488 Shadowmire
Ren didn't know if the dark elves were leading him into a trap, but they were his best bet to enter the Dark Elves' territory right now and met this Kail'ithal they spoke off.
As Ren and the others turn down a narrow animal trail, a twisted humanoid shape lay on the path ahead, a bow held tightly in its closed fist, its skin gray and lifeless. A huge, grotesque-looking boar was gnawing on one of the corpse's hands.
Again if Ren had the ability [Stealth], he could have surprised the boar into trotting away, but otherwise, the cursed Giant Boar turned its hateful eyes upon them, lowered its tusk, and attacked.
The boar charged towards them with incredible speed, but Ren was able to dodge its initial attack and strike it with quick-fire magic.
The boar let out a furious roar and retaliated with its massive tusk, narrowly missing Ren as he dodged to the side. Ren's companion, the dark elves, began to throw arrows and their hunter's knives coated with paralyzing tincture to weaken the boar's defenses while Ren continued to strike it with simple spells.
The fight was fast and short, with Ren sides taking no damage. The boar had a lot of HP and high DEF, but Ren and the dark elves – namely Ravos, Farond, Tyr, and Tiramel – their teamwork allowed them to slowly wear it down.
Finally, Ren delivered the final blow, and the boar let out a deafening roar before collapsing to the ground. The two dark elves stood panting and covered in sweat, victorious but exhausted because of their previous injuries from the lumberjacks.
Ren concocted [Health Potions] on what materials were available in his inventory before he tossed them to the dark elves.
"I can't have you die on me before we reach your home."
The dark elves looked at each other, and only Tyr offered thanks while the others drank the potion without comment.
Ren felt that they were reserved around him and uncomfortable. Only Tyr was offering small talk here and there.
After dealing with the boar, Ren investigated the body and used [Appraisal] on it, only to find that it was the missing hunter, Tomas.
According to his information. There were no wounds that would explain why he died.
"What do you want to do now?" Tyr asked.
"If you're planning to take the corpse back to Eldermill, then we won't be able to help you," Ravos said.
And Farond added, "Those goody-goody elves would attack us from sight."
"No. Let's continue on." Ren didn't want to go back to Eldermill carrying a corpse anyway.
"Let's hurry," said Tiramel, "Dark is upon us soon. The forest isn't safe at that time."
Ren didn't know what would happen if they were caught in the forest in the night, but it seemed that no matter how much they were hurrying back home, the beasts in the forest wouldn't let them.
Some beasts, Ren could avoid this by pressing [Run Away] when he was prompted with the [Engage] button. But most were launching surprise attacks and couldn't be evaded, while most were hindering their paths and must be killed to move forward.
Ren and the four dark elves had been traveling through the treacherous forest. As they made their way through the dense trees, they suddenly heard a loud growling noise.
The group quickly drew their weapons as several massive beasts emerged from the shadows. The creatures were covered in thick fur, with razor-sharp claws and teeth. They circled around Ren and the dark elves, blocking their path.
Ren could feel his heart racing as he tried to come up with a plan. They couldn't afford to waste any time, but fighting these beasts would only slow them down. He quickly ordered the group to back away slowly, hoping to avoid any aggressive action from the beasts.
But the creatures continued to growl and snarl, slowly closing in on them. The sun had already set, and the darkness was rapidly taking over the forest. Ren knew they had to find a way to make it to their destination before nightfall. That's what the dark elves kept telling him.
But he guessed that even the game or quest wanted to stall them.
As they retreated, the dark elves suddenly drew their bows and let loose a volley of arrows. The projectiles hit their marks, taking down several of the beasts. The others quickly scattered, giving the group a brief respite.
But they knew they couldn't stay there for long. The night was closing in, and more beasts could appear at any moment.
Tyr urged the group to hurry, and they ran as fast as they could toward the dark elves' home.
However, their progress was slow, and the beasts continued to chase them, growling and snarling in the darkness.
Without a sound as a warning, the deep shadows around Ren and the others began to writhe and assumed humanoid shapes. Streaked with tendrils of crimson red, their hatred, and anger were palpable, despite their expressionless faces as they closed in around them.
The four [Shadowmire Shades] – which had seeped through to the Material Plane from the Shadowmire when night came – attacked with soundless determination. They initiate combat by possessing the characters' shadows in an effort to turn the characters against each other.
Ren produced [Sunrays] to scare them off, while the dark elves produced light from their torches to keep the Shadows at bay.
The dark elves have night vision while Ren copied their ability so he wouldn't have a hard time in this area during night.
"Let's hurry. Those things will come back and attacks us again if the opportunity presents itself," said Tyr.
As Ren and the others were crossing a bog, a dark mist flowed through the area.
"What's this?" Ren questioned no one when the dark mist suddenly settled in.
He heard the dark elves gulp.
"This is not good. This is a mist, which originated from the portal to the Shadowmire. It drains strength and corrupts minds."
As the dark mist rolled over at Ren and the others, Ravos instructed, "To clear off the mist and its effects, we must hurry away from here!"
"Keep your feet steady! The terrain in the marshy bog is difficult! Be careful. Once you'd fall, you might be pulled into its depth!"
