"All you have to do is imagine the heat and the direction of the fire that you want to project. So just aim your hand at the target and the rest will happen." Hedon urged as he and Shyla were looking at a small pack of Deer that were gracefully drinking water at a near by spring.
"Okay." She mused as she went along with his instructions. 'Okay, I don't want to disappoint Zephie so I'll just make it as big as possible.'
*Boom*
A huge wave of inferno was shot at the deer which not only brought their life to an end but also did collateral damage to their surroundings. The spring was completely dried in the wave and a forest fire sprung up.
*Snap*
With a snap, he was able to prevent the fire from getting way out of hand and revert the damages she had done to the environment however the deer family remained dead. "Wow! I can't believe that I was able to do that!" She mused with excitement, completely forgetting the damage she had caused.
"That was impressive however you don't need to make it so big given that there will be situations that require smaller attacks." He glanced upwards and spotted a flock of birds that were startled with the attack.
Pointing his finger, multiple thin strands of heat shot out as they arched and curved avoiding the foliage in the way and...
"Caw!" The sounds of their death could be heard as they fell to the ground. "See, but something like that takes time and practice." He demonstrated to which she showed interest all the way through.
She tried to the same however her beams only went in a straight line rather than curving not to mention they were much thicker than his which started another fire.
Manipulating the water that was present, he was able to extinguish the fire easily. "Woah! You can use multiple elements!" He brushed off her comment down playing it as experience. "Speaking of elements, why did you choose fire?"
She momentarily fell silent before giving out her answer. "Because my mom worked at a glass refining shop and she had fire as her element. Same thing with my dad." Hedon noted as he stretched his hands showing his fatigue of moving his arms around.
He knelt down to her level as he manifested a small pendant and handed it to her. "Shyla, you have a pure heart and for that, I gift you this." A dark pendant with a sharp piercing red ruby was put around her neck.
"With this, I can always find you if you ever find yourself in a problem. It should also protect you in case of danger." She admired the craftsmanship, praising him for such a trophy. "Thanks a lot Zephie. I'll make a gift for you as well."
"You really don't have to but I appreciate it." He retorted as the two made their way to the deer family. The smell of their sizzling carcasses could be smelt from afar and with it acted as their lunch as they hopped back onto the carriage and went on with their journey.
*Five days Later*
"Look! I did it!" Shyla exclaimed with joy as a boulder ten times her size was reduced to nothing but gravel. Marks of fire could be seen all over it, a technique that was possible if she had diced it with smaller beams.
She reenacted the same to a tree that wasn't that far away and similar to the boulder, it was cut down to pieces. "That's impressive Shyla. You'll become a renowned hunter in a matter of months."
Hedon urged as he watched it all from his cart. So far, he had been training her to hone her skills as they kept on making their way towards the nearest town. As she sat next to her, he ruffled her short hair to which she didn't mind and the two started making their way.
"We have another town coming up in a couple of miles away." He mused as the two peacefully made their way through the dense forest which was slowly coming to an end and the vast empty fields could be seen stretch out far.
"Uh... Zephie, can you- uhh..." Hedon glanced at the little girl as he knew what was on her mind. "Don't worry I won't eat any children or any other humans again. I was just hungry the moment I came to Pinevale was all."
"Really? Thank you Zephie." Her temperament shook up for the better as he glanced at the road right in front of them before glancing at a distance. "I can sense a settlement not that far from where we're going but it's not the town but a bandit camp."
"Can we make a stop there and kill them?" The little girl mused. "If you want that is then yeah. I'm sure that we'll be doing the town a favor by doing so." He mused as he increased the speed of the horses and after a couple of hours, the vast fields were replaced with a rough and rocky terrain.
The altitude was slowly rising as snow could be seen from afar but they had yet to make the distance to get there. The green foliage rose once more however instead of the usual green carpet of trees, they were now spread out much farther and with shrubs popping up once in a while.
The two diverted off the main road and went down a beaten path before the road became way too unwelcoming for them to keep on going with the cart. Hedon cast a barrier down to shield the horses and the two made their way through the barren forest.
Shyla could tell that it was getting colder however thanks to Hedon, she was crafted a more comfortable and warm coat thus the image of the two could be seen walk down the path. "I'll go ahead and scout." Without warning, the little girl darted off to which Hedon measly watched it happen.
"Just stay out of trouble." He advised her. "Of course I will."
*Boom*
Her figure flashed out of her sight and delved deeper into the forest. The farther she went, the more rocky it became and thanks to her skill, she was able to clear most of it out of her way. Glancing around, she was able to tell that a party was recently there.
