The Stelpond Forest

The Stelpond Forest was big, to say the least. The Amazon Rainforest would seem to be the size of a pond compared to it. The forest took up about a third of the whole country. The only sign that it was day was the small streaks of sunlight that pierced through the heavy treetops. The path upon which they traveled was only lit by that little bit of sunlight and the rest seemed to be consumed by the dark forest.

Lauren rode quietly in between Amias and Odi. Askari seemed to have calmed down and walked quietly, glancing at Odi every now and then, which made Lauren suspicious as to why he was paying so much attention to Odi and not to anything else.

The first part of their journey seemed to pass by uninterrupted, except for Odi and Amias bickering every now and then. The sound of hooves against the dirt and mud-filled the air and silence.

"So," Amias said, turning to Lauren. "We don't know much about you, as far as your life on Earth."

Lauren thought for a moment before speaking. "Well, I was an actress. I was in a couple of hit movies…"

"What are movies?" Amias interrupted.

"Uh, basically moving pictures and they typically tell a story."

"Why not just tell them?" Odi asked, flicking the reins on his horse, who had slowed down.

"I guess people wanted to be able to see the stories. Anyway, one day I was going to get lunch with one of my friends who was in the movie with me, his name is Ben Barnes, and he got in an accident, and he's dying. A woman told me that her father was one of the Knights of Evermore and gave me the Starstone and told me to come here, and here I am," Lauren finished.

Askari jumped to a stop and pawed his hoof on the ground, impatiently. "What's he doing?" she asked.

Amias and Odi's horses started to do the same. "I have no idea. Maybe you could get Askari to tell us."

"How could I get him to tell me?"

"You're the Moonstar. You should be able to figure it out."

"Okay," Lauren said under her breath. "No pressure there."

After a few minutes of staring at Askari, Lauren slumped back in the saddle. "Nothing's happening. I don't get why he's doing that."

"Well, there must be a reason that all three stopped."

"Maybe that's it," Lauren said, pointing to six figures that stepped out from behind some bushes that lay just off of their path. The figures stepped into the light, revealing their Niteish armor.