Their journey of eating and sleeping in the open had lasted four days. At dusk that day, the three of them were traveling through a forest.
Judging by Aaron's estimate of their pace, they probably would not make it out of the forest before nightfall.
Aaron was waving a hand to drive away the forest's annoying mosquitoes when he suddenly heard a peal of thunder from above the clouds. Looking up, he saw thick, dark clouds covering the sky. Perhaps a thunderstorm was already inevitable.
As he lowered his gaze, Aaron caught sight of Rhonin making the same motion out of the corner of his eye. Apparently, he had heard the thunder too.
But just as Aaron was about to say something, he heard a thunderous growl from the sky. Upon hearing it, the elven ranger leading them abruptly turned her horse around and galloped toward them.
Seeing Vereesa's unusually anxious expression, Aaron immediately had an ominous suspicion, but he had only just managed to take out his shield when he discovered that a vast shadow had already enveloped all three of them.
Seemingly spooked by the enormous monster overhead, Rhonin's and Vereesa's mounts began charging forward madly. The black horse beneath Aaron, however, showed no reaction at all. Perhaps it was already used to this sort of thing.
Seeing that the two riders approaching from opposite directions were about to collide because of their panicked horses, Aaron thought of the terrible consequences of two galloping steeds crashing into each other. He gritted his teeth, took brief aim, and hurled his shield at their mounts.
Aaron's hastily thrown shield actually achieved the result he had hoped for. After striking one horse, it instantly bounced toward the other. The two panicked horses let out mournful cries in succession and collapsed, throwing their riders from their backs.
Watching the two riders trace intersecting arcs through the air, Aaron had no time to spare for the new skill that had just lit up in his skill list. He only managed to cast Blessing of Sacrifice on Rhonin to keep the fragile mage from suffering serious injuries, while urging his black horse toward Vereesa, who was flying in his direction.
Aaron hurried over and finally managed to catch Vereesa as she hurtled toward him at the speed imparted by her panicked horse. Although the tall high elf looked like the type with toned muscles, the impact she delivered remained within what Aaron could withstand. At least she did not knock him off his horse.
Ignoring Vereesa, who looked somewhat dazed by the successive shocks, Aaron had just urged his black horse forward to check on Rhonin. Although the damage transmitted to him through Blessing of Sacrifice suggested that Rhonin should be all right, the man was his employer, after all, and Aaron felt he should at least see his condition for himself.
But before Aaron could reach Rhonin, he saw a monster covered in fiery red scales dive from the sky. The monster had a pair of outstretched wings that whipped up fierce gusts as they beat, a pair of complete, pointed horns atop its enormous head, and scales that resembled solidified flames, making it look exceptionally frightening.
With a single glance, Aaron recognized it as a Red Dragonflight—a Red Dragonflight several meters long.
Before Aaron could react, he heard a mournful cry. Rhonin's horse was already caught in the Red Dragonflight's claws. The enormous creature swallowed most of its prey in a single bite, sending warm horse blood spraying everywhere like a fountain.
Aaron instinctively raised his shield in front of his face. When he lowered it, he happened to see that the Red Dragonflight seemed not quite satisfied and had now set its sights on Vereesa's mount.
But before the Red Dragonflight could seize the Thalassian pony, which stood frozen in fright, Aaron heard a vaguely familiar-sounding rebuke from above the dragon.
Squinting up, Aaron only then noticed a green-skinned monster with two tusks jutting from its mouth seated above the Red Dragonflight's shoulders: an Orc.
An Orc dragon rider? But what are these fellows doing here? A trace of doubt arose in Aaron's mind. The Orcs should already have been at a disadvantage at this point. Their appearance deep within human territory was certainly no good sign.
At the Orc's command, the Red Dragonflight reluctantly abandoned the food almost within its grasp and lunged toward Rhonin, who was slowly getting up from the dust nearby.
It seemed that the Red Dragonflight—or rather, its master—did not intend to kill Rhonin immediately. The rider merely ordered his mount to seize Rhonin, then hurl him viciously into the depths of the forest.
Seeing his employer attacked by that monster, Aaron was just about to urge his horse forward when he felt a tug on his arm. Looking down, he saw Vereesa say with an embarrassed expression, "Could you put me down now?"
Aaron hurriedly set Vereesa on the ground, then hurled his shield at the Red Dragonflight, which was pursuing Rhonin in the direction he had disappeared. The golden shield struck the dragon with a metallic clang before flying back into Aaron's hand.
Aaron's attack successfully drew the Red Dragonflight's attention. He had intended to use the trees to evade its charge, but when he turned his head, he saw Vereesa still standing behind him. With no way to retreat now, Aaron could only shield Vereesa as best he could and brace himself for a blast of dragonfire.
"Stay behind me!" With no time to check Vereesa's condition, Aaron hurriedly cast a Divine Shield over each of them. All he could do next was pray that this layer of Holy Light would spare them from the Red Dragonflight's flames.
Aaron knew very well the tragic fate of the last poor soul who had survived a Red Dragonflight's wrath. The famous Duke Bolvar had not only been subjected to Second Fool's crazed conditioning, but had eventually been forced to put on Second Fool's helmet and freeze his backside to the Frozen Throne in an attempt to suppress the flames on his body that refused to go out.
After prolonged torment, that poor third Lich King had become deranged... Ahem, that was getting off topic. Back to Aaron.
Just as Aaron prepared to face the Red Dragonflight's scorching breath, the enormous monster suddenly retracted its outstretched claws as though having a fit. It flailed in the air, seemingly trying to scratch an itch. No matter how the Orc tried to soothe it, he could not calm the dragon down.
Seeing that the monster had no attention to spare for them, Aaron hurriedly grabbed Vereesa, who for some reason was still standing rigid, and went with her to check on Rhonin, whom the Red Dragonflight had thrown into the woods set ablaze by its breath.
The poor red-haired mage was currently limping over to meet them. Although Aaron's timely Blessing of Sacrifice had spared Rhonin from being severely injured by the Red Dragonflight's brutal throw, the protection of the Holy Light had its limits, and Rhonin had inevitably sustained some minor injuries.
Aaron casually cast Light of the Protector on Rhonin to help heal his injuries.
The three of them exchanged looks after their devastating ordeal. Rhonin spoke first. "I think we had better leave this place."
"Was that your doing just now?" Following Vereesa, who was leading her mount through the burning forest, Aaron suddenly turned slightly to look at Rhonin.
After thinking it over, Rhonin should have been the only one among the three present capable of putting the Red Dragonflight in that state. At least, Aaron had never known hunters to have an archery technique called Tickling Arrow.
Rhonin nodded with a hint of pride. "That's right, it was me. Oh, and young Paladin, thank you for protecting me earlier. You made your decision in fairly good time."
"I..." Aaron, however, was somewhat dissatisfied with his performance. After all, it had only been a mere juvenile Red Dragonflight. The Highlords had killed four Dragon Aspects, after all. At this point, Aaron had yet to understand what a scripted death was, or what gameplay meant.
Listening to their quiet conversation, Vereesa suddenly turned back and asked, "Mage, how much longer will your spell last?"
At her words, Rhonin's expression changed instantly. "It's about to wear off."
"What? Then shouldn't we hurry up and run?" Aaron's expression shifted, then he looked at Rhonin expectantly. "Do you have any other way to deal with that dragon?"