Misted Deceit

Round and Round

Forrest awoke to the same gentle drizzle he'd fallen asleep to.  The power of the night, however, had released its hold over him and his mind was now clear of any enchantments.  Stretching, he shook Orchid, waking her.  She gave him a sleepy smile.  "Morning," she said.

He smiled in return, before walking around their resting place.  Stopping suddenly, he peered into the woods, puzzled.  "Orchid, shouldn't the stream be..."  She was beside him almost immediately, recognizing their mistake as soon as he did.  Enthralled by the enchantment of the Woode, they has allowed themselves to be led astray.

Orchid cursed, "How could we have been so stupid!  I should have known better that to go through the forest at night!"

Forrest sighed, equally angry, "Well, there is nothing we can do about it except look."

They then glanced around, trying desperately to find some hint of which direction the stream was in, but it was in vain.  And in the rain, sounds became muffled and unidentifiable.  So, they struck out randomly, hoping to find it soon.  Quickly, they became enveloped in the forest again, but this time aware of the danger lying just below the surface.  Still, the simple beauty captivated them.  This time, however, they did not allow themselves the little stops to wonder at some thing or another.

Forrest had another motivation for finding the stream, but he dare not tell Orchid.  From his small collection of scattered memories, he had pieced together that the stream led directly to Sylldol.  It was in the enemies' country he hoped to find answers to his questions.  Something about the war seemed off and he needed to find out what.  During his time in camp, he'd listened to the soldiers' small talk, attempting to catch up on what was going on.  Not once did he hear a reason for why the war had started or why it was still going on. 

And for some unexplainable reason, he felt that the hydras would be able to tell him the truth behind the fighting.

"Forrest!" Orchid called back from in front, breaking his thoughts, "I see something up ahead and I don't think it is quite ... natural."

Curious, he caught up with her where she stood upon a small hillock.  There, hidden behind a cluster of trees, was the outline of a small cabin.  Suspicion arose.  Who would build a home way out here?  he wondered, staring at the structure.  Orchid slunk down towards it, and Forrest stared after her, shocked.  "What are you doing?  Whatever lives there is probably nearby!"  She turned to look at him before heading to the cabin.  He didn't like this; going into a strange building was not something he had in mind.

He waited.  However, something seemed off; the wrong scent lingered in the air.  He growled softly, glancing around the exposed clearing, not willing to move.  To his relief, Orchid reappeared shortly.  "Nothing out of the ordinary for a cabin...in the woods...away from everyone..." she reported, trailing off.

Forrest glanced in the direction from which Orchid came just in time to see a figure enter.  He wondered what it could be.  It lived too far west for a hydra, but finding a dragon here was just as unlikely.  However, the matter was pushed from his mind as they re-entered the forest, once again attempting to find the stream. 

Sometime during the next few hours, the drizzle that had been falling since yesterday let up, and sunshine poured in through the treetops. But that did nothing to aid the dragons in their search.  They were able to locate the glade in which they had spent the night; any further than that, though, they were lost.  Unsure about the direction they had come, Orchid suggested they travel in each direction and see if anything sparked a memory.  Unfortunately, the only thing that stood out in both of their minds were the glowing flowers, but those, it seemed, gave off light specifically at night.  And they couldn't afford to loose any more time.  In frustration, they returned to the glade,  completely deflated.  Devoid of ideas, they lay there, resting, waiting for the other to speak.

At last, Forrest broke the silence, "We'll never get out of here.  We have lost our guide and have a stranger camped out behind us.

"And a stranger no more," a new voice said, hidden in the shadows of the foliage.  Both he and Orchid jumped at the unexpected sound. 

A pair of eyes appeared in front of them.  Eyes so orange that they glowed from within.