questions over questions, it also managed to cross my barrier without me noticing.'

As I brood over possible explanations for that beast, I slowly walk over to the giant oak tree.

A huge crater estimated within its bark and oh wonder it has exactly my dimensions.

“I am sorry old friend, but you saved me well. I will not forget your incomparable good deed.”

I lower my voice and pat the bark again. This time the tree did not reply, but I think it will be ok.

Ah crap my tent is a total mess, but well the morning is rising already. I hope this was the only one of these monsters around here.

Just to be sure I decide to examine the forest a bit further, when the daylight will shine at least a little.

To my luck, I don´t have to wait for long. With a glittering sparkle the sun makes its entrance.

A few sun rays pierce through the holes and rifts within the boughs of the oak tree. And moments later the, still faint, sunlight brightens up the place.

Uhh, now that I can see that thing even more clearly it really looks disgusting.

The large body of the giant lies in front of me and its appearance is more than horrifying.

It looks just like an oversize human... with blackish skin. But this one seems to be dead already for a long time...

Its flesh has already start to rot. But not for long... It seems as if this thing was well conserved within one of the swamps and just recently managed to get out of there. And since then the decay has started...

But why would something like this suddenly come to life? That doesn't make any sense.

Something strange is definitely going on around here. And was it this thing that lacerated the caravan...

Guess I have to investigate the forest a little closer.

I inspect my tent and realize that it´s nothing more than a flattened bunch of garbage, the giant obviously didn´t care for what it was stomping on...

wonderful, now I have no tent anymore. Hrmph..

with my staff at the stop, I wade through a field of muddy puddles and sink spots of the swamp.

The road towards the forest has become a great river, the rainfall is still continuing and fills the road with endless amounts of splashing, dirty rainwater.

This makes it not easier, its all along a dangerous path to walk through the swamps here... And now I am not even able to distinguish between road and swamp.

I wish my magic would belong to the nature affinity, then I would be able to protect me...

But I have a special case of magic affinity, I don´t really have an affinity for any special magic.

That´s a rare case and it means that I am able to learn all different kinds of magic. But it´s much harder for me and most of the already existing spells are no fit for me, so I have to create my own magic spells. But that´s not a big problem, when I create a magic spell one can be sure that it will be a strong and effective one. No unnecessary light effects or so on, just a pragmatic and useful spell.

That´s the main reason why I learned swordsmanship, my true strength lies within a sword. Unfortunately I cannot afford to use my sword, I don´t want the king to somehow detect me through my carelessness.

After a while of cautiously deciding on which step I make and which not, a wave of trees starts to appear around me. I have reached the early beginnings of the forest.

At first only single trees, firs and other spruce trees. But as I continue, my field of view becomes shorter and a tight belt of trees already surrounds me.

At least the ground here has become more stable and less muddy. The firs around me catch a good amount of the rain and prevent the earth beneath from getting soggy.

I also can differ from the safe to walk spots and the dangerous swamp sinks. The only negative is that the anyways already dim sunlight becomes even more faint.

I wave my staff and a bright light orb begins to float above it.

This will make me things easier.

The forest around me is silent, and not even the rain is making noise here.

The thick layers of tree boughs and conifer swallow the echoes from the rain completely.

Somehow it´s a little bit scary down here. Not a single noise, except my own breathing and walking, is to hear.

This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

Strange, I thought that some birds would have stayed here, but I can´t hear a thing.

That is no good sign.

I walk further and even if I can not believe it, the forest´s trees become even tighter than before. It feels as if a thick and rough scarf is tightening around me, swallowing me into something unseen and frightening dark.

This is far enough, I think I should turn.

This feeling... as if a snake is slowly curling around my neck. A shiver runs down my spine...

The forest around me is dark and only my light orb illuminates the swallowing obscurity.

And there is this feeling of malaise again, a deep and unreasonable fear emerges within me...

what on earth is just going on in here?

I catch myself as I start to run, at first I accelerate my walking pace, but in no times I catch me running...

This forest... I need to get out of here.

“SCREAAH”

Oh for gods sake, what now

I rapidly turn around as multiple death wailing screams echo through the forest.

What´s that, a dark silhouette rushes pass a few trees on my right. I swing my staff in that direction, but nothing...

damn... I have lost my directions...

suddenly a glowing white light appears before me.

