Chapter 3 Avion led the way through the Forest of Gul'nash. They were traveling to the port city of Malygan, where they were to board a ship to sail to Lantica, the island where the final battle between Phoenix and Hadrius had taken place. Danny was sound asleep on his horse, and Etzin was looking around, trying to spot possible danger, when an arrow suddenly whizzed by his head. "You are not welcome here, humans," a voice said, sounding as if it were coming from the trees themselves. "Who are you? Show yourself!" Avion commanded. Instead of an answer, another arrow shot straight for Avion's throat, but Danny woke up at the sound and quickly deflected it with a quick throw of his dagger. "Perfect timing, Danny," Avion said to him thankfully. Danny winked. Suddenly, a figure jumped down from a tall cedar tree and stood about ten feet from Avion, blocking the path. He took a step forward. "I am Fletch, and this is my forest. What is your business here?" he asked.
The man was obviously an elf. He was tall, and his skin was leathery. He wore a deep brown trench coat and a bandana, and a patch over one eye. The other eye was a deep blue, vey much similar to Danny's magical eye. A scar ran down the length of his right cheek, just underneath his chin. Across his back was a quiver full of arrows, each at least two feet long, and a smaller quiver that held crossbow bolts. In his hand was a seven foot double bow, able to shoot multiple arrows at a time. On each side of the bow were two gleaming daggers that were fastened tight for close combat. He loaded two arrows with amazing speed and aimed straight at Avion. "You have no business here, humans. Leave this place now, before I dye my head wrap red with your blood," he spat at them. "We have no quarrel with you, elf. We are just passing through on our way t-..." Avion began but was unable to finish when Fletch interrupted him. "Silence! I care not where you are going or why! You shall not pass through my forest!" Fletch glanced around quickly, and his eyes locked on Danny. "You there! Take your hood off so that I may see your face!" Danny slowly removed his hood. Fletch's eyes grew wide. He dropped his bow and walked slowly toward Danny. "Can it really be...? After six years, is it you?" he said as he stumbled forward. "Yes, my friend. And you need not thank me again," Danny smiled.
Fletch reached up to his face and touched his eyepatch. Danny closed his magical eye and touched his eyelid with the same hand. Avion and Etzin watched as Danny got down and hugged the elf. "Alright, I'll be the one to ask. What's going on and how do you two know each other?" Avion asked Danny. "Six years ago, I saved Fletch from a torture castle in another kingdom. They had gouged out one of his eyes when I found him, and so after I helped him escape, he sealed into my eye socket as a thanks," Danny explained. "He is one of the few good humans I have ever met. He deserved it," Fletch said in response. "That's all well and good, but why so you hate humans in the first place?" Etzin asked. "When I was a young elf, an army of your lot came to my village in this forest and destroyed it. I was the lone survivor, and I vowed that I would one day exact my revenge on all humans. As I grew older, I trained myself in the art of combat, and I have taken out small armies single handedly. I am Fletch, the warrior elf," Fletch explained to them. "If you're as strong as you say you are, we could certainly use your help. As I tried to tell you before, we are on our way to fight the evil king Hadrius, who is rising from his prison beneath the Earth. It would be a pleasure to have you fight with us," Avion said. "I would be more likely to agree if I knew your fighting prowess," Fletch grinned, retrieving his bow. Suddenly the ground began to rumble, and undead elves shot up from the ground, fully armed with weapons and armor. Ghostly sprites appeared in the trees with loaded bows, and one giant elf stood behind the others, it's face raging with hate. "Well, here's your chance to see me in action!" Avion yelled as he hopped down from his horse and drew the Phoenix Blade.
