Mystic Heart Odyssey

Part 6: In the Shadows of Kryckwood

Chapter 1

Aaand the spooky arc begins! What mysteries and horrors lay within the eerie shadows of The Kryckwood~?

-Llox

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Lykou and Kuna continued down the swirling tunnel of water, descending further and further below the waves. Whereas they’d previously come to think of the sun as an ever more powerful, omnipresent force during the day on the bright, tropical island they’d just left, its presence was slowly fading the further they went. Soon it was no match for the thickness of water being magically held above them. The shimmering light faded into an ever more deep blue, and eventually that blue turned darker and darker. Soon Lykou got his crystal out as well, to help light their way.

The tunnel wasn’t straight, either. It twisted and turned, avoiding various larger obstacles as they went along. The landscape, already strange compared to the surface world, only became moreso the further they went. It was like another world, with the chunks of coral, temporarily exposed to the air, and the slimy seaweed laying limp in hazardous patches on the ground. And there werre bits of dead or dying sea life that had opted to stubbornly stay behind and meet its doom when the waters receded. It was strange enough when there was still enough light to make out fish, turtles, and other strange creatures they didn’t recognize swimming around outside the tunnel- some of them startlingly large. A few even seemed to look at them with what they hoped was simple curiosity, as they passed by.

The boys stopped in surprise when part of the tunnel’s ‘wall’ bulged out and one of the eldritch residents of the abyss again approached them.

“Uh… hey there,” Lykou said, somewhat anxiously. Ordinarily he was always chipper to meet new people, regardless of how different they looked, but the Abyss-folk were disturbingly freaky even for him. This one looked like a fuzzy worm with a sickly cluster of eyes for a head, a round mouth below it that was lined with sharp, thin teeth, a row of fins on its sides, and five separate wispy feelers twitching around from random spots along its body. “Can we… help you?”

<([To the contrary, I am here to welcome you to the Abyss and help guide you the rest of the way. You are on the uppermost edge now, and the path will become steeper and more… treacherous for your kind, as you go along. So I have been sent to guide you around the potentially dangerous obstacles to come.])>

“Oh, well, um… thanks!” Lykou replied, trying to stay optimistic. “We appreciate that.”

“W-what… kind of hazards?” Kuna asked, staring with wide, somewhat fearful eyes at the creature.

<([They are various, as you will see. Rest assured that I will warn you well ahead of time.])>

“Alright then,” Lykou said, giving Kuna a quick reassuring side-armed hug. “Lead the way, I guess.”

<([Of course. Please watch your step. There are many slick spots. And avoid touching those,])> the creature explained, gesturing with one of its feelers to something that looked like a colorful mass of limp, slimy worms sticking out of a fleshy bulb. Occasionally the bulb twitched or undulated, temporarily drawing the worm-like protrusions back in before they slid out again. <([They will sting if they touch your flesh. It is quite painful, and can make you very sick.])>

Kuna gulped and nodded. “N-n-noted,” he said in a small, scared voice.

“Right, watch where we step and what we touch. Got it,” Lykou agreed, eyeing a couple clusters of the things.

<([Good. Please follow.])>

They began their slow, increasingly nerve-wracking descent deeper into the dark depths. As they went along, they periodically had to work their way around sudden deep, yet narrow trenches that seemed to drop away into a pitch black void. A few creatures that’d somehow survived the lack of water occasionally shifted around or slunk away as they approached. A few of them at first appeared to be rocks before they sprouted eyes, legs, and feelers, and shuffled away.

Their guide had them pause ahead of a cluster of holes on the ground for a moment. Suddenly, massive plumes of violent steam and foul-smelling gas erupted from them, causing Kuna to yelp and hide behind Lykou out of instinct. For his part, the konuul managed to stand his ground, other than jumping slightly in surprise. Once the steam and gas subsided and dispersed, the entity bid them to hurry past before it erupted again. On the other side, Kuna shot his friend a sheepish look. Lykou just chuckled and hugged him reassuringly.

