“Run! Just run!” Astrid’s voice sliced through the night, sharp and raw with urgency.
Gareth charged ahead, his tower shield braced in front of him, the heavy steel ringing with dull thuds as it snapped low hanging branches and brambles as he cleared a path forward for the rest of the party. His boots churned the loose soil beneath him, each step a war against the forest’s suffocating tangle of roots.Behind him, the growls grew louder, an unnatural chorus that made the hairs on the back of his neck rise. Heavy footfalls thundered closer, the sound impossibly dense, as though the forest itself had turned predator. Gareth didn’t dare look back.
“They’re too close—too damn close,” Marisol hissed, her voice trembling as she sprinted in Gareth’s wake. Her bow clattered softly against her quiver with every stride. She clutched it so tightly her knuckles blanched, her breaths coming in quick, uneven bursts. Each time her gaze flickered over her shoulder, the dim light caught the whites of her wide, terrified eyes.
“Less talking, more running,” Gareth grunted, his words jagged and clipped. His breaths came heavier now, but his pace remained steady.
The elder forest felt alive and insidious, every shadow conspiring against them. Twisted roots seemed to claw at their boots, eager to snare them. Glowing crystals jutted from the ancient bark, their light cold and unfeeling, casting shadows that moved in ways shadows shouldn’t. They stretched and writhed like silent specters, reaching for the fleeing adventurers.Overhead, the dense canopy of branches swayed, not with the rhythm of the wind but with a sinister, deliberate motion. Leaves rustled and hissed, their whispering cadence like a thousand conspiratorial voices. Gareth could feel the weight of the forest pressing down on them, ancient and hostile, its air thick with the metallic tang of magic.
Marisol’s foot caught on an exposed root, and she stumbled with a sharp gasp, catching herself on one knee.“Damn it!” she spat, her voice strained and panicked.
Gareth halted for half a heartbeat, his shield arm snapping back to her like a reflex.“Get up!” he barked, his tone equal parts command and plea. His eyes darted to the shadows beyond her, where the glow of red, lupine eyes pierced the darkness. The creatures were close—too close.
Marisol scrambled to her feet, her bow slung across her back as she pushed herself forward with sheer adrenaline. Gareth stepped in front of her for a moment, shield raised, before retreating alongside her.The crashing in the underbrush grew louder, punctuated by growls that made Marisol flinch. “Astrid!” she called, her voice breaking.“Keep moving!” Astrid’s voice rang out, fierce and unwavering from somewhere deeper in the dark. Her sword gleamed faintly, catching the crystalline light as she carved through a swath of vines.
The forest felt like it would never end, every step heavier than the last, as if the ground itself sought to drag them into its depths.Everett stumbled, biting back a cry as his injured leg buckled. Darius caught him under the arm without breaking stride. “You’ve got this, Everett. Just a little further,” the dragonkin’s deep, rumbling voice carried an edge of desperation.Astrid took the rear, her long sword faintly reflection the glows of the magic crystals around them. Her braid whipped behind her as she spun, slashing at the air to ward off whatever might be lunging from the shifting shadows.The howl of something unnatural split the night—a sound that seemed to crawl under the skin and take root.“It’s gaining on us!” Marisol gasped, her voice rising.“Keep moving!” Astrid barked, her grip tightening on her weapon.The group burst into an open clearing, their momentum faltering as the colossal tree came into view. It loomed like a sentinel, its trunk scarred with gashes that pulsed faintly with an otherworldly light. Moonlight fragmented through its impossibly high branches, casting jagged patterns onto the forest floor.“Stay together!” Gareth ordered, spinning to face the tree line. His body tensed, his magic igniting to harden his skin to stone, the transformation rippling across his arms and shoulders like a second, impenetrable skin.
Everett collapsed near the base of the tree, his breath ragged and uneven. Blood flowed from a deep wound in his leg, staining the dirt beneath him.“Damn it,” Darius growled, dropping to his knees beside him. His claws worked quickly, tearing cloth from his tunic to fashion a crude bandage.“I told you not to push yourself, didn’t I?” Darius muttered, his tone both scolding and tender as he pressed down to staunch the bleeding. Everett grimaced, his pale face tightening with pain. You just had to gone on ahead," he continued as he placed his hands over Everett's wound, letting his healing magic flow into it. "Just had! To get a closer look!"
Astrid paced the edge of the clearing, her eyes darting between the surrounding shadows. The weight of the forest pressed down on her, and for a moment, she almost preferred the sound of pursuit.“They’re regrouping,” she said, her voice low but strained. “Whatever those things are, they’re not done with us yet.”
Marisol crouched near Everett, her hands trembling as she nocked an arrow and aimed it toward the treeline. “I can’t—I can’t tell where they’ll come from,” she said, her voice barely above a whisper.“Breathe, Marisol,” Gareth said, stepping closer to tighten their formation, his tower shield planted firmly in front of him. “Just focus on your shot when it counts. We’ll hold the line.”Darius cursed softly under his breath. “He’s losing too much blood. My magic won’t hold this—it’s too shallow.” His clawed hands were slick, his usually steady fingers faltering.
