An eerie silence hung over the forest as they rushed southward between the large trees, taking care to be as silent as possible. They hadn’t ventured back into the Old Growth – it was simply too dangerous to do so when the sun was low.
“In An’Larion,” Midhir quietly spoke as they hurried, “It’s said that the Old Growth awakens after nightfall. It spreads, consuming some of the New Growth. And the new growth – the edge of these forests, creep ever closer to the settlements.” Nobody had seen the forest move, or awaken, of course, but then again, nobody went into the forest after nightfall.
“The same is said in Bareon,” Alistair nodded. “And we can confirm that the forest grows every day. It’s the roots of the trees that spread towards the city – and it’s damn difficult to fight against it because they’re not just on the surface, but also deep underground.”
Captain Rianne let out a sigh. “You saw them from the training grounds in Lord Orlein’s mansion, remember?” She made a vague gesture towards the layer of roots covering the earth beneath them. “It’s a losing battle – the edge of the forest used to be an hour of walking away from the city just a decade ago. Now, the roots touch the walls if we don’t cut them off weekly.”
Midhir bit his lips. An’Larion was a lot luckier in that regard. The city had a lot more manpower, and the vigilant Empress working to keep the mist and the unnatural away. She and her Enforcers did their work all over Eldoria, but naturally An’Larion was their primary target to protect.
Still, he found it odd that they’d let Bareon lose so much land to the Old Growth. Lord Orlein had quite a good relationship with the imperial family, so it made little sense for Empress Celyn to withhold aid.
“In any case, we can’t afford to remain in the woods after nightfall. We’ll risk the main road – and being spotted by the terrorists – if we have to,” Captain Rianne grumbled as she glanced upwards.
Midhir followed her gaze. The forest canopy was thick, and blocked the rays of sunlight even when the sun was at its zenith. It was only some faint light that usually reached below the leaves. Now, however, it was much darker, and it continued to grow even more so with every passing minute. It was getting more difficult to see ahead, and soon they were going to start to have trouble seeing the root-covered ground properly.
They hurried, rushing as fast as they safely could parallel to the road, climbing over mounds of roots, and avoiding stepping too close to the road.
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The rare sounds that reached their ears only confirmed their fears – there was a group near them. Their loud conversations indicating they didn’t fear being noticed. They had grown very bold, very suddenly. Going from suspicious people walking in the city, to arson, to trying to awaken the Old Gods… it was difficult to believe all that had happened within just two days.
As minutes passed, visibility grew poorer. They tried continuing in the forest, but eventually, after tripping over a dozen times in just a handful of minutes, Alistair spoke up. “We need to take the road – and just rush to Bareon. This is too dangerous, and I’d rather face human foes than an awakened forest when night falls.”
Midhir couldn’t help but agree. He touched his bandaged hand, absentmindedly running his fingers over the wound. “I won’t be able to help you fight,” he reminded them.
“I’m well aware,” Alistair nodded. “I don’t intend to fight either. Come on,” With that said, the young noble approached the road with silent, steady steps. Voices reached their ears as they hid behind the trees bordering the road.
“…what do you think she’ll do to him?” The owner of the voice soon entered their view – a group of about a dozen armoured men and women were slowly walking down the road. One of them cackled at the question asked.
“Nothing good, that’s for sure,” someone in the back of the group piped up.
The group nodded and muttered in response.
Alistair grasped his spear tightly. “Follow me, alright? Don’t hesitate.” The blue gem embedded into the shaft of his spear began to glow. Alistair took a deep breath, a bead of sweat rolled down his chin as he closed his eyes.
Midhir scowled. What was he doing? He had never seen Alistair have any trouble when casting a resonance, ever! Not even when he fought against Instructor Soraya, or during the battle earlier.
The sound of rushing water reached his ears, accompanied by the sounds of branches being torn off, and smaller trees and plants being ripped from the earth. The armoured group paused in confusion as they tried to understand what the voice belonged to.
Like a tsunami, a wave of water burst out of the forest, dragging with it branches and smaller trees that it had torn on its way. Their screams of shock were immediately drowned by the water as the wave crashed into them with force, knocking them off their feet and washing them away into the forest on the other side of the road.
“Run!” Alistair hissed, leaping up on his feet, and rushing down the road, towards Bareon. Neither Midhir nor captain Rianne hesitated.
They dashed down the road as the sun reached the horizon, dyeing the sky in red, purple, and pink. While the sky looked beautiful, the forest seemed a lot less welcoming. As the daylight around them faded, some noises reached Midhir’s ears.
It sounded line something was slithering on the ground, like a snake. He could hear the earth move ever so slightly near the forest, like it was being pushed aside, but whenever he glanced towards the sounds, there was no movement, nothing at all.
Not even in the group of armoured terrorists who should have regrouped and started to chase them by now.
He didn’t dare look behind while a cold shiver ran down his spine.
The Forest awakens under the cover of the night, the spirits chase the naïve and the careless.