After that very eventful and depressing night, Eleanor and Ryan were in terrible shape, large black bags drooped below their eyes and Eleanor was muttering random words to herself. So they decided to have a small break where Eleanor meditated to replenish the mana lost yesterday from fighting the monster and escaping the hideout.
"Alright! All of my mana is back! Ready to go, Ryan?" Said Eleanor cheerfully, her mental state slightly redeemed.
"Already? We only just sat down!" Responded Ryan, who was only just beginning to fall asleep.
"Rejuvenis," casted Eleanor, who was already slightly agitated by Ryan's hatred for any type of physical action, "Happy now?"
Great, already spending mana, thought Eleanor.
"Happy! Let's go!" Ryan said his eye bags were now gone without a trace.
Now that the two were on their feet, Ryan, who could feel Eleanor's rising dislike for him, asked a question to break the silence: "You are a hero right, so you came from a different world, was your worlds name… Earth?"
"Earth? No, Its name was Aquaria. We traveled on boats everywhere, it was so fun, and oh the food! It was so much better than the garbage you find in this world! Speaking of my old world, I was a Adept Mage over there, and when I came here, I still was, as if I didn't die. Oh and do NOT ask how I died; what the spirit showed me was quite embarrassing."
"What was your world like?" She asked, realising she was going off on a tangent.
"My world was really boring, we didn't even have magic over there."
"What! What do you mean by 'didn't even have magic'?" Interrupted Eleanor.
"As in, we can't cast spells; there isn't mana, nothing. However, in my world, we have technology that is more useful than your magic!" Proudly spoke Ryan, who had made no contributions to that said technology.
"Technology like a clock? I doubt it, hahaha!" Laughed Eleanor.
"Stomp"
Eleanor suddenly stopped laughing; she could hear loud footsteps approaching.
"Stomp," A puddle of water shook slightly.
Ryan continued speaking, oblivious to the noise, "You wouldn't understand, not just clocks; you could speak to someone a thousand miles away, you cou-"
"Stomp"
Eleanor reacted quickly, grabbing Ryan and throwing him into a bush, after which she followed.
Can I stop getting interrupted?
"Wha-" Ryan tried to speak to Eleanor; however, she quickly used her hand to close his mouth.
"Quiet," she whispered. "Not a word!"
Ryan nodded his head, now able to hear the loud footsteps.
"Stomp"
A tree was pushed out of the way, revealing a massive animal, larger than an African elephant but with a similar look to a hippopotamus mixed with a dog.
"Stomp"
It was grey all over, and two large tusks protruded out from below its mouth. It had massive, beady eyes and a small nose.
"Divines above! this animal stinks!"
A high-pitched voice came from the massive hippo-dog creature.
What is that? Is that an elf on that massive monster?… No, two elves!
Eleanor softly tapped Ryan's shoulder and then signalled for him to lay down in the mud to stay hidden.
Ryan followed her lead slowly, so to not make any noise, nestling himself into the wet and sticky mud.
"Stomp"
"I can't believe those humans have heroes! Two of them! Isn't that crazy?" The young elf with the high-pitched voice said.
"It's obviously a lie; there's no way those weaklings would have heroes. Why anyone would believe that they do, I don't understand! Especially to the point that they send 50 town guards to check, just a waste of our time!" Rambled the irritated senior guard.
How do they know we are both heroes! Both Eleanor and Ryan thought.
However Ryan's thoughts were quickly disrupted as out of the corner of his eye, he noticed a massive millipede crawling up his leg.
No, no, go back.
The large millipede continued crawling up his leg, now at his waist. The elf guards and their hippo were at their closest to the bush, only a couple of metres away… The slightest movement would alert them.
This forest is absolutely shit, thought Ryan, the milipede now up to his neck and seemingly mocking Ryan's inability to move.
Finally, the massive hippo and its riders were a bit further away.
Ha, thought Ryan, quickly throwing the milipede as far away as possible, his hand hitting a part of the bush he was in by accident.
"Rustle" *bush noise*
"Did you hear something?" Asked the young guard.
Eleanor was now staring daggers into Ryan's eyes; if those elves weren't around, she would throw a fireball at his face for his stupidity.
"No, I didn't, and I'm not getting off this canispotamus; it's too much of a struggle getting back on." Said the older guard.
The guards and their beast continued on, eventually going out of earshot.
"How do they know we are heroes? Lily wouldn't have told them, right?" Ryan said, a frown plastered on his face.
"People do anything they can to survive just a little longer." Responded Eleanor, unaware of the real reason for their identities being revealed.
"We've wasted enough time, Ryan; there are 50 Elven guards coming for us. We'll have to head in that direction, north-east of where those 2 doofus's were heading, and not stop; hopefully we escape the forest before we bump into any elves."
At worst, if we do bump into any elves, he'll be a good distraction. Who am I kidding? He wouldn't last a second, Eleanor chuckled.