Chapter 18. Down Bad

Ash and Grim were both shaken by this experience. This was their second time almost dying in less than a few days. Were they not again helpless in the face of something stronger than they were? Ash felt a cold anger develop in him and his raven felt it. Gripping his fist so tight the skin could burst, Ash said. "There is no way we will live like rats, lets go Grim."

Grim followed but Ash felt that their bond grew a bit weaker. Ash could feel the guilt rising in his chest because of his bold promise to his companion previously. Coming to an abrupt stop, Ash slapped his forehead before running back towards the area the two other boys were killed.

The first area had another map, albeit covered in blood. The area where the second boy died, he found some coin and a jade piece in the pouch. Ash wanted to go back to the cave but decided against it. That place was a possible danger and he had been graced enough as is to not be killed.

Ash moved towards a different area, he headed towards an area with denser trees. Finding a place with a lot of tall shrubbery, he decided to make a hut. It would blend in pretty well with the surroundings and they could have a small base for awhile. It took about 45mins before a decent looking hut was made out of branches and foliage. Ash had a very thin but warm blanket in his bag that he laid on the floor. He and Grim then got busy looking at the map before them.

Ash compared the current map to the map obtained from their entrance into the realm. The newer map had more information compared to the older one. There was info on some treasures and a bit on the people he entered with. One of the first things he did was chose the less damaged map and jot down all the information from the newest one. He also added the two spots of the creepy caves.

There were different groups scattered on the outskirts of the realm. That was where most of everybody was. The realm itself was big and would most definitely take a lot of time to travel. The valley that he was in was marked but not much of it had been explored. He was close to a mountain range and a forest. A forest next to a jungle, and a mountain not far from that. Ash had the odd thought that this entire place was a little unnatural.

The north had the mountain range, the west had the jungle, the east was subterranean caverns, while the south was the swamp. The southwest had a small forest while the northwest had a smaller forest that broke off into a valley.

Valley he was in was between the north and the west. The realm entrance was at the most southwest part of the map.

There were most definitely places out of imagination in the world, but he saw some strange things on the map that backed his hypothesis. On the map was marked a strange statue with a certain face, something similar to that thing from the first cave. Then there was the fact that the more inner portions of the realm seemed to have remnants of buildings.

Ash didn't have a high education; he did not know if this realm was manmade or how the imperial family even got their hands on it. One thing was for sure, there was a story to be told about these lands. Whatever it was, may be worthwhile to find out.