[NR] And Run - Chapter 599

Rosha continues to shoot the oncoming abominations, though her dominant eye begins to bleed at the corners. The concentration needed to aim at them bringing out details that were not meant to be. How the hair grew in swirled patterns, the way that the legs seemed to phase through one another, and other things compete for her attention.

Still, she maintained focus on picking out targets. Nevermind the discordant sounds of their baying, never synchronized, yet oddly connected. Behind her, Courtney maintains the flow of magic, each arrow sucking down more Mana than they could normally hold. The very presence of those beasts causes nearby matter to more readily take on bane magic to those pseudo-natural things.

All around them, howls rang out, though these new ones lacked the unnatural nature of those the two currently fought. Still, that didn’t give them much time as clearly, they were part of the same pack, if not all pseudo-natural. Rosha glanced back and Courtney nodded to her, it was time to pull out the more limited supplies.

Because if there was one thing archers were good at, it was their bag of tricks. An arrow for every occasion! And this occasion had come up enough they had a decent supply.

From a separate compartment, Rosha pulled out an arrow with a head made of quartz with runes of cerulean oil paint. The quartz crystal sucked up the Mana, while the painted runes flickered. Not that they had time to pay attention to such things.

Instead, Rosha quick fired these specialized arrows as Courtney dumped three times as much Mana in each. With these, it didn’t matter how good the aim was, as long as they hit. Each arrow going to a different monster, some even glancing off.

That was enough, though. The magic, sky blue, a brilliant cerulean, pulsed through the beasts and caused them to stutter to a stop. Reality weighing down on them. Then the two ran, Rosha channeling her magic into a sustained spell allowing them to pass through the forest without a trace. Even their scent is wiped away in passing.

Could they have killed those monsters? Yes, they might even have been able to do so despite the backup that was coming. However, they had learned not to trust those with origins beyond. You never knew what further tricks might be up their sleeves.

So they ran, not stopping until they had put two biome changes between them and the not wolves. This wasn’t guaranteed safety, but they needed to rest eventually and that couldn’t wait until they got back to the clearing.

Rosha, “We need to name the clearing.”

Courtney tilts her head to the side as she tries to calm her breathing. “What brought that up?”

Rosha shrugs, “I was just thinking about getting back to the clearing and realized, that doesn’t really describe things? Like, sure, calling a town, ‘the town’ or a lake, ‘the lake’ works when they’re the only ones nearby. But, like, we go through a ton of clearings and I don’t want to call it home either.

“Sure, it is home, at least for the moment. I just don’t really see it as home. More like a college dorm or some such. Yes, I will be living there for a few years, but it is most definitely a temporary thing.”

Courtney, “Huh, fair points all around. Do you have any idea on what to call it?”

Rosha shrugs, “Well, we’re resting right now and just ran from some pseudo-wolves. We could call it Wolf’s Rest or some such.”

Courtney snorts, “Naming it after some monsters that caused us trouble? That’s more like how you’d name an area, not somewhere people live. Maybe if Jason had been a wolfkin, it would work. He’s certainly resting there right now. Took a right proper dirt nap a couple weeks ago as well.”

Rosha laughed, “True, plus it is only a temporary place. Once we leave, as long as the kingdom hasn’t claimed the area, it isn’t like the clearing will last more than a few months. Which is kind of depressing. We’ll be putting in years of work only for it to vanish.”

Courtney, “That’s life sometimes. Maybe call it something like Trio’s Folly? That way, we can keep the possessive noun you had going on there.”

Rosha raises an eyebrow, “That’s what you grabbed onto from my original suggestion? Sure, it was a joke suggestion, but still!”

Courtney, “But do you like it?”

Rosha sighs, “I love it! That doesn’t change things, though. I’m not going to blame a good name for your faults.”

Courtney shrugs, “I guess we’ll have something else to tell Jason when we get back. The fact he repels dirt and that the majority have decided to call our place Trio’s Folly.”

Rosha, “It has layers, that name!”

Courtney, “What even are you talking about? The only layer I put into it was the fact that it is our folly for trying to make something permanent in the Deep Wilds.”

Rosha shakes her head, “You’re missing some of the subtext. Folly doesn’t just mean an act of foolishness. It is also another word for a small building in a park. Sometimes connected to the rich because before the arcologies, it was a popular thing to have built on their sprawling yards. So, the clearing is my folly!”

Courtney sighs, “Okay, I get the connection, but popular before arcologies? Sure, but also before a bunch of other stuff as well. I completely missed it because they certainly aren’t at the top of my mind.”

Rosha puts her arm over Courtney’s shoulder, “This whole endeavor is going to be seen as my folly by the other young adults of my social status. Might as well make it a reality! Now, do you want to rest a bit longer or keep going?”

Courtney, “As much as I would like to stay right here, we need to move. The night will come soon and I want to put a bit more distance between us and those nasty things.”

Rosha, “Fair enough. Let’s move out then!”