The Smoke Witch & The Primordial King

Chapter 8: into the Forest

(Narrator view)

The night air stirred, the wind bending the trees overhead. The moon bright and almost full, as it peeled through the clouds briefly. The wind picked up bellowing the capes of villagers and oil lamps the littered the streets. The villagers readying their belongings before the storm.

munnin pulled her cover over head and buttoned her cape up, securing her pack underneath. she took the roll up out of her mouth and tucked it into her arm plate. sinful followed behind and did as she did, securing himself beneath his cloak.

the soft winds earlier now coming to a roar, the clouds heavy and drifting towards the town in darker heavier mass. munnins eyes clouded as she linked to sinful. " sin I will connect to you through this for a bit of this journey. With the storm it will probably be hard to hear clearly. Warn me if you hear or smell something. your abilities are free so let's try to use them." her eyes returned and she looked to sin who nodded. munnin cast waterproof and detection field on the both of them. She stepped out from under the cover into the light trickle of rain mixed with hard gusts of wind. a small invisible field formed around them coating their body, reflecting the light rain off them.

"That's incredibly useful" sin whispered as his dry cloak whipped in the wind.

munnin began leading them out of the village, sin close behind. they navigated as the wind became stronger. munnin lifted her hands pulling down in a fist casting gravity on their boots to hold them steady. Sin unprepared for the sudden weight as his lifted boot pulled to the ground quickly making him steady himself. munnin entered his thoughts. " forgive me, i weighted our boots to hold us firmer to the ground". sin continued with the extra weight and found it became easier to walk now. the village continued their lives in doors after securing cattle, hay and other important daily items. the streets clear and the rumbling of families in taverns as bards strum the music and fun spilling into the streets through closed doors and windows. sin looked around the village as they walked falling behind munnin. the small seeps of candle light from the happenings in doors. reminded him him of the garden but not, it felt more homely, hard working farmers and traders coming together after a hard day. a blank expression fell across his face smelling smoked meat in the tavern on his right. "munnin?" sin linked to her.

To her surprise he was able to use the link so quickly. " Yes," she responded.

" I would like whatever meat I'm smelling here please" he stated.

She nodded and walked to the window and knocked on the hatch. The window opened slightly. Munnins lips moved drowned out by the taverns roar. The rain began picking up pace becoming its own roar through the night.

She put her hand in the window and came out with 2 skewers of steak, thick strips cooked to perfection. Sin waited behind the window under the shelter of the tavern steps. Munnin smiled as she handed them to him. He took them bowing his head to her as he sat on the steps and began sinking his teeth into the decadent marbled meat. the tender burst of juiciness. delight filled him as he ate. munnin smiled watching him eat. She looked around them trying to detect any unwanted energy. they were in the clear so far.

Sin exhaled, finishing his meal quickly and placed the skewers in the barrel near the window. he nodded to munnin now satisfied and they continued into the stormy night. After 10 minutes of walking and they were on the other side of town approching the forest that laid before them, the trees creaked with stress as the winds blew harder, the rain filled the town in a harmonized tune, sssSSHHaaaHH.

they treked into the forest the ground not yet compromised and easy to maneuver. sin looked around the forest able to see clearly in the dark . he noticed deer bounding deeper into the brush. the leaves of the canopy blocked out most of the rain. the moisture in the air still very clear. munnin slide the roll up out of her arm plate and placed it between her lips. she used her finger to spark a small flame, lighting the roll up and taking a deep breath of the herb. she blew the smoke into the night. the scent of the roll up was taken notice, like a skunk sin thought. he linked munnin " what on earth is that herb your smoking it smells like a skunk" he stated.

" sorry if it stinks, it helps my mind and body relax." she took another drag of the roll up, continuing their march through the forest in the storm. sin looked up into the trees, the peaking moonlight illuminating behind the clouds.

Several hours passed of walking later, sin let out a slight sigh and linked to munnin. " what is our itinerary by the way? I know we're going to the crest but that's all. How many days journey?" he said.

"Through this forest, id say 3 hours to the tree line where we can take a short rest. It's about a 5 days journey with a small village we may get to later in the night close to the morning, if all goes smooth we can rent a room and rest there for a few hours and get a meal.I laid my" she stated.

"do you think they will come for us? why can't we use your smoky transport again?" he asked for more clarity. munnin blew smoke into the air. liinking again " it takes a lot out of me and the distance plays a large part in how much of a toll. I was able to restore myself at the inn because we have a room of restoration we conjured. I only use teleporting in emergencies to gain advantage. I got us at least 5 hours out from the garden. time enough to recharge and heal you. Time is on our side. If anything happens, remain close, i wont allow them to take you.” She said sternly.

sin was quiet for a moment, his mind at ease, the journey wasn't too bad so far, he was only slightly fatigued, never had he walked so much in a night. the moon now on the opposite side of the direction they walked. munnin linked. '' morning is in a few hours we should make it to the tree line before then.”

Sin POV: i continued scaning the area, watching intently for anything that may be lurking in the dark. My mind wandered as we trekked through the storm around us. what is the crest like? What are the other maidens like? Luciene entered my thoughts, pushing them aside for the moment.

nothing out of sorts that i can sense.

a quiet walk in a raging storm with a beautiful Maiden. I'll take it.

Magnificent and breathtaking. Lucien said wagging his tail in the back of my mind.

I surveyed they area laying my gaze on her from behind. She’s so small I thought watching her navigate over the roots of the large trees. a smirk overtook my expression as I looked off again into the canopy above. A presence entered my field of perception. I quickly linked her " i sense someone nearby" and continued to run my eyes around the area looking for whoever was near.

Munnin grabbed the neck of my chest plate suddenly as she dragged me behind a tree ducking beside a bush next to us. I laid my hands against the tree to balance. I felt butterflies in my stomach as I looked at her. Her intoxicating scent filling my senses.