Entering the Calanthian wasn't a difficult task considering that there was only a small field separating the city from the forest. Even with everyone travelling at a slow and steady pace, they were all surrounded by trees in less than an hour, and from there things were fairly easygoing.
The early morning summer sunlight was shining through the leafy canopy and it gave everything an almost ethereal beauty. As they hiked into the woods, plenty of bird song could be heard and, if some random person was shown this stunning view, they wouldn't guess it was the Calanthina in a million years.
The truth was, the intense dangers deeper within had led to a conflated sense of danger within the forest as a whole. General society expected monsters to jump out the moment you stepped within the woods but that was actually far from the truth.
This chapter was hard to write. I knew what I wanted the first encounter to be, but I needed to write an intermediary to get there so it didn't come too naturally. I only hope that it didn't come through too obviously.
Next chapter is combat though, so hopefully that's fun!
Anyways, I'm sleepy so I'm gonna head to bed. And if you're reading thins, I hope you're having a wonderful day!