At first one and within blinks two, then ten and suddenly a whole light parade of glowing sparks dances in front of me.

Ignis Fatuus … this is bad. If they are here than I am already much too deep within the swamp areas.

How come that I lost control of my own body and blindly ran through this damn woods.

And what on earth were those screams...

I need a plan to find the exit of this forest. My magic might be powerful, but magic is not almighty. And I do not plan on dying in a swamp..

~Crack~

another noise pulls my thoughts back on my surrounding.

A large branch breaks and falls to the ground.

I put my attention in its direction, but I cannot detect a thing there.

Suddenly, I move my head back, something grabs for my shoulder and an enormous force pushes me down on the ground.

“Aahh”

A scream slips my lips and with a rough impact, I can´t withstand the force pushing me down.

I sink into the tender mulch and try to turn around.

A gruesome pant sounds from behind me and as I face that thing, I nearly throw up. I stare into the blankly and dull eyes of a half separated human. His head is bend in an unnatural way and the unique expression of being half strangled and half cut is driving a scary view into my brain.

I finally come to my senses and wiggle out of its strong grip. A forceful push of my staff executes the rest.

A swelling barrier smashes the undead human into a disgusting puddle of guts, flesh and blood.

Iuh.. I pat a maggot of my shoulder and straighten up.

undead... So that giant thing from before also was an undead creature. That explains a lot of things.

But who? If there are undeads in this quantity, there has to be someone who controls them.

A necromancer... a witch?.. Or even something more terrible. Crap I have no clue and I am still caught in this godless forest.

I had no clue that something this terrible is occurring so nearby my monastery.

Whatever it is, I have to clear this.

The swallowing darkness of the forest lays like a heavy veil on top of me and a gnashing sound around me, tells me that I am still not alone.

But at least I managed to calm myself again. With a closer examination of my surrounding, I spot a few glowing orbs, not too far from my position.

Ignis Fatuus, a lot of them.

“Perfect.”

I mumble and hurry to move my butt in their direction.

The gnashing sound around me intensifies and as matter of safety, I decide to dim my light. Which still extends from my stuff top.

Hopefully, the attack from before was just a coincident.

Normally undeads are relatively dumb and only prey for meet when ordered. Except they are born form natural occurrences.

But undeads are not common here, not even in the past...

They have to be summoned ones.

With hasty, but cautiously quiet, steps I move forwards.

The light, emit by the Ignis Fatuus, becomes stronger and a clear path of gravel extends itself in front of me.

What´s this?...

since when Is there a path like this in midst of this unholy place...

I decide to hurry forward, ignoring the fact that the gnashing sound , further has developed into a strange and unhealthy cracking, added by a few painful moans.

Also is a dense fog slowly spreading across my surroundings. The forest henceforth has become an opaque and thick fog wall.

All here and then I pass a shallow tree, or whatever is about the height of a tree... maybe one of the trees had arms....

No, no time to think about that.

Even though my vision is harshly restricted by the fog, the gravel path before me is still visible as clear as in bright daylight.

The Ignis Fatuus are doing a good job in lighting the path.

A narrow and snaking way.

The noises around me become more and more horrifying. Until the point that I can´t ignore them any further.

In the god´s name, what makes those terrifying noises?

Suddenly the light before me extinguishes. Darkness falls upon me. A prison of shadows and chains of unfathomable deep darkness.

Uhh, I had enough.

“Et lucere et illuminare omnes sole”

I raise my stuff and risk a strong spell.

I uncovered this one in an old book, which a traveler passed on to me.

With urging beams a floating, orange shining orb is circulating and manifesting above me.

After a few seconds the work is done. A medium sized orb is glowing brightly above me, emitting a dense light.

The ball has an around 2 meters radius and is comparable to a smaller sun.

It´s a highly ranked light spell, that I mastered. It creates indeed a small sun and is to use with cautious.

And there the forest around me learns exactly why....

with hissing stinging flames, the adjacent trees immediately incinerate and leave nothing more than huge piles of ashes.

With a small part of my magic aura I restrict the flames and suffocate them rashly, so that they wont spread. Luckily the heat is not harmful towards the caster.

The effect of my small sun has another use to it. The dense fog dispersed into nothingness, as the heat evaporates the water particles in the air.

Without water the fog has no base anymore.

But I very fast recognized that it´s not always good to know what was hidden...

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