It took longer than it probably should have, but I finally came to a realization. The source of that which I felt was wrong with the world wasn’t entirely external. Something was wrong with me as well.
It wasn’t entirely my fault. I blamed the fog that still blanketed my mind for preventing me from realizing this for so long. Even now, there was so much I felt was hidden from me–barred from my conscious thought–that I just couldn’t reach. Something had happened to me–been done to me, but whenever I tried to call my mind back to it, it was as if the memory was pushed away.
I sat there, staring at my spotless hands, and desperately chased after whatever it was, to no avail. Eventually, I had to settle on the fact that my efforts would bear no fruit, but I would not abandon hope just yet. My memories of everything that had come before were currently out of reach, but every moment that passed saw the fog lifted just a little more. I would be whole again.
For now, the issue could wait, and I was all too happy to set it aside.
I still had a mission to complete. Whatever my addled mind had masked as the moon was still missing, and it was likely related to my suppressed memory as well. Locating the nearest village, town, or city still provided the best chance of finding out just what it was. If I could find someone that knew me and trace my steps back to the time before I awoke, I’d at least get some clue to explain everything.
To that end, it was time to leave the shack behind. It had been an adequate shelter when I needed one. No monster or beast had trespassed on its grounds while the sunlight had me disabled. But it was in the middle of nowhere, in an area surely overrun with things just like the ghoul and wight, or worse. I couldn’t cling to the illusion of its safety anymore.
I got back to my feet and retrieved the halberd from where I’d dropped it.
Nothing else within the small room seemed of any value to me. The pile of clothes and old pair of boots that were stored away with my new weapon had not survived the passage of time unscathed. Even my own clothes, which were far from in good condition, were still better than those within the closet, and the pair of boots had practically rotted away.
As for the fishing rod…that was a harder decision to make. This area wasn’t safe, and things lurked within the river. Even if I could find a stretch and prove it to be clear, I’d have to linger there for much too long if I wanted to catch anything. It would be plenty of time for another wandering predator to find me.
Plus, I had yet to feel the slightest pang of hunger. I wasn’t so desperate as to consign myself to a needless fight. I left the rod where it rested and turned away.
Before leaving, I took a few moments to peek through a number of the shack’s apertures and search the night’s shadows for anything lurking nearby. Whatever light had been present the previous night was entirely gone now, strangled by an omnipresent cloud cover until barely anything could be seen at all. When I couldn’t properly survey in this way, I instead turned my focus to my ears, and when at least that didn’t give away any other creature’s presence, I felt confident enough to set out.
Outside, I could barely see more than fifty paces in any direction, but I could still make out some details of the surroundings–enough that, coupled with my sense of hearing, I found my way near the river’s edge quickly.
I stuck close to the ground from then on as I followed the waters downstream, for dual reasons. First, because the lack of light made it alarmingly likely that I might miss some sort of obstacle and, at the very least, trip. Right now, I had absolutely no desire to suddenly find myself back in those frigid waters where anything could be hiding, so I stayed low to ensure my footing.
The second reason was perhaps the more significant of the two. Even if I stayed out of the waters, I could not fully safeguard myself from all ambushes, and just because I could not see, that didn’t mean there weren’t predators out there whose eyes could pierce the night’s veil. So I stayed low to present the smallest profile possible.
It did not make for very fast travel, but hours passed before my journey faced any interruptions. And when an interruption finally did take place, its source was unavoidable, inevitable. I felt the sun rising long before the first rays of light made it through the clouds, like an overbearing and hostile presence looming above me.
I didn’t realize it at first, as I hadn’t noticed that sensation the previous night, but when the coming dawn became clear to me, I started to panic. I knew it would disable me just as surely as it did before.
I need to find shelter, NOW!
There were caves in the area–ones like the ghoul’s. If I could find one, I could hide myself away until the night came once more. But where? My trip down the river had taken me some distance away from the rough cliffs and slopes of the nearby mountains, I was now surrounded by a dark forest and desiccated trees. I’d have to retrace my steps for who knows how long to find a cave, and there just wasn’t time!
I dashed away from the river’s bank and into the withered forest, with only a half-formed idea for guidance.
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Though the trees were all bereft of any foliage, they’d grown thick and closely together while they were alive. Their branches twisted together in some places above me and cast certain stretches of the paths I found in slight shadow. There might be an area choked enough to hide me away in my time unconscious, or even safeguard me from the sun’s disabling light–that would be the best outcome, but I wouldn’t waste my energy hoping for such fortune.
