Finding my Parents in Another World

It was about fifteen minutes after the Clacker Nest that Zoe, Miden and Famina reached the Caves of Bloodfell. It was situated in a much less dense part of the forest, in fact there were no trees for a significant area around the Caves, which Zoe found a little ominous.

"It's weird to have such an empty space in the middle of a forest as dense as the Tal no?"

Midir shrugged. "Even the Known Region of the Tal has several unexplained phenomenon. The Known simply implies we have it on the map, not that we know everything about it."

"Some people believe that at one time the Tal covered the entirety of Anexia." Famina chirped in.

"Some people also believe that the Dragons Kingdom still exist." Midir said in a scornful tone.

"Well atleast there is one dragon right here in Anusuril."

"And have you seen that dragon with your eyes?"

"Well no but-"

"Unless you see something with your eyes, don't believe whatever anyone tells you Famina."

"Everyone knows the legend of the Forest of Old Gotuj, and everyone who lives in Temuril can hear his roars. Just because you haven't seen him doesn't mean he doesn't exist." Famina retorted, somewhat agitatedly.

Midir did not say anything further but his expression clearly showed that he still thought the story Famina was talking about was not true.

"What is this Old Gotuj?" Zoe asked Famina quietly, afraid that it might be common knowledge to people in this world and asking it outright may reveal her foreignness.

"It's an old legend about a man who was turned into a dragon and then trapped in a jungle by the Wizard of Reknown. I'll tell you about it once we return." Famina promised and Zoe decided it would be unwise to continue this discussion in a place where Midir could hear them.

Midir meanwhile found a rock close to the entrance of the Caves and sat down on top of it.

"Well this is as far as I go. You two will have to go inside the Caves alone. The entrance is the same as the exit so you'll find me sitting here when you come out and I'll lead you out of the Tal again."

"Let's go Zoe." Famina said, taking her hand and almost pulling her towards the Caves entrance. It seemed that she was still holding a grudge for the argument earlier.

"HALT!" A booming voice came from behind them, shocking all three.

"Who goes there?" Midir was the first to recover.

As Zoe watched, three soldiers wearing blue armor and cloaks bearing the symbol of a circle came out from the woods behind them. The one in the middle was evidently their leader. He was the only one of them who wore a head armor piece and seemed to be significantly older than the other two beside him.

"Soldiers from Temuril? What are they..." Famina whispered.

The lead soldier quickly surveyed the three of them and walked briskly towards Zoe and Famina. Once he was in front of them he spoke again in his booming voice.

"I am General Fridt of the Temuril Armed Forces under Mayor Rokar. You are under arrest on the Mayor's command on suspicion of abduction charges. You are to come with us right now to the Temuril Prison where you will await judgement."

Zoe instinctively stepped in front of Famina protectively.

"Look here, you must be mistaken. Famina has been with me all along. I don't know where you are getting these phony-"

General Fridt held up his hand to stop her.

"Mrs Zoe, I am afraid it is you who is mistaken. We are not arresting your companion. We are arresting YOU."

For a moment all three of them were shocked into silence.

Famina was the first to speak.

"Is this a joke?"

There was a quiet anger in her voice.

"I am afraid not." General Fridt responded in a neutral voice.

"When are these supposed abductions supposed to have taken place?"

"Three nights ago."

"You do know it takes two days to ride from here to Temuril? Zoe has been with me for over a week now. It's impossible for it to be her."

"Argue the same in front of the Mayor. We are just acting on our orders." General Fridt said placidly.

He then beckoned the two other soldiers. "Ghira, Sena bring out the handcuffs, we need to cuff Mrs Zoe before we take her with us."

"She is not going anywhere." Famina said crouching down into a defensive position.

"You will be an enemy of Temuril and maybe even the Crown if you attack us." General Fridt warned, his hand going towards the huge battleaxe on his back.

"Well that's not quite right, is it General?" Midir, who had been silent thus far, spoke up.

General Fridt looked towards him, as if assessing the threat but didn't respond to his questions.

"You are acting on the authority of the Mayor of Temuril, not the Crown of Anasuril. The Crown hasn't issued an arrest warrant for Mrs Zoe here, therefore resisting the arrest isn't a matter for the Crown." He explained casually.

"Be that as it may, making an enemy of Temuril won't be in your best interests." The General said in a low voice, his eyes flicking between the three of them.

He beckoned once more to Ghira and Sena, the soldiers behind him, and they both advanced towards Famina and Zoe. Instinctively Zoe raised her hand in front and cast "Sand Prison". Ghira and Sena were taken completely unawares, but General Fridt jumped back easily and smashed his axe into the ground, negating the incantation. In the same motion he swung it around effortlessly and destroyed the two prisons encasing Ghira and Sena.

"So you have chosen to resist." He said, almost sadly.

"And she is not alone." Famina said, stepping in front of Zoe and crouching to take her Inito form again.

"Famina you should go inside. I will hold them off here." Zoe said in a low voice.

Famina just shook her head no.

"Famina, your Goddess is inside. You can't afford to waste time helping me."

"I can't revive the Goddess. Only you can. Besides...." Here Famina paused and then looked at Zoe directly. "I have already lost my mother once. I won't lose her again."

"Wha-"

Zoe was rendered speechless with emotion. Before she could properly react though, General Fridt's booming voice broke through.

"I urge you to reconsider. It's three of us against three of you, but I won't hesitate to use my full force to capture you Mrs Zoe. She is the only one I have to capture alive, the other two of you don't have any such guarantee."

