The Ever Jungle

Chapter 5

Sorry for not being consistant! Holidays are busy. Merry late Xmas to you all and Happy new year! i hope to have at least 1 new chapter a week in the new year, but life happen so... we'll see! enjoy :D

In which a friend goes missing

"Cataleya-" Piercer whispered. That's not possible, we've been gone for less then ten minutes, and I would have heard something happen right? We're not that far away.

Piercer whipped around, Cataleya already doing the same, the two sprinted back through the forest from which they had came, they ran and ran, and ran more until the both stopped, huffing and puffing, they turned to each other, "I don't remember going this deep into the woods" Cataleya wheezed. "I agree, where are we even running to?" "Wait, let's go back to the poster and retrace our steps" Piecer suggested, trying to ignore the sinking pit he now had in his stomach.

He and Cataleya turned around, took a step, then stopped again, sunlight glimmered through the branches of the lush sequoia trees, warm beams of light caressed Piercers face. Why is there morning sunlight now, it was just night time a second ago, he thought, "Why is the sun rising?" Cataleya asked, as they began to walk back the way they had come.

"I'm just as confused as you are, maybe it's just our eyes" Piercer replied, she snorted, "do you really believe that?" She asked, "no I guess not" Piercer chuckled half heartedly. The two friends eventually found the poster again, Cataleya picked it up, and stared at it long and hard for a moment. "Still see the same thing?" "Yes. We need to get back out there. Can't you just climb a tree or something?" She prompted.

A few minutes later, Piercer was high in a Sequoia tree, scanning the horizon for a break in the trees where the path had been. "See anything?" Shouted Cataleta from the ground. Piercer squinted his eyes, there! An opening in the forest maybe a mile or so away, to the south.

Piercer nimbly descended the tree, and jumped down beside Cataleya, raining leaves on her head, she brushed them off without batting an eye. Piercer sighed, Cataleya went from friendly warm old friend, to serious leader attitude back and forth so often, it was hard to guess how she'd react to anything anymore. She wasn't always like this though. He missed those days dearly, before so much trauma had happened to her.

"That way, maybe a mile away, there is a break in the trees." "Alright then, let's be off." she concluded. So the two companions walked in each other's company.

As Piercer and Cataleya hiked through the forest, the morning sun began to rise in the sky, turning into noon, then afternoon sun. "This seems farther than a mile if it's been this long since we started walking" Cataleya huffed, "I guess I was wrong about the distance" Piercer replied, feeling exhausted himself. After a few more minutes of walking, the two came upon a dirt road that looked like the one they had left their friends at. "Hey! This path looks familiar, we should follow it" Piercer exclaimed, " well duh, but which way?" Cataleya asked, looking to the left, and then to the right, decidng. "This way," Piercer said, pointing "Why that way?" Cataleya questioned, "because there's foot footprints duh" "don't 'duh' me" "Well I just did" Piercer smirked, then continued walking down the path until, finally, they saw small houses and shops along the road, which had turned to gravel somewhere along the way. "I am starving," Piercer said, looking at the shops selling sandwiches, soups and more. "Me too but we need to figure out where we are and what happened while we were in the forest." Cataleya walked over to a vendor on the side of the road yelling at people walking by to buy his goods. "Don't you want a Magic Map?! Best sellers here people! Best sellers!" I'll buy your map" Said Cataleya as she walked up to the man at the stand and held out some coins to him. "Really? Here then, have two!" He screeched and snatched up the coins in front of him, shoving two maps at Cataleya, packing up his cart and wheeling away at full speed. Cataleya blinked, then walked back over to Piercer and handed him a map.

Piercer looked down at the map, he saw a red dot of ink on the paper, located on the edge of a small town marked as Ocean Town, Piercer looked at Cataleya's map, only to see the same red dot on her paper as well. "Is this us?" Cataleya said, looking puzzled, "I think so, that man did say it was a Magic Map." "Then what's this?" Cataleya pointed, Piercer bent over her shoulder to get a better look at the map. A small yellow dot had appeared on the map to the far left of where Cataleya and Piercers dot was. "Could that be what I think it is?" Cataleya asked, twisting sideways to look at Piercer.

Piercer's breath hitched in his throat seeing how close Cataleya's face was to him when she turned to face him. "Piercer. Piercer!" "What?" Piercer shook his head, "Sorry I-" "I think this is our group. Maybe they went on without us because they knew we'd be fine ourselves and could find them later on."

Yeah but why would they be all the way in the middle of The Ever Jungle and not on the main trade routes. That place is dangerous. He thought.

"They should be that far into the jungle, that place is dangerous" Cataleya said aloud, reading Piercers mind word for word. "We should go find them and get them out of there. Why would-" She froze, Piercer followed her gaze to a wooden fence across the road, with a piece of gray paper flapping in the breeze. Piercer bolted across the street and tore the paper off the fence and read it.

"Missing: Seimeth, last known location: The Green Ant Pub, Located in Ocean town, Any reward granted by the Kind of Jourana himself."

Oh my god. He thought.

He looked up at Cataleya, staring back at him with an unreadable expression on her face. "Is that what I think it is" "Unfortunately so" "We have to go to that Pub, it's said it was in this town right?" She asked, "I think so but we sho-" "Come on, we need answers"

She spun on her heel and marched down the road, and spun again to turn into a shop, a moment later she came out with a woman, who spoke a few words to Cataleya and pointed in the direction Cataleya was walking runningfull sprint down the road towards.

I should probably follow her

Piercer ran down the street to, following Cataleya who was already slowing down at a red brick building with a sign in front that read 'The Green Ant Pub"

They walked up the path to the door, only to find a closed sign, and another Missing poster, with the eerie pale face of Seimeth, and Kollin's poofy haired face printed into the image, which they had seen back in the forest.

What has happened to them, Piercer thought.

He sighed and rested his head on the pub door, discouraged. "We shouldn't give up that easily '' Cataleya told him, laying her head on his shoulder and giving him a determind look. She knocked loudly, three times on the pub door, no answer. She knocked again forcefully this time. Something moved in the window, Piercer started, and Cataleya jumped, turning towards the curtained windows. She yelled and stumbled back, Piercer just stood there, shaken to silence.

In the window stared back a pale faced young man, with handsome yet bone chilling features, pitch black eyes, and a smirk on his face as he stared into Piercers eyes, silently, he raised a finger in the air, and on the window in black thick liquid he wrote "Keep your eyes open," Piercer shivered, the young man in the window smiled, letting pearly white teeth glint in the fading sunlight, and retreated into the curtains.

"What do you want, we're not open," A middle aged man with a man bun and freckles on his grouchy face opened the door and stuck his head out. "Who- Whos-" Piercer started. "We need information on Seimeth who was last seen at your pub, what can you tell us about him" said Cataleya, who had gotten up and was standing beside Piercer now, she stood, brushing off the dirt from her clothes and turned to face the man in the door. " I said, what information do you have about Seimeth?" "He came, drank, talked to some other folks at the bar, gave them some gold I heard, and left. Didn't say where he was going ""Why did he give them gold?" Cataleya asked, "Dunno" The man shrugged and closed the door, but before it had shut all the way, Cataleya slammed her fist in the door, stopping it before it was shut all the way. "Do you at least know where he went after he left?" she said, "He mentioned going to The Ever Jungle, that's it."

Hope your enjoying! By the way, Cataleyas name, i intended it to be pronounced "Cat-uh-lay-uh" :)