The next morning, Draven and Taliah left the town and headed for the fields of Nerathis.
The initial road still allowed the passage of carts, but after several hours, they reached the point where the route ended.
Before them stretched a zone covered by trees, bushes, dense vegetation, and there was no visible path.
Taliah observed the terrain.
"Do we have to go through there?"
"Exactly."
"With the horses?"
"No, most likely they’ll end up getting eaten."
Draven pointed to the barely visible trail among the trees.
"From here on we’ll have to walk."
Taliah got down from the cart.
"Why didn’t they build a road?"
Draven began gathering his belongings.
"They already tried."
Taliah raised an eyebrow.
"And?"
"The workers and guards died."
She fell silent.
The workers sent to build the routes had been attacked and killed so many times that the authorities eventually abandoned the projects.
It made no sense to send more people to construct a road when the place itself seemed to reject any attempt to make it more accessible.
Taliah observed the vegetation again.
"That explains a few things."
"What things?"
"Why this place still has such a bad reputation."
The two of them began walking and the atmosphere changed rapidly, since the sounds of the town had disappeared.
Now they could only hear the wind, the movement of the leaves, and the sounds of the animals hidden among the vegetation.
Draven recognized some species.
There were small gray-furred rodents that lived near the roots of the trees, and there were also dark-plumed birds that fed on insects.
In the damper zones one could find small reptiles, while some wild sky-blue deer moved among the trees.
Things changed when they heard a distant roar, at which Taliah immediately brought her hand to her sword.
"What was that?"
"A Nerathis howler."
"Is it dangerous?"
"If we don’t get close, it shouldn’t attack us."
Taliah sighed.
"Wonderful."
They continued advancing, but after approximately an hour, Draven stopped and Taliah looked at him.
"What’s wrong?"
He pointed ahead.
"We’re close."
Taliah immediately adopted a more serious posture.
"Are you sure?"
"Yes."
"Then pay attention."
"I always do."
Both of them continued advancing and the vegetation grew even denser.
According to Draven’s memories, the demonic vocier appeared more frequently near a rocky zone located to the north of the fields.
They only had to reach that point.
While they walked, Taliah broke the silence.
"Draven."
"Yes?"
"Do you remember when we were kids?"
"How could I forget?"
"I do remember some things."
"Only some?"
Taliah smiled.
"I remember you were a lot weaker than you are now."
"How observant of you."
"I also remember you always tried to hide that you were tired after training."
"That was part of a strategy."
"What strategy?"
"To keep Yruza from making me train even more."
Taliah let out a laugh.
"And did it work?"
"Not even a little."
"Then it was a failed strategy."
Both of them laughed and continued walking while they recalled those years.
They talked about their first training sessions, about the arguments they had had, and about the occasions when Draven had tried to teach her some technique that she ended up improving in a short time.
After a while, Taliah slowed her pace and Draven noticed.
"What’s wrong?"
"Nothing."
She kept walking a few meters, but then stopped again, this time completely.
Draven turned and Taliah was looking at him, but her expression was different.
"Taliah?"
She took a deep breath.
"Draven..."
"Yes?"
"There’s something I want to tell you."
Draven stayed silent and Taliah lightly clenched her hands.
"We always end up doing something together."
"Seems that way."
"And now we’re here."
"That’s right."
"Doesn’t it seem strange to you?"
Draven thought for a few seconds.
"A little."
"I don’t find it strange."
Taliah smiled.
"I like this."
Draven didn’t answer and Taliah continued.
"I like traveling with you."
Draven lowered his gaze slightly.
"I also enjoy traveling with you."
"I want to keep doing it."
"We can."
"After the academy?"
"If everything goes well."
"I..."
Taliah took a step toward him.
"I want to be able to have more adventures like this with you."
Draven smiled.
"Then we’ll have more."
"I don’t mean only that."
Draven stopped smiling and Taliah advanced one more step.
"I want..."
But then she heard a sound that was a deep growl which made both of them freeze.
Draven slowly turned his head and Taliah did the same.
Among the trees, something moved.
A branch fell to the ground, then another, while the bushes began to part and Draven felt his body tense.
’It can’t be.’
An enormous creature emerged from the vegetation.
The demonic vocier had appeared.
It was a quadruped with a muscular body, although it could rise onto its two hind limbs. Its posture displayed constant aggression and it was ready to attack at any moment.
Its body combined characteristics of deer, bear, and demon.
Part of its skin was covered in scales, while other areas had thick fur.
Its head had an elongated snout and an open jaw that left numerous sharp teeth visible.
Its expression was fierce.
A mane of white and black hair surrounded its face.
But what stood out the most were its horns.
Two enormous black horns rose from its head, twisted and formed into spirals. They rose upward before curving backward. Their surface was rough and had several visible ridges.
The torso and the front limbs were covered by an irregular pattern of black and white colors.
Around the neck and chest it had large amounts of fur.
In other areas, the surface was smooth and scaly, leaving the muscles visible beneath the skin.
Its front limbs were enormous and ended in large hands with long black claws curved inward.
The hind limbs were even more robust, with extremely developed thighs, and its feet ended in hooves.
Finally, a long and thick tail emerged from its back.
It was segmented, black, and had a structure similar to that of a scorpion.
It rose forming an arc above its body and at the tip it had a structure resembling a pincer covered in black hairs.
The vocier slowly tilted its head and its eyes fixed on Draven.
Taliah brought a hand to her sword while Draven summoned the daggers and the monster let out another growl.
Taliah spoke in a low voice.
"Draven..."
He didn’t take his eyes off the creature.
"What is it?"
"I think our adventure just began."
A difficult battle was approaching.