180 Misty Town (1)
The trio entered the cave they picked as their safe place for the night and noticed the light from within the cave.
“Is someone here?”
It was not hard to see the light from the campfire, and when they noticed another dark elf sitting around it, they relaxed a little bit.
“So it is another dark elf, hey!”
Arthur pretended to be surprised, but he had noticed them before entering the cave.
He put his hand on the heart and said, “you scared me. It is a good thing you are also elves.”
“What are you doing out here?”
They felt more at home and sat around the campfire with Arthur. He sensed these elves did not have a dangerous aura around them, and they were also low-leveled, having a level of 12-13.
Even if they tried a sneak attack on him, there was no way any of their attacks would hurt him, so Arthur pretended to be an average dark elf that was not that strong, having similar power as them.
“I was adventuring and heard rumors about someone killing an entire army, so I decided to hide here for the night.”
“Really? That is the same reason why we are here. What a coincidence. I’m Vamir, this lady is Taenya, and that other lady is Arlayna.”
“I am Akhur; nice to meet you all!”
It did not take much for them to become friends and share their experiences. It turned out their group of people were adventurers that went hunting magical beasts for ingredients and selling the parts for money.
Their final destination was the capital, but to get there, they would still pass for a few other towns; Arthur asked if he could go with them, and they saw no problem with that.
“Now, the problem of how to reach the capital is fixed!” Arthur thought.
The best way to get someone to like you is to give food; that was precisely what Arthur did, sharing the meat he had just cooked.
“You killed these? Impressive. These bears are quite strong.”
“Hehe, I just got lucky.”
They did not believe it was pure luck but did not ask many questions as everyone had their secrets. It made them feel better, knowing that their new companion was not weak and would be helpful in their journey.
Arthur chatted with them for quite some time, but his mind kept wandering, remembering the Bone Lord’s words, especially about how demonic he looked in that transformation.
That was something he had no answers for. The Doom Order was said to be also present in the dark lands, and the demons they worshiped had the same black energy as Arthur, but Arthur was no demon but a dragon.
Placidusax seemed to be the only dragon that had links with these demons, as all the other dragons did not have that type of energy. Arthur kept thinking about it until something clicked inside his mind, something that could potentially make sense.
“Placidusax is not the reason for this black energy. I am!”
From the beginning, Arthur kept thinking that Placidusax was the reason behind it, as he was Placidusax itself, yet it was not the case. Arthur was also an ordinary youth from another dimension, from Earth.
“Something might have happened when I got transported here, making me gain this strange demonic power. Or perhaps I was like that since my time on Earth, who knows.”
Small pieces of the puzzle started to make sense, and Arthur hoped that his time in the dark lands would help him uncover the mysteries behind that black energy.
“I’ll sleep now; good night!”
“Goodnight! Bed, here I go!”
They all went to bed, tired of their adventure from the previous day. Arthur did not need to sleep, so he just stood there, thinking about his life.
It was also an excellent opportunity to see if they would try something funny to him while he was asleep, like trying to murder him to get his belongings, but they did not. Maybe Arthur’s ragged looks helped him, or these elves were just kind.
The next day started with them having a quick meal, leaving the cave with happy faces, eager to reach a proper town to sleep, rest, and eat good food without fear of being pounced on by beasts.
Arthur kept his attention on their conversations, trying to get as much information as possible. It seemed that the first town they would stop was at least 7 hours away from where they were, and the city had the name Misty Town.
Misty Town had that name because of a dense fog that surrounded the city, a fog that did not have any apparent reason to be there, which made the town quite famous, and countless people went there trying to uncover its secrets.
No one ever found anything, but Misty Town was still famous because of its food, one of the best in all the dark lands.
“A city with a mystery, charming.”
He could not wait to reach that place. These elves were somewhat weak, so their information was limited, yet still useful for someone like Arthur, who had zero knowledge about the area. Now, inside a town, things were different. It was easier to get information from merchants and other adventurers.
On their way there, a few beasts attacked them, but all of them were pretty weak, and Arthur’s group managed to end their lives without a problem. He also helped a few times but only showcased a few of his abilities, mainly using melee combat, not his powerful spells.
After 8 hours, a slight delay considering the fights they had to win, they finally reached Misty Town. Just like the name suggested, the mist around the area was dense, and one could barely see more than a few steps ahead.
It gave the town a creepy aspect, coupled with the buildings mainly made of black wood; everything looked like a town straight out of a horror show.
They went inside, and Arthur could not help but notice how almost everyone used black cloaks to avoid being recognized.
“A lot of people here are criminals, so everyone uses black cloaks, even if you are not one. Here, take it!” Vamir said as he gave Arthur a black cloak as well.
The four put on their black cloaks and entered Misty Town, a dangerous and mysterious place. Vamir and his group had a few pelts from the beasts they hunted, so they parted ways with Arthur, saying they would go there to sell them.
“There is an inn called Witch’s Hut. We will all meet there tonight.”
“All right, take care,” Arthur said.
Arthur was now alone to do his things. He gazed at the quiet town, seeing a few creatures from races he had never seen before, and wondered what would his next step be.