Theun POV

After everyone woke up and had their share of breakfast; we all help pack the campsite. Gathering everything into several neat piles of blankets, covers and poles, the Knights make way for Kelion as he walks over to the pile. He retrieves a strange square disk that is attached to a slot on his belt. The strange disk is covered in runes and gives off a slight hue in his hands. Kelion places the risk the centre of the piles and steps back as all the camping gear is absorbed into it. I find this whole thing quite amusing as I would just put everything into my own separate dimension but then again, I'm not really what someone would call the norm. Kelion walks towards the disk which flies up and attaches itself to the slot on his belt with a satisfying click.

"That's quite the trinket." I comment as I eye the disk.

"Oh the Storage Disks? Yes, they are simply remarkable! Although just a prototype, it works miracles and is at the forefront of adventuring technology. The innovative use of runes and enchantments are astonishing and only someone as great as the Archmage Queen could come up with such wondrous designs. The possibilities are endless! Using this disk and closely examining the runes, I can only glimpse at the magnificence that the Queen holds. Her beauty is a blessing of Alaria. Her intellect rivals the greatest minds of history. The world shall mourn the day that the Retriever of Souls, Mlithru, returns her soul to the planes above!" -Kelion

Good thing I didn't use my real name then, huh? The disk is called a Storage Disk, made by a combination of runes and enchantments. So far that's all I know from this guy's rant.

"Does it have a weakness? A downside?" -Theun

"... shall be a great addition to the Angels, NAY, the GODS above. Her greatness shall be known throughout the realms as she ascends the Realm of Mortals and inherits her rightful place among the gods! She will..." -Kelion

He's still going. He really is still going. Plus there are no angels, just maids and butlers.

"He'll come out of his reverie sooner or later. Only my mother can snap him out of his nonsense preaching state. If you really need him, just give him an almighty slap in the face."

I hear a female voice behind me and I turn to face Christina Dalton. Called Christi by the others, Christina is the daughter of the Archmage Queen whom Kelion over here won't shut up about.

"I believe we haven't been formally introduced. I am Christina Dalton, 3rd Princess of Sanctium. It’s a pleasure to meet you" -Christina

"Theun of Lost Demon Clans. Pleasure to meet you too" -Theun

"You were asking about the weakness of the Storage Disks right? You see, how they are attached to his waist? That's because they have a rather... "volatile" reaction when the runes are broken. The contents burst outwards so they are kept against the slot, keeping the user safe if they do shoot outwards. But my mother is working on that flaw right now." -Christina

"Thank you for the explanation. Do you mind if I ask whether or not you're of a Demon heritage?" I ask as I turn away from Kelion and look Christi in her eyes. She has the same red coloured eyes as I do, although they are of a lighter shade.

"Yes, I am. My mother was born in Xanthius and moved here during the war. She met my father a few years later and they've been together since. There aren't many people with red eyes that aren't related to demons" -Christina

"Just making sure. I wouldn't want to make myself out to be a fool by going with presumptions." -Theun

"A smart thing to do." -Christina

"Indeed." -Theun

"..." -Christina

"..." -Theun

"... her smile melts the coldest hearts and her beauty the undoing of man. Oh what I would give to spend a night wi-" -Kelion

*SLAP*

Oh, there's that almighty slap she mentioned. Hmmm, looks like he's out. He really did choose a bad time to comment on the queen in that particular manner, but at least he broke the awkward silence.

"If you'll excuse me, I have to tie this guy up so we can depart." -Christina

"Oh please, go right ahead" -Theun

I wonder what she meant by that. Examining Christi and Kelion, I see Jor come over and throw Kelion over his shoulder. Carrying him like a dead game seems natural, so I don't think this is the first time Kelion has found himself in this sort of predicament. Kelion is tied in a way to stop his arms and legs from flailing about since he's unconscious. I get up and join the group as they finish their departure preparations.

The walk deeper into the forest was rather uneventful. We encounter no monsters or magical beasts during the trek and according to the Knights, it was rather strange. I myself didn't run into anything when I was wandering yesterday, but I guess I simply got lucky. As we hike towards the area where the "Strange Light" appeared, we stumble across a clearing where a dead deer laid with its haphazardly skinned fur tossed beside it. To me, this sight simply meant we were on the right direction. I did walk in a straight line yesterday, with little to no deviation. To the Knights however, this was a sign of something far more concerning.

"Would you look at that..." -Jor

"A dead deer?" -Theun

"Well yeah. What else?" -Jor

"I don't know? What's so interesting about the deer?" -Theun

"Are you blind or retarded? The damned thing has 4 eyes and its fur is white!" -Jor

"Ohhhhhh, you're right." -Theun

"I really don't know what to make of you." -Jor

"You two stop chit chatting. Everyone, to arms. Kelion, search the environment for anything suspicious. Who or whatever killed this Eldeer might still be around." -Sandra

Everyone readies their weapon and the peaceful mood is shattered instantly. The Knights have their eyes peeled and are scanning the area for the slightest movement. I sense Kelion shooting out bursts of mana to detect other sources of mana. I don't know why they're making such a big deal over a dead deer but this isn't the right time to ask.

"No signs of anything besides us." -Kelion

"Guards, secure the area. Kelion, determine the time of death then keep your sensors up. try to achieve ten metres out of the clearing. We are going to examine the body." -Sandra

Kelion walks to the corpse and lifts his hands towards it. Standing beside him, I can sense the mana flowing out of his hands and towards the deer before returning to him with information.

"Around afternoon yesterday." He says as he gets up and resumes pulsing his mana outwards.

"So... What's so special about this deer?" -Theun

"They don't have Eldeer in Xanthius?" -Sandra

"They do, mother talked about hunting one during the Hero party." -Christina

"I never really paid attention to monster biology..." -Theun

"Hahhhhh... Special deer that are born with the ability to interact with mana can become Eldeer. They absorb mana for about a hundred years and undergo a transformation that makes them look like this. The Eldeer has Enhanced sight with its 4 eyes, incredible agility with cells empowered by mana and an ability to detect anything within 5 metres of its body. They are incredibly rare since they are just normal deer until they evolve, so they are normally hunted without realisation. We can find its approximate time of death by sensing the amount of mana remaining in the body." -Christina

"They can detect anything within 5 metres... Is that why Sandra told Kelion to extend his sensors to 10 metres outside the clearing?" -Theun

"Yes, if something can kill an Eldeer then it has to be extremely fast. A 10 metre leeway can help save the lives of the soldiers here." -Sandra

"Something? Couldn't the killer be person?" -Theun

"No, it's impossible. There are no wounds on the deer besides the cut to the neck, which means no projectiles were used. Besides, no projectile known to man can outpace an Eldeer let alone an actual person." -Sandra

"But isn't the Eldeer skinned?" -Theun

"I thought that at first but, looking closely at the skill level of the skinning, or lack of, I'd say this was done by an evolved beast with a perverted sense of humour. There is meat and fur everywhere. Bits of meat stuck to the fur and fur stuck to the meat." -Sandra

H-hey! I-I tried my best okay!? D: