Infernal Autumn

Gaia

We're being carried down a carriage down a hill, to some kind of town. Handcuffs are on me.

"Marks down!"

I have no idea what that means. Probably their town language for "bring the prisoners down".

We're led out the cart. In I go to the jail.

What was that?

Rocks crumble from the tower.

"Hold back!"

The guard brings up his sword and shield, preventing us from leaving, but a gust of fire burns him. He dies without reaction, he must've died quick.

Us prisoners are leaving the castle now, and I don't have time to look up.

"Guard the prisoners!"

I make a run for it, I'm the first one to leave the town. No sight of them, they must've not seen me.

I keep running.

Eventually I find a cave, and I hide in there.

There's a chest here, with some leather armor, a iron sword, and an iron shield.

I hear some guy approach me.

I draw my sword and shield back.

"Haha, I don't mean any harm to you."

"Then why are you holding that blue orb in your hand?"

"This?"

He encloses it.

"Tell me..."

"Say one more word and I'll harm you!"

He places a symbol on the ground. I've seen this symbol before. It's a trap.

I carve his head off and he drops backwards.

I breathe heavily.

I keep exploring the cave.

The cave's filled with creatures and bushes, some supposedly harmful, like one I'm about to encounter.

It's a bear.

I take a stab at him, but he flinches and launches my shield and me back. He tries to bite my neck, but I take my sword and drive it into his belly.

I keep exploring.

Another area infested with spiders. What is this place?

I see some guy eating raw meat from a bear. He looks lunatic.

He approaches me, but is friendly enough to talk.

"Hey, how's it going?"

"What are you doing?"

"I don't have any fire on me, I'm starving. Do you have any food on you?"

I sigh.

"No."

"No? Well what are you doing in the middle of Crystallium?"

"Crystallium? Where's that?"

"We're in the middle of the tundra."

"We're in the middle of the tundra?"

"Yes, now may I ask how you got here?"

"I was a prisoner, arrested for some crime I forgot."

"You forgot your crime?"

"Yes... Must've been hit in the head or something, my neck feels weird."

"Can I ask how you escaped?"

"Something landed on our tower and burst the wall open. I didn't look but I'm extremely confident it was a dragon."

We both stare at each other for a few seconds and then I walk away.

"Wait."

"What."

"Can I join you?"

"Do you know the place of this cave?"

"Yes, and I can help you find the way out."

"You just need to tell me how to get out."

"Just keep following the path. There's a ton of other roads, all of them lead to a place to rest eventually, but just don't go off-trail and go onto some random trail that's not a road."

"Ok, thank you. By the way, there's another bear I killed back there."

"Oh, really?"

I walk away, but I turn around for one final statement as he turns away from me.

"By the way, why do you look crazy?"

"I do?"

"Yes, you do."

"I suppose that's the way I am."

***

As he said, I'm quite near the exit. I didn't need his help at all. I found one final chest on my way out. There was a preety gem in there, some gem I've never seen before. There were also some arrows and coins in there.

I walk down the path, picking some berries along the way. I pick the ones I know that I can eat, and save the rest for potions or whatever later.

As I walk down, I turn and find a wooden carving ahead of me.

Carved on it, it shows an archer fighting a tree, which resembles a dragon.

The dragon breathes and huffs and puffs, but fails to defeat the archer.

The archer stands on top of the dragon, and there a portal opens up from the sky.

I touch the carving, and I feel energy infested through my veins. It almost hurts, like branches growing and trapping my arm.

Finally, I release it from the pole.

I feel like some kind of energy is warping around me. What is it?