Blaze: The Hero

Chapter 12

*THIRD PERSON's POV*

It took another two hours before Blaze's group finally reached an open space where the train station is located, and their arrival is just on time for the sun to rise, which gave them an advantage in their surroundings. Upon their arrival, the five of them quickly sensed something weird in the train station, and somehow they could not even explain the sensation that the place is giving them.

"Sir, may I say something?" Henson suddenly spoke to Blaze which caught the attention of Blaze and the ladies with them.

"What is it?" Blaze asked without looking back at Henson.

"Is it just me or this place is just creepy?" Henson asked as he felt a cold shiver run down his spine while he's looking around the area as well.

"Yes, I agree with him, Sir," Scarlette whispered as well as she tightened her grip on the hem of her clothes. Blaze looked down at her and noticed her restless expression as she checked the area.

Well, I can't blame them if they feel that way since they're right. This place is giving me a negative feeling. Tch! Blaze thought to himself as he also looked around.

"Don't let your guard down," Blaze spoke sternly and the rest of his group simply nodded their heads and readied their weapons even though they are also having some cold sweats. Zoleta grabbed her rifle and hold it firmly while scanning the area. Henson also looked around the area while listening properly to sudden sounds that were surrounding them. While Havie is also holding on to her crossbow while she's making sure that the cart where their bags is safe.

"There's no one here," Havie said while looking at the direction of the ticketing booth.

"The more reason we should be on alert," Blaze replied to her and Havie just nodded her head at him as she hold her crossbow firmly.

Blaze and the others kept looking around the station but they did not see a single person in the area and there are no demons as well, which is a good thing for Blaze, but he still could not take the bad feeling that he has been feeling ever since they stepped in the train station.

"Maybe we could take a rest here?" Scarlette suggested but Blaze quickly shook his head in disagreement.

"I don't think this is the best place to rest," Blaze replied to Scarlette without even looking at her.

"Let's keep going," Blaze called the attention of the other three who are following behind him before he started maneuvering his horse to cross the train station and enter another side of the forest.

This forest is a vast one which means it might take us another half a day or an exactly one day before we reach this woman's village. Blaze thought to himself and took a glance at Scarlette.

"Ah, yes," Zoleta answered and she followed Blaze. However, before her horse can take more than three steps, she noticed something painted on the wall of the ticket booth. She stopped her horse and stared at the wall where she saw the paint with her furrowed forehead.

"Is everything alright?" Havie asked Zoleta when she noticed that her friend has stopped following them, and with Havie's words, Blaze overheard them and pulled his horse to a halt before turning around and looked at Zoleta.

"What is going on back there?" Blaze questioned while creasing his forehead.

"Zoleta? Is there something wrong?" Scarlette asked as well and followed Zoleta's eyes towards the wall where she has been staring at.

"Huh? Oh, uhm nothing. I just thought that~ Uhm, nevermind. We should go now," Zoleta replied to the questions that were thrown at her and started to maneuver her horse to walk towards Blaze and Scarlette.

Before Zoleta's horse could start walking, Blaze also noticed that the woman has been staring at the wall so he secretly checked what she was staring at, and as soon as he saw the paint on the wall his eyes widened a little bit, but he immediately brushed it off his face and went back to his uninterested look.

Should I check it out? Blaze thought to himself while staring at the paint on the wall.

That is not blood, right? It is a color of red, but that seems to be too light to be the color of blood. Blaze thought to himself again. Then, he looked at Zoleta who is already behind them, and he noticed that she looks like she is bothered by the paint that she saw as well. Blaze wanted to ask her about the paint, but a prickling pain in his back made him realize that they should start moving now so they can find the tree of life as soon as possible.

Blaze took a deep breath in order to endure the pain from the wound he got on his back, and Scarlette noticed it so she looked up to look at him.

"Are you alright? Does your wound hurt?" Scarlette asked in a worried tone, but Blaze did not even look at her or even say a word to her, so she simply sat straight and closed her eyes. Then, Scarlette started praying to the Gods and Goddesses.

Oh, dear God Asclepius, please bless Sir Blaze with your healing powers that he may live longer until he reached the tree of life. Scarlette prayed in silence, and after that, she opened her eyes and noticed that they have already entered the other side of the forest.

As soon as their horses stepped on the other side of the forest, they suddenly felt the urge to quickly get as far away as soon as possible from the train station, so Blaze increased his horse's speed, and the rest of his group followed behind him.

Eighteen hours have passed by and the five of them kept riding without stopping by to rest. However, since they are also physically exhausted for not having enough rest at the lodging place, tiredness is slowly taking over their bodies, including Blaze.

"Sir! Maybe we should rest for a bit! The horses are tired and hungry already," Henson loudly spoke to Blaze so he could hear him properly.

Blaze nodded his head at what the man said and slowed down his horse, which the others also followed. Zoleta took a deep sigh of relief as they finally slowed down.

We're finally going to rest. Zoleta thought to herself as she looked around the area, but all she could see are big trees and green plants around them.

