Deadlands

Chapter 16 - In the Thick of it

We hit the bottom of the hill where the land fell into a swamped out forest. I had a strange feeling; it's as if the forest, below the hills, had to be something more than just a forest.

"Hope you all brought your boots.." Aehrith sighed. "There is a path here in the Aeolian swamp lands, but it will be very wet and damp. You'll be lucky to have your toes in this weather."

The smell of wet soggy creek, with the dull hint of crushed spearmint leaves grew thicker in the air. We all had this disgruntled look on our faces from having to smell this as we got closer. It was not something I had expected from this place at first, but it soon grew to a recognition of the swamp, regardless of how nasty is was. We stepped with our feet more closer together as the ground got more wet. The snow no longer lingered on the path and it slowly turned to slush on the cold wet mushy surface. The tall, grey, bare trees seemed to grow larger as we got closer. I took a closer look once I had the chance to notice it was the very trees, similar of that, to the Lonely Woods that separates Ferihale from the Deadlands. Thinking of how warm the feeling of home is gives a new meaning to the word "Deadlands". Even though I don't know much of the place, and only have my little experience here to go off of, it truly is a 'dead land'. A land which needs renewal. Something to give it new life. Maybe it is I who has to make that ridiculous sacrifice. I wouldn't much like to by any means! If I had the willpower to do it, I'd let it rot away- if not for Mir, Aehrith, Meridale, and the rest of the creed. Not to mention the innocent people here, who now, just a few kilometres away, are experiencing loss at catastrophic proportions.

As for the storm that attacked them, it has since lifted, and will return back to whence it came. The place that we as a team of thirteen are travelling to in hopes of it dissipating. I'm not ready... nor is the creed. But we are never ready. We only are ready when we are done with it. We will make mistakes and it's possible we may fail. But there's no way I'll just stay here and make it worse. I will have to push harder than ever before. We all will. Even to just survive our travels; hoping not only for succession, but for this swamp to never turn into those dreaded Lonely Woods.

"Anyone been through here before?" I asked, out of fear of walking through those dreaded woods again. I got several shaking heads until Isabelle spoke up.

"I have once before." She said. "But that was twenty years ago when I was a youngling. I hardly remember a single thing. I doubt it's any of the same..."

"The path is shrinking up ahead, everyone..." Aehrith interrupted. "Watch your step!"

Just as she said that my foot plunged into the frigid, leg-deep, murky waters beyond the thin line of mushy, muddy earth covered in a fine layer of frost on its weeds. I rose my foot from the water as the band stopped.

"Well...?" I asked

"Well." Meridale said.

"Guess we've got to keep going." I said while shaking my head

"We'll set up a fire when we get out of this place." Aehrith declared.

"If we ever get out of this place..." said Colin with a nasty bite. "And it's not like we're very far from the entrance!"

"Need I remind you that we're being chased still, Colin?" Aethrith said. Colin grumbled and put his head back down. "I get that you're upset to walk through this mess but it's the only way!"

"The only way?!" Colin belted. "Wasn't there another that went around this whole thing?"

"You mean several miles South?" Isabelle suggested. "You'll never make it in time."

"South?" Colin asked. "Where are we headed now?"

"Southwest." Meridale said lightly through her mask.