As they continued, they both ogled their surroundings with a wide-eyed mixture of fear and fascination. It was like the strangest combination of forest and cave. The coral made them think of a strange combination of stone and plant life. Beyond the veil of the shimmering water, the light from their crystals occasionally showed what it was normally like, with various creatures hiding among the twisted terrain, and larger ones lurking above them. By far, it was the tentacled things that unsettled them most. Some had eyes that almost seemed to suggest an alien intelligence watching them as they creeped around on the ocean floor or swam in a strange bursts past them. The jellyfish were like phantoms as they drifted around on unseen currents. All of it was totally bizarre to them.

Along their path, they occasionally had to step around increasingly large starfish still clinging to the terrain. At one point, an octopus that’d managed to survive passing through the water barrier creeped across their path to hide in a dark hole under some coral. It freaked them out a bit realizing that the bizarre creatures could, in fact, enter the tunnel if they so chose- most just seemed to instinctively know it would be unpleasant for them. Still, Kuna nervously pondered if some of the larger things might decide they looked tasty enough to take that chance.

That fear slightly faded once they reached a point where they couldn’t even see the shadows of things out in the inky darkness anymore. But then it came back when they occasionally saw other, new things drift in and out of sight, somehow glowing with their own eerie lights from parts of their bodies. Some creatures were partly or even mostly translucent, displaying their organs and skeleton clearly as they passed by. Others had jaws that looked like something right out of a nightmare. But the most frightening of all were the ones that looked like enormous versions of creatures they’d seen before. On more than one occasion, they huddled together when a tentacled monstrosity whose body alone was larger than Hoku and Kani’s boat passed by, pausing momentarily to eye them before moving on.

At no point did their guide seem to pay them any mind, though. Lykou ended up wondering how many of the mostly hidden, strange creatures they occasionally caught glimpses of were other intelligent residents of the depths like the thing leading them down.

Finally, the rippling tunnel opened up into a large, round chamber. In the center, sitting at a slight angle on top of a slightly sloped chunk of ground that seemed somewhat mismatched from the surrounding terrain, was the arch they sought. As they approached, they gasped and jumped back slightly when a slightly familiar set of massive, glowing eyes opened up in the darkness just past the ‘ceiling’ of the chamber. A brief pulse of eldritch communication made them clutch their heads and reel with dizziness for a moment. Thankfully, it passed quickly.

<([T’nari wishes to again thank you for your part in putting an end to the demonic pestilence that plagued the nearby islands.])>

“N-no problem, heh,” Lykou said, smiling uneasily up at the eldritch god peering down at them. Kuna just clung to him and let his eyes dart around anxiously. “We were h-happy to help.”

<([We understand that you have quite a journey both behind you, and ahead of you. Should you ever find yourself in or on the ocean and have a need to speak with us, simply speak your message into the shell. But do not use it frivolously.])>

“O-of course, and… thank you,” Lykou replied, then gave a quick, slightly uncertain bow to the god, which Kuna mimicked wordlessly.

<([And rem-])> the creature began, then paused, shifting a bit. <([Oh? ...very well then. T’nari says not to panic, but it would like to contact you directly.])>

“Uh… contact us…?” Lykou asked in confusion.

“Y-you mean like-” Kuna started to ask, but yelped as a pair of watery tendrils suddenly extended into the chamber and drifted towards them. With wide, fearful eyes, he held the increasingly anxious konuul in a deathgrip as they approached.

“Uhhh… Okayyyy…”

As soon as the tendrils touched their heads, the water suddenly surrounded them and they briefly feared that they were about to drown. Then it hit them- that disorienting, intense projection they’d experience a couple times before, but almost unbearably strong. But then everything stopped.

When they opened their vision cleared, they were drifting in a vast, wide-open expanse filled with ethereal blue light. They thought they could hear faint, incoherent chanting, or at least something that sounded like it, coming from all directions. Strange words echoed in their minds…

{... it… is all… connected...}

Slowly, blurring forms came into sight and clarified into what appeared to be islands in all directions. Suddenly, things started moving in a sped-up, rapid motion, as the islands changed over time, with blips of different animals and even people appearing, moving, growing, going about life, and dying all around them. It gradually occurred to them that they were seeing a piece of the world’s history, somehow, all happening at a breakneck speed- though they could hardly make any sense of any specific bits of it, given how fast it was going by.

{… you… are part… of it…}

Then the view dropped down into the depths, where they saw the sea creatures they’d encountered on the way down, similarly sped up and gradually changing over time along with the shape of the sea floor. As strange as it all was, it suddenly felt more… beautiful, somehow. The movement slowed down to normal, as the world panned around them and they descended back down to the deepest depths.