Everett’s eyes fluttered open, and he managed a weak smile. “Not the time to lose your cool, Darius,” he rasped.“I’m not losing my cool,” Darius shot back, but his tense jaw betrayed him.
The wind shifted, carrying with it a faint, unnatural scent—something acrid and bitter.Astrid froze mid-step. “They’re coming,” she hissed, turning toward the dark expanse of the forest. Her sword raised, the beads in her braid clicking softly in the night air.The shadows seemed to ripple, and the group’s breath collectively hitched.“Hold,” Gareth said, his voice steady, though the stone on his arms began to crack under the strain of his tension.
And then, silence.It pressed on them like a living thing, so profound that even the faint rustling of the colossal tree felt deafening. Time seemed to stretch, and every heartbeat felt like thunder in their ears. Everett’s ragged breathing filled the clearing, mingling with the distant rustle of leaves. Gareth crouched beside him, shield braced against the earth. The gnarled tree loomed overhead, its bark carved with glowing scars that pulsed faintly, casting a flickering light over the group.Astrid’s voice was taut. “They’re out there. I can feel it.” Her long fingers flexed on the hilt of her sword as she turned, scanning the oppressive shadows that ringed the clearing.“Feel it?” Marisol muttered, her voice quaking, hands shaking. “I’d prefer not to feel anything right now!”“They’re circling,” Everett rasped from the ground, his face pale. His eyes flickered toward Darius, who worked tirelessly to bandage his wound. “I can hear them. Left, then right. No… two on the left now! They’re moving too fast. If they rush us—”“Then we hold,” Gareth interrupted, his voice like a stone wall. “Stay tight, no one breaks formation.”
A low, guttural growl rose from the forest. Astrid snapped toward the sound, her blade lifting. “Here they come.”The first hound emerged slowly, its eyeless face twisting unnaturally as it sniffed the air. Its gaunt, skeletal frame looked like a cruel imitation of a wolf, its translucent skin stretching over unnatural ridges. Behind it, two more slid from the shadows, their movements eerily synchronized. Saliva dripped from their jaws, steaming faintly in the cold night air.“Gods,” Marisol whispered, taking a step back.“Don’t you dare run,” Astrid barked, her braid whipping as she planted her feet. “They’ll pick us off if we scatter.”The hounds advanced slowly, their heads dipping as they sniffed the ground, their movements calculated. The group shuffled closer together, Gareth’s shield rising like a wall as Astrid took point beside him.
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“They’re playing with us,” Gareth muttered. “Testing us.”“Then we fail the test,” Astrid hissed, lowering her stance. “Come on, you bastards.”The hounds didn’t charge. Instead, they began to circle, their growls grew louder, their claws scraping the dirt as they closed the gap inch by inch. The unnatural coordination sent a chill down Marisol’s spine.Everett grunted through gritted teeth as he tried to pull a dagger from his belt with trembling fingers. Astrid’s knuckles whitened around her sword. Gareth braced his shield. The hounds moved in unison now, their snarls like a chorus, their gaunt forms weaving through the moonlit clearing. And then, the forest shifted!
The figure emerged like a whisper from the darkness, its form both spectral and solid, radiating a presence that demanded attention. The mossy ground beneath its feet remained undisturbed as though the forest itself bent to its will. interwoven vines snaked through its limbs and chest, while patches of soft moss gave it stone like bones an almost organic texture. The runes carved into its armor and bones glowed faintly.A bird nestled in the jagged hollow of its skull, its beady eyes darting curiously over the scene. It let out a single chirp, the sound incongruously cheerful. Two squirrels darted along its rib cage, chattering nervously before vanishing beneath what was left of its rusted armor.
The hounds, hesitated, their hackles lowering as a whine escaped one of their throats. One by one, they shrank back, their snarls muted to uneasy growls, as though some primal instinct warned them not to challenge what had arrived. With another final growl, the two at the back turned and diapered back into the forest. Then the largest of the the tree turn and did the same.“What… in all the hells…” Gareth’s voice was barely more than a breath, his shield trembling slightly in his grip. His wide eyes darted between the figure and the treeline, trying to make sense of what he was seeing.“Stay back,” Astrid hissed, stepping forward on legs that threatened to betray her. Her longsword wavered for an instant before she steadied it, her voice cracking but still carrying an edge of defiance.“Whatever it is—it’s not with us.” She hoped the words sounded more certain than they felt.The figure turned its head slowly toward her, the movement deliberate, almost questioning. Its hollow eye sockets pulsed faintly with a soft light, like the ember glow of a dying fire. The bird cocked its head to mirror the motion, ruffling its feathers in what might have been amusement—or warning.When the figure spoke, its voice was low but soft, like the wind passing though tree leaves. “They will return." The words carried no threat, only an implacable weight, as though spoken by the forest itself. But Astrid did not lower her blade.“And you,” the figure continued, its glowing runes flickering like the slow rhythm of a heartbeat, “need to leave.” It paused, tilting its head slightly as if to examine them. “You do not belong here.” The clearing exhaled again, lighter now, but still brimming with an undeniable tension. The figure regarded the party for a moment longer, its empty gaze meeting each of theirs in turn, as if weighing their worth.Finally, it turned to Astrid. “Lower your blade, warrior,” it said softly.Astrid’s stance didn’t relax. “Why did they listen to you?” she demanded. “Why did they—”“They do not listen,” the skeleton said, its voice quieter now, almost a murmur. “They obey.”
