Eritance - Chapter 49

I decided that the best time to set out for the mission would be that night. The Drow were experts in using the shadows to hide in, but they weren’t the only ones that had been trained in stealth. I figured, it would be easier to battle them in the dark than it would be to battle them from the light in the dark. If I had to constantly move between the light and the shadows, it would make it difficult for me to keep my senses about me.

At least at night, I wouldn’t have to worry about switching between the bright light of the sun and the darkness of the shadows. I had heard that the Drow had taken control of an above ground structure. It was strange to me, because I had heard that they typically lived underground, deep in the under dark. However, these ones had made an old ruined castle their base.

I tried not to have a prejudice though. Even though the Drow had kidnapped the merchant Orkin, they weren’t always evil. I had even studied in one of my classes that the Drow had a splinter group that wanted to return to the surface and live peacefully.

Perhaps they were trying to make that dream a reality now. Regardless of their motives, I needed to be cautious and complete the mission as quickly as possible. I heard that the ruined castle was around a week’s journey away from where the academy was.

It was located near an oasis in the northern desert. I had never been to the desert before, but I had heard water was limited and that the heat was scorching. I wasn’t too worried about it though. With my speed and stamina, I would be able to make the journey faster than the average person could. Outrunning a horse was like a slow jog to me now.

I was quite confident that I could make the trip in three days. I packed camping supplies and some other dried meats and fruits to last me during my trip.

I felt excitement building up in my stomach. I couldn’t help but smile as I set out to do my mission. Everything that I wanted was slowly coming to me, I wasn’t there yet, and there were definitely many people that were more powerful than I, but I had been making wonderful progress.

I quickly sped off into the direction of the northern desert. If any normal person were to catch a glimpse of me, I would appear, almost as a blur to them. That’s how fast I could move now. Running so fast gave me a strong sense of exhilaration, feeling the wind whipping through my hair. It was quite refreshing.

After traveling like this for one day I had finally left the forest and entered the desert. I decided to camp right on the edge of the desert for the day before I would set out again. I was only traveling during the nights so that I could fight the Drow as soon as I arrived.

As the sun rose, I looked at the vast desert. It was a beautiful sight to behold. The orange glow coming up over a sea of yellow and red. Strange plants dotted the horizon. They were green and resembled men with their arms pointed upwards. These strange plants were also covered in little needles. I had heard about them in my botany class.

In a pinch, they could be used as a source of water. I spent some time watching the desert in wonder before setting up my camp. I set a few traps around my camp site and enhanced some of the alarms with a magic spell I had learned.

This way, I would be able to rest in peace, without being snuck up on. I rested without incidence and set back out through the desert. When I first got going, I could feel the heat of the sand. It was intense! I definitely did not want to spend too much time here during the day.

I sped through the desert for the next two days, being baked in the sun. I had to use a special cooling spell that I had learned just to survive sleeping during the day. All of this was very taxing on my limited magic power. However, it was necessary for me so that I wouldn’t die of heatstroke.

After moving for two more days and nights I had finally found the ruined castle. It was time to enact the rescue mission. I kept my distance from the castle and circled about it to get an idea of their defenses. They seemed to have four drow stationed along every wall, and extra draw nearby the parts of the walls that had been crumbling. It seemed like they were also trying to magically repair the castle.

I found a section that only had one drow guarding. I activated a stealth magic spell that I learned and combined it with the basic stealth techniques I had learned and mastered months ago. This allowed me to slowly creep up to the wall beside him without him noticing.

I quickly took out a dagger and slit his throat before he could make a sound. He gave a short grunt and then fell. I caught him and gently lowered him to the ground before moving on.

I was now inside the castle walls. I wasn’t sure where the merchant Orkin would be, but I decided to try and get into the main complex to see if there was a dungeon that he was being held in. The security inside wasn’t as detailed as the security outside. They probably never thought anyone could get past Drow elves.

Truly, not many would decide to attack during the night and actually succeed in infiltrating a drow base. After moving into the main part of the ruined castle, I quickly move down the halls. It didn’t take long to find a pathway leading into the underground dungeon.