{… there is beauty… everywhere… including… in the unknown… and in darkness…}

There was a brief pause, as the world slowly spun around them, with strange shapes and beings drifting in and out of sight.

{… remember… this truth…}

For a brief moment, they felt a strong sensation of peace pass over them. Then it faded, and everything went dark. They opened their eyes again back in the chamber as the water receded from their heads, somehow leaving them completely dry. The god’s eyes, still staring at them, faded into the inky darkness.

“...what… just happened…” Lykou quietly wondered aloud as he watched the eldritch god fade away.

<([T’nari took a look at both of your souls completely, for curiosity’s sake. So it gave you a tiny glimpse into its own perspective in return.])>

Kuna gawked briefly. “S-so… it saw all of-”

<([Yes.])>

“And we saw…?”

<([Yes. Was it… pleasant?])>

Lykou and Kuna shared a look, then held each other as they reflected on the strange moment. “Yeah… yeah it… really was, in a weird way,” Lykou said.

“Strange, but… reassuring somehow…” Kuna added.

<([Then know that you have the appreciation of one of the most ancient beings to still roam the mortal world. You are blessed, friends of the Abyss. And now,])> the strange entity slowly drifted back towards the edge of the chamber. Suddenly, the portal opened up in the arch, seemingly on its own, casting everything in a shimmering pale blue glow. <([Your journey awaits you. Farewell.])>

The entity vanished back into the water, leaving them alone in with the gateway. But somehow, they felt like there were still countless eyes watching them from the pitch black water as they cautiously approached the magical portal.

“Well… um. Th-thanks again,” Lykou said awkwardly, glancing around at the edges of the chamber.

“L-let’s go Kou,” Kuna urged, giving his arm a gentle tug as he approached the gate.

Lykou nodded and followed the sereva into the portal. The last thing he heard before passing through, was the cacophony of water suddenly and rapidly rushing back in just before the portal closed behind them.

*****

The moment they stepped out of the other side of the portal, they felt relief. The air was cooler, and more like what they were used to. It was also nice to be back above the ocean, with some daylight. Not a lot of it, however- the sky was completely clouded over and grey. A chilly breeze made Kuna shiver slightly.

“Finally, some place more comfortable!” Lykou said, after first looking around to make sure there were no nearby signs of danger.

“I’ll say,” Kuna greed, albeit with a more uncertain expression as he looked around. He couldn’t help but notice how dormant the forest they’d found themselves in looked. There wasn’t much brush around, and the trees were half barren and dead-looking. The sparse canopy was a small blessing, however, given the overcast sky. It wasn’t particularly dark, just… grey and drab.

Other than the occasional chilly breeze, there was no noticeable motion or sound. There were no small creatures skittering around, no insects buzzing in the air. The grass in the more open patches of land looked somewhat yellowed and short, as if it was winter time. And the other plants either looked completely unfamiliar, sick, or, in some cases, like dark-colored variants of things they were familiar with.

Lykou scratched his head. “Huh. This place seems…”

“Kind of depressing?” Kuna suggested.

“...yeah.”

The sereva shrugged after a moment. “Well, at least nothing’s attacked us yet, and the air’s more comfortable. As pretty as the islands were, it’s nice to have a break from the bright sun and heat.”

“Good point,” Lykou agreed. “I’ll kind of miss the color, though.”

“Yeah, I don’t remember seeing a place so… well, grey, before.”

“It’s called Kryckwood,” said a familiar voice behind them, startling them.

“Gah!” Kuna yelped, then spun around and clutched his chest as he calmed himself. “Dammit, Zyn!”

“Do you really have to sneak up on us like that?” Lykou asked with mild exasperation as he, too, turned to face the jarzin.

“Sorry, didn’t mean to scare you,” Zyn replied. And this time his serious expression made it clear he was telling the truth. “But yeah, this is… The Kryckwood, apparently. According to the few spirits I could get to talk to me around here, anyway.”

“Kryckwood, huh? Odd name,” Lykou said.

“Sooo… what can you tell us about it?” Kuna asked curiously. “And were there no… people you could ask? In disguise?”