Lol I like to add my own little touches. They used to be living but because of the humans the land is dead so the elves are now undead
Avion took a quick look around. There were close to a hundred undead elves all around him. They came in varying sizes and with various weapons, but he was sure he could take them. 'Alright, Phoenix Blade, show me what you can do!' he thought to himself. Immediately, as if it had read his mind, he pointed it forward and a column of fire shot forward, obliterating all in it's path. Avion gazed in awe at the power. Etzin had fallen backward off his horse in shock. Danny stood beside Fletch and watched. Avion raised the sword and went into battle mode. He spun right, knocking an elf go the ground. He turned just as an undead ranger shot an arrow, which he easily deflected. He then jumped upward and hurled the sword at the ranger. It spun through the air and sliced through it's neck. It continued on a boomerang path and killed several more sprites. When it reached Avion again, he turned and shot another burst of flame towards three oncoming attackers. They turned to ash where they stood. "He's very good. I might have to actually consider your offer, Danny," Fletch said with a smile. "He's a great fighter indeed. But he'll need all the help he can get for an enemy this powerful," Danny said. His expression emotionless. "This Hadrius character certainly sounds powerful. And if he's a threat to other elven lands, then he must be stopped." Danny nodded, and they both returned to watching the fight. Avion had taken out the entire army, save for the giant. Now he stared him down. This one looked smarter than it's brethren. It crouched into a defensive position and charged forward with its shield raised. Avion charged forward, holding his sword horizontally by his side. About five feet before they would have collided, he leapt up onto the shield and ran up it. The giant elf tried to throw him off but he was already back in the air. As he came down the sword caught fire again, and he plunged the blade deep into its head. He twisted it and yanked it out. A black liquid, which Avion assumed was blood, steady dripped from the tip of the sword. The giant stumbled forward and Avion jumped off, landing nearby. The creature dropped it's weapon and shield and clutched its head where it had been stabbed. It made a gurgling sound of agony, and fell forward, shaking the ground when it hit.
Then Avion turns around and I have my sword pointed at his neck 'Hmm... Didn't expect that, did you? Haha, I'm joking, you're a good fighter, a little careless, I saw many openings, but you're alright kid'
Avion turned to the sound of clapping. Fletch was walking toward him, applauding him. "You are very good, I must admit. A horde that large is quite difficult for most to defeat, but you made it look easy, and for that I must congratulate you. I would be honored to join you on your quest," Fletch praised him. "Your presence will be appreciated, because we will need all the help we can get. But first, I need to ask you something, Avion said to him. "And what is that?" "Can we pass through now?" Fletch looked down and began to chuckle. "Ha! Of course you can. Now, let's be off!" End of chapter 3
Chapter Four Avion and the rest of the group finished passing through the forest with ease. Fletch knew of many shortcuts and how to avoid certain dangers, which made traveling much less stressful. Although he had seemed to accept Avion, Fletch still seemed a little distant. One day, Fletch told everyone that they would finally be exiting the forest. "Thank goodness! I couldn't stand another day in this place!" Etzin exclaimed. He then downed his last bottle of ale, and promptly fell backward on the ground in front of the campfire, unable to see the glare Fletch was casting his way. Avion and Danny looked at each other and smiled. Their friend was always his funniest when he was drunk. But it was getting late, and, wanting an early start to get out of the forest quickly, everyone fell asleep within minutes.
Fletch had taken first watch, but had slowly drifted off while leaning against a large tree. He awoke with a start, and chuckled as he got up to wake Etzin for the next watch. But as he turned around, something made a noise, and, being a kill first, ask questions later, he spun around to go meet it. Making no noise and swiftly pulling out a poison tipped dagger, Fletch made his way toward the place where he had heard the sound. As he rounded the last tree, he saw a figure hunched over and going through Avion's pack. It pulled out the Phoenix Blade, and it's eyes grew big. It stood back up as it held the sword, and Fletch prepared for a fight, but to his amazement, the creature was no more than three feet tall. It's only a goblin, Fletch thought as he prepared a dart. The goblin was larger than average, but smaller than those that someone might hire for battle. It had pinkish grey skin, pointed ears that almost looked like horns, and an extremely large nose. The fact that it hadn't smelled him coming surprised Fletch, but it didn't matter as he prepared to kill it with one of his throwing darts. He decided not to use poison since the goblin was small enough to be killed on impact. "Oooooooo! Me be getting the shiniest toni-...," the goblin began, but was cut off in mid-sentence as a thick metal object sailed clean through his head.