"Greetings, ancient one!" Luceran said with a warm smile and a bow. He took a moment to address the being before him with a tone of respect.
"I am Luceran, the second son of Emperor Theran Kyros, a prince of the Divine Kyros Empire." He spoke with a confident voice but without any hint of arrogance, as if he were just a traveler greeting a wise elder.
"Hmmm… I am Archawood, leader of the Ent race in Verdant Forest. What is the second prince of the Kyros Divine Empire doing in Verdant Forest?" the tree asked, its voice a slow, humming sound.
"Ancient one, my entourage and I are only passing through to reach the ruined city to the west of Verdant Forest," Luceran explained patiently.
"Hmmm… that city," Archawood hummed, as if thinking about something from a long, long time ago.
"Does the elder know anything regarding that ruined city? We could use some information," Luceran asked politely.
"I heard about it millennia ago when I was awake, but then the next thing I heard about it was its destruction. I rarely awaken for the past hundred thousand years, as I have so few guests. That is why I only slumber. So, I don't have any recollection about the city," he explained slowly.
"That is unfortunate," Luceran said with a sigh.
"Then you may continue your journey, young ones." His roots then pierced the ground and rotted away, his branches slowly separated and then turned into normal branches, and his face slowly disappeared. In a while, the giant tree turned 'normal' again.
The crowd stood in awe at what they just witnessed. They couldn't believe that they had just met an ancient race known as the Ent race. Even Ian and Liz, who were merchants with a lot of experience, had never met one, not to mention the soldiers and mages, as their perspective and world were caged in a small city like Ironmarch. They had never traveled far outside of their region.
Luceran then bowed to the giant tree. "Thank you, ancient one, for letting us pass." He then turned to his army. "Continue the journey." He mounted his horse, and the journey continued.
Days passed as they traveled through the Verdant Forest. They had now passed the thick vegetation, and the forest became lighter. The sunlight was able to pierce the forest. They could see a small mountain from afar. Luceran smiled. They were close to the destination.
"In a few days, we will reach the foot of Aldoras Mountain," he said, stopping and addressing the army. "It will take an estimated three days to pass the mountain and reach the ancient city." He explained in a tense and serious voice, "The problem is, Aldoras Mountain is full of mountain wolves and black wind eagles, two territorial beasts that are very aggressive."
He looked at his army, his face grave. "I need all of you to be alert when we walk on the mountain. We'll have to double the watch every night to be safe."
The soldiers' faces became more serious. Beasts are different compared to bandits. They are more ferocious, not to mention that they have the home-ground advantage.
As they were walking on the outskirt of Verdant Forest, deep in the heart of the forest, the greenish ball of light was circling the ancient giant tree. The ball of light was fluctuating non-stop, as if communicating with the giant tree.
An ent-like face materialized on the trunk and stared at the ball of light, "You say that the ruined city is dangerous?" He hummed with his slow and deep voice.
The ball of light kept on flickering and constantly moving, communicating something with the ent, "Hmmm… Then you may take a few spiritas with you to watch over them if what you said is true." The ball of light then sped up and disappeared deep into the forest.
The sound of blades and heavy footsteps could be heard from afar. On the ground, corpses of wolves could be seen. One of the lieutenants cleaved a wolf with his axe.
"Heyah!" Pelz grunted as he managed to swing his axe to cleave a meter-tall wolf. "Hah, I killed the alpha." Pelz happily said with a bloodstain on his face. His smiling face could make children run.
"This is the second wolf pack that we have encountered in half a day of traveling on the mountain." Lieutenant Dred said.
"Take some of the wolf meat for dinner." Borrin ordered the soldiers. As he was helping his soldiers with the cleaning, Luceran stood and cast a 'Lightning Bolt' spell and shot it at a cliff.
CRASH! The boulder on the cliff crumbled, and a pack of wolves could be seen scattering.
"Another one? Three packs of wolves in half a day? Are you serious?" Bork complained.
"We are in their territory. What do you think we will encounter? A group of rabbits? You have heard that Aldoras Mountain's inhabitants are mountain wolves and black wind eagles, so be prepared." Borrin reminded.
"You know, back when I was five years old, there was a story about a wolf king of Aldoras Mountain in my village." Lieutenant Dred suddenly said. The story piqued interest in the people around him, including Luceran.
"The elders said that the wolf king is a white wolf that stands three and a half meters tall." He continued the story.
"What bullshit. If it is true, then no one should have survived to tell the tale." Lieutenant Bork argued.
"True, but the one who survived was a legendary hunter who was well-known thousands of years ago." Dred continued the story.
"Legendary hunter? Could it be… Hunter Quinnas?" Cassandra suddenly said, joining the discussion. Dred nodded.
"Then how could this story be passed down to your little village? Don't tell me that your village has a connection with the legendary hunter?" Bork sneered.
"Elder Quinnas was the chief of our village thousands of years ago." The people were stunned when they heard him, especially Bork, who found it hard to believe.
Quinnas was an anomaly who rose to prominence roughly ten thousand years ago. She reached the Divine Knight realm without any background or inborn physique. To be fair, there were people that also reached the Divine level in the past, but what made Hunter Quinnas special was that she got her 'Hunter' title by hunting Eldritch beings.
She went to the Abyss and hunted thousands of Eldritch beings for many years before she was killed by Eldritch Lords. Many people argued that if she were not that aggressive and did not go to the Abyss alone to hunt, she could have broken through to the Celestial Master realm.