For a moment no one said a word, as the forest seemed to hold its breath, the oppressive silence only broken by Everett’s heavy breathing. The skeleton stepped closer, the faint luminescence of its runes casting gentle light over the group. The bird in its skull ruffled its feathers again, letting out a faint chirp that broke some of the tension.“You are injured,” the skeleton said, looking down at Everett. “This is not a safe place to linger.”“No kidding,” Marisol muttered under her breath.“Quiet,” Gareth said, though his tone lacked its usual firmness.The skeleton extended a hand, its fingers unnaturally long and eerily graceful, like branches reaching through the twilight of the forest. Vines coiled faintly around the weathered bones, their soft glow pulsating with an ancient, unearthly rhythm. The runes etched into its armor began to shimmer.“Allow me,” the skeleton said softly, its voice a breath of wind through ancient trees, heavy with time and wisdom. The voice was softer now, the imposing nature from before fading into the night air like smoke from a fire.
Astrid's grip tightened around her sword hilt, her knuckles turning white under the pressure. She shifted to place herself between the skeleton and Everett, her blade glinted faintly in the light cast by the glowing crystals embedded in the surrounding foliage. A faint tremor ran through her arms, though her face was a mix of calm and determination.The skeleton paused, its head tilting again. “I mean no harm,” it said simply. The runes on its body dimmed slightly, their glow lessening as though in response to her distrust.“We don’t know what it’s capable of,” Astrid snapped to her teammates. “Keep your guard up.”“I don’t think it’s going to hurt us,” Darius said, his voice uncertain but calm. “It could’ve let those things tear us apart.”“Could’ve,” Astrid muttered, her grip on her sword tightening.
The skeleton lowered its hand.“You may choose as you will,” it said quietly. “But this place does not forgive hesitation.” With that, it turned toward the shadows where the hounds had disappeared, its form blending into the forest’s depths. Its presence lingered, however, like an echo etched into the air.Astrid’s grip on her sword slackened, though she didn’t lower it completely. “What… just happened?”No one answered. Gareth’s shield was still raised, his broad shoulders taut as he scanned the treeline. Marisol’s bow trembled in her hands, the nocked arrow wobbling as she tried to steady her aim.“They’re gone,” Gareth murmured, his shield lowering just slightly. He turned to Astrid. “Should we go after it?”“No,” she said sharply, her sword sheathing with a metallic hiss. “We’re in no shape to pick another fight. Not with it, not with whatever else is out here.”“Not like we could’ve caught up,” Darius muttered, tying off Everett’s bandage. “It moved like it was part of the forest.”Everett gave a strained laugh, his voice weak. “Great. I’m bleeding out in a nightmare, and we’re saved by a… what? Forest ghost?”“A skeleton,” Marisol corrected, though her voice carried no confidence. “It wasn’t a ghost. It was… something else.”"It doesn't matte what it was. We're alive! That's what counts." Astrid snapped back over her shoulder.“For now,” Gareth said under his breath, helping Darius lift Everett to his feet. “We need to move before anything else decides to hunt us.”
Astrid nodded, taking point as the group slowly staggered toward the opposite end of the clearing.“Darius, keep Everett steady. Marisol, cover the rear. Gareth, you’re with me.”Marisol hesitated, her eyes lingering on the shadows where the skeleton had disappeared. “What if it comes back?”“Then we deal with it,” Astrid snapped, her braid swinging as she looked back at the ranger. “Right now, we’ve got bigger problems.”The ranger nodded, gripping her bow tightly as she took her position at the back. The clearing behind them felt larger now, the colossal tree standing as a silent sentinel in the middle of it all. Its glowing scars seemed dimmer, as though the strange encounter had drained it of some unseen energy.
The groups progress was painfully slow though the undergrowth, their footsteps muffled by the mossy forest floor, magic crystals and glowing lichen illuminated their path. Every sound, distant rustles, faint creaks of branches, felt closer than it should, as though the forest itself was leaning in to listen.“Do you think it’s still watching us?” Marisol whispered.Gareth didn’t look back. “Probably.”“Stop talking about it,” Astrid snapped from ahead. “It’s gone. Focus on getting through this alive.”Everett gave a faint chuckle, though it ended in a sharp inhale of pain.“Then we keep moving,” Astrid said, her tone clipped. “We’ll figure out what it is later. If we’re lucky, it won’t figure out what we are first.”
No one argued. They moved deeper into the forest, the colossal tree fading into the distance behind them. Though the hounds were gone, and the strange skeleton had vanished, its presence lingered like the faint echo of a song they couldn’t quite place. The Elder Forest felt heavier now, its mysteries more suffocating, as though the group had unknowingly stepped into something far older and far more dangerous than they had ever imagined.