Three Brothers in the Age of Monster Girls(V2 Ch2)

“What foul magic could blot out the sun like this?”, Solomon pondered out loud as he  and Isaac cautiously made their way through the camp. 

“It doesn’t seem to be that strong compared to what I’ve seen done before”, Isaac said, looking up at the black sky. “It’s certainly a demonic energy barrier, but…. I’ve seen stronger”

“And why would you have seen stronger?”, Solomon asked, suspicion lacing his tone. 

“I uh….. uh…. studied with some scholars. They took me in after we all got separated and I…. was able to learn a lot about Monsters and their magic”, Isaac replied, looking away from his eldest brother as beads of sweat appeared on his brow. 

“How fortunate then!”, Solomon said cheerfully, a complete about face from his tone a moment ago. “Thank the Chief Goddess for setting you on the path of knowledge”

“Right….”, Isaac said nervously. 

They moved through the camp looking for some signs of life. It was eerily calm, only the sound of the wind rustling the grass and the flapping of wrecked tents made any noise. 

“Who should not linger here too long”, Solomon said sternly. “I would hate to have to spend more time cleansing myself of taint that I have to. It’s gratifying, but unpleasant”

“What does it involve?”, Isaac asked, uncertain as to whether or not he would like the answer. 

“It’s a special oil blessed by a priest. It feels as though it burns into your very soul”, the Hero replied. 

Isaac grimaced at the thought of going through an Order cleansing. 

“When I first heard about my brother’s surviving I thought it would be a fantastic opportunity. We should have been back in Lescatie by now, indulging in all that’s good in the world. No, instead there’s death and destruction. Humans aren’t good for anything else”, Isaac thought to himself. 

“I fear that our brother will not be found here”, Solomon sighed bitterly. 

“Perhaps they carried him off”, Isaac suggested, adjusting his black hood to hid a sly grin he could not help but spread across his face. 

“Then we must save him!”, Solomon declared with a bombastically booming voice, disturbing the air almost as if a cannon ball had exploded. “Come Isaac! We must hurry! Who knows what could plans the Monsters have in store for him!”, he stated as he took off in a random direction.

“I can think of a few things”, Isaac mumbled as he chased after the Hero. 

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“Come on! Keep up!”, the little Fairy called. The forest was growing more and more thick, branches and twigs smacking and poking Isidore without end, and he was pretty sure he stepped in something unpleasant at least once at this point.

Sore and fatigued, the Mercenary crashed through the unforgiving foliage as he chased after the blue-eyed Fey.  “You could have at least taken me through a path that didn’t end up tearing apart my outfit!”, he chastised. 

“What’s the big deal about your clothes getting all torn?”, the Fairy asked rather innocently, stopping in front of the irate man. 

Isidore glared at the Fey, her child-like body wrapped up in a dress made of flower petals of white and blue. Good craftsmanship, but it could be easily replaced or repaired, unlike that of his own clothes.

“Well I have to pay to get these fixed”, Isidore said, jerking his arm out of a small tangle of vines, part of his black sleeve tearing as a result. 

“What? You don’t like being naked?”, the Fairy asked, her grin widening in an almost perverted manner. 

“As a matter of fact I don’t”, Isidore said bluntly. The Fairy’s smile quickly turned to a frown, clearly disappointed with his answer. 

“What? You’re not gonna start getting naked now are you?”, Isidore asked. 

“Well of you really wanna see…….”, the Fairy said, putting her hands on her floral skirt and swinging her body back and forth. 

“No thank you”, Isidore sighed as he freed himself from the forest once again. 

“Oh you’re no fun”, the Fairy pouted, buzzing back towards their destination. Isidore rolled his eyes and continued his pursuit. 

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They eventually made their way into a large clearing, tall, soft grass and flowers surrounding a willow tree comparatively smaller than the rest of the forest.

“So where’s the shiny thing?”, Isidore asked, looking around but seeing nothing. 

“I dunno”, the Fairy said, shrugging her shoulders. 

“What?”, Isidore asked, his green eye twitching.

“Well I said I saw it fly through the air, but I didn’t see it la- AAAH!””, the Fairy screamed in panic as the Mercenary snatched her out of the sky, his brown and green eyes boring into her. 

