Rosentale

Ch. III | A Perilous Journey

A shorter chapter this time but it leads up to some longer chapters and introduces some things about another important character. Enjoy! <3

A speckled green toad hopped along the edge of the bog it'd been traversing for a good day and a half. Narrowly landing on a grass tuft just in-between two bodies of murky, algae covered water, it raised it's head and let it's two jet-black eyes peer around curiously at the surroundings. The toad was a few sizes larger than what one would reasonably expect but still dwarfed in comparison to the bushes and other plants in the woods it was currently journeying through. A hissing noise from just below the surface to it's right had it scurrying towards more solid ground. Snap. As it's hind-legs made contact with the ground, a large toothed jaw came to a violent close at the very spot the little creature had been perched on a moment earlier. Cold, calculating eyes stared back at it. The toad wasted no time as it hurriedly hopped along to the closest tree and began to scale it. A toad scaling a tree would make for a strange sight, but at the moment it's mind was too occupied with avoiding imminent death to reflect of such trifling matters.

Again the sound of a jaw snapping close sent a shudder through the small creature's body. It stumbled briefly as it attempted to balance on one of the thicker, yet higher up branches. The toad croaked in terror at the sight of one of the lower branches broken into much smaller chips and pieces, some of them sticking out of the mouth of it's assailant. There on the ground was a four-legged creature with a tail that could end the toad in a single swing and multiple rows of teeth that promised a much more gruesome death. It stared up at it with emotionless eyes that somehow still managed to reflect a glimmer of excitement at the hunt. However, as the toad remained perched up in the tree the predator, which was an opportunistic hunter by nature, seemed to decide that its current prey was too much effort. With startlingly quick movements, it turned around and submerged itself under the water where it resumed to lie in wait for any unfortunate creature.

With the imminent threat to it's life momentarily gone, the toad, still up in the tree, did something very un-toad like. It sighed, and with the sigh came several curses not typically spoken by toads who generally did not speak at all. A tiny bird peered curiously at the sight from a small distance. It watched, unable to look away from the strange sight, as the cursing toad slowly began to shift expand in ways that by all means should be considered unnatural for any creature. The little bird blinked to clear away the haze it had fallen under, and squeaked in surprise as, where the strange toad had been, now sat a considerably larger stranger. Worse, a human-looking stranger. The bird had seen enough and, listening to it's blaring instincts, spread it's wings and left the tree with the strange not-toad.

The human shaped man now dangling his two legs on each side of the branch let one more weary sigh escape from his lips. "Curses, I forgot about those beasts. Those-" the man's eyes glowed softly yellow as they glared at the spot his almost killer had disappeared. He threw a few more curses at the beast before re-settling himself in the tree. Feeling the chill of a breeze running through his soaked clothes, he wrapped an old tattered coat tighter around himself and shuddered despite the fact that it was in the middle of summer. A sneeze escaped him and his glare suddenly seemed far away. "That pigeon-obsessed idiot better not be talking about me again."

Deciding there was little reason to remain any longer up in the tree crowns, the man leapt down. He landed on both feet but sank down to a crouch halted by one arm while the other rested on a knee. "Well, thankfully those toothed nightmares seem to be the biggest worry around here," he muttered when nothing else came immediately charging at his crouched form.

The ragged long-coat flew about dramatically when the man stood up to his full length, which wasn't much to brag about, promptly turned around and began marching off in the direction of the setting sun. A golden glimmer between the trees told him there was little time to waste. The setting sun would only allow him one, at most two, hours of daylight. He was thankful that none of his... friends? No, he could stretch it to acquaintances- ever came along on his monthly trips. Most of them were too noisy. Eil would blend in with the many shadows too well and, well, along with his hissing, whispery voice, it was an unsettling prospect. The man shuddered as he by reflex glanced to a nearby shaded spot, as if the shadow-man would appear simply by the mention of his name. Then there was Eileed. The not-deer, not-man. If any one of them ever offered to come with, this was the only companion the man might consider. The wild flare in those coal eyes seemed to mirror the atmosphere of the bog. He quickly shook off the thought however. Eileed had one vice that struck him from the list too- his speed, or rather lack of. Perhaps it would be better to consider any future travel companions when he was back home and away from anything that viewed him as dinner.

The ragged-looking man muttered out half a curse as his foot got stuck under yet another root. This was definitely not the moment to get distracted. He shook his head clear of any unnecessary thoughts and sped up as eventide came closer. This was the end of his second day since arriving in this landscape. The destination, he wasn't sure of. Rarely did the visions provide much more than a general direction to travel in. Last time his mind had been filled with smoke, sulphur and drumbeats. He had feared it would lead him to the midst of some conflict. Instead the end of that journey had offered him a spot in a seasonal festival with great burning pyres and people dancing dangerously close to the flames. Needless to say he had sat that one out, but gladly participated in the following feast- not only to respect their customs.

This time the visions had shown him a silent reflection in a body of water, gentle eyes staring right at him, and a soft tune humming in the background. Sitting back home in the comfort of a dry, safe living room, the man had thought it a blessing. That somehow the visions were going easy on him this time. After all, how hard could it be to find where he needed to go when there were both the surroundings and the, for once, rather clear image of a person to go by. He had cursed his naivety the moment he had stepped foot in the wet, inhospitable bog. Already there had been not only two but three close calls threatening to end his wandering for good. A coarse laugh filled the otherwise dead silent surroundings. Surely it had to be one big joke, finding the one right puddle in an entire bog filled with puddles was not how he had pictured his days away from home.

The misfortunate man continued trekking through the foliage, steering clear of some puddles where suspect bubbles rose to the surface before popping. One run-in with one of those toothed beasts was more than enough. His steps were quiet as he, unexpectedly gracefully, jumped from one tuft of grass to another. It was considerably slower walking this way but also minimized the risk of upsetting anything around and about.

When at long last a sturdy iron fence entered his vision, he felt like he had won the lottery. In just a few swift moments he had swung himself over the barrier and landed with a heavy thud in the waist-high grass on the other side.

His eyes immediately darted around the area, suspicious of anything that could be a threat. Nothing but the softly swaying grass. He rolled his shoulders once to get rid of the tension and was just about to sit down for a quick break when a voice rang out from somewhere nearby. He shot up, finding himself staring right into a single pair of wide eyes that shone with nothing but pure curiosity at his form and presence. The melodious voice spoke again and he was sure there had never been a more beautiful sound.

"Who are you?" 

See you next chapter, where some more plot development is going to happen and we get to see more of our favourite grumpy bog-man!