then there would be not only the corpse of the unicorn but also the little witcher-empress.
Ciri also realized this and decided to use magic. But the usual tricks and tricks did not help, and the situation was getting worse by the second. Spasms and convulsions full of pain were going through the unicorn's body like waves.
- Marcus! Take VJ and move away. I've decided to use my forbidden power. I don't know how this will go, so you better get as far away with the cat as possible. If anything happens. Thank you for everything. Now go away! - With a light telekinesis, she gave my body an impulse and we were blown about twenty or twenty-five meters away from them, with VJ.
And then the fire show began. The previously almost invisible streams of energy swirled around Ciri. The streams of fire and light swirled faster and fiercer as Ciri stood like a statue in the eye of the storm, gathering energy. But even more amazing was the fact that some of that energy began to strive to reach VJ and me. Several streams of energy seemed to be flowing in our direction, and too fast. Before we could prepare ourselves for the imminent impact, the fiery energy began to flow through our bodies.
- Aaaaaaaaaaaaah! - It hurts. It really hurts. It was as if my whole body was bursting with power and I was paralyzed at the same time. I wanted to move, to jump, to do something, but my body wouldn't listen to me. The pain made me lose my sense of time. I don't know how long I spent in this agonizing state. Seconds. Minutes. Hours. Maybe even days. The only thing on my mind was that I was in incredible pain.
But gradually the pain began to fade. Instead of the horrible pain that makes my teeth crumble in my tightly clenched jaw, a pleasant ache began to come, like after a massage or a good workout. It was as if my body was hinting that it was a reward for a good job. A pleasant and sleepy bliss came over me.
I managed to turn my head toward Ciri as if in slow motion and saw that she was treating the unicorn rather successfully. The strange blood-dark stain on his leg began to dissipate, and now I could see his aura, which also began to return to normal and instead of dark yellow began to glow golden with glimmers of white platinum. A strange, yet mesmerizing picture. Unicorns are considered beautiful for a reason after all.
My mind was like after a long and good anesthesia. Only at one moment, there was a wave of fiery energy again, and this time it was much larger and harsher.
Pain. Pain. Pain. VJ and I screamed as if we were being gutted and boiled alive. Shit. And there was no hope that he and I would pass out from the shock from the pain. I guess we'd have to take this whole bowl of pain all the way to the bottom. I think my consciousness was beginning to fade. Lights and smoke. Flames. It hurts so much.
- No! Stop it! Go away! Leave me alone! - Even through the veil that covered my slowly fading mind, I heard Ciri scream loudly.
The streams of fire that had been tormenting us before began to swirl around her. She was already on edge and another blow she wouldn't take. Well, time to be a hero. I'm going to die anyway, but at least I'll do something before I slowly fade away or burn up.
I walk toward her like a zombie and cover her with my body like a shield, shielding her from the firestorm. She looks at me with surprise and shock, not realizing what is happening. To this, I only smile.
- Don't be sad, Little Bird. Everything will be fine,- and then the fire energy launched its final attack. Fire and unbearable heat raged around us. My mind began to fall into slumber or fade away. I didn't care anymore.
The roar and noise began to subside. But I didn't care anymore. It's time to go into eternity. I want to rest.
- Please help me! - like through cotton earbuds, Ciri's cry could be heard in the distance.
It's too late, Little Bird. And we're all alone out here. No one can help. And here comes the night of my life. A starry sky. But the stars are beginning to fade. One by one. A silent night.
When there was the last star left in the sky and it began to blink from somewhere behind me rose...the sun? Bright rays pierced the sky in front of me and millions of stars lit up again. The darkness and night began to recede. The sun shines above me. The warmth and gentleness of the light wash away all that veil from my mind and so my sanity returns to me. And then in an instant everything changes. I find myself back in the desert, with Ciri sitting next to me with her face covered in tears, and an unknown unicorn standing over my head, its magical horn emitting a warm light.
Strange thoughts and images start to come to mind. The unicorn, rescued by Ciri is asking for help from the kin that have appeared beside us. Ciri points to my half-burned astral body that has begun to slowly crumble to ashes. The unicorn leader slowly reaches down and touches my forehead with his unicorn. Light fills my body and removes all the effects of the fire magic rampage. VJ rolls around next to me and takes some of that light. What a cheeky fat ass he is, even now he can't get away from a freebie. Then he puts his paws right over my heart and launches a mixture of lightning and light right at it. That's when I wake up and open my eyes.
- Uh-huh. Still, the professional deformity affects not only me but also those around me. VJ, top score on the defibrillator. Little Bird, stop crying. And thank our one-horned saviors. - I try to get up, but a strange thought hits me. Why can I feel sand and rocks under my right arm, but not my back or leg?
Quickly I stand up and examine myself. One of my hands...it's real. Only for a short while. A strange fiery energy begins to leave it, and the hand returns to the astral. I concentrate and the fire energy returns to my hand making it real again. But where does the fire energy come from and where does it go? More questions. And fucking magic again.
I don't have time to finish my thoughts, but a message comes, a thought, an image of it. The unicorn who treated me says that they're leaving. In the distance, they can see humans, and they don't want anything to do with them. Yes, and they tell me to be careful with the new powers. When I asked, "why are they so open and helpful with me?" they nodded at my fat and fluffy antidepressant. It gets funnier and funnier and doesn't make any fucking sense. But our conversation abruptly ends, and the unicorns go their separate ways as far away from here as possible.
After the unicorns have left us, Ciri rushes to me again. She cries and says that she was really scared when she lost control of her magic especially after the rampage that happened after she gave up her magic.
- Stop staining my leg with your snot. I'll make you go back to being a raccoon so you can clean it with your paws in the river. I said to Ciri, who had stopped crying and smiled at the reference to the raccoon. Only when she saw a group of riders in the distance, she tensed up, as if expecting another fight.
- What are we going to do? - she asked, clutching her dagger tightly.
- What do we do? We improvise. You'll go into dreamland now, and VJ and I will be your invisible guardian angels. Besides, now I'm sure I'll be able to snap their necks. It's time to start beating enemies not only in dreams, but also in real life. And now it's time for you to sleep and rest. - for a brief moment again I run the energy in my hand and with a light blow to the neck I send Ciri to sleep, gently lowering her to the ground.
If my memory serves me correctly, this group is supposed to lead Ciri out of the desert to something that resembles civilization. They may not be people I'd want to travel with, but I'm sick of this desert, and Little Bird needs to get to a normal human-populated city. And if anything, one ghost in the form of a TT Archangel will show them what it means to piss off the wrong people.
Oh, well. Goodbye, desert. It's been a shitty stay, so I'll never see you again. Goodbye, fucking desert.
P.S - Hey guys. I wrote Blood Bowl fanfic. Wanna read? Blood Bowl - Player, Coach, Legend. It is just beginning.
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Abi_Daulen
Abi_Daulen So one chapter to Sunday.
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