Taste of Magic: Ambassador's Voice

Melina sat on Sienna's back, carefully looking through the rockpine forest for signs of any cooking ingredients or other valuable materials. Whistlewisps flew all around them, sometimes so close that the wyrm let out an angry snarl to make the birds back away.

Alistair walked right next to wyrm, doubly as vigilant as everyone else. Remi and Illitran also walked close by. Leon however was walking noticeably further away from the group and Barrett stuck with him, just so the mage wouldn't remain too exposed.

"Are you sure you saw feyfruit here?" Melina questioned. Feyfruit shouldn't be hard to find, even in the dark. After all, they had this distinguishing shimmer to them that made them very easy to spot. However, they had been combing through the rockpine forest for about half an hour now, without much result.

"I thought it was in this weird forest, but everything looks completely different at night," Leon said. Melina couldn't fault him. Even a familiar place would look like a completely new world during the Monster Realm night. Yet she had hoped that he'd find a place he'd only seen once.

"I think this was where we went. At least it feels that way…" Barrett said thoughtfully.

"Wait, is that it?" Remi suddenly exclaimed, pointing somewhere in the distance. Melina squinted her eyes and indeed noticed a slight shimmering.

"There certainly is something there," Melina noted. "Let's check it out."

She pointed Sienna toward the direction of the shimmering. The wyrm obeyed and slowly made her way there, lighting a path for everyone. Frankly, Melina didn't know what she'd do if they didn't have Sienna's light. Torches or Leon's fireballs certainly couldn't illuminate such a large area.

As they got closer the shimmering became only more prominent, making Melina certain that it was indeed the feyfruit. Others grew more excited too because this meant that their trip was already a success even if they didn't find anything else.

"Oh, feyfruit growing in the wild! I never thought I'd see the day," Remi said and hurried ahead of the group. However, as she did Sienna let out a warning snarl, smoke billowing from her mouth. Before Melina could call the elf back, Remi suddenly fell to the ground, screaming and flailing her arms.

"Remi!" Melina urged Sienna forward, but the wyrm was already ahead of her. Illitran was right beside them, using his superior speed to keep up.

Thankfully, Remi hadn't disappeared very far and soon was within the range of Sienna's light. She had thick vines wrapped around her legs, pulling her deeper into the darkness while the elf had grabbed onto a thick root from rockpine, preventing herself from being pulled away.

Verdant grasps? I didn't expect to find them in this area. Usually, they grow in swampier and darker places. Perhaps, it's because the nights are long in this part of the Monster Realm, making it easier for them to thrive.

"Cut me loose of these darned plants!" Remi screeched.

"You can't cut these. The only way to get rid of them is by either burning them or feeding them mana," Illitran explained. Melina was really grateful that he had come with them. If he hadn't then she would have no choice but to expose her knowledge and make everyone question her past.

Sienna's mouth began to glow with light as she prepared a fireball, but Melina stopped her. "No, Sienna. You'll burn Remi's leg off."

The wyrm drooped her head in apology and swallowed the fireball. She felt hotter underneath Melina for a moment, before the heat dissipated along her body.

"I believe this is my time to shine," Leon said and strode towards Remi proudly.

"Hurry up, will you? I can't hang here forever!" She berated the mage who did pick up the pace, bending down and touching the thick, black vine. A light glow emanated from his fingertips as he poured some mana into the plants. The vines slowly loosened their grasp and retreated.

"There we go! No problem at all," the mage said proudly, taking a few steps back. As he did, he stepped straight onto another verdant grasp, which promptly coiled itself around his legs. The mage fell down and was dragged some distance away before he freed himself. "I'm alright."

"Be careful where you step, everyone! Stay close to Sienna so you can see the ground," Alistair commanded. Although Leon was reluctant to approach Sienna, Melina reached out her hand and encouraged him to come closer.

"Don't worry. Sienna wouldn't hurt us," she told him with a bright smile, using to strengthen the effect. The mage relaxed a bit and then walked closer to them.

"I honestly never thought that I'd ever go on a mission with a monster by my side," Leon said, awkwardly scratching his head.

"Don't think of Sienna as a monster. Think of her as that little wyrm that provides our bakery with fire," Melina said.

"How can you even call Sienna a monster? Look at how cute she is," Remi gushed although currently the wyrm definitely looked more fierce than cute.

"It must be an elf thing to find that cute," Leon muttered. "But I understand your point. I do hope to be good friends with you, Sienna."

