Walking through the town in full armor was strange. People didn’t watch him nearly as much as when he was walking around dressed casually. In fact, he felt invisible. Part of the crowd. The usual bubble which the townsfolk gave him was gone and he was bumped into multiple times.

There were even people who greeted him and a few merchants who offered samples of their wares in hopes he would buy. He refused politely stating he was just leaving. He was given advice to stay on the trail, have a fire lit at night to keep wildlife away, and other such helpful advice was their reply.

It was strange at the casualness of it all, like it wasn’t a big deal. Yet when he came in with the caravan they were all avoided, and with Sapphire he was treated like some exotic animal. Raylas assumed that it was normal due to them being strangers, but what if it was something else?

There was no hassle to arrive at the gate and some of the guards even waved at him. They were lounging, leaning against the heavy beams locking the gate shut. Today there were two of them on the walkway keeping watch toward the forest.

“Headed out today?” One of the relaxers asked.

Raylas nodded and heard a grunt from a watcher.

“I wouldn’t, if I were you,” he said. “The woodsmen said the woods were quiet today. Something is prowling out there.”

“Superstitious nonsense,” another relaxer joked. “We are safe around here. I’ll bet money on it.” He winked at the other lounger who shook his head in exasperation.

“Like I’d made a losing bet like that.” he grumbled.

“So what bet did you lose to get patrol duty?” the relaxer laughed toward Raylas. “Must have been something bad.”

Raylas blinked in surprise as the men's gazes fell on him. Did they think he was part of the guard? His face was concealed as the visor was lowered, so did they have new troops which they were training?

Then it clicked. The visor! He looked between each guard and they all had similar scale mail.

“Just a bad flip of the coin,” Raylas lied.

“Sucks to be you, then,” the lounger chortled. “Got enough in that pack of yours, though?”

Raylas shrugged, shifting his bag more comfortably on his shoulders. “‘Course. I need to be prepared in case of anything, after all.”

“Newbies,” the watcher grumbled. “Get that damn door open. Sooner he goes out the sooner you can go back to wasting each other's time quietly.”

The loungers popped up and took a hold of the beam. With a huff they pushed it forward. The weight of the wood soon became uneven and it tilted upward with a bang. They took a hold of the handle and pulled, dragging the gate inward just a few feet.

“Out you go, newbie. Remember, stay on the road or dedicated trails only.”

“I’ll remember!” Raylas saluted as he marched out.

The gate started to close when he heard a shout. He turned to see someone had run up to the guards. He paused, straining his ears to listen.

“... And then the man swung his fist and knocked Hedric out. The dwarf is raving mad, I say!”

“Damn it,” the lounger cursed. “I paid him for a new axe already.”

“Your fault for paying in advance,” the watcher jabbed. “Never pay until you see the product. His work is good but he is an outsider.”

“Yeah, yeah.”

“I heard he went insane when he met the white haired fellow,” the messenger muttered.

“The church man?”

“Yeah, that's the one.”

“Didn’t Sim take care of him already?

“No,” the messenger sighed. “The Knight came in and basically destroyed the place. I think he is in line with… hey, who is that?”

The messenger locked eyes with Raylas who was standing just a few feet from the door. Knowing his time was over he gave a wave and started to sprint away.

“Don’t rush your patrol, newbie!” the watcher growled.

“Patrol? Sim said there was no patrol due to zombies–”

The rest of the messenger’s message was lost as Raylas distanced himself from the town. He heard cries of alarm rise when he was halfway through the field. The trial in front of him was wide open with fresh fallen snow. The creaking of the gate resounded and he looked back as he saw a few guards start to leave the town, and start to chase after him. There was a lovely trail of footprints in the snow showing a straight path to where was, which made him curse.

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Raylas altered his course and dived into the forest. They said to avoid the woods and stay on the trail so maybe they’ll leave him be if he sidetracked for the initial journey away from the town.

Plus, the dwarf said he’d meet him somewhere out here, so he’ll make the short man work for it. There wasn’t much of hiding his trail as making as much space between him and the gate as possible. He weaved around trees and jumped over fallen logs. Eventually he was forced to stop and catch his breath. A smile on his face when he heard no sounds of pursuit.

Gathering his breath he looked around him. The leaves had long since fallen and the woods were open and clear.. The town couldn’t be seen from where he was standing due to the distance he made and using bushes and a few rises to cover his escape.

The woods were quiet. A soft breeze blew through and bit into him. He was not wearing the cloak as he took it off when he put on the armor. He cursed softly realizing it was left on the dwarf’s table, though he was happy to see he remembered the chain. It sparkled happily under the open sky, glittering like the stars for everyone to see.

