Out of the forest

Foster kept running forward, steering just so slightly away so that he wouldn't run directly into the deer. He was able to move around them without the deer being too bothered, and then, he clapped his hands together and created a loud sound. Immediately, the deer looked in his direction. Some of the glowing monsters changed their focus onto them instead. But it wasn't all of them.

Foster needed another tactic for the other ones, but at least this was easier to deal with now. Or at least, that's what he thought. Until he heard a loud yelping sound come from behind him, before the other monsters all stopped and turned around. Foster also turned around to see what was going on, and saw the stag's antlers piercing through the body of one of the monsters. It had been able to kill the monster with ease.

Only then did Foster realize that this was no regular stag either, but that its antlers were rather special as well. Instead of the simple branch-like structure, they were... blades. Sharp and thin, and clearly able to pierce flesh with ridiculous ease.

Maybe that was why they didn't run away from Foster earlier... because they simply weren't startled by him. Instead of running away quickly, they might have evolved to fight back instead. Which was a rather horrifying idea.

"Well, shit..." Foster grumbled, as he picked up speed again. He didn't want to trade one monster hunting him down for another, so he had to get out of here while they were fighting each other instead. It took him a while, but soon, Foster managed to reach a distance at which he was more than positive that he got away from them.

He leaned against a tree and let out a deep, heavy breath that had been stuck in his throat for the past couple of minutes, "What the fuck is this place..? Urgh..." Foster looked around himself, as he was trying to figure out where he was. He tried to mostly run in a straight line, but he did have to turn away a couple of times while running away from those monsters.

Luckily, he was still barely able to see the northern star in the sky, despite the fact that everything seemed to be brightening up a bit. He looked at his map, trying to orient himself properly, "I should be able to get out of the forest for a bit over here... Looks to be flatlands at least?"

From there, Foster would be able to head to the town in a mostly straight line, at least if the maps were properly up-to-date. There was a river running by in the middle, but if it was near a town, there was most likely a bridge nearby as well, considering that there was a road that wasn't that far away from that bridge either.

But first, Foster had to get out of this forest, or else he would end up dying one way or another. Either by being killed by those monsters, or just through a heartattack because he was absolutely terrified. The good thing was that those glowing monsters weren't able to sneak up on him... being luminescent, and all.

---

Foster stepped out of the thick, tall grass and pressed his foot onto the ground. The flat ground, with traces of hoofs, amongst other weird footsteps, on it, together with some trails that seemed to be from a cart or carriage of sort. At least that seemed more likely than a car in this sort of world. Either way, Foster had finally found the street. That meant that now he only had to turn right, follow it, and he would reach the town sooner or later.

Even though noon had already passed just to reach this place, Foster was confident that he would be able to reach the town on the map soon. They were all of a surprisingly small scale, luckily enough, at least when Foster went in a straight line to get to their edge. Although it made him wonder why Thiodrus had these maps hanging in frames down there. For now, though, he knew he just had to keep going, even if he was really quite curious about these things. After all, he knew nothing of this place, so maybe there was some reason for every little thing that people did, even if he himself wasn't able to understand it directly.

Treading on this road, Foster continued making his way to the town, although there was one more thought that was stuck in his mind no matter how much he was trying to get rid of it.

"I wish my headphones still worked..." He groaned loudly. His phone and headphones were still with him, and he could still vividly remember hearing some music as he stood atop that mountain. Just that everything stopped the moment that both his phone and headphones hit some rocks as he fell down there. Just in case, Foster already disposed of the battery in his phone. It seemed to have started swelling up because of the damage it took, so he threw it away before it had blown up. And his headphones... well, they simply cracked in half while Foster's neck hit a particular edge at the side of the mountain, together with his neck itself.

"Well, they're basically useless now, huh..? Especially without even a phone or something to play music from..." He grumbled to himself, as he continued walking somewhat annoyed. Foster would probably really miss good music from now on, "Like, what kinda stuff would they listen to in the middle ages..? Classical music..? Urgh..." Since he really wasn't the type to listen to those kinds of things, Foster was somewhat annoyed. He figured there were other types of music besides just classical music in these times, but he had no idea what it could be, if he was totally honest.

In the first place... Foster really didn't know much about these times in the first place. And even if he did, there was no guarantee that everything was the same as on earth. Any of the knowledge that he might have left from the bits and pieces that he learned about in history class could just be completely and utterly useless to him now. That idea was even more annoying... But also kind of exciting at the same time.

"Earth was kinda boring, so I guess a world like this might be a lot better." He thought to himself out loud. And that was when he suddenly heard something in the distance. It had been muffled by his own footsteps and breathing up until now, but it just came close enough for Foster to be able to notice it. Immediately, he turned around, scared that those deer ended up following him out here somehow. But instead, he was met with a rather positive, welcoming view. Foster was able to see a carriage! It was a wooden, drawn carriage, but it was something that only people could drive! Or well, he hoped... Maybe it was some kind of monster that looked like a carriage to lure in lost, hopeless wanderers...

With a somewhat suspicious expression, Foster stepped to the side of this road, when he finally saw the man sitting at the front. And at that point, he was also able to see the... thing that was pulling the carriage. It certainly wasn't a horse. It didn't seem to be any sort of mammal, actually.

"Is that a big fucking lizard?" He asked himself with a wry smile. It really did seem like it. It had dark green, bordering black, scales and was running on its thick hind legs. It was like some kind of tiny t-rex, just with a thinner, slightly cuter head.

Foster stood there, waiting for the carriage to come closer, and it soon came to a halt in front of him, "Oye, what're ye doin' out here?" The cart-driver asked, and Foster looked back at him with a light smile, "Ah, I'm just trying to get to the nearby town. I'm... a traveler."

"On foot?! The nearest town is a three-day walk away!" The cart-driver pointed out, and Foster looked back at him with a wry smile, "Well... I had a ride, but I... lost it?"

"...A monster attack, eh? I feel ya, lost more than one 'orse in my days that way." The cart-driver said with a deep sigh, "Come, hop on. The town ain't that far away."

"Wait, really?"

"Aye! Just don't touch anythin' back there, or ye're gonna have to pay for it." The driver said with a smile, and Foster let out an exhausted, grateful sigh, "Perfect, thank you."

"Although..." The driver muttered, "I'm surprised ye ain't sweatin' in this heat, walkin' out here and all."

"Oh, I just took a break and cleaned up a bit. Trust me, I was sweating like hell."

"Haha, I feel you. I bet ya can't wait to get to town, eh? Get a nice inn to relax in?"

Foster nodded his head with a smile, "Right, exactly." He said, as he slowly climbed into the back of the carriage. There were some barrels and boxes in here, so much that Foster had to practically squeeze in. Of course, he tried to make sure that he hid the small, cooling flower that in the vial, filled with some dirt at the bottom, that he wore like a necklace. Foster wasn't sure how normal it was, after all. But even then, another thought stayed in his mind.

If the town they were heading to was the closest town... And the other one was a three-day walk away... Then it was possible, if not likely, for Aaron and Joyce to come to this town as well. Which meant that Foster had to get further away, as far as possible.