Zyn shook his head. “Nope. No living ones anyway.”

That caveat immediately sent a chill down both Lykou and Kuna’s spines. “No… living ones?” Lykou asked hesitantly.

“I saw some… remains here and there. Very old ones, mind you- mostly bone. But you should still be careful.”

Kuna shivered and clung to Lykou. The konuul wrapped an arm around him and glanced around warily. “Any idea what killed them?”

“Not for sure, but I could take some guesses,” Zyn said, then sighed and unfolded his arms, fiddling with the bangles on one wrist. “Look I hate to disappoint you, really, but the fact is I… wasn’t able to scout around as much as I’d hoped.” He glanced off to the east for a moment, thoughtfully. “Kuna, I’m sure your spell will tell you the next gate is off that way. It’s in some old ruins surrounded by a bog. About a day or two’s hike, depending on how fast or slow you take it. And frankly I suggest being slow and careful around here.”

“Oh? ...what kept you from scouting around more?” Lykou asked.

“There are some… odd quirks in the weave here. What caused them, I can’t say for sure. But the result is that, thanks to us jarzin being as… close to the spirit world as we are, there’s some kind of barriers around some things that I can’t seem to get through.”

Kuna whimpered and held Lykou tightly. The latter just sighed heavily and planted his spear in the ground, then brought his now-free hand to his face. “Please... tell me it’s not-”

“No, let me stop you there. Whatever it is, it’s not the result of a demonic pact. I can at least tell you that much,” Zyn assured him. “If it was, it’d be suppressing all the local spirits, too. But in this case it’s specifically allowing certain ones in, un-hundered. And in some cases kind of… changing them, somehow. This kind of thing does happen in certain situations, for various reasons.”

“Like… Devashan?” Lykou asked curiously.

“Kind of. But that’s a different case,” Zyn replied, rubbing his neck thoughtfully. “We generally know, or at least strongly suspect we know why jarzin can’t go there. In this case, though, I have two guesses as to what’s going on.”

“...well go ahead and tell us then,” Kuna insisted with a frown. “No need to stall.”

“Sorry, just hate to make you two worry, after everything you’ve been through,” Zyn said, then took a deep breath and re-crossed his arms. “First option is that the spirit court sometimes decides to sort of… block off part of the world to give certain special kinds of spirits a chance to clean up and fix things after something especially bad happened there.”

“Like a demon twisting peoples’ beliefs and occasionally killing people for power over multiple generations?” Kuna suggest with a flat expression.

“...sometimes. But no, it won’t happen back there because there are surviving people there.”

Lykou and Kuna were struck by the implication. “...s-so you mean…”

“Yeah, if those bastards had somehow killed everyone on the island, then the spirit court might do something like that.”

“...fucking hells,” Lykou swore, staring at him wide-eyed. “That happens?”

“Very rarely, thankfully, but sadly yes,” Zyn confirmed. “Even worse, sometimes demons don’t even need to be involved. Sometimes mortals can be pretty damn evil all on their own.”

“That’s… I just can’t… wrap my head around that,” Lykou said with a deeply saddened, disbelieving expression. But then he remembered the burned village way back on the edge of the shakonu lands. “...damn, some people...”

Kuna frowned and looked away. He didn’t like it, but unfortunately he didn’t find it entirely unbelievable.

“That said, I really don’t think that’s the case here,” Zyn pressed on. “There’s definitely signs of death around- I mean, just look at this place- but that kind of thing only tends to happen when there’s a whole lot all in a short time. There’d have to be bodies- fairly fresh ones, even- all over the place to suggest such a huge tragedy that the spirit court decides to close the place up for a bit. And then it’d only be as long as it took to fix things up. And again, take a look around you.”

Lykou and Kuna did as he said. “...seems pretty dead but…”

“No sign of any fixing up,” Kuna finished.

“Exactly. The other option is that powerful magic users used other rituals- or possibly even Sylthean magic- to… change the place. Not in the way a demon would, but other ways. Less twisting the weave and more using it in ways that’ve been long forgotten by most.”

“S-so… what should we expect?” Kuna asked nervously.

“Honestly, I wish I could tell you. But it’s as much a mystery to me as it is to you. Users of magic like that are rare and can vary a lot. They might be friendly, they might be malevolent… or anywhere in between. And that’s assuming they’re even still around. Effects on the weave like that can take a very long time to correct themselves and return to normal, well beyond the lifespan of most mortals.”