Raylas growled and debated on pulling out a shirt to tie around it. The reflections could alert any creature nearby of his presence. Then again the armor clinked noisily when he moved, and it was freshly polished so it seemed to reflect light as well.

Realizing the point was moot he sighed and looked around. The cold was biting into him. It wouldn’t be a problem now but in time he would have to find shelter or make a fire so he wouldn’t freeze. For now he should start moving in search of the road.

As he escaped he used the woods as a means to get away from the guards. The trees and branches were obstacles for them to overcome to keep up with him, and he had a head start. Running straight down the road would have left him wide open. With the extra weight on his back he would have been easily overcome and dragged back.

So for now he needed to find the road or a trail to lead back. There was a dryad out here but they were solitary creatures. Even if she made a deal with the town she wouldn’t reside anywhere close to them, so he should be safe from her wrath as long as he didn’t wander too far into her woods.

He looked down at the trail he left in the woods. Stealth wasn’t exactly needed for this escape, so he had no reason to cover his trail. The undead also ignored obvious signs of human activity as well so they would overlook the trail and wander uselessly around until they sensed the living. With the snow crisp and flat all around him Raylas knew he was in the clear for now.

Plus, if the dwarf wanted to follow him he might as well give him a trail. There was safety in numbers after all.

He started forward, going toward where he believed the road should be. The snow crinkled beneath his boots and branches scraped the armor. He glanced at the links, but there were still no scratches on them. Even with the thorns and branches smacking against him they held up well, the gleam of the polish not fading a bit.

Dwarven craftsmanship is truly a work of art. Such a work of art is great for parades but not woods.

Raylas glanced back and forth, watching every hill and drop for movement. He noticed a few tracks here and there, mostly the footprints of rabbits or deer. But on the trees he saw the signs of scratches around the height of his waist.

He recalled the goblin activity he saw on the way back to the town. Those creatures should be quietly sleeping in their holes right now, but if he were to accidentally step into one it would become a pain.

He started to avoid larger mounds in case they were a burrow, and listened for any sounds of movement.

An unease crept into his mind as he kept moving. Time slowly crawled forward and he still had no glimpse of the road. It shouldn’t have been that far away? He didn’t run that far away from the road to avoid the guards, or at least he didn’t believe he did.

He paused and turned around. The woods still looked the same, but the quiet remained.

There were no sounds at all. Winter was usually quiet but this felt… different. A stillness hung in the air. The familiar itch in the back of his head was starting to wake up, alerting him that things were not right.

Maybe he went the wrong way when he started for the road. His senses warned him of a potential danger, but it was not flaring up yet. If he backtracked he might be able to leave the area before whatever was making him feel ill at ease noticed him.

He started back, following his own footprints. They twisted and turned around the hills and mounds, and then they stopped.

Raylas stood frozen at the flat snow in front of him. He turned a corner around a large tree and his trail just disappeared, like they never existed.

He crouched down and examined the snow. He saw no traces of tampering. In every sense of the word it looked like freshly fallen snow.

Reversing his path he backtracked again. Soon he saw his trail disappear again. Both paths of footprints were cut off with freshly fallen snow at the end.

He reached for the chain and unhooked it. He held the blade in one hand and the loop in the other as he quickly twisted around.

The trail he just made only extended for a few dozen feet then stopped. He started forward and paused at the end, then started forward retracing his steps. He remembered the path he took just now and followed the weaving path between the mounds and bushes. Eventually the memory grew fuzzy and he stopped next to a tree and carved a ‘X’.

He turned around to look at the trail he just made and saw that it extended only a couple dozen feet. The path was getting shorter and shorter every time he stopped.

He looked up at the sky. The sun was getting low, his time stuck in the jail wasting much of the daylight. He would have to find shelter and soon if he wanted to have some chance of warming up before the temperature dropped more.

He started forward, no longer trying to follow his trail as he already lost it. Eventually he reached a cliffside which rose up dozens of feet. If he were to climb it he could get a better idea of where he was, or even get a glimpse of the town and reorient himself.

He swung the chain around and launched the blade up the cliff. The hook wrapped around a tree and dug into the wood. Raylas tugged it and smiled in satisfaction at the grip. He planted his feet on the wall and started to climb.

He only made it a few feet before the chain shook. He peered up and saw a small glowing figure on the branch tugging at the blade. Before he could react the hook lost its grip and swung around, the chain no longer able to hold his weight.

He crashed into the ground with a groan. His weapon cluttered next to him into an unorganized pile, though it appeared to be undamaged from the fall.

He pushed himself up and brushed off the snow. He let out a quiet curse and looked up and down the cliff wall to see if anything heard the noise. There was no movement either way, except at the top of the cliff.

A giggle echoed down as the figures danced around the branch.

There were fairies in these woods.