Heavy footsteps on the rocky ground, heavy breathing, and rapid heartbeats are the only sounds the Blindfold squadron's squires can focus on.
It's been three hours since they left camp in search of answers about the Aurora squadron's disappearance. This path is the safest, but the irregular terrain and lack of trails make it the most treacherous.
"Why...did we...choose...this path...really?" Vivelle complained breathlessly.
"This is the best...possible path in the face of danger...that we can find on this mission." Woltur replied as he led the line of squires along the path.
"If you don't want to get more tired, simply focus on your breathing and stop talking." Manila said more rigidly. "Various creatures live in these hills and may be attracted by the sound of our voice, so save your breath."
"You should...save...your efforts." Vivelle tries to make fun of Manila's speech, but it's useless.
Small rocks roll down the hills as they walk, and narrow passages in front of a precipice require concentration and good physical conditioning. The sun punishes with its smoldering heat, and strange sounds from possible creatures can be heard approaching cautiously.
"Manila, stay behind and let us know if anything approaches. Elzen, you will keep watching for any winged creatures. The others stay and be prepared to act." Commanded Woltur in his quiet voice.
A fight on this terrain would be disastrous for the squires, so they speed up their march to reach the observation point. The noise intensifies. One, two, no more than that, maybe six or seven creatures are following in their footsteps. Manila stops and, with her head, orders them to continue on their way. Elzen gestures that he will remain, but they both know she is in better physical condition.
She kneels on the ground with her back to the noises and leans on her Battle Axe. She closes her eyes and concentrates. Breathing heavily and quickly, her left hand grabs the left knee tightly, and the creatures move faster and no longer worry about hiding. A loud, hoarse growl reveals who the creatures are: Bargashees.
Canine creatures have heads similar to those of wild wolves, but their mouths open in three parts, revealing sharp teeth and a long pointed tongue, fur thick but short, bluish eyes that glow in the absence of light, four thin front legs with claws and two thick and muscular rear legs.
Three of them quickly approached Manila. She continues breathing heavily and makes simple gestures as if she wants to get up. The largest of them, in the center, increases its speed and jumps, preparing to bite the neck of its defenseless prey. The moment he jumps, she stands up and spins quickly, delivering a sharp blow to Bargashee's jaws, cutting his head in half.
Before Bargashee's body touches the ground, the other two split in different directions and attack. A quick movement with the leg causes one of the creature's bites to miss by an inch, however, the other creature's four claws hit her back, cutting through the protection of Manila's armor and injuring it.
Unable to complain about the injury, she kicks the Bargashee hard in the stomach, throwing it against a rock, stunning it. The second creature attacks again with its jaws and sinks its teeth into her left thigh. A scream of pain escaped her mouth, but with the creature attached to her body, she brandished the Battle Axe and decapitates it.
Using the handle of the Battle Axe, she opens the mouth of the decapitated head a little, allowing the wound to breathe. The wound bleeds a mixture of her blood and a dark green liquid; the saliva of a Baargashee has a tranquilizing effect, which allows the prey to lose its energy with a simple bite.
With difficulty, she gets up and walks towards the other creature, who is still stunned by the impact against the rock. She prepares to strike, a two-handed sword pierces the creature's skull.
"Manila!" Elzen shouts in a worried tone, quickly approaching to help his squadmate.
"Why did you come back?" Controlling her breathing and a look of pain, she questioned.
"I couldn't leave you alone as bait for these creatures. Woltur agreed with my decision." He offers his hand for her to get up.
"What would happen with the group if we got attacked by other creatures while you stay here? You guys are more tired than I am."
"Yes, we are tired, but we are also soldiers, Manila! You are not alone on this mission!"
"Don't get upset. I don't doubt your ability, but tiredness can turn excellent soldiers into simple moving targets." She holds his hand and stands up, her thigh continues to bleed with the Bargashee's head still stuck in it.
"When we reach the top, we will take a break." He looks at the Bargashee's head. "Do you want my help removing this? Does it hurt a lot?"
"I'll take it out soon, I need first to close my wounds a little so that the head can be removed without any major problems."
"How do you know all this? No offense, but you are a maid at the mansion."
"I always worked alone and even cuts or punctures on my body I had to deal with it without using the mansion's resources, there was a time that I was picking some fruit from a tree, and then I became careless and fell onto a thorn bush, I was left almost two hours removing the thorns and healing myself."
