11 Chapter 11: The Forest of Confrontation
Without a trace, as if they were never there...
Geo broke down the barrier completely so he could take a look around more carefully...
He still couldn't believe that he had lost two people in mere days...
He had no leads to act on, which made it even more difficult to work out which way to go...
"Just my luck... I wish I could do something for the girls... but as it stands now..."
Geo felt helpless, he hated this feeling, her knew feeling sorry for himself would get him nowhere.
"At the barn, they told me to walk straight north,
maybe I should keep head their advice and do what they said..."
Now at the edge of a forest Geo decided it was best to do what he was told, better to find a way to his destination as fast as he could.
To get there, Geo had to venture through the dark forests ahead. The dwarfs had spoken of a perilous journey set throughout the forests of Sharoo.
Geo had received a map, which he luckily had tucked away within the pockets of his pants. But because of all the events previously he had completely forgotten.
Then again, he wasn't completely careless or scatterbrained. Geo wasn't certain where to go next, meaning he had to find a way... Thinking about this made him search around the place where they stood, looking around if he could find tracks, signs virtually anything. When that didn't bear any fruits he began to reach in his pockets out of frustration and found something which could help him on his way. A map!
It was the map those dwarfs had drawn for him,
and as he folded the map to look at its contents he began to walk forward, unaware of which side of the forest he was about to enter.
Trying to make heads or tails of the drawn map Geo ventured deeper and deeper in the forest. Slowly the sun began to set. The warmth and radiance were blocked more and more by the plant life and trees which covered the area rather tightly.
By the time Geo realized how to read the map and found out where he was, he had lost track of the way back to the entrance. He shrugged it off and knew he had to move forward if he wanted to reach his destination.
"Oh well... there's no better way out than moving ahead!"
Not much time had passed when Geo realized something crucial, the sun had begun to set.
"Man... why didn't I realize this sooner?! Now I have to find shelter in a place mostly devoid of any light source!"
As Geo said this something else came to mind,
because the trees had been blocking any incoming sunlight,
the area had become colder as well...
Rocks covered in moss looked like they were drenched in liquid, as the slight temperature chance began to shift even further into the single digits...
There was only one thing left to do, Geo knew he had to use his survival sense in these unfamiliar territories. Finding shelter was key to this... Not to mention generating enough head which would allow him to fight through the ever-growing cold.
Geo looked around in what was now almost eternal darkness... Quickly he tried to draw a spiritual recollection of the area he found himself in, but... something was ajar...
Because Geo had been focusing on the map,
he had no time at all to memorize his surroundings.
Worried this would mean he had to feel his way throughout an area where danger could be lurking behind every corner, he sat down trying to come up with a solution.
As he did, his eyes slowly began to adjust to the darkness, but he did not realize what was happening around him. Curious eyes, all around. Gazed upon him. Unaware of this Geo sighed and slapped his face, burying his face into his hands.
"Think Geo, think! There must be something you can prepare here in the wilds, right?"
There was a moment of silence where Geo tried to figure out what to do when he suddenly heard the sound of twigs breaking all around him...
One by one, the eyes which had been gazing upon him gave away their positions. But when Geo looked up, he couldn't see anything... not even when he looked into the general direction from which he was certain the sounds had come from.
Peering into the darkness didn't help him, as he still could see close to nothing.
But as he tried to stand op something behind him began to glow.
As Geo turned around he couldn't believe his eyes.
The area on which he had been sitting was now...
Glowing! The subtle and gentle glow spread as Geo carefully brushed his hands through the grass and moss around him, he quickly realized there must have been a reason why there was no light within the area.
"So... the trees blocking the light, within this environment...
Hmm... I see! To survive they produce their lights!"
As soon as he realized Geo peered into the darkness again, but this time looking for the slightest of movements. The lights were faint, giving a slight outline of the surrounding area.
The noises from before had stopped, darkness still swallowed most as the silence had given an eary vibe to it all. Something didn't feel right... he wasn't alone was he?
Almost instantly this question got answered by the rustling of grass close by, followed by the rustling of bushes even closer than the grass.
Whatever was with him in this darkness knew of his presence, preparing for the worst he braced himself.
Slowly the rustling noises got closer and closer when suddenly they stopped.
Geo too stayed still, trying not to move an inch he hoped that whatever was having him in sight would overlook him and went away. But... instead, something different happened.
Warm breath could be felt slightly passing his skin, his arms, legs, and even his face,
ending with the crown of his head.
Geo didn't know what it was he had to do, how to react, or even if he was in any real danger, eventually something slowly lowered itself on the crown of Geo's head.
As whatever it might have been didn't attack him Geo couldn't hold back anymore.
And the weirdest part, it was so soft?!
Quickly giving in to his curiosity. Geo slowly opened his eyes bracing himself for whatever horrors could have been following him. He looked in front of him but what he saw wasn't what he had expected at all...
A dozen of eyes were staring at him, glowing brightly into the darkness, with every step they took slowly their appearances got revealed.
"Wildlife?!"
As Geo shouted over the top of his lungs something was a miss... While recognizable every single creature looked different than what he remembered.
Wombats, while rare in his world seemed to be living in abundance here.
"Wombats? What are these critters doing here?"
Geo couldn't think of a good reason why other than the environment. Some of them drew closer even being so bold as to climb onto his head and shoulders.
While they kept moving, the forest began to give off this magical vibe.
The area's they had touched also began to light up.
Geo couldn't place the feeling he got from this,
but one thing was certain... It wasn't positive.
The wombats played without a care in the world when suddenly they began to vanish into the darkness of the forest. Geo didn't know what to think anymore,
but he knew that while he had the advantage of light surrounding him he had to learn his way around the environment.
Soon after he memorized his surroundings the lights began to fade, giving Geo the general idea of time he had before needing to initialize movement within his proximity.
He quickly grabbed some harmless roots which he wrapped around his arms and legs allowing him to see and react to whatever might find his way to him.
But sooner than he expected something made the temperature drop drastically. Looking in front of him a huge black figure with bright red eyes closed in on him. Walking closer and closer. Its eyes pierced throughout the darkness.
Geo got into a trans for a little while but snapped out of it rather quickly. He realized something was wrong... when he and other creatures moved the environment would light up ever so slightly but with this creature... instead, the light got sucked out of the area, enveloping everything into darkness...
As he snapped out of his trans a small glimpse gave away what the creature looked like before it vanished in front of Geo's eyes.
Something looking like hoofs, and a long mane made of smoke vanished before he could realize, he asked himself.
"Was... that... a... horse...?"
Where had the creature gone, and why was the area getting colder by the minute? These were things Geo would soon find out...