“So, for all we know, those ruins you saw might be all that’s left of whoever did it,” Lykou commented. “Right?”

“Exactly. There’s no telling.”

“Great, walking into the unknown again,” Kuna said, then sighed heavily. “So much for the advanced warning…”

“Hey, he tried,” Lykou lightly chided him, while also giving him a gentle squeeze.

The sereva’s ears folded down a bit and he shot Zyn an apologetic look. “R-right, sorry… didn’t mean to sound unappreciative.”

Zyn waved it off. “Hey, I’m just sorry I couldn’t be more help. Trust me, Kuna, if I could, I’d whisk you two straight to the gate myself.”

“So is there anything else you can tell us?” Lykou asked.

The jarzin gave him an uncomfortable look, then sighed. “Just… be very careful. There may not be any pact demons around, but there may be other unnatural monstrosities and dangers out there. Not being able to explore big chunks of the forest mean I don’t know what all is out there, but I’m sure at least some of it is dangerous. So keep your guard up.”

Lykou nodded. “Will do. Hopefully we’ll get to the gate without any trouble, but we’ll handle it if it comes.”

Zyn finally smiled a bit. “I’m sure you will. Hey, you took down an especially crafty pact demon and his mortal crony. I doubt there’s much the world could throw at you that you couldn’t handle at this point.”

“Oh I’m sure it’ll find ways to make you eat those words,” Kuna snarked, but smirked a bit. “But still, thanks Zyn.”

The jarzin chuckled. “Ever the optimist, aren’t you?”

“That’s his job,” the sereva said, playfully bumping his head against Lykou’s shoulder. The konuul grinned and squeezed him again in response.

“Right, well… you two stay safe and I’ll check in on you when I can. If nothing else, on the other end of the next gate.”

“See you then, Zyn.”

With a puff of dark mist, the jarzin vanished, leaving Lykou and Kuna alone once again.

“Well… guess we better get walking,” Lykou suggested, pulling the spear back up out of the ground.

Kuna took another look around at their surroundings and shivered slightly. The life energy in the surrounding plant life definitely felt a bit… off. And subdued, especially in the case of the trees. “Yeah…”

*****

The boys walked through the forest with increased wariness. The day crept by slowly, but steadily. The woods were mostly silent, other than the sound of leaves and twigs snapping under their feet, and the occasional creaking and groaning of the trees when a brief wind blew through. They stopped only once, so that Kuna could finally change out of the sareo and into the nice warm robe he’d gotten in Clovaria. Luckily, Lykou had already put on his armored shirt and kilt before they even left the isles, so he was able to keep watch while the sereva changed. Otherwise, they pressed on without any major pauses, and ate lightly as they walked, when they got hungry.

The lack of visible wildlife was unsettling and really put them on edge. Kuna eventually pulled out his hatchet, just in case. Despite not seeing another living creature, they occasionally got the eerie feeling they were being watched. It never lasted more than half an hour at most, but it was unsettling nonetheless.

At one point, they came across a pond in a small clearing. Lykou took a sip from his waterskin and noticed it was getting low, so he bent down to refill it. But Kuna stopped him before he could dip the container into the water. “D...don’t,” he warned.

Lykou furrowed his brow and looked at the pond, then back at his companion. “...why not? It looks clear enough.”

“Yeah, that’s… that’s the point,” Kuna said, eyeing the water warily. “Don’t you find that odd?”

“...what do you mean?”

“Usually still ponds like that get all kinds of… you know, junk growing in them,” the sereva explained. “For clear water, it usually has to be flowing steadily. And honestly the, um… energy feels a bit off, from what I can tell.”

Lykou turned back to the pond and examined it. The water was crystal clear, and shallow. There was no pond scum or plant life anywhere in or around it. While the bottom was a mixture of dirt and rocks, the edges were all stony, and the dirt beyond the perimeter was bare for a short distance, as if even the grass and other plants were avoiding it. “Now that you mention it…”

“Yeah, see? It’s weird,” Kuna said, then patted the jug hanging at his side. “Don’t worry, I still have plenty, if you get thirsty. We should wait until we find a regular stream. I… don’t trust that water at all.”

