A Path of Bone and Poison 23 Slagstone City

As I trudged through the forest a strange sense of unease began to fill me. The forest seemed to be in a state of unrest, and I could see battles going on between the Velocinid's and the Rosethorn Constrictors. The fights were rather savage, with either side having an equal chance of coming out victorious. Regardless of who won there was always casualties on the Velocinid's side.

I did not have the time nor energy to watch these small scale battles, and instead hurried past them as I continued towards the city. The constant sneaking past these creatures helped me to level up my sneak skill to level 9. One more level and it would be max. Unfortunately it was not an evolvable skill, but max level stealth was still something to be proud of.

After almost 2 days I finally passed the most treacherous parts of the forest, leaving me in an almost peaceful environment. The sounds of birds chirping could be heard, but mostly it was just quiet. The quietness of the forest was not a hostile silence, unlike the silence around my home, rather it was a peaceful silence, one that would be heard on one of those nature sound tracks back on earth.

I could feel the abundant wood energy resonating with my core, causing it to spin faster than it would normally. I could feel my mana would regenerate much faster in this peaceful environment, but I was not in any condition to test it.

I struggled on, my breath was rather ragged at this point. I could no longer maintain my stealthed state as I continued to trudge forward, thankfully there did not seem to be many monsters in this area.

I continued like this for hours, my mind was a mess as I finally reached the edge of the woods. The wood essence in the air came to an abrupt end. As I lifted my eyes from the ground I was greeted by the sight of Slagstone City.

It was not a massive city, nothing compared to the modern day cities we are used to seeing. Rather it was like a rural city in the midwest. Judging from the size of the city it had at most ten thousand people. The most noticeable features were the large stone walls that surrounded the city, Alarge spire that reminded me of a skyscraper, And a castle in the very center of the city.

I could not help but smile weakly to myself as I saw the city, finally my destination was in sight, I just had to get there. I walked weakly towards the city gates. Each step sending shivers of pain through my being.

There was a long line of people at the entrance, each of them being inspected by the human guards. I waited in line for more than two hours as the line went through the guards. Finally it was my turn.

The guard had a bored look on his face when it was my turn. "Registration please." His full voice assaulted my ears.

I shook my head. "I do not have one, But I do have a letter of introduction to the adventurers guild." I managed to gasp out.

The guard looked at me impatiently. "Ok well let's see it. I don't have all day Dark elf."

I sighed as I pulled the letter out of my inventory. His eyes went wide as he saw that, and even wider as he saw the signature on the bottom of the page. The guard spokenhadtily to me, his voice much different than it had been before.

"I had no idea it was you Miss Yuri, Pmease follow me, I will lead you straight to the Adventurers guild."

I nodded to him. "Thank you sir. your kindness 8s greatly appreciated. I will not forget this kindness."

The guard took my straight down the gravel road to a large four story building. The front of it was a large elaborate sign that said "Adventurer's Haven". I smiled as I looked at the sign, a sense of peace filling me. Finally Perhaps I could get some answers, and better yet, I could get this blasted wound healed.

Chapter end