Kansnubra Island: (HARRY POTTER) Inspired

CHAPTER 12

They entered the forest, walking between the great trees, following behind Aldrich. Garley felt something distinctly negative about this place. Apparently the others felt it as well. Everyone seemed hesitant about moving forward, but there was no turning back now.

The trees were quite separate from one another, with strong, thick trunks. Their roots were spread across the ground. They looked long and sinuous, making the walk difficult. The only sounds were some birds chirping and dry leaves crackling beneath their feet.

They walked for a while, only seeing a few rays of sunlight penetrate the woods from between the tree branches.

"I can't believe I'm here, after all I've heard about this place," Jorge said under his breath as he drew his sword. He sighed.

"It so strange, isn't it?" said Alix, listening intently for any noise around them. "I never would have thought I'd go on an adventure like this one, a quest through the forest. I'll admit, it's scary."

"We have just barely come into the forest and I already think it's scary enough!" Garley added, struggling to walk between some tree roots.

"Well, on the other hand, we'll have a great story to tell... Ouch!" Alix yelled, jumping up.

Jorge tickled her head with a small stick—obviously to scare her. "Stop it, Jorge! That's not funny!" she said, smacking him on the shoulder. Garley couldn't contain his laughter and chuckled along with Jorge.

"Why are you laughing? That wasn't funny!" Alix griped. Laura raised her hand, commanding silence.

"Lower your voice, Alix," Laura scolded her daughter. "We are in the forest, or have you forgotten that already?"

"It wasn't my fault, Jorge scared me with a stick," Alix replied, a little irritated.

Laura remained quiet and thoughtful as Aldrich and Johnny discussed the best route to take. Johnny consulted his map. The lack of light made it difficult for him to read it.

"Wait a minute," he said, halting his walk. "If we go left, we'll stay away from the creatures' lair, but we'll have a longer hike ahead of us."

Aldrich took the map from Johnny's hand. He studied it, and his expression changed. "It can't be right... Look at that! It's damaged!"

Though the majority of it was intact, the surface of the map had some dark stains spread over it, the spiral shapes covering some of the paths on the map.

"What are we going to do now?" asked Alix in disbelief. "Do we turn back?"

"No. We are already here, and we cannot do anything to fix the map in time. We shall have to continue forward," said Laura.

Garley couldn't believe what was happening. He wasn't feeling as safe as before. They decided to keep going, changing their direction to go left.

"Is that a dragon?" asked Garley, noticing a trail on the map with a drawing of an animal with wings.

"Yes, it is. But this one is smaller and more docile than the Dragons of the Deep," replied Aldrich. "Even so, I wouldn't like to run across any of them. They rarely walk alone, and they hunt in groups."

"That one is the same kind as Alastor," commented Alix, smiling. "They are easier to tame, but their strength is still considerable. Though Dragons of the Deep had a reputation for being extremely aggressive and dangerous, I believe that all dragons could be domesticated, depending on their training and the love that they received."