The konuul nodded and stood up again. “Yeah, glad you caught that,” the konuul said, then shot him a small grin. “It’s a good thing Hoku taught you to pick up on that stuff, even if you haven’t worked out how to manipulate it yet.”

Kuna smiled back a bit. “Same here. Shame I didn’t get to teach her life magic in return, though…”

“Hey, she’s pretty smart. I wouldn’t be surprised if she figures it out on her own some day. And you did teach her soul magic, anyway.”

“Yeah… and if not, hey, hopefully I’ll get another chance some day.”

As they continued walking, Kuna took note of some of the plants he spotted along the way. Some looked familiar, albeit different from what he was used to. There was something that looked like lavender, except it was dark grey instead of its usual color, and some dandelions with spotted blueish flowers and dark green puffballs. He was glad they’d stocked up on food before they left the islands, because he wasn’t sure he’d trust anything he was seeing to be safe to eat.

Eventually, it started getting darker, and they realized the sun must be setting. So they quickly found the nearest clearing and set their things down, then began setting up a campsite. Kuna used his magic to grow and weave whatever plant life was nearby into a basic shelter, while Lykou started setting up a firepit. The pit didn’t take long, though, so he decided to go gather wood while the sereva was finishing up.

“W-wait, don’t go alone! Let me finish so I can come w-”

“Ku, don’t worry, I won’t go far,” Lykou assured him. “And I’ll use my bracers, just to be on the safe side.”

“A-alright… just… be careful,” Kuna insisted with a worried look.

“Don’t worry, I will. I’ll try and make it fast. The way this place looks, it should be easy finding dry wood, heh.”

Kuna hurried to finish forming the shelter, hoping to join his friend after finishing, assuming he didn’t return first. He did make sure to make the roots that made up the walls extra thick and sturdy, just to be on the safe side. It was more draining than usual, but he wanted to be sure they were well protected from any monstrous dangers that might be lurking in the eerie forest. As soon as he was done, he quickly tucked their belongings away inside, then hurried to join up with the konuul.

Soon he realized he didn’t see his friend anywhere. Panic immediately started to set in- and the growing darkness wasn’t helping matters. He quickly pulled out the crystal Whironui had given him and used it to light the way as he searched for his friend. “Kou? L-Lykou?? W-where are you?” he called out, though he was nervous about being too loud, just in case something else might hear him- something unpleasant and hostile. Still, he soon started to raise his voice when he couldn’t find the canid anywhere.

Suddenly, his heart nearly leaped into his throat when a hand closed over his mouth and he was quickly pulled back. His panic quickly turned to relief, though, when he recognized the hands that’d grabbed him.

“Shh… look,” Lykou said in a hushed tone, then removed the hand from Kuna’s mouth and pointed into the distance.

Kuna squinted and peered into the dark depths of the forest, then gasped softly when he saw what the canid was pointing at. Every so often, a dim, ethereal light appeared, drifting around through the trees, then vanished again, only to reappear a yard or two away. Another one showed up a short distance away a few moments later.

“Some kind of spirit, I assume?” Lykou said, watching in fascination. “From what Zyn said, there’s probably no point in trying to talk to them, but-”

“A-absolutely not,” Kuna said, wide-eyed and trembling in his arms. “I… I recognize those.”

“Y… you do?”

The sereva nodded slowly. “I… I f-forget what their actual name is, but I remember s-stories about them that call them various things. Wisps, flames of the forlorn, phantom lights... They’re s-supposed to guide lost souls- ghosts- to the afterlife. Thing is, they… can get a bit… c-confused or overzealous, or s-something. L-lead people to their death or even t-try to pull their soul to the other s-side before their time. I have n-no idea why.”

Lykou stared wide-eyed at the glowing wisps in the distance. “...oh. Fuck.”

“W-we should be safe as long as we don’t pay too much attention to them or give them a-any reason to think we’re in need of their… ‘help’,” Kuna said, then gulped. “S-still, let’s… try and avoid them.”

“Gladly,” Lykou replied, then bent down to pick up some wood he’d been gathering before he spotted the eerie spirits. “Lets just... get back to camp…”

“R-right,” Kuna agreed, helping him gather up the branches he’d collected. “I hate to say it but… the f-fact that those things are around means there’s a good chance there are s-some ghosts out here.”

