Chapter 15: Chapter 14: [Blank]

An eerie mood had been cast over the forest. The deer rarely spoke instead, speaking in hushed whispers.

Naru hadn’t eaten much, it wasn’t that there was a lack of food, rather the tense mood in the grove killed her appetite fully.

The deer patrols had stopped as of late as well.

Not because they weren’t necessary but because deer were not going missing. A few patrols had not reported back and that made the deer retreat deeper into the grove, away from the edge of the barrier.

Naru didn’t know any of the deer that had gone missing, but it was still shocking that they went missing in the first place. Naturally this was a great cause of concern for the deer.

*thump* *thump* *thump*

Naru sighed.

[It’s still here. ]

There had been a steady banging sound for a while now. Like a drum, it would resound throughout the grove and echo in the sky. Since none of the deer got close to the barrier she could only imagine what was going on.

Something was trying to break in.

This was the main reason for Naru’s anxiety and why she couldn’t eat. Food tasted bitter and the scent of fear hung heavily over the grove.

For a moment Naru heard it stop.

[Thank Celestine] she thought

Then she watched horrified as the barrier fell.

Really it should've been a curious sight. The barrier looked like a shimmering glass across the sky and suddenly *poof* it just disappears.

Naru heard the sound cracking and looked behind her to see the large crystal that fed the mana pond filling with hairline fractures. The light was emitting from the cracks and the crystal started to fall from its levitating position.

As if waiting for the attention of the other deer, the crystal suddenly shattered into light,

There was silence as the deer watched shock and awe.

Naru felt something grab her arms.

“Naru we have to move!” Fern, suddenly whispered into Naru’s ear.

Unlike the other deer in the grove who were petrified, Fern was immediately ready to run.

Naru felt herself being pulled along as she heard the chaos emerging in the grove. The deer were inherently a peaceful race. Although they could fight, they didn’t practice for it, it wasn’t like they had a standing military. The threat of invaders was something they had not planned for

As Naru ran with Fern she heard the sounds of footsteps, excited yelling, and baying of dogs.

“Get them!”

“These gems don’t hunt themselves boys!”

“I’ll buy the drink of who ever finds the biggest one!”

The sound of men and rustling grew ever closer.

Naru’s mother seemed unperturbed and kept running. She was not focused on anything besides getting away. Naru followed closely behind, they had long since turned into their deer form and were fleeing through the forest.

The voice grew louder and suddenly Naru and her mother found themselves face to face with a young boy. The boy had a light smattering of freckles and a mop of brown hair. He was wearing large ill-fitting camouflaged hunting clothes that looked like they were hand me downs.

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The boy couldn’t have been older than 15 to 16 years of age.

He looked at them with curiosity and Naru met his gaze. There was no such malice in the eyes of the boy she was looking at

Naru felt herself transforming into her human form for a moment and the boy took a step back in shock.

“Lox didya see any!” Naru heard.

Suddenly she felt herself being nudged.

[That’s right we need to run!] Naru suddenly panicked the short pause had made her suddenly forget the situation they were in. She transformed back into her deer form and ran with her mother again.

The rest of the conversation flitted into the wind as Naru and her mother ran away, but the sound of pounding footsteps grew closer

[How are they so fast!] Naru thought panicking. A normal deer should outrun a human, this was natural.

Suddenly she felt her mother’s presence grow distant. She looked behind her to see Farn with her back turned towards Naru and facing the hunters head-on. She was in her human form and Naru could see that she was channeling magic in the crystal on her chest..

“Mama!” Naru called out. She already knew what Fern was doing. Sacrificing herself for the sake of Naru.

“Naru. Go.” Fern said firmly with a warm smile on her face.

Fern wasn’t a deer with a particularly high amount of mana. Nor was she a deer that was very strong in general. She wouldn’t be able to last vs hunters.

Suddenly, hunters appeared from the thicket.

Fern cast the magic that was collecting in her chest and the hunters tripped over themselves, their legs bound by creeping vines that Fern had made.

Still, more hunters began to filter out of the thicket, and Fern was becoming overwhelmed.

“GRAHHH!” An earthern wall appeared before Fern and the hunters and a white stag jumped in front of her.

“Whitehorn!” Naru cried out. Whitehorn had found them and was now aiding Fern.

Gouts of flame were shooting from Whitehorn and his body was covered in earthen scale to ward off the arrows that were flying at him, while also making earthen walls all around them to slow down the stream of hunters that were coming through the woods.

For a moment it seemed like Whitehorn was able to push away the hunters who had backed away.

“it’s a big one, look at the size of the crystal on that one!” one of the hunters shouted out. Whitehorn charged forward in his deer form goreing the man in question.

Naru was standing close by and watching the scene her heart filling with confidence.

It was a confidence that didn’t last.

Suddenly a black beam shot out from the tree and pierced Whitehorn's armor. A red rivulet appeared from the wound and Whitehorn staggered.

A figure appeared from the woods. A familiar figure, dressed all in black. The same one that Naru had seen with her mother when they were scouting for plants outside the grove.

The figure seemed to speak although Naru couldn’t see its mouth since it was obscured by its hood. In a deep hissing noise, it spoke.

“Don’t leeeave any aliiiive!”