The Realm of Possibilities | Shadow Trials 2023

October Trial - Part 3: An Unexpected Reunion

After getting tricked into going through that portal, Ian had been stuck slithering through the forest for days. It had been over a week by this point, and he was getting pretty sick of it. The fact that he had to drag his bag everywhere without arms wasn't helping. He would have abandoned it his first night in the woods, but he knew he was going to get out of this eventually. And there was no way he was going to be stranded out here with absolutely zero supplies when he did.

He could have buried the bag and come back for it later, but he wasn't about to attempt digging a hole that big; he didn't want to waste hours only to risk losing it when he forgot where it was hidden. So now, here he was, a snake with a bag. He wondered what anyone would think if they saw that.

He kept going in the direction of the talisman. It was faint, but consistent. And the longer he traveled, the stronger the feeling seemed to get. It was the only thing that kept him going. Well, that and the fact that if he didn't, he'd be spending the rest of his life in the forest – alone, with no one even knowing what had happened to him.

Every day was the same. Wake up, grab his bag, and head vaguely in the direction of that cursed charm. But during his second week of drudgery – in the middle of the night – something changed. He got the feeling that the talisman was moving. How could that be? It had been calling to him from the same direction since he'd come back to this realm; as far as he could tell, it hadn't moved at all. But now, he had the distinct impression it was pulling at him from farther and farther to his left.

He didn't have any idea how far away it was. Sure, he knew he'd feel its presence more the closer he got, but he'd never been anywhere near this far from it before. So it wasn't exactly easy to judge. He decided his best bet would be to just wait it out; there was no sense wasting energy chasing after something that wouldn't stay put. He found a spot in the underbrush that looked reasonably safe. Then, with nothing else to do, he coiled up and fell asleep. He'd figure out a plan in the morning.

When Ian woke up, it was still dark. He picked his head up and looked around, trying to orientate himself. He sank back down resignedly as he realized he was still in the forest. But something was different. That charm seemed closer than it had been before he went to sleep. A lot closer. 

Ian slinked cautiously through the underbrush. He could tell someone was here, not because he saw or heard them; he could taste them in the air.

Cautiously, he raised his head up to his full height – just under six feet tall. When he was human, he was a few inches taller, but it was still a pretty impressive height for a snake.

Of course, he was only able to raise himself up that high because of how long he was; the tip of his tail trailed around twelve feet behind him. He was still relatively coiled up, but he hadn't completely fit under the bush he'd chosen to sleep under. If someone else was here, he was going to have to be careful that they didn't see him. He really didn't want to have animal control called on him; capture would cause a whole new set of problems.

He tasted the air again, trying to get any information he could. He was almost positive he recognized the scent, but he couldn't quite place it. But more importantly, the human seemed to be in the same direction as that talisman. Did all this mean someone he knew had taken the talisman?

David.

It had to be him. He'd been in the car when Ian had lost the talisman – who else could it be? Well, time to see how David felt about snakes.

It wasn't that Ian wanted to scare his friend. Actually, that would be unbelievably counterproductive. But he was going to have to get incredibly close to the talisman if he wanted it to have any effect. He'd been trying unsuccessfully on his own for long enough by now that he knew this was his only chance.