The sleeping forest

They sat clustered in an uncomfortable circle by the strange blue-leafed tree. Lex couldn't shake the feeling that if he did something incorrectly, they'd slit his throat. Thankfully, he hadn't tested that theory yet. He only knew their names, appearance, and that Leo was their leader.

Leo and Luna both had blonde hair and stunning neon blue eyes. Theodore had black hair and golden eyes, and Celia had grey eyes and light brown hair. They sat in a circle under a blue-leafed tree, with Lex, Leo, Theo, Celia, and Luna sitting in that order. 

"Lex, where are you from? Why are you out here on your own?" Leo studied Lex like a museum specimen.

"Uhh," Lex wasn't sure if he should tell them he wasn't from that world, because they won't believe him, "I don't know." He bowed his head.

"You don't know?" Leo asked, bewildered by Lex's words, "how can you not know?"

"He hit his head hard," Luna chimed in.

"Yea," Theodore agreed. Leo released an extended sigh.

"So you're telling me you know nothing? Not a zilch? Could you even at least explain how you managed to teleport?" Leo grumbled.

"I can't, sorry, I don't know myself," Lex's head drooped, disappointed at his uselessness. Lex nodded whilst Celia focused on a point in the distance.

"The prophecy," she spoke with a soothing voice. It made Lex feel at ease, "stated we could find the last oracle on a moonless night." 

"Yea, but we have that every year Celia, it's just a coincidence," Luna shot her down in an instant. "Do you really think this weakling is strong enough to become the oracle?" Lex screamed inside. It was as if Luna almost forgot that he was next to her.

"It's still worth a try getting him into-"

"We can discuss that later," Leo interrupted. "We should go back." Leo emphasised the hours it took to reach here and the uphill challenge on the way back. 

Everything blurred out of focus, everyone except for Leo who brought out a pair of handcuffs before everything cleared again.

"Are the handcuffs necessary?" Lex asked Leo as he reached into his pocket. He ogled at Lex with an exasperated expression that was soon shared by the other members. 

"H-How did you know I have handcuffs? Leo shivered at the realisation of the Lex's abnormality. Was he a magic type before he hit his head? That could be the only actual explanation.

"I dunno, I just saw it." Lex shrugged. He assumed such an ability would be common in this fantasy world. Leo ogled at Lex, lost for words, but swiftly returned to his straight face. Leo refrained from further questioning someone who had no idea where they were. 

"Well, we don't know if we can trust you at this stage," Leo continued.

"What? Are you afraid I might pull your pants down? Jump around? Humiliate myself? You've got weapons, and it's 3 on 1. What can I do?" Lex scoffed, causing Leo to blush.

"Fair point," he sighed, drawing his hand from his pocket, "we should go then," Leo dodged the topic, "unless you want to be stuck in the sleeping forest." The others spoke a little afterward. Leo headed the group, with Lex somewhere in the middle. He dreaded facing a beast. The leaves cracked as they followed a faint trail of already pulverised leaves.

Lex couldn't help but wonder what was going to happen to him. He felt distressed when he discovered he was in an unfamiliar environment, despite his initial belief it was a dream. He couldn't see the relevance of office work to slaying a monster that was 10 times bigger and twice as strong as him.

The forest was quite a spectacle, with their magnificent assortment of neon blue, red, yellow, and green leaves. Some towered a few stories into the air, while some were only about three times his height. Lex would've explored this forest if it wasn't infested with monsters.

The thing Leo forgot to mention was how long they'd climb the steep hill. When Lex reached the top, he checked his legs to make sure they were still attached.. It's not that he wasn't fit, it was just a treacherous hike up that hill, especially when you had to focus on not twisting your ankle. Leo, however, walked as if it were a couple of meters.

Despite the challenging journey, they reached the summit of the hill, more akin to a mountain really. Lex couldn't say a word, as he was breathless and captivated by the breathtaking scene in front of him.

The forest was breath taking with its beautiful bright coloured leaves. The trees had a random mix of colours, and the sight of the big grumpy stone walls protecting the castle and smaller houses was disappointing.. It was like someone came and tore into an artist's canvas. He'd never been so displeased to see human civilisation before. 

Lex decided it was wiser to be in a fortress than become a meal for creatures, so he pursued Leo, who had already left. The walk was far easier as they walked down another slope. It was quite peaceful. Lex had expected at least four monsters to pounce on them already, but his calculations seemed to be a bit off. 

Suddenly the sky gave in and the world blurred again. Lex froze as he watched a creature leap from a tree and tear Leo's head off with its hundreds of razor-sharp teeth.

Lex leaps forwards after his vision returned, and in one forceful swipe, his hands grip Leo's armour plate by the back of his neck and pulled with all his strength. 

Leo yelled in shock, and Theo lunged towards Lex, his sword snarling. Lex felt the ground beneath him shake, and he looked back to where Leo was before and he made eye contact with the creature he saw. It looked furious that someone had stolen its meal, and it wasn't just about to forgive Lex by the looks of it.

Lex gulped and accepted that he was about to be a monster's snack. An ugly monster at that. Leo flung up, his hands firm on a gleaming gold sword, aimed at the beast.

"Thank you," he waved at Lex before leaping towards the creature. It was unclear to Lex who the true monster was. Leo's speed was incomprehensible as he reached the beast in a second. Leo swiftly killed the monster by striking its skull with his sword after effortlessly dodging its swing with a jagged tail, concluding the fight in a matter of seconds. 

Lex's mind was occupied with thoughts of his painful demise, leaving him speechless. Leo turned his back to the corpse of the creature and strolled to a wobbly-kneed Lex. 

"I don't know what you are, man, but thank you. If you hadn't pulled me, I'd have been a goner," Leo beamed as he squeezed the life out of Lex. Lex didn't expect Leo to be so... Expressive. 

The ground rumbled again, directing Lex's gaze to the creature's corpse. As Lex watched, tree roots wrapped around the creature's body, twisting and contorting into a tight knot. They pulled it deeper and deeper into the earth, as if the soil were mud. In the end, all that remained of the monster was the blood on Leo's sword and parts of his clothes.

Lex couldn't move, terrified by what he just witnessed. Leo guided them over the area where the monster used to be without a struggle. He imagined the trees wrapping around his body and dragging him underground to eat him while all he could do was scream.

Fear consumed him as Luna analysed him, a look of concern twisted on her face. 

"Come on Lex, don't worry. We don't want to be here at nightfall or you could end up like that," she tugged at his wrist, and they continued on their path as if nothing had happened. The rest of the walk was eerily calm, and they'd arrived at a large wagon with two giant white horses chained to its front. It wasn't interesting. It was just one of those wooden wagons or carriages that one read in history books if they ever grew bored enough to pick one up.

Like a gentleman, Leo helped Lex into the carriage and everyone else followed suit, and soon the old wooden carriage tumbled down the uneven rocky road, pulled on by the massive horses. Luna informed Lex they were heading to Eborn, the land of the prophecy.