The wyrm looked at the mage and he looked at the wyrm. For a moment, it seemed like the two could come to a sort of understanding, but then Sienna let out a snort and looked away. Melina had thought that she had never really taken it to heart that Leon had encased her in ice.

"It seems that we still have some work ahead of us," Leon said but still walked relatively close to Sienna.

Before long they had made their way to the shimmering they saw before while avoiding any of the pesky verdant grasps. As they had suspected, it was indeed feyfruit. There was a rather sizable grove filled with bushes with delectable-looking fruits.

"Wow, look at all of these! You won't have to worry about running out anytime soon," Remi cheered as she picked the fruits, putting them in a large cloth bag.

Melina took hold of one and activated .

[Feyfruit – Rank S: Magical fruit filled to the brim with mana. Best used in recipes meant to recover mana, however with the right application and intent it can be used to create a wide variety of weaker effects.]

"What will you make with these?" Barrett asked curiously. "Or is it just for Sienna?"

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"Mostly, it's for Sienna," Melina said, wondering whether she should say something more. Her eyes met Alistair's, who was eagerly picking one feyfruit after another, his bag already half full. "Although I was thinking of perhaps incorporating it in tarts."

"Isn't feyfruit toxic?" Illitran asked. His expression and voice were neutral as always, but she could feel that he was a bit suspicious.

"I'll only use the bare minimum amount. Just for a nice effect. Besides I'm not sure whether I should be selling such pastries in the bakery," she pondered.

"You definitely should," Alistair said eagerly. "It'd be a shame for such a wonderful creation to remain hidden."

"Oh, you've tasted something with feyfruit in it already, Captain?" Barrett asked curiously.

"Indeed, I have. I was lucky enough to try one of Melina's experimental tarts."

"Not fair! Captain gets all the good stuff. Melina, you must sell feyfruit pastries in the bakery. You just must! Everybody would surely love to buy them," Remi insisted.

"I wonder if they could actually recover mana," Leon pondered, then paled. "I sure hope they taste better than the… healing pastries."

"I assure you the flavor of those two creations couldn't be any further apart," Alistair said. 𝚏𝕣𝐞𝗲𝐰𝕖𝐛𝐧𝕠𝕧𝚎𝚕.𝐜𝚘𝗺

They continued chatting happily about the possible magical pastries created from feyfruit when Melina felt a cold shiver run through her spine. She turned and peered into the darkness, searching for the tiniest movements. There were whistlewisps flitting from tree to tree and the changing colors of swayshrubs, but aside from that she couldn't find anything else.

Something doesn't feel right, but I can't find anything suspicious.

She looked at Sienna, but the wyrm was eagerly sniffing at feyfruits, salivating like a dog who was about to be given the biggest bone ever. She sighed and returned to the task, but kept glancing over her shoulder from time to time. If there was something that she had learned in the Monster Realm as an [Archmage] it was that your gut feeling was rarely wrong.

"Look at all these feyfruits! We could get rich if we sold them," Leon gushed, looking at the four large bags strapped to Sienna's back.

"They are for Melina, and please stay in formation," Alistair warned. They were walking close to Sienna with Illitran watching the front of the party while Remi watched the back.

"I don't think it's fair that I take them all. They should be split equally," Melina said, although she did want to keep feyfruit for herself. But even if she got even one-tenth of the haul, that would still be enough to last her for a good while. After that, she could come back to the grove to get more.

"Part of it will definitely have to go to the Guild, but I believe the rest should go to Melina. Only she could find a real use for it," Alistair insisted.

"We could sell them, no?" Leon mumbled.

"Really? All you want is money when we could be having the best pastries this world has ever seen. Magical pastries, Leon!" Remi grumbled.

"It certainly sounds nice, but I'd like some reward beyond sweets," the mage complained.

"I really don't mind splitting them equally," Melina said, trying to pacify Alistair who was glaring in Leon's direction.

"It's a shame we didn't find anything else," Barrett said, and Melina nodded in agreement. She looked in the nearest vicinity of the feyfruit grove, as far as Sienna's light allowed it, but couldn't find anything of note.

"It can't be helped. It's too dark," Alistair noted. Silence descended upon their group as they walked back to the passageway. Suddenly Illitran stopped, followed by Remi. Both of them were listening intently, their ears perked.

"Is something wro—" Leon began.

