What Lurks Behind The Trees

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Gregor squinted at the forest in the distance; the wind blew his hair away, making the trees sway with it. They were finally there. Mere yards away, the thick canopies of the trees formed an unseen territory, a detached world. They all stared, remembering their encounters with the creatures that lurk in it, it was surreal, going back to a place that scarred them, and the trauma was still running through their blood.

"Gregor" A man came and stood next to him, staring forward, he was a large well-built man, his name was Abe, Gregor spoke to him a few times, and he was a respectable man, determined and a good fighter. "Are you ready?"

"I'm not sure." He sighed. "I don't think I have the courage to face them again, now that I know what they are and what they can do."

"I have watched you fight Gregor, you may think you're cursed, but I think you're gifted." He said in his gruff voice. "Out of all these people, I think you have the highest chance of surviving, but you mustn't only defend yourself, you must defend the old and the weak."

"Abe, I think you will survive too, you're really strong." He grinned at him and Abe smiled back ruffled his hair.

"You remind me of my son, he should be around your age now, a brave boy just like you." He smiled but his eyes were sad "I hope to see him again one day."

"I hope we all see our families again."

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"This is what we'll do." Alan said to all the men standing in front of him "Our time in the Stygian forest will be uncertain. Unfortunately, we do not know how large this forest is, we don't know its paths and where it may lead us. But, what we do know is what lurks in it, we have weapons, but we can't be too sure if they will be enough." Everyone nodded in agreement "Gregor said he didn't turn into a slayer because he drank turquoise water from a pond, now I have never heard of or seen this water, but if we can find it, we must gather lots of it. We also need lots of the Silent Silverglow flowers as they have healing powers."

"What happens after we escape the forest?"

"Once we leave the forest we leave Osledel. After that..." He sighed "After that we reach Aigronyth"

"Aigronyth is a myth, Alan."

"No, it's real, well at least I hope it is."

"Alan is right, when I was a young boy we had books on Aigronyth, they all disappeared a few years later." An old man said. The other old men agreed.

"What do you know about it Earl?" Alan asked the old man.

"Well, the things I read in the books might not seem believable, but you have seen night slayers, so you know that our world is not made up of only humans."

"What do you mean?"

"The people of Aigronyth are different, they look different, they have many different tribes or races you might call them" Earl scratched his beard in thought "From what I've read, they don't have a pleasant relationship with humans. Conflict and whatnot." He muttered the last part to himself.

"We must find a way to make them accept us. Gregor, that guard that came to see you, he said your brother lived beyond the forest."

"Yes. I think we could use his name to safely travel through Aigronyth and find him."

"What was his name again?"

"Julian. Julian Blackwood." The name was still foreign on Gregor's lips, at first he suspected that the guard was lying to him, but why would he steal the dagger and find him just to tell him a lie, it made Gregor trust him, but it also made him very confused.

"Let's go."

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The night had come quickly. This was all too familiar for Gregor, the tall trees, the eerie undertone of the forest felt like a welcome back. Gregor felt his heart clench, the air around them was becoming suffocating, the mist was swirling around their bodies like a snake. They all stayed close, all eighty eight men, huddled close, eyes darting in every direction, fearing what could be hiding in the fog.

"Stay close. Stay alert."

Gregor swallowed audibly, and licked his lips nervously. He could hear the sound of heavy breathing coming from the men, they were scared, even Alan. Gregor couldn't exactly pinpoint when Alan had become somewhat of a leader to them, but he knew that he was the most rightful one out of all of them. He was smart, and strong, courageous even, and they all knew deep down, that without Alan they would still be rotting in the dungeons. Even those who were older and stronger than him respected him.

The agreed plan was to aim for the Night Slayers' eyes as that was their recorded point of weakness. Gregor carried a bow and some arrows and his dagger, others went for axes, swords or spears, they were all effective against the Night Slayers. Abe walked beside Gregor carrying a large axe in his hand, Aden walked on his other side carrying two swords and Alan walked in front, carrying a long sword.

They could barely see in the dark, their lanterns unlit and the moonlight peaking through the tree canopies as thin bands of silver. They walked deeper into the forest, leaves crunching under their boots as they walked. The silence was almost deafening to Gregor, the day he went with his sister it was raining, but the silence was leaving a nasty feeling in Gregors gut.

Alan stopped. Everyone stopped with him. Gregor was too lost in thought to realise and carried on walking; only noticing when Abe grabbed his wrist, stopping him in his tracks. That's when he saw them. The red eyes, unblinking, unmoving, just there, leeringstraight back at him. 

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