The size wasn't distinguishable but with the trees that were present, it was clear that it was humans as most beasts wouldn't be found at such cold places unless they were modified for it.
Slowing down her pace, she walked down a road that she came across and before she knew it...
"Hump!"
A subconscious shock was stemmed from the fact that her figure was suspended above the ground and shortly after, some few individuals came out of hiding. "Wait! It's a child!" Sirena commented at Shyla's sight.
"Maybe she's sent by one of the guilds at the district to- Ahhh!" Baylor was about to make a remark was hit in the head. "What do you mean sent?! It's a fucking child for crying out loud! But she could be accompanied by another party. Starla, check and see whether there are any other people heading this way."
Ryden, their leader ordered to which Starla tapped her staff onto the ground, closing her eyes for a bit before opening them again. "I can't sense anyone." Ryden gave a light sigh. "Regardless, we just can't leave her here. It would be better to take her back to Amaris."
Sirena made her way to Shyla whose vision was in constant motion as her hands were cuffed with a strange rope and she was let down. Upright once more, the party started making their way back to their hide out.
"Do you have any idea as to what you're in kid?" Baylor teased to which Ryden intervened. "Look, ignore my friend over here. What is your name, little girl?" Shyla watched the entire scene unfold as her little mind was already making a plan.
'If Zephie can track me down with the pendant, then he should be able to find me in their location and then we can kill the entire bandit group all together.' Smug with her plan, she was absent to what was going on around her.
"What's your name you little shit?!" A commanding and authoritative sound came from Ryden. "My, my name is Shyla. Where are we going?" She posed hoping that her hunch was right.
"Don't worry, we're taking you somewhere extremely safe. By the way, did you come alone all the way here or did you come with someone else?" Ryden pressed on with his questions. "I came here alone."
Her voice timid and shy however Starla didn't have a good feeling about her as she approached Ryden. "What if she's a mercenary sent in disguise? The chances of a kid wandering all the way out here are low if not none."
Ryden also after a bit of thought ordered them to stop. He crouched down to her level as he faced her head on. "Do you have anything on you? Like an artifact or something like that?" Shyla looked perplexed at him. "Artifact? I- What does it look like?"
Realizing that it would be better to do the search himself, he probed her body using mana to which he found a strange pendant hanging around her neck. A mere glance at he could already tell that it wasn't something so simple.
As he tried to grab it out of her body, a sharp fiery sting ran through his palm as he let out a painful shriek. "Argghh!!!" He glanced at his hand to see that it was halfway burnt through beneath his heavy coat.
The sight of sizzling flesh could be heard to which Starla made her way over to him and tried to heal him however nothing worked. Be it potions or mana, they all failed which ran the risk of making his hand completely pointless.
It was equivalent to a withered shrimp as the veins and blisters could be seen making it a hideous sight to look at. Any form of movement that he tried with the arm only resulted with immense physical pain as more shrieks followed.
"Take that thing off you and throw it onto the ground!" Sirena ordered her to which she failed to adhere. "This was a gift given to me by a friend of mine and he promised me that I would never take it off."
She mused innocently as she clutched and toyed with it in her hands, as if showing off to Ryden. "Fuck it, let's just kill her!" Baylor mused as he readied an attack however he was stopped by Starla. "What if that triggers a signal to the other party?! It would be better to leave her here."
Baylor lowered his hands to which Shyla kept on going. "Wait a minute, before I continue. I have to ask. Are you the bandits of this place?" The party of four glanced at her with Sirena taking the initiative.
"No, were just some villagers from an isolated camp not far from here." Shyla seemed interested with what they had going on. "Can I come?" Her tone eager as her demeanor perked up.
"I'm sorry but we don't take in strangers but we really do need to start going. See you later little girl." She finished off however before they could make another move, another voice reigned through the air.
"So you found them." And in an instant, the source stood right next to Shyla who was visibly taken aback. "Wait, you lied to me?" Her tone filled with disbelief however the four of them paused as they saw Hedon.
A demon which seemed human had it not been for one core factor, the black horn on his left side temple. They were even more shocked that he was accompanied by the little girl that was right in front of them.
"Do it." Ryden shouted and in a fraction of a second, their figures were cloaked with an invisible cloak and vanished from the scene. "I can't believe that they're gone, Zephie."
Her mood down. "Don't worry, I can already tell where they are." He mused as he glanced at the range of mountains presented to them.