"Well I don't feel like going along with the whims of a small town on the edge of nowhere you know." Midir said yawning as he stepped forward to join Famina.

General Fridt sighed and raised his battleaxe. Zoe, Famina and Midir braced for impact, but it never came.

"Wow there's a lot of people here." A voice broke through the tension causing all six of them to look towards it.

A man was standing in front of the cave, facing them. He was of medium height and wearing no armor, just a normal tunic and trousers. However he had a red cloak on him, with a black moon at the center. Zoe noticed there was the number 6 etched in the center of the black moon. However what caught most of their attention immediately were his eyes.

They are sewn shut!

Indeed the man's eyes had been seen shut and it landed a horrible quality to his otherwise normal face.

"Chianti Hunters!" The General hissed immediately turning his attention towards the red cloaked man. Zoe felt even Famina tense up beside her, more tense than she had been while staring down the Temuril soldiers.

"Sir, the red cloaks have a higher priority don't they?" The soldier named Ghira said in a low voice.

Fridt nodded. "But we can't let Mrs Zoe get away amidst the confusion. Don't worry we will hold off both. Defeat the red cloak and capture the criminal."

"Oi oi old man aren't you underestimating the Chianti Hunter?" Midir said almost exasperated.

General Fridt didn't respond, keeping his battleaxe in the middle between the red cloaked man and Zoe.

The red cloaked man, that General Fridt called a Chianti Hunter, casually walked forward and bowed deeply.

"Allow me to make my introduction. I am Exi, the sixth of the Chianti Hunters." The man raised his head, and Zoe had the uncomfortable feeling that he was looking at them even through his sewn eyelids.

"I only want to enter the Cave, I have no quarrel with you. Unfortunately it seems that you are supporters of the Crown, therefore you have to die." He continued nonchalantly.

"We are not actually supp-" Midir was saying but was stopped by Famina raising her hand.

"We seek to enter the Cave as well, Exi. It seems our goals are the same. Would you help us?" Famina asked.

Exi cocked his head as if considering it, and General Fridt for the first time appeared somewhat nervous. He didn't count on both of these forces joining together.

"No I would not." Exi said simply and smiled.

Famina didn't seem perturbed, in fact it appeared to Zoe as if this was the response she had been expecting all along.

"Inito. [[Spirit of the Porcupine]]." She intoned and as before spikes grew out of her arms and legs, ready to shoot out.

General Fridt and the two soldiers with him stepped back a few steps so that they had equal view of both Exi and Zoe's group.

"Seems like we are at a standoff." He said in his booming voice.

"Standoff?" Exi sounded confused, then he shook his head. "No no you are at a slaughter."

It happened so fast and so unexpectedly that no one had time to react. Exi leapt from his position towards General Fridt who sluggishly tried to swing his axe at him. However Exi deftly dodged towards his real target and cleanly smashed his fist into Sena's face, destroying his skull and instantly killing the soldier. Before anyone could react again, he had leapt back towards where he was.

"A mistake you made General was assuming everyone would activate their Initos only after battle has started. Me? I am always in my Inito." He said to the shocked General.

"[[Man or Machine]]" Exi said, completing his Inito. Zoe watched carefully at the fist he had used to hit Sena and noticed his arm had become completely steel.

"Physical magik." Midir grumbled.

Zoe nodded. "Seems something related to steel but I can't be sure." She realized that she was the only one in that battlefield who had not unlocked her Inito and that put her at a massive disadvantage.

A string of spikes shot out towards Exi who didn't even bother to dodge, instead letting them hit his chest which turned into steel just before the impact.

"Tch." Famina said.

"Sadly for you young lady, my magik hard counters yours. After all steel cannot harm steel."

"But fire can." Midir said jumping in the sky and activating his Inito, "[[Spirit of the Dragon]]". Once more he opened his mouth and shot flames directly towards Exi. This time he jumped back, but Zoe extended her fingers and two sand arms came out to restrict his movements. Exi however sensed those arms and proactively smashed his fist to the ground preventing the arms from rising completely. He then swiveled his body to turn away from the flames.

General Fridt took advantage of this attack to hide himself in the smoke clouds of the flame. Now as Exi was getting his balance back he roared and swung his axe at his face. Exi smiled however and again didn't dodge it. His face turned to steel and the axe bounced off uselessly against it.

"How does he see the attacks when his eyelids are shut?!" Famina said frustrated.

Zoe shook her head. "He is not blind. He can still see through his eyelids. That's his biggest deception, he makes us think he can't see but he can see everything."

Midir nodded, agreeing with her. Suddenly there was a cry from their left and they saw Ghira rushing towards them determinedly.

"Oh come the fuck on!" Midir exclaimed, rising in the air, preparing to launch another fire attack at the rushing soldier.

"Midir no!" Zoe exclaimed stopping him in his tracks.

"You have to go towards the red cloak. Physical magik can't harm him, we need your fire again. Me and Famina can hold back this soldier."

Midir didn't look convinced, but he had come to trust Zoe after her plan had worked so well in the Clacker's Nest. So he nodded and flew towards where General Fridt and Exi were exchanging blows.

"Inito. [[Blades of Grass]]" Ghira incanted as he ran towards them. Green grass blades flew up towards his extended arms and formed a shield and sword.

"Get ready Famina." Zoe said in a low voice as Famina once again took on her crouching position.

The forest of Tal had been turned into a battleground once more.