[...]
Dragomir hated himself for agreeing to participate in this mission. But the offer was too good to refuse.
Raizicher led the trio, who were traversing a cluster of asteroids.
The area where they were walking was an extension of the magical dome that protected the city and the mines.
They had already moved away from the asteroid where the city was located.
These asteroids were inhabited by magical creatures that were born and lived in the vacuum of outer space. Life forms that varied between organic and energetic.
But besides them, some monsters and magical beasts developed their own ways of traveling between planets.
Such as the monsters that the group could see in the distance, the slimes.
Gelatinous life forms without brains. They moved through the vacuum of space by contracting their bodies and then propelling them in the direction they wanted to go.
These monsters were taken into space for various reasons. But regardless of them, they adapted very well to this environment. It's even rare to see slimes on planets nowadays.
Many other types of monsters were taken off their planets: wyverns, banshees, Alicantos, mermaids and their variants, plus other beings similar to those mentioned. They were taken by or followed humans and members of other races off the planet.
Besides these animalistic and ghostly beasts, there are also more developed monsters such as: goblins, orcs, Banderhobbs, and liches. These mentioned imitated, appropriated, and even drew inspiration from the magical technology that allows travel between planets, and now they travel through space like any other sentient race.
So the void between planets wasn't so empty anymore.
"Following what my grandmother said, the location of the unknown object's fall is in this direction." Raiziquer led the group, walking ahead of the other two.
Those who didn't share the same disposition as their self-proclaimed "leader" remained in the rearguard.
"Your grandmother wasn't lying, I can already feel the magical energy from here. I don't think it's something simple to solve." The group's mage already spotted her target in the distance, with her sharp, methodical eyes.
"It really isn't. That's why my grandmother advised me to ask Dragomir and Mr. Werm for help." Raiziquer replied to his aunt, and for the first time he seemed anxious.
His grandmother usually asked him not to bother Dragomir to participate in his missions. And she also always told him to keep the old, gossipy Werm away from the serious and important affairs of the city.
But since she had disregarded those two things, it was obvious that the problem was beyond what he was used to dealing with.
His grandmother wouldn't advise him to recruit those two for just anything.
This made the archer uneasy, but it didn't undermine his confidence. He was accompanied by Tia and Dragomir; together they would be able to handle any problem.
"The bridge." Dragomir speaks without explanation, which confuses the other two for a moment, as he refused to say anything more.
But after two seconds, they understand the message Dragomir wanted to convey.
The bridge that was the path to the next asteroid was destroyed, its entire structure shattered, leaving only the supporting pillars. This wasn't an uncommon occurrence.
Monsters and objects floating in the vacuum frequently destroyed that rarely visited bridge.
But this seemed to coincide with the fall of the unknown object, in a suspicious way.
"Well, no problem, that wouldn't stop us anyway." The jewels on Raiziquer's two bracelets released an intense light, which merged into one another.
Now that the jewels on his bracelets were connected by a thick thread of green light, he places his hand on the ground. In a few seconds, a self-supporting bridge is created, reuniting the two asteroids and creating a passage for them to continue towards their objective.
"Problem solved," the archer boasts of his deed, which is ignored by the other members of his team, who cross the bridge without glancing at him.
This time Dragomir took the lead. Since they had now entered hostile territory, the most logical thing to do was to put the melee fighter in front.
Dragomir hates having to go on Raiziquer's missions. He always had to fight several creatures at the same time.
And fighting monsters was a nuisance. Especially since Dragomir was used to human opponents.
But Raiziquer always insisted that Dragomir participate in his missions.
"What was the name?..."
Tia questioned herself quietly, but her companions heard her thoughts spoken "out loud."
"Hey Tia, what are you muttering about?" the archer asked awkwardly; the mage had a habit of daydreaming in the middle of missions, but this seemed to be something important.
"Nothing, I just forgot the name of the monsters that use the tactic of ambushing bridges," Tia said, as if commenting on the weather.
"There are monsters with that tactic?" Dragomir raised an eyebrow; this description seemed somewhat familiar.
"Yes. I've heard of monsters that destroy bridges and set up ambushes on both sides. They destroy them when no one is crossing, and when people, going about their routines, pass by, they attack."
The two boys in the group stopped in their tracks, staring at the girl's face, who seemed not to have understood what her ramblings were implying.
"Damn it, Tia!" Dragomir shouted harshly, showing his anger.
But beyond that, he drew his sword, ready to fight anything that might appear.
"Calm down, first we have to see if that's really the situation!" Raiziquer said, asserting himself as the leader of the group.
"That's our situation," Tia states without showing any change in her mood, "I felt their energy hiding among the rocks to corner us. But since Raiziquer built a bridge, they'll probably try to knock us down into the void and kill us with arrows, and then fish out our belongings and our flesh."
The mage speaks with an expression indifferent to the concern of her two companions, who were euphoric at the redhead's suggestion.
"Raiziquer, we need to prepare!" "There's no way to know where the attack will come from," Dragomir warns, already getting into a fighting stance.
Raizicer quickly recovers. The lights emanating from the jewels on his bracelets unite once more.
He draws his bow. Holding the weapon with his left hand and pulling the string with his right, the light from the bracelets aligns with the weapon and gradually takes the form of an arrow.
Tia gets into position; a magic book emerges from a bag hanging from her waist, floating in front of the mage, ready for action. It was white with a 3D drawing of a unicorn.
The three were paying close attention to everything around them.
"Tia, can you spot them?" The redhead shakes her head negatively. She looked around the scene, trying to locate her opponents.
"No, I can't see anything." "I don't have that great aptitude for location," she stated as she scanned her surroundings with her magical senses.
Silence filled the air; they were on high alert for any movement around them.
Dragomir tried to identify anything out of place, or that seemed even slightly strange.
Raizicher used his vision, trained by years of experience with his bow, to examine the surfaces of the two asteroids.
But nothing happened; nothing was moving or hidden around the three young people. The silence increased the group's anxiety; an attack in this position would be deadly.
The bridge the archer had erected was sturdy and strong. It could support the weight of at least three elephants.
But the self-supporting bridge is a structure easily undone.
So any attack could send the three of them falling out of the magical dome straight into the cold, deadly void below.
Therefore, it's no exaggeration to say that the three could die if they weren't careful. That's why they were so worried about a surprise attack.
But the lack of any action... It left them uncertain about their current situation, and it was even worse than if an attack actually happened.
"Yeah, I guess I was wrong, nothing's happening. I probably made a mistake." The two looked at the sorceress in disbelief at what she had just said.