Chapter Thirty-Eight: Into The Forest

The morning breeze made the towering trees sway back and forth. The damp ground, filled with wild grass, over fifty centimeters tall, was filled with morning dew. In the midst of the grass five young adolescent men stared into the forest, standing on the bordering edge, into the unknown. Each kid was equipped with their own weapon, but their protection was the same. Shabby leather armor, shadilly sewed together, with a black thread.

Rein stood behind the other four, who took the lead. He had a small, one edged, stainless steel knife in his hand. His frail hands shock slightly, as he struggles to hold onto his knife. For the first time in his life, Rein felt unhinged excitement. The forest, which for as long as he could remember was an omen of fear and bad fortune; today he was to enter it. He was excited, like a little kid on their birthday.

Rein, just like his father, had brown hair and brown eyes. He had yet to grow a beard though and his baby face remained, despite his displeasure. He tightly held onto the leather pouch, which the knife was kept in, afraid to lose it, while its contents were out.

"Rein, are you coming?" a young adult asked.

"I'm coming, Nevan!" Rein said and struggled to traverse the wild grass. Nevan was a young adult, one year younger than Jasmine, who's twenty-six. He had tried to grow out a beard, but failed miserably, leaving him with a small mustache, of meager brown hair above his lips. Something his friends made fun of him for, but he refused to shave it, arguing that one day more would grow, "Just you wait" he would say proudly, proclaiming his future hair growth.

Nevan had the same shabby leather armor, but instead of a knife he carried a spear, like most guards. After all, his father was one of those guards and he was allowed to borrow one of his extras, promising to return it everyday, when he gets home. The spear was made of a strong wood, with a sharpened iron head, capable of killing most lesser monsters. One thing to be noted was that the spear was two meters tall, way too long for someone like Nevan, who was short, even in Falken standards, he was barely 1.45 meters tall and it was another object of laughter for his friends, whenever they felt like annoying their 'short' tempered friend.

Rein caught up to the rest of the party and they walked side by side into the forest. Rein threw a last glance back at the village, thousands of meters away, visible from their height, as they were on top of a hill, for the village was a slope. Then, without a second glance, they entered the forest.

…

The weak morning sunlight glistered against the dew and lit up the forest. Through the existence of light, shadows followed, creating thousands of different, moving shadows. The swaying leaves, casted their moving shadows on the ground, filled with moss and grass. Different kinds of vegetation made up the forest, blood red mushrooms, spiky vines, completely dark, hiding in the shadows created by the thousands of towering trees, over ten meters tall.

The five men, consumed by the forests, eerie silence and dangerous aura, watched every step, listened for every sound. Rein stepped on a branch and everyone turned to him, hushing him, telling him to be quiet.

They walked in harmony, carefully avoiding making any sound, knowing the danger lurking in the forest. The trees were growing closer and closer to one another the further they walked. Soon there was only a meter in between the trees, who literally grew into one another and the five men had to walk different paths, while staying grouped up.

Rein struggled to keep up with the experienced adventurers, but didn't want to be a burden, so he bit his lower lip and kept up with their pace, quickly consuming all his energy. After minutes of walking they heard the first sound, other than their own. Not even birds had been whistling their melody this morning. For the forest was currently a battlefield between monsters, no animal would survive this place at the moment, especially if they made any kind of sound.

Rustles were heard from Rein's left and he turned with haste, seeing a green figure for a slight second, before it disappeared behind a tree.

"A goblin, that's great, Rein, come with us, we'll show you how it's done!" Nevan whispered and hunched, sneaking towards the goblin. He pointed his spear towards the goblin and launched an attack behind its back, at the last second Nevan stepped on a stick, alerting the goblin.

Turning around, the goblins' beautiful features were revealed. A brownish green creature, with a pig-like noose, that was inverted, a head with thin hair, with centimeters apart. The head was like a balloon, ugly and unnecessary big. The goblin had a brown loincloth covering its privates, dirtied by its feces over time, Rein could even smell the awful stench from where he stood. In the goblin's hand was a stick, painted red and unclean from its previous victims.

The goblin growled at Nevan and slammed its club against him, but Nevan was far away, with far better reach; managing to stab the left shoulder thanks to these advantages. The goblin ignored the pain and grabbed the spear and dragged it towards itself, making Nevan fall forward, allowing the goblin to slam the stick into his head.

Nevan fell face first onto the ground, but the goblin was sadly done for; an arrow pierced its head, as a thin man, with a bow and several arrows on his back, approached. This was Garkyl, another adventurer, he had come to the city seeking a new beginning and joined up with Nevan. The two worked together for a long time and formed a relationship of trust and benefits.

The man had long, silky hair, similar to a girl and was often made fun of by the older adventurers for his features, but he didn't care, he wasn't short tempered like Nevan, after all.

"You reckless idiot, don't underestimate a cornered animal, or monster!" the man said, walking towards the injured Nevan, who slowly rose from the ground. Almost comically, a bump appeared on his head, as some blood leaked onto his brown hair.

As they talked and helped Nevan get up, they were yet aware; unbeknownst to them, they were making too much sound and had alerted something else, far more dangerous than a goblin.