Jay's Journey

Chapter 16

After traveling back towards the hamlet and restocking on food, the trio set out with renewed vigor into the forest. This time, they adhered to trails so their passage was not obstructed by the environment. The forest beside the trail they went on gradually grew denser, the canopy better obscuring the sun above. In a few days' time, they were trekking beneath evergreens that stood hundreds of feet against the sky.

Their training had continued at a similarly rapid pace. Almost every time they were stationary, Vayen was drilling them in unarmed combat. Whenever they were moving, Zira was giving them notes on how to remain quieter while walking. The motions were becoming more familiar, and Jay felt the impact it was having. His gaze traced out areas where walking was noisy and falling into a combat stance was easily done within the blink of an eye.

On the sixth night, they found a firepit within the woods. It was the largest clearing of open space they'd seen that wasn't a body of water.

Of course, because they were stopped and not yet asleep, Vayen was helping them with combat. They were getting much better, and with it, much stronger. Zira was already athletic, but Jay was starting to get whipped into shape too. He wasn't being thrown off balance by his own punches anymore. That had just been sad for Vayen to watch, frankly.

But, in the middle of training, a wolf howled. They'd heard it a few times, enough that Vayen was glad he had a sword, but he could tell right away that this was different. It was a deeper sound that was strong enough to shake the dirt. There was also more meaning behind it. While previous wolf howls were wails put out into the dark, this was a clear threat that made them starkly aware of how small they were in the massive forest surrounding them.

"Uh, that doesn't sound good." Jay observed.

"We should probably stay quiet, pause training." Zira suggested.

"Right." Vayen agreed. For a few moments, the only sound was the crackling of flame, as the bugs and birds were conspicuously quiet.

Suddenly, Jay's eyes flew wide open and he fell into a combat stance. Zira looked at him confused, but Vayen's immediate response was to feel the Omnocean. He hurled his will and attention against it, the mental equivalent of what he would do trying to charge through a pane of glass.

Something massive was moving towards them. It was a beeline, a direct course. Watching it approach was like watching a mountain growing closer while he stood still. It was a feeling that made his non-magical self feel small and fragile. He drew his blade.

"What's wrong?" Zira wondered.

"Feel the Omnocean." Vayen said. She froze, every part of her growing tense.

"It's probably a magical monster. But it's big. Really, really big." Jay theorized nervously.

"We need to hide. Now." Zira declared. In a hurry, Vayen sheathed his sword and looked around. The forest floor was mostly covered with fallen logs, tree saplings, and ferns. He decided on a patch of ferns a little ways off. He began to jog over.

"Quieter!" Zira reminded in a loud whisper. Vayen instantly searched the ground, struggling in the fading firelight to find sources of sound. Thankfully, he still had a few moments, as the magical monster had still yet to reach them. What was it finding them by? Was it scent? No, they were surrounded by tons of smells, how the fuck would anything find them that way. Vayen shoved the questions aside as he finally found a path that made marginally less noise. Then, he hunkered down into the ferns. They were about waist height for him, meaning it wasn't too difficult to hide beneath them. He recalled Zira's advice about breathing quietly, making sure to take long, slow breaths through his mouth.