knight quest: guard

A strange uncanny darkness had fallen over Quietphase Lake. While the shroud of shadow covered only a comparatively small area, it was blocking out all the moonlight and causing the nearby plants to wither. Magical fauna also started avoiding the shadowed zone – any creature that remained in the darkness soon disappeared without a trace. The knights stationed nearby were immediately dispatched to investigate. They suspected the involvement of a Corruption Beast at first, but found no trace of corruption magic in the area. What was the culprit, if not a Corruption Beast or its lackeys?

Saiph and ■■■■■ were part of the knight contingent combing the darkened area for clues. The total absence of moonlight had a weakening effect on all xyns entering the area, but they persisted despite the weariness dragging at their paws. There was no wind in the clearing, and every branch that snapped underfoot seemed eerily loud. A noticeable sense of unease pervaded the area – while walking through the woods, ■■■■■ sensed a subtle shift in the darkness. It seemed the fear-inducing aura was stronger in certain directions than others. If they could triangulate the source of the aura, then surely its emanator would be close by.

The two knights continued searching through the dark forest. The oppressive aura made Saiph nauseous to the pit of his stomach, but he gritted his teeth and followed behind ■■■■■ without falling behind. Eventually, they heard a periodic rustling in the forest undergrowth, which immediately caught their attention. ■■■■■ made a beeline towards the source of the sound. When they got close to the moving bushes, a group of Luma Pandas burst out from the foliage and scattered in all directions. Saiph turned to chase the critters down, intending to capture them and bring them out of the danger zone, but the ground itself began to rumble and he stopped in his tracks.

A large goop-like creature rose out of the undergrowth. The aura of fear abruptly grew stronger – this must have been its source. The monster lashed out at the Luma Pandas with slimy tentacles, ensnaring one of them and bringing it close to its gaping maw.

“Not so fast!” 

Saiph mustered all his strength and shouted at the monster, drawing its attention with a fireball to the head (?). The slime creature flinched at the sudden impact, which gave ■■■■■ the opening he needed to cut off its tentacle with a clean swing of his sword. The hapless Luma Panda was sent flying into a nearby bush – hopefully it wasn’t too badly hurt. Angered by the loss of its prey, the monster roared and tried to capture ■■■■■ with more tentacles, only for the agile knight to sever every wriggling limb.

The sound of combat echoed through the darkened woods. Soon, the other knights in their contingent arrived on the scene, having followed the bright flares of light cast by Saiph’s fireball magic. Two knights alone could not take down the strange otherworldly beast, but the arrival of reinforcements certainly tipped the odds in their favour. After a short skirmish, the monster was reduced to a wiggling blob and subsequently banished back to whatever dimension it came from.

With the slime monster defeated, the skies above the lake began to clear. The knights looked up at Lunerest’s moons shining brightly overhead and felt the brilliant moonlight rejuvenating their tired bodies, as if the moons themselves were thanking them for a job well done.