"Shh!" Illitran interrupted. They all stopped. Melina couldn't hear anything, however, Sienna was looking intently somewhere beyond the growth of swayshrubs.

"What do you hear?" Melina asked the wyrm in a whisper. Of course, she didn't expect an answer, rather it was a request for her to share her senses. Sienna opened her bond and Melina closed her eyes to connect. It was much easier to establish the connection thanks to the skill, although much of what Sienna saw and heard still seemed muddled. But it wasn't as muddled as when the wyrm was in her small form.

"I don't understand what that is…" Illitran whispered.

"Neither do I… It's like… weeping?" Remi muttered.

Melina focused on Sienna's hearing, trying to hear the noise. It took a bit of effort as Melina strengthened their bond, but finally she was able to hear it. An odd sort of weeping. Like a little child quietly crying.

"Oh no…" Melina severed the connection as she realized exactly what she heard. "Draw your weapons!"

Alistair reacted first, pulling out his sword and shield and positioning himself in front of Melina. Illitran and Remi reacted next, each getting their weapons ready. The silence around them was so tense, that Melina could almost feel it on her skin. She looked into the darkness, her eyes searching for danger, although she knew all too well that she wouldn't be able to see it.

"What exa—" Leon didn't get to finish his sentence when something leapt at him from the darkness, reaching out something akin to giant mandibles towards the unsuspecting mage. It was hard to tell what it was—there was a sort of shimmering distortion of limbs and insectoid body.

"Sienna, fire!" Melina yelled, and the wyrm launched a fireball straight at the thing. It whizzed a few centimeters above the mage's head and was about to collide with the creature, but it managed to jump back at the last moment revealing the large, bug-like shape for a moment. Then it disappeared into the darkness.

Out of all creatures to encounter it had to be a damned nightstalker. These nasty things are almost impossible to see in the dark without strong light.

"Where did it go?" Remi asked, desperately looking into the darkness.

"Defensive positions, everyone!" Alistair commanded, holding his shield firmly. "Form a circle around Sienna!"

Everyone obeyed, even Leon, who suddenly didn't seem bothered by Sienna's proximity in the slightest. The whole forest had gone eerily quiet, even birdsong disappearing along with the bright lights from whistlewisp tails. Nobody wanted to be spotted by a nightstalker.

Everyone listened for every sound, looking at every little shadow nearby wondering if something would emerge from it. But Melina knew that they would not see the nightstalker until it was too late.

The monster in itself wasn't that powerful. Well, relatively speaking. It was still strong, but in terms of raw power, Sienna was much stronger. However, nightstalkers could take down even stronger prey than themselves thanks to their uncanny ability to move without being seen or heard. Their carapace reflected the world around them, making them nearly impossible to spot while their long thin limbs allowed them to move without making any noise.

In short, they were in deep trouble. Their only hope was to react quickly enough when the nightstalker decided to attack.

"Over here!" Illitran suddenly called out and rushed forward brandishing his sword. It collided with a sharp limb distorted by darkness. Remi released an arrow at the barely visible assailant, but it once again retreated and became invisible.

"What even is that?" Alistair snarled.

"Nightstalker," Illitran replied curtly, focusing his attention on the surrounding noise. There was no way for them to see it, so they could only rely on the keen hearing of their elf companions.

No, it will get one of us sooner or later that way. We need to somehow make it visible. Even a tiny speck of something on its body would be a good giveaway of its location.

An idea popped in Melina's mind. She quickly retrieved one of the feyfruits from the bag on Sienna's back and squashed it, shimmering pulp dripping down her hands.

I just need to somehow get this on the wretched bug.

"What are you—?" Alistair began, but in his moment of distraction, something collided with his shield. He was pushed back by the sudden attack, and for a moment Melina was squashed between Alistair and Sienna. But the wyrm reacted quickly, trying to grab the elusive monster with her sharp teeth.

But with its attack foiled, the nightstalker fell back. It had no reason to fight in the open. Being invisible was its greatest strength and it would use it to its fullest.

"Keep it distracted enough for me to get this on it," Melina said, motioning to the feyfruit.

"No! It's too dangerous!"

"There's no time for arguments! We need to see it," she cut Alistair off. The nightstalker attacked again, this time striking at Barrett. "Grab it!"

The large man obeyed, taking hold of the bug's forelimbs. It wasn't without repercussions, the sharp claws dug into his hand, making him bleed. Melina didn't waste this chance. She ran forward, throwing the mushed-up feyfruit at the monster.