“I don’t appreciate being lead on a wild goose chase”, Isidore growled. The Fairy squeaked as Isidore tightened his grip just slightly, her squishy little body completely immobilized by Isidore’s gloved hand. 

“And I do not appreciate you harming my Fairies”, a stern feminine voice announced. 

“Hu?”, Isidore said, a tree branch striking him the very next moment, knocking him down. 

“Wee!”, cried the fairy as she was released. The Mercenary looked up to see the Fey land on the branch that had struck him. Isidore followed the branch back towards the willow tree, and emerging from behind it was a woman. Isidore narrowed his eyes as he tried to make sense of the situation he now found himself in. The woman moved around the tree without ever taking her hand off if it. She had grassy-green hair that grew down to her apple bottom, which was barely covered by her one piece dress made of some type of light orange cloth.

“You’ve got a lot of nerve, Human”, the woman said, climbing onto the tree, facing him and narrowing her violet eyes. “To come into my forest and stomp and crush your way through the plants, and then threaten to crush the life out of a Fairy. Tell me why I shouldn’t turn you into fertilizer”. 

Isidore thought for a moment, assessing is situation. It made sense that he would have to deal with a Dryad after everything else that had happened. While Dryad’s were normally kind creatures, they were as protective of the forest as a mother would protect her children, and as such they were equally unforgiving. 

“I’m not here by choice”, the mercenary replied, bracing himself in case things took a turn for the worst. “That Fairy found me after I freed myself from the tree I was stuck in, and I’ve been following her as best I could since she offered to show me towards what I assume to be a weapon”

“Yeah the bright and shiny thing you told me not to touch!”, the Fairy chimed in. The Dryad gave the Fairy a gentle smile before turning back to the Mercenary, scowling as she did so. 

Isidore smirked under his mask, amused by the two-faced display.

“So you must be Wiese then?”, he asked. 

“She sure is!”, the Fairy cheered. 

The Dryad sighed dejectedly as Isidore grinned under his mask.  It was a nice change of pace to have the Fairy bother someone else. 

“Vivi, please…”, the Dryad now known as Wiese sighed. 

“You must have quite a lot of patience to be able to deal with Fairies”, Isidore said. 

“Please don’t try to flatter me, Human”, Wiese replied. “You’ve already demonstrated you have no love for the forest”

“I have no love for being tossed into the forest by a Minotarus, especially not when it involves being stuck upside-down in a tree for so long that I’m ready to relieve the contents of my stomach onto a sapling”, the Mercenary stated in a deadpanned manner, Vivi the Fairy giggling ecstatically,

“Just because you are an uninvited guest does not mean your behavior is warranted”, Wiese stated sternly. 

“If I am unwelcome and uninvited, then perhaps I can take my leave once I am afforded what Vivi promised to show me”, Isidore replied, holding his right hand out for emphasis. 

Wiese and Isidore stared each other down for a few moments before the Dryad waved her hand, a tree root sliding itself from out of the ground like an eel, Isidore’s dagger wrapped up in it. Wiese waved her hand once more and the root tossed the small blade at Isidore’s feet. The mercenary retrieved his weapon from the dirt, it’s blade encrusted with blood and soil. Wiese clicked her tongue as Isidore brushed the blade clean with his trousers. 

“Such hateful things. You can’t accept the world as it is so you hack it apart”, she said with clear disdain. 

“Is it any different when a wolf uses its fangs to sink its teeth into a deer? Or when a boar grinds it’s tusks against a tree?”, Isidore asked, raising an eyebrow as he sheathed his dagger, a small feeling of calm for coming over him. 

“Nature gave those noble beasts their claws and fangs. You and your ilk forge them from the world since you were born without them”, The Dryad scoffed. 

“I’ll remember that the next time one of those noble beasts decides to take me for a meal”, Isidore replied sarcastically, looking for a way out of the clearing. 

“The fastest way out is to the south”, Wiese said, crossing her arms over under her bosom. “Please, rid us of your presence so that we may be in peace again”

“Aaaaaaw! I think he’s silly!”, Vivi protested. Isidore chuckled a bit before heading off in the direction that the Dryad had pointed him to. 

“Damn overgrown weed”, Isidore cursed in his mind. 

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