Chapter 13: Muddied Hotness
Ash was galloping with the speed of lightning bold, raising clouds of dust on the old dirt road in Zardiw's countryside. The two naked girls held on tight with their breasts jumping up and down, Katrina was firmly holding the reins while Sophia snuggled up to the redhead as tightly as she could. Their destination was already in view, ready for the heroes to come to its aid. It was a quiet village not far from town, where the cozy homes attracted the gazes with their roofs of golden thatch and greenery was blooming all around with no blocky pavement or walls of cold stone anywhere in sight. A delightful sight for any weary traveler... Or it would be, if the view on the countryside wasn't plagued by the giant pillars of smoke coming from the woods, bringing dreadful tidings of a spreading wildfire.
The villagers were already in full alert, hurrying to get buckets of water from the nearby river. Common farmers and hunters, they were kind and helpful people, certainly didn't deserve the fate this curse has brought upon them. First, all of their cattle and pets went mad from some lunatic's beastmastery, and now their entire living could get destroyed. Katrina knew full went that water wasn't going to be enough. Over the last few days, she heard lots of rumors regarding Xiala, the academy's pyromancer wandering at the edge of town and torching everything on her path. Those who'd dare try to stop her would meet a fiery demise. Not the firewielder, however, she wasn't afraid of any pompous wizard, no matter how full of themselves they were.
"The firewielder and the sunwielder are reporting for duty!" Katrina exclaimed as she jumped down from the horse and neared the local guards, "what's the situation? Did you find her?"
Sophia nearly staggered and fell off, but barely managed to get down and quickly followed her partner, instantly covering up with a blush as she heard villagers gasping and laughing at the sight of her nude figure. The blonde thought that nobody would mind seeing naked figures here, especially under such scary circumstances, but it seemed like people always had a minute or two to unwind a little. Katrina ignored the gawkers and kept talking to the militiamen, mostly the bearded soldier named Harred, who was previously taken in for poaching and knew these lands incredibly well.
"Nah, but the fire's surely coming from the north," the bulky man pointed at the smoke, "there's plenty of flames there, might even reach Zardiw itself if we don't hurry up."
"Alright, I think I can figure out where she is by..." Katrina started, yet quickly got interrupted by a voice flowing from the top of a nearby hill.
A figure emerged from the woodlands with a burst of sick laughter. It was a tall and imposing woman in her early thirties, whose body was partially obscured by a long scarlet robe with wizard symbols. Her clothing was torn and dirty, her maroon hair was unkept, and her terrible gaze was overflowing with madness. This was exactly what Katrina and Sophia expected to see here: the pyromancer archmage of the Zardiw wizard academy, a stunning maroon-haired elf named Xiala. She was standing in the mud atop the hill and gazing on the villagers, clearly satisfied with the havoc.
"The flames burning within me cannot be sated!" She screamed at the top of her lungs, "it shall consume you all!"
"And here I hoped we'd at least see one rational archmage," Katrina gruntled.
"W-well, she was known as an egotistical and self-indulgent person even before the curse took her wits," Sophia explained, "now, it seems, it got much worse."
Katrina turned towards Harred, who was already aiming his crossbow. A loud shot pierced the ears of the nearby villagers as the bolt flew to the hill, only to be dodged by dancing Xiala.
"Damnit, this thing will take forever to recharge!" The bearded guard complained.
"Wait, we aren't supposed to kill her!" Sophia cried out.
"Yes... And besides, if you'll fire at her, it may force her to retreat back into the woods where we'll never catch her," Katrina judged, "we have to put out her flames in a different way."
"What are you proposing, then? The way to her is through the steep hills that are blocked off by the fire," Harred said, "if only someone here was fireproof and could walk through the walls of flame in order to reach Xiala..."
"Just give me the magical handcuffs and it'll be over soon," Katrina smirked as she saw Harred still trying to figure out the answer to his own question.
"I'm going with you!" Sophia exclaimed with a surprisingly confident tone.
"Apologies sunny, but you can't. She'll burn you to a crisp. The only way this is gonna work is if I go against her. Fight fire with fire, as they say."
Sophia had some protests but had to agree and step aside. After everyone wished Katrina luck, she ran up to the hills and began moving up the trail with a tough and steep road ahead of her. The redhead ran as fast as she could, occasionally ouching due to how unpleasant and sometimes painful the rocky surface felt on her bare, unprotected feet. The clouds of smoke became larger as she got closer to Xiala, it looked like the entire forest edge was burning. The crackling caused Katrina's ears to ring, while all the warmth made her sweaty. Nevertheless, the naked redhead pushed forward through the mountain trail, surrounded by the burning woodland. The fire was everywhere, and it wasn't even a regular fire. Its color was different, a lot darker and redder than normal, and it seemed like it was spreading faster.
Still, the fire being magical gave Katrina a glimpse of hope that she could end it by shackling its owner. She firmly held the handcuffs while hacking off the burning vines and branches on her way to Xiala, sometimes losing sight of where she was going due to all this smoke. Seeing so many wildfires around was a terrible sight, its unnatural color caused Katrina to flinch each time she looked at it. She knew there was no danger, given her powers, but there was something deep within her mind, some deep memory that was utterly terrified of this fire. She knew what it was very well... The golden forest, the terrified locals, hiding in the well in the hopes of being spared.
"No!" Katrina cried out, as if responding to her own thoughts and lunged towards another burning tree.
For a second, she lost her footing and nearly slid down the hill, but managed to keep balance. Her sword wasn't as lucky, though, and went tumbling downhill, clanking against the solid rock.
