บท 23: A Nightmare Appears

I was making my way through the forest; trying to be as stealthy as I could, when all of a sudden the entire forest started quaking. I tried to stay on my feet, but the shaking was so intense I fell to the ground. The tree's all shaking around me, a shower of leaves and branches raining down.

'Is this an earthquake?' I was wondering when the quaking instantly stopped. I felt a heavy and sinister aura fall over me. A cold shiver ran down my spine. An intense feeling of fear invading my mind.

A strong sense of impending doom was covering me. It felt like hundreds of spectral skeletal hands were crawling all over my body. Complete terror grabbed my soul in a vice like grip. I started running back to the glade.

As I ran I saw the creatures of the forest either hiding or fleeing in fear. I had no idea what was happening; I just had this strong feeling that I needed to make it back to the clearing.

I had traveled deeper than ever into the forest and even running as fast as I could it still took 3 hours to make it back to the clearing. When the clearing came into view relief started to bloom in my heart before it was utterly crushed by astonishment and confusion.

There was a large multicolored barrier surrounding the glade. The barrier was translucent and had numerous geometric symbols all over it.

I walked up close to the barrier; not daring to touch it. Inside I could see my little shelter and the wrack with the wolf hide drying on it. What was really shocking was that the pool of water was glowing a bright blue. I stood there with my jaw open, my brain couldn't keep up with what was going on.

By this time the sky was just starting to change colors as the suns were slowly disappearing below the horizon.

"You must step into the Glade, that is the only way to survive." A feminine voice sounded around me. Jumping around in fright I had Fire Darts ready in one hand and Radiant Arrow in the other.

"Whose there?! Show yourself!" I demanded, not seeing anyone around me. At this point my nerves were fried; I wasn't sure how much more stress I could take before I started to cast spells everywhere.

"I am unable to show myself, but you may address me as Willow," The voice responded. "The barrier protecting The Glade will not stop you from passing through. Now, please hurry and step through! Night is almost upon us." Willow pleaded with me; a slight tone of panic evident in her voice.

"Can you at least tell me what is going on? What happened?" I questioned; I really wanted some answers.

"Magus Hawk the blood you spilled during your battle with the lost wolf has woken a long slumbering evil in this forest. None could have realized the strength inherent in your blood, otherwise we would have guided you out long ago. Luckily this evil is unable to bear the light of the Twin Suns, but that light is almost gone now. The barrier will protect you; now please step through the time runs short." Willow told me.

'She knows who I am, but who is she?' I didn't let myself wonder over this thought for long as the last light was quickly disappearing from the sky. And as the light decreased my sense of unease increased. Not wanting to wait any longer asking questions I stepped through the barrier; a slight tingling running across my skin.

"Stay safe young Magus, and one day we may yet meet again..." Willows voice slowly faded away as I finally stepped through the barrier. I opened my mouth to ask her to stop but no words were able to leave my mouth as the world began quaking once again. This time it did not end quickly but was accompanied by a bone chilling roar. The trees on the other side of the barrier were quickly losing all their leaves.

In the distance I was hearing loud snapping and crashing noises as trees snapped under the pressure. The roar lasted an entire two minutes yet felt like an eternity. It finally ended and was replaced with loud rapid thumps as if something was running through the forest.

The closer the thumps got to me the more sounds of snapping and breaking trees reached my ears. It sounded like something massive was making its way towards me through the forest. I quickly ran over to the water; something about it gave me a sense of calm which helped to ease my frayed nerves.

Whatever was making its way here was not something I could hope to fight. I barely survived a fight with a wolf that wasn't even level 10. I highly doubt that whatever this is, is a low leveled monster. I admitted to myself that I was scared, even my grimoire was shivering on my side.

It wasn't long before I saw the treetops swaying as the creature got closer. Next thing I noticed was two huge hellishly glowing red eyes staring at me from out of the darkness.

I felt like I couldn't breathe with those eyes turned on me. I knew that if the beast was able to get through the barrier I would die.

The beast eyes roamed over the barrier, and all of a sudden a giant claw rushed out of the darkness and struck the barrier. The barrier didn't even shake from the strike. The beast hissed and growled menacingly at the barrier before training its eyes back onto me.

It started pacing around the glade, keeping an eye on me at all times. I couldn't make out what the beast was, as it was completely cloaked in shadows. Only its eyes visible to me; even that was enough to cause me to continually shiver in fear.

A nightmare had come for my life.

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Six hundred miles a away from the glade was a mountain range, the forest reached all the way to the foothills of these mountains. A tall woman wearing a dress of leaves made her way up a small barely visible foot path.

This woman was the dryad Willow. She was alone as she made her way up the treacherous path. In the background faint sounds of a large and angry beasts growls could be heard. She eventually made it to a plateau that overlooked the forest far below.

Upon reaching the plateau she kneeled and bowed her head to a short-cloaked figure that was standing at the very edge of the plateau. Staring in the direction of the glade were Hawk was currently hiding from the beast.

"You have done well, Willow." The small figures deep voice said.

"Thank you my Lord, but shouldn't we get the boy out of there? Or at least take care of the creature?" Willow questioned, her voice quivering in fear. In all her long years she could never have imagined questioning this beings orders, yet after watching the young humans struggles and triumphs she felt like he didn't deserve to die now.

"That won't be necessary, when the creature was awoken earlier it alerted a hunting party from that settlement over there," the figure waved slightly to the left of where the glade was as if he couldn't be bothered remembering the name of the place. "They have already delivered the news and will certainly dispatch out someone to take care of the possible threat."

The small figure turned his gaze onto Willow, "Do not worry about the boy. He will not perish; I am still interested in him. The last deal still stands, as long as he is in the forests let no fatal harm come to him. Outside of your territory I will not hold you responsible for the boy's fate. Now leave me." The figure turned its eyes back in the direction of the glade, and no longer paid any attention to the dryad kneeling behind him.

Willow climbed to her feet, bowed her head in respect, then began the long trek back down the mountain.