"Let's look for a more suitable place to rest in this forest," Blaze said as he looked around for an open area where the five of them can set up a camp for the night.

"Yes, Si~Wait! Do you hear that?" Zoleta said and started looking around the forest as she heard a gushing sound.

"Huh? Is that...a river? There's a river nearby?" Havie asked as she heard the same sound that her best friend heard.

"Seriously!? Come on! Let's check it out!" Henson said while smiling and looking at his groupmates.

"Follow the sound of the stream," Blaze commanded and the five of them followed the sound that Zoleta heard.

"I hope it is clean enough for us to drink," Henson whispered as he looked around him.

"Eh? Why? Don't tell me you already consumed all of your drinking water?" Zoleta asked her cousin.

"Of course not. I'm just saying that if the water is clean enough to be consumed, then we will be able to refill the empty water bottles we have in that cart," Henson replied to Zoleta.

"Ahh. Now that you mentioned it, you're right. In that way, we can still save some money and the other water stocks we have left," Zoleta answered to her cousin who simply nodded his head at her as if saying 'you got it right.'

Blaze remained silent as they kept following the sound of water that's flowing nearby while he's also keeping his guard up by sharpening his senses in the quiet forest.

"Oh! There it is!" Zoleta suddenly said out loud while pointing at the small, narrow river that is hiding behind some waist-length grass.

"Tsk! Stop shouting, will you!?" Blaze hissed at Zoleta who immediately covered her mouth with her hands as she realized what she had just done.

Oh, no. I have to control this mouth of mine or else I might attract another demon nearby. Zoleta thought to herself as she nodded her head at Blaze who simply clicked his tongue inside his mouth.

"Check the surrounding area first before you stepped into the river," Blaze said in an authoritative tone of voice, and Zoleta quickly nodded her head before she gently stepped down from her horse and carried her gun with both hands as she slowly approached the tall grasses that were covering the view towards the river. When she reached the grasses she silently hide in the grass and looked around the river, while her other group members are just waiting for her to finish checking the area.

After thoroughly checking every area around the river, Zoleta motioned her hand towards the people behind her, and when they noticed her hand signals, Zoleta opened her mouth and spoke in a voiceless way.

"It's alright. No one is here," Zoleta mouthed.

"Let's go," Blaze said and followed Zoleta while still riding his horse.

"We can finally take a bath," Scarlette muttered with a sweet smile on her lips while looking at the crystal clear waters of the river. Blaze heard her words but he did not care at all, but when he realized what the woman just said, he instantly remembered what happened to him and the woman sitting in front of him that night.

Tsk! Blaze hissed in his mind as he shook his head in order to shake the thought out of his head.

I'm here to look for that d*mn tree! Not to remember useless things like that. Blaze thought to himself, and observed their surroundings. While looking around the area, he noticed a space near the river where short green grasses are growing and the space is big enough to be a campsite.

"Let's rest here for the night. We'll continue traveling at dawn," Blaze spoke in a stern voice and the four people with him simply nodded their heads at him. Then, Blaze stepped down from his horse and started walking towards the forest, but Scarlette suddenly called his attention.

"S-Sir Blaze!" As soon as Blaze heard Scarlette's voice his body automatically stopped in his tracks and turned around to face the woman.

"What?" Blaze inquired in a cold tone of voice.

"U-Uhm, c-can you please h-help me get down? I-I don't know how," Scarlette bashfully asked a favor to Blaze with her cheeks blushing pink. Blaze stared at her in disbelief for a minute before he took a deep breath, expressing his disappointment at the woman, but Scarlette did not notice it since she was too busy talking to herself in her mind.

Ahh! This is so embarrassing! If only I know how to properly ride a horse, then I will never ask for his help. Scarlette thought to herself and bit her lower lip.

"Hurry up," Scarlette suddenly heard Blaze's cold voice and when she looked at the left side of the horse, she saw Blaze reaching out his hands as if waiting to catch her. And so, Scarlette took a deep breath before jumping her way down towards Blaze's hands. As she jumped down, she just stared at Blaze's eyes in order to avoid feeling scared. And right after her feet touched the ground, Blaze quickly let go of her and turned his back at her.

"T-Thank you," Scarlette thanked Blaze but he did not even say anything to her in return nor look back to face her. Blaze saw Havie standing on a flat rock and approached her.

"You. Do you know how to catch fish using that?" Blaze coldly asked Havie who is scanning her eyes around the river. When Havie heard Blaze's voice, she immediately turned to face him, but she didn't say anything to him, she just stared at him for a minute before answering his question with a single nod.

"Good. You collect some fishes for a meal," Blaze commanded to Havie.

"But it's dark already," Havie replied in a short way towards Blaze.

Oh, that's right. I wonder what time it is now. It's still dark and the moon is still out. Blaze thought as he saw the reflection of the moon in the water from the stream.

"Tsk! Then, ask one of those two to give you some light," Blaze said to Havie while motioning his head towards Zoleta and Henson before he began walking towards the trees nearby and started picking up some old branches that he will use to make a bonfire.

