MLII C3, P2- "Noise Of The Forest"

"Noise Of The Forest" is the second Part of "Miracula Luxia II" 's third Chapter. It was released on 03.12.2020, the same day as "Here To Help".
== Plot ==
Having eagerly agreed to help the grieving Dryad, Jared and John go back into the forest and travel into the inner part of it, trying to find her friends and save them from the attacking Vahnatai.
Unfortunately, while they are gone, a large group of Vahnatai attacks Duskwood and kills most of its residents. Too later, our heroes realize that and run back towards the village to help their remaining allies.
== Story ==
The Dryad looks at Jared. Judging from the look in her eyes. she seems to trust him. 
It is truly surprising. Most of the time, they evade humans and look at them with nothing more than fear and mistrust.
"My name is Bethesda."- She introduces herself- "And I am one of the five Dryads who have protected Duskwood for hundreds of years and defeated those who would dare to harm it, all while living in the forest with my sisters. However, we have always had our doubts that we would be found and attacked by the enemy... someday."
She wipes a tear from her eye.
"And the worst happened! While we were helping Duskwood after the constant attacks of the ones that you call the "Darkside Loyalists", we were attacked by a group of Vahnatai! We managed to dispatch them, but more came soon after. And then more, and more... "
She sighs.
"My sisters are still defending themselves in our grove, but they are not going to last very long, not without help. They sent me here to look for someone who could help us defeat the Vahnatai."
She stares at Jared hopefully.
"I've heard a lot of good things about you, Jared. You and your friend might be the force that will be able to turn the tides of this endless battle."- She continues- "We are at your mercy."
Jared thinks about this for a few seconds.
"If this creature is asking mere humans for help, it must be really desperate."- He says to himself- "Dryads normally take care of dangerous elements themselves, not daring to ask for help."
John looks at his best friend.
"Do you think this attack is connected to... them?"
Jared nods and turns to him.
"It seems like those poor souls were attacked by Rentar-Ihrno's Vahnatai. Those miscreants tried to attack Duskwood, but were most likely stopped by them."- He says- "This is why they searched for them and eventually found them, despite their powerful defenses. And thus, the attack on the grove happened."
He sighs and turns back to Bethesda.
"We will be glad to help you."- He continues- "Where should we go to assist your sisters in this time of need?"
Bethesda smiles and points to the north. A small pathway opens through the trees, enabling them to go forward.
"You may go through here."- She responds- "Eventually, you will reach my sisters. They are at the end of the path."
She remembers something and this exact moment and adds:
"Before you go, I wanted to thank you for... for deciding to help us, the forest creatures. We will never forget your kindness. Never."
"Now go."- She continues- "My sisters need your help."
Jared smiles.
"It is our pleasure, mighty Dryad."- He responds- "We promise that those fools will pay for what they have done."
Having said that, he and John go into the forest, ready to fight the enemies.
Watching them go further into the forest, Bethesda shakes her head.
"I am glad that there are still kind people like this boy who are ready to help everytime."- She says to herself- "Maybe there is hope for my sisters and Duskwood, after all."
Meanwhile, Jared and John walk further into the forest. On the way, they find discarded weapons and armor, left behind by the defenders of the sacred place. There are corpses of Vahnatai on the ground.
On top of that, there are also the corpses of three wolves. It seems like the poor creatures were slain by the vagabonds while trying to defend the grove and their masters.
John's wolf is clearly shocked by this. It cowers in fear, saddened by what happened to its brothers and sisters.
John notices this, kneels and pets the huge creature.
"It's okay, buddy. It's okay. I won't let them hurt you, I promise."- He reassures it- "Everything will be okay."
Jared watches this whole process, sadness in his eyes. He remembers how he promised to protect those around him, to show love and care for them and how he almost let them down in the end.
Moments later, he remembers what he and John and here are for. He pats his best friend on the shoulder.
"I really hate to interrupt this, but we must go on."- He says- "Every moment that we spend away from the Dryads is a missed opportunity to make a difference in this battle."
John nods and stands up. He lightly grips the handle of his sword.
"You're right."- He says stoically- "Let's go."
A few minutes later, Jared and John arrive in a secluded grove. 
However, its beauty is marred by the bloodstains on the ground. They are everywhere. Bethesda did not lie- This place is truly in danger.
Suddenly, Jared hears a scream coming from nearby and runs towards the source with John. There, they find a group of Dryads and their allies fighting a small, but powerful force of Vahnatai. The creatures are managing to hold the aliens at bay, but soon it may be over for them.