She leans on Elzen's shoulders and walks toward the meeting point.
"Thanks for coming, but remember to take care of yourself."
"I can say the same, Manila. We are part of the same squad."
"Use your left hand to help me remove this head." Together, they pull the Bargashee's head, the bleeding increases a little, but nothing too alarming, and after a few minutes the wound is completely closed."
"Do you know how to use healing spells?" He was surprised how quickly the wound healed.
"No, I just controlled my mana to speed up the healing. I can't do that to other people. It's the same principle, but something more crude."
"It's impressive..." Elzen's gaze is fixed on Manila's left thigh.
"If possible, don't tell anyone and..."
"Don't worry! If this is a secret, I will never talk about it." Elzen interrupts her in a rushed way, which makes a smile appear on her face.
A few minutes of walking was enough to meet up with the others. Everyone was apprehensive and anxious about the outcome. Manila explained that she fought three Bargashees and that Elzen arrived in time to eliminate the last one; when asked about the absence of wounds, she showed a wine-red colored potion.
"This is a medium healing potion. Thanks to Lord Boltu, I bought some before the expedition."
"This potion is expensive; how did a maid get the money for it?" Questioned Vivelle in a bitter and mocking tone.
"Working, something a daughter of nobles will never know what it means." The harsh and aggressive tone in Manilla's voice made Vivelle immediately shut up.
"We are glad you are well." Woltur said, trying to change the mood of the conversation. "We will rest for an hour, then except for Manila and Elzen, everyone else will help me make a temporary camp to eat something before continuing."
"I can help too." Said Manila.
"I can't accept this time, Manila. You and Elzen need to rest a little more since you spent more energy. Trust us to complete this task." Woltur smiles and lightly slaps her on the shoulder.
She gently smiled, accepting Woltur's words. The excessive use of mana caused Manila's body to become more fatigued. Elzen then helped her to sit on a rock close to the group.
"How are you feeling?" Elzen asked as he helped her sit down.
"I'm fine...a little tired, however...nothing more than a good rest to recover."
"Good, we're lucky you didn't get an infection from the Bargashee's saliva."
"My mana is suppressing the infection, so it's taking me a while to recover."
"I have medicine for this kind of problem. Do you want me to get it for you?" He starts looking in his backpack for the medicine. The worried tone in Elzen's voice made Manila smile; she then held his hand gently.
"Thank you, but there's no need. Leave it for a more serious situation. My mana will do the job now." She keeps holding his hand for a few seconds before letting go when he gives up on taking the medicine.
The two remain silent for a while. Elzen sits very close to Manila.
"If you want, you can lay your head on my shoulder and nap while we wait for the others to finish setting up camp."
Tranquility is a concept that was only achieved when she was alone, away from the judgmental looks, from those who talk against her behind her back, from those who pretend to be empathetic, but only seek to feel superior.
It's the first time she feels this serenity when she's close to someone. A few minutes pass, and the camp is ready. Caristo approaches to call them to eat, but Elzen signals him not to make any noise. Surprised he understands the message and whispers.
"I will bring your portion."
"Thank you." Whispered Elzen, who stared at Manila's sleeping face.
Her tanned skin matches perfectly with her black hair; since they started training and being part of the same regiment, he has noticed her features. She is so close that he can feel her breathing. Unlike other days, she seems to be relaxed, this is an unusual occasion that he intends to enjoy every second of.
For half an hour, he let her rest; with a soft voice, he called her.
"Manila, it's time to eat. We only have half an hour before we leave."
Reluctantly, she opens her eyes; the little nap helped her a lot, and when she sees Elzen looking at her, she smiles.
"Thank you. Your shoulder was a great pillow." His cheeks flush a little; they eat their small portion of food together and then meet with the others in the center of the camp.
"Right..." Woltur said with a map in his hands. "It took us longer than I thought, but we reached the desired point. From here, we will walk with the utmost caution. We don't know if this part of the mountain is under the bandits' control, so please be careful.
"What do we do first?" Julienne asked.
"We will follow the existing trails here. When we get close to the point where Aurora probably made a reconnaissance point, we are going to scout the area for survivors and the bandit fortress."
"Are you sure they went there?"
"No, Vivelle. Unfortunately, we are working with assumptions, so be prepared for anything."
"Well, let's break up camp and continue. Remember, you can't be too careful."
The squires silently agree, efficiently break up camp, and continue their mission.