"Let me help," Scarlette approached Havie who is still standing on the same place where she stood when Blaze approached her earlier.

"Do you have some light?" Havie asked while looking at Scarlette.

"Uhh, well, you can say that," Scarlette answered with a smile on her lips.

"Alright," Havie said and the two of them started walking in the middle of the stream. Then, Scarlette took a deep breath before she started chanting a spell in the language that only halflings could understand.

"Lux Mea Est Dux," Scarlette uttered and in that instant her hands glowed in a yellow - golden light. The sudden light caught the attention of Havie who is preparing her crossbow to shoot, Zoleta who is sitting on top of a big flat rock while dipping her feet in the cold water, and Henson who is standing guard near the river.

"Here, we have a light now. Is this enough?" Scarlette asked Havie with a smile on her lips, and the latter simply nodded her head after she snapped out of her mesmerization at Scarlette's glowing hands.

"Ah, yes, that is enough," Havie replied and focused herself on targeting the fishes swimming in the stream. Havie raised her crossbow and skillfully aimed at the water where the fishes kept swimming through. And after a few seconds, she pulled the trigger of her crossbow, and her arrow that is made of steel finally landed a hit.

"Wow, you're a skilled crossbow woman," Scarlette complimented Havie as she watched the woman picked up her first catch.

"And you're too innocent to be out here," Havie whispered but Scarlette did not hear her at all.

"Here, you hold it while I catch a few more," Havie spoke again and handed over the arrow with a skewered fish on it.

"Oh, uhm, okay," Scarlette said and took the arrow from Havie's hand, Scarlette also made sure that the light from her hands are not covered by the captured fish so she used her left hand to hold their catches and her right hand as a light for Havie until she finished catching some fishes that will serve as their meal.

"I think that's good enough for all of us," Havie said and Scarlette also nodded her head at her as an agreement while staring at her left hand that is holding the ten arrows with one fish on each arrow.

"Let's go back there," Havie spoke again and started walking towards the area where Blaze started the bonfire.

"Do you need some help in cooking those?" Zoleta approached Havie and Scarlette who just stepped out of the stream.

"Yes. Here, you cook these," Havie said to her best friend and gave Zoleta half of her catches. Zoleta simply nodded her head and accepted the five arrows from Havie and the two of them head towards the fire in the middle of their simple campsite. While Zoleta and Havie are busy cooking the fishes that Havie caught, Scarlette noticed Henson sitting on the same big and flat rock that Zoleta was sitting on earlier.

"Hey," Scarlette greeted the man which snapped him out of his thoughts, and when he turned around, he saw Scarlette smiling at her.

"Would you mind if I sit here?" Scarlette asked and pointed at the remaining space on the rock.

"Huh? Oh, no, not at all," Henson answered to Scarlette and cleaned the area where Scarlette will be sitting with his left hand. After that, Scarlette took her seat and looked up to the sky where she can barely see the moon since it is covered by a cloud. Then, from her peripheral vision, she noticed that Henson became silent again while staring at the sky with his deep brown eyes.

"Are you alright?" Scarlette asked Henson.

"Hmm, I just thought that we just started our journey with Sir Blaze, and yet so many things have happened already, so I was just wondering what will happen to us as we continue in this journey," Henson answered to Scarlette.

"Why? Do you regret coming here?" Scarlette questioned again.

"Of course not. It has always been my dream to wipe out these d*mn demons, and doing that with the prophesied hero? I couldn't ask for a more satisfying mission," Henson replied with a smile on his lips before he faced Scarlette.

"How about you Miss Scarlette, do you regret coming here and joining Sir Blaze's mission?" Henson asked Scarlette as well, and the woman immediately shook her head as an answer.

"I don't and I never will. Besides, I have to take responsibility for what happened to Sir Blaze because of me," Scarlette answered with a smile on her lips as well.

"Take responsibility? What do you mean? Do you have some unpaid debts to Sir Blaze?" Henson inquired which made Scarlette giggle.

"Haha, no, it's not a debt. I simply owe him my gratitude," Scarlette replied and looked at where Blaze is standing while looking up at the moon that has been revealed from behind the cloud.

"I see. So is that also the reason why you have been using your power on him?" Henson asked seriously at Scarlette, which caught the full attention of the woman.

"Huh? Why? Is there something wrong with using my power to him?" Scarlette raised a question as well.

"Huh? Oh, no, I don't mean anything else when I asked that," Henson said while waving his hands in front of his chest.

"It's just that, I heard a story about the halflings from my deceased grandmother," Henson spoke which made Scarlette curious.

"A story?" Scarlette inquired while slightly tilting her head to the left and with her eyebrows creasing in curiosity.

"Yes, though I am not certain if it's true or not," Henson answered and scratched the back of his neck.

"Well, you can tell me if you want," Scarlette said to Henson with a smile on her lips, and the man nodded his head at him.

"It was a story about the halflings having the pow~"

Henson's words were cut off when they suddenly heard a rustling noise from the forest, so they immediately stood up and regrouped to where Blaze, Zoleta, and Havie are standing with their weapons ready.