One of the Dryads sees Jared and John and yells:
"Help!"
Without thinking twice, the two heroes join the battle and manage to kill a few Vahnatai after taking them by surprise.
Seeing the boy whom they were sent to assassinate, the Vahnatai immediately change their attack targets and try to kill Jared.
Unfortunately for them, this distraction is the perfect opportunity for the Dryads to launch a counter-attack. They manage to regroup and start to attack the Vahnatai with a wide array of powerful spells.
Soon, most of the invaders are dead, with only a handful of them still alive.
Just as Jared looks around for more invaders, a large Vahnatai sneaks behind him and pushes him to the ground. Jared tries to grab his weapon, but the creature takes the weapon and throws it away, out of the boy's reach.
The huge Vahnatai laughs.
"Look what fell off the back of the wagon. The infamous Jared Kaos himself."- It says and laughs again- "Believe me, Rentar-Ihrno will be very happy when we bring you to her!"
Jared shakes his head.
"I am not going to let myself be captured by your pathetic kind!"- He yells- "Either kill me or let me go! There is no other way! I am not going to tell you anything!"
The Vahnatai smirks and raises its curved weapon in the air.
"What a shame. I thought that you would beg me for mercy. Seems like that won't happen, eh?"- It continues- "Well, your wish will be granted. Prepare to die, you fool!"
John thinks about a way to save his friend. Then, he sees a dagger on the ground near him. He takes it.
"Jared! Take this!"- He yells and throws the dagger towards his friend.
Thinking quickly, Jared grabs the dagger in the air and swiftly stabs the Vahnatai in the chest, making it drop its weapon.
Once it takes a few steps back, our hero stands up and mercilessly plunges it deeper into the creature's chest.
"This is what you brought upon yourself!"- The boy yells- "This is what will happen to those of you who are foolish enough to fight us and work for that demon!"
The Vahnatai looks at its chest, looks back at Jared and smiles.
"It is too late."- It says- "The fires are already starting to burn. And you can't do anything about it."
Then, it plunges the dagger deeper into its chest and falls down, dead.
Jared and John look at each other, surprised.
" "Fires are already starting to burn"? What in the world does this mean?!"- John wonders.
Jared ignores him, for the moment. Instead of answering his question, he picks up his sword from the ground, approaches the Dryads and helps them up.
"Are you okay?"- He asks them- "You seem to be hurt!"
One of the Dryads, the eldest of the four, approaches Jared and smiles.
"Thank you for your help, young hero. Without your help, we may have lost the fight."- She says- "We may be wounded, but thanks to both of you, we are not dead."
One of the Dryads looks to the south and smiles.
"It seems like Bethesda finally found someone to help us out."- She says- "I knew that she won't give up!"
The elder Dryad looks around, sees the blood around them and sighs.
"This world will never be the same. Not with those murderers on the loose."- She continues- "Until their leader is put to rest, no one will be truly safe from them."
Suddenly, the woman senses something. She stares at the area to the south. Something seems to be worrying her.
She looks at John.
"My boy, I sensed the screams coming from your hometown."- She says- "Someone is attacking Duskwood! And it is... it is on fire!"
Realizing that something is amiss, John draws his sword and runs back towards the way he and Jared came from.
Jared bows down to the Dryads.
"Mighty Dryads, please forgive us for underestimating those vagabonds."- He says, determination burning in his eyes and guilt struck into his heart like an arrow- "We promise that we will take all of them down. One by one, their group shall fall!"
The eldest Dryad smiles.
"Everyone makes mistakes, child. What truly matters is whether you will try to fix them or not."- She responds calmly- "Now go. The people of Duskwood need your help... once again."
Without wasting another moment of time, Jared runs out of the forest and joins his friend in watching helplessly as the village burns.
Most of the attackers are gone, having done their job. Duskwood is razed to the ground and many of its residents are dead.
Not far away from them, John sees a small group of Vahnatai banging on the front door of a large house.
"It's over, Mr. Braveheart. You have nowhere else to go."- One of them says- "Surrender or die!"
Coming from inside, Jared hears a loud smirk.
"In your dreams, you monsters!"- A muffled voice yells from there.
John draws his blade again and angrily runs towards the Vahnatai.
"Dad! Dad, no!"- He yells- "Leave my father alone!"
Jared tries to keep up with his pace.
"We are coming for you, evil Vahnatai scum!"- He yells, aims his bow at them and opens fire.