The trees almost blurred as I dashed past them one after another, moving as fast as my legs could carry me. I entered a deeper portion of the forest before I knew it and ran headlong into a thick fogbank–causing my steps to stutter for a second before I continued on.
The fog might give me another second or two against the sun, but it’s not enough.
Even now, I could see the sky brightening at the edge of my vision. I had to push faster…
The paths between the trees only grew smaller, and at one point as I ran, I actually had to toss the halberd ahead and squeeze myself sideways through the small gap between two especially knotted trunks before I could continue on. The canopy of skeletal branches weaved tighter alongside the spacing between the trees as well, but it was not yet to the point that the sunlight wouldn’t reach more.
The sun’s presence redoubled and I knew the dawn had arrived before the world started to brighten. The fog diffused the light slightly, so I didn’t immediately lose autonomy over my body, but the strength of my limbs quickly started to bleed away. I was out of time.
No no no no no, just a minute longer!
The first distinct ray of light pierced through the fog ahead of me–and fell right upon a large burrow between a set of gnarled roots. I didn’t have time to consider what had made the burrow, or if it could be occupied. I leaped forward and angled myself so that the momentum would carry me into the hole, then my body crossed through the sunlight and all my senses died.
----------------------------------------
Why do we stay here?
Oh, come on, Astraea, an indistinct voice replied. It’s really not that bad.
Maybe, Astraea reluctantly admitted, but that’s not really an answer either. Why do we stay here when I could take us somewhere better, where the people won’t sneer in our faces and look down on us at every hand?
And where would that wonderful place be? Tell me, and we can leave at once.
I don’t know.
A fleeting vision passed me by, of an intimately familiar face cast in warmth and light, bearing a sad smile.
Because it doesn’t exist, the indistinct voice stated. We could cross the whole world and never find it, but we can work to make our home that way. It just takes time.
We’ve lived in this town our entire lives, just how much more time will it take?
There was that sad smile again. This time, I heard it in the person’s words.
I don’t know.
My consciousness returned to me accompanied by a splitting headache. I clutched my head and groaned fitfully as I tried to roll over, only for the small confines of my current location to restrict my movement. When I opened my eyes, I saw only dirt.
“So I made it into the hole, then,” I said to myself. “That’s nice.”
I didn’t know what would have happened if I hadn’t found some sort of refuge–whether the long exposure to the sun would harm me, or a passing monster would try to make a meal of my body. There might not have been any consequences at all. Either way, I was simply satisfied that the day was over and I could finally continue on with my journey.
Slowly, with painful awareness of my continued headache and all the motions that aggravated it, I withdrew myself from the burrow. I had to shimmy myself backward, as the hole was too small to even rise up to my knees, but I got out with little issue. Outside, the thick fog was back–if it had ever left–but enough light shone through from above that I could somewhat make out my surroundings.
The forest was just as dark and ominous as I’d left it, and I could see no further than ten paces in any direction even with the light. Some people might have been wary of that environment, but I found it oddly comfortable.
I leaned back against the nearest tree and took a deep breath, as I tried to concentrate on anything other than my headache. The halberd was there just outside the hole as well, but I let it be for now. The pain was proving slow to fade, unlike most other conditions I’d fallen into in the past few nights, and with it my body felt weak.
I’d continue on when it passed. Though it annoyed me, a moment of rest was probably a good idea.
Then a scraping noise caught my attention, and I reopened my eyes to catch flashes of movement through the gaps in the trees. I got back to my feet in a hurry and retrieved my weapon. I looked around for an avenue of retreat, but everywhere I turned, I found more flashes of movement.
This was not a good place to fight–the halberd wouldn’t help me at all here, and I didn’t want to engage an unknown enemy with nothing but my claws if I could help it. That left only one option.
I spun around and put the halberd’s shaft awkwardly into my teeth, then latched onto my tree’s withered and creviced truck and started climbing. The scraping was getting closer on all sides, so I moved quickly while still trying to be as quiet as I could. The tree was only three times my height, and the surface of its trunk could never be called smooth or difficult to climb.
I made it up to the closest spot to roost and hid myself away before anything drew near enough to see me. Then I watched the monsters approach.
The first one to enter fully into my sight was thin, and unnaturally blackened. It shambled forward aimlessly and lacking all vigor, hunched over as if it didn’t even have enough strength to stand upright. To me, that made perfect sense, for how could a skeleton alone have enough strength to move at all? It should have been nothing but a pile upon the ground.
I ducked down lower into the roost of branches and eyed it warily. The skeleton continued shambling forward, soon joined by the rest of its horde until there wasn’t a clear stretch of ground beneath me.