An Owl's Rise

Reaching the warp pad at the end of the hallway that delved deep underground, Evelyn and her allies waited for it to activate.

After centuries the inscription had weathered and took longer to activate than it should have.

Nearly five minutes went by before the nine of them were enveloped by light and warped into the Verdant Warlord's Domain.

As soon as they arrived, they looked around for the group of humans but found that the crystal dome was empty.

'They must be out exploring the domain. This is fortunate in some ways and unfortunate in others.' Evelyn thought.

With their targets being absent it gave them more time to prepare and ambush, but there was also the possibility that the humans would be gone long enough to the point that the temporary magical buffs from their potions and talismans would fade.

There was also the possibility that they might be found while lying in wait and lose the element of surprise they desperately needed.

Still, their best bet was to get in position for an ambush and hope that they were not noticed.

However, before they could leave the crystal dome, the vestige of the Verdant Warlord reappeared and addressed Anneli, Katrina, and Savan who had just entered for the first time.

He didn't even so much as spare a glance to the others and simply explained what he had to before once again disappearing.

"Okay. Let's find some cover to set up and wait. Make sure to use an invisibility talisman and keep your magical energy surpassed. If we are lucky, we will not be noticed and can get the drop on them."

Swiftly flying around, the nine of them perched up in the canopy of the forest near the ceiling of the domain and hid themselves among the branches and leaves.

It was uncertain how long they would need to wait, but they were hopeful that humans would return soon enough.

Sadly, even after an entire day of waiting the humans did not show themselves at the crystal dome, and it was becoming difficult to continue hiding.

At this point none of them had eaten for long enough that their bodies were starting to eel slightly sluggish. Plus, they had already consumed several potions and replied spell talismans a couple of times and were wasting their resources.

'Damn it. We cannot just wait around much longer.' Evelyn thought, racking her brain with what to do.

Another hour passed and everything was silent, so Evelyn decided to give up on hiding any long and gathered the others to make a new plan.

"First we need to eat." Evelyn said, taking out a prepared meal Anneli and Katrina had made while she and her companions were in the Velinis desert.

Veraciously the nine of them consumed the food since they had been skipping meals while hiding.

Once they were full, everyone's mood improved, and Evelyn felt she could think more clearly.

'It is far too risky for us to just keep waiting here. We are going to run out of magic items to assist in concealing ourselves or be caught when we inevitably have to eat. If they will not come back here, we will have to go look for them. Perhaps we can do as that moss monster did and ambush them while they are in the middle of a battle.' Evelyn thought coming up with a new plan.

Divulging her new plan, the others immediately agreed. It was one thing to wait for an ambush when you had a general idea of when your target would arrive, but it was possible that the humans would stay out in the forest for weeks exploring it. Everyone felt far more motivated to search for their targets rather than simply sit around waiting.

Of course, it was likely that they would not easily find the humans since the domain was quite sizeable to the point that Evelyn and her group had not even explored a third of it yet. But if they searched the forest and occasionally came back to check on the crystal dome, it was probable they would eventually come across their quarry.

…

For nearly a week they searched around fruitlessly, unable to find the group of humans that they were looking for.

But when their morale seemed to be at its lowest, Anneli spotted an area of the forest that had been recently disturbed by battle.

"This is definitely human blood. And still fairly fresh. They should be nearby." Evelyn said, looking for signs of where the battle had gone.

The forest was unnaturally sturdy, making it less susceptible to being damaged during a fight, but there were signs of the fierce battle that must have occurred.

The nine of them followed the trail for nearly thirty kilometers, before they came across the nine humans embroiled in a fierce battle with a single plant monster that Evelyn remembered seeing once before.

It was the moving rose bush she had spotted one night and that had sent a shill down her back.

However, it was no longer about the size of a normal rosebush and had propagated to an enormous size.

Large thorns whips cracked loudly, and it was releasing a field of pollen around itself that was disrupting the magic of the humans.

'They are really struggling against that thing. Several of them are injured.' Evelyn thought, seeing the blood dripping down several of the humans.

It was clear that this moving rose bush was terribly powerful and relentless. The humans were trying to escape but it continued to pursue them and attack viciously.

Perhaps if their magic would work, they would be able to win, but the creature's pollen disrupted any of the spells that the humans cast and turned them back into pure magical energy.

"It looks like we may not have to do anything at this rate." Rehni said.

"No, we need to guarantee that none of them escape. If we play this right, we can take out that monster and the humans in one fell swoop." Evelyn said, carefully watching the battle and looking for the perfect moment to strike.