Tales of Astravein

Chapter 4: The Cave

    The group woke up to Aerith and Esper brawling each other. They see Esper with her long swords making very aggressive attacks towards Aerith who used her great sword to block each attack. The constant steel clashing made a lot of ruckus. The group decided to watch the brawl between them. Kalxid was getting tense, watching them fight. Esper made all sorts of attacks. Ranging from full front attacks to even going behind Aerith for a little sneak attack. Esper even jumped off of trees for leverage. She definitely has a lot of stamina. Aerith was defending against the attacks well but was getting very tired.

"Come on, show me what you got!" Yelled Esper as her speed increases and starts attacking faster.

"I can't do this!" Grunted Aerith, who is about to collapse.

Esper keeps dishing out her aggressive attacks at a much faster pace, making it hard for Aerith to keep up until finally Esper tackles Aerith to the ground and gets up, preparing her next attack. Aerith struggles to get back up on her feet.

"Get up, Aerith. Give me your best shot. I can take it!" Esper exclaimed. She charges up her stamina and positions herself with her long swords. Esper charges right towards Aerith when all of a sudden, Kalxid steps forward with his massive great sword, blocking Esper's attack and pushing Esper away. This shakes Esper at first, but she recovers quickly.

"Well, well, well, look who has come to save their little Elf. Your interfering with her training. Move." Esper stated.

"No. She is tired, let her rest." Kalxid demanded.

Esper giggles. "What will happen when you aren't there to protect her?"

"That will never happen." Kalxid answered

"She needs to learn how to defend herself. She needs to learn how to fight without you always jumping protect her." Esper said.

Kalxid stays silent and gets into a fighting stance, preparing his next attack.

"So be it." Esper snarked.

Esper charges forward with her long swords, going for a direct attack. Kalxid blocks Esper's attack with his great sword. Esper makes her next move by pushing Kalxid's great sword on the ground, giving her leverage to lift herself up in the air. Esper makes a full flip above Kalxid and makes a attack from behind. Kalxid dodges her attack. Esper puts her long swords away and decides to charge at Kalxid with her dagger. Kalxid gets in a defensive stance. Esper slides underneath Kalxid, catching him off guard. Kalxid turns around towards Esper and sees her dagger coming right at him. Esper was successful in making a mild slash attack, causing a small scratch on Kalxid's cheek. The scratch bled a little and the pain was mild, but caused Kalxid to flinch. Esper giggles.

"You might be stronger than me, but I'm much faster than you." Esper stated, followed up with a giggle.

"I might've underestimated your abilities, but I went more defensive than offensive. You seem to lack defensive skills." Kalxid mentioned.

Esper's smile went away. "I don't need fighting advice from you. I've been doing fine after all of these years."

"There is always room to grow. I would love to keep fighting and show you my full strength, but we have a mission to get to. We can't waste anymore time." Kalxid said.

Esper puts her dagger away and scoffs. "Whatever you say, Dragonborn." Esper walks pass Kalxid, while brushing his shoulder.

Everyone else in the group stands silent and in awe of the battle. They all regroup and continue on the trail. Hoping they will find some clues today.

.  .  .

The group continues on the trail. The environment looks the same. The same trees and noises. It's like they have been going in circles. They wander around looking at everything around them, searching for some kinds of clues, but nothing. The forest was clean. How it is possible that there is no trace of the missing people? They wondered. They, finally, come across an open area, right against a steep mountain. In the mountain, there was a cave. A very eerie cave. You can hear the creepy noises oozing out of the cave. The noises of moans and groans. With a sharp ear, quiet whispering can be heard. The group felt a sudden rush of fear hit them, making them feel paralyzed.