“...let’s just… hope we don’t encounter them, then,” Lykou said as they walked back to the camp. “On another note… did you happen to notice if that stream we passed near here ‘felt’ right?”

“Oh, yeah. I take it you want to go refill after we drop this off?”

“Yeah, shouldn’t take long.”

“I’m coming with you, then,” Kuna insisted, then shot the konuul a look. “Don’t even think of arguing.”

Lykou smirked and playfully bumped against the sereva as they started walking back. “Hey, works for me. You finished the shelter for the night, right?”

“Mhmm.”

“No reason to stay behind this time, then. I’d welcome your company,” the konuul remarked, then glanced around warily. “In fact now that I think about it, especially with those… spirit things around, we should probably… avoid splitting up any more than necessary here.”

“My thoughts exactly. And that goes double at night.”

It took them some time to find the camp again in the dark, to the point that they started to worry they’d lost their way. Kuna eventually used his soul magic to guide them back, using a certain blood-smudged stone in his pack back in the shelter as an anchor point for the navigation spell. After they dropped the wood off, Lykou decided to go ahead and get a small fire started before going to fill his waterskin, so they’d have an easier way finding their way back to it.

Kuna brought his water jug along to top it off as well, even though it was still about half full. They took turns, so that one could keep watch around them while the other filled their respective container, with Lykou filling his first. As Kuna was finishing filling his jug, the canid let out a small yelp. The sereva quickly spun around to see what was the matter and his eyes went wide.

One of the floating, glowing orbs was in the middle of passing straight through the konuul, who looked very disturbed and uncomfortable with the situation, to say the least. “K-Ku-n-n-na…” the canid said, shivering and staring in mild horror at the thing as it drifted out in front of him. For a moment, it continued on its way, but then it paused and drifted closer to the konuul again.

The sereva was immediately by his friend’s side and grabbed his arm with a shaky hand. “H-hey Kou, I’m good to g-go. N-n-nice night, huh?” he said with a very fake, uneasy smile as he very deliberately avoided looking at the orb that was now floating right next to them.

Lykou gave in a slightly incredulous look for a moment, then glanced back and forth between him and the orb. With a subtle, yet urgent nudge from the sereva, he realized what he was doing and quickly smiled back uncomfortably and gave a small nod. “Y-yeah, n-nice and chilly, g-g-good night to c-cuddle by a n-n-nice fire!”

The orb drifted uncomfortably close to them for a moment, then faded into thin air. A moment later, it appeared a yard or two away, slowly continuing on its meandering path through the woods. Lykou and Kuna kept up the casual facade as they started walking back to their camp as nonchalantly as possible, until finally they glanced back and saw that the orb was far away. They then quickly embraced one another, trembling. “F-fuck that was too close,” Lykou muttered, staring into the distance fearfully.

Kuna wasn’t used to his friend being so shaky, and squeezed him extra tightly in response. “Y-yeah. You alright?”

“I… I think s-so,” the canid answered after a moment, his trembling slowly fading. “That f-felt fucking weird, though. And s-so, so cold…”

“I bet… come on, l-let’s get back to the fire and warm up.”

“Sounds good to m-me,” Lykou agreed.

As soon as they returned to camp, they added some more wood to the fire, then quickly cuddled up together next to it. Each of them got out some food, though neither had very much of an appetite and spent more time holding the other than eating.

“Y… you don’t think that thing… did s-something to me, do you?” Lykou asked.

Kuna thought for a moment, then slowly shook his head. “I don’t think so. You’d know if it did.”

“G-good. Felt like a fucking winter m-morning in my chest there for a minute w-when it… you know.”

“They’re l-like ghosts that way. Seems like any kind of spirit r-related to death tends to be cold.”

“...makes sense, I guess.”

They both jumped slightly at the sound of a hooting owl in the distance. They exchanged a brief look, then Lykou tried to shrug it off with a slightly uneasy smile. “Heh, owls… a-at least that’s pretty normal.”

“Kou. We didn’t see any animals here today.”

“...well, I mean… owls are nocturnal, so… it was probably just sleeping off in some hiding spot during the day.”

“...what would it eat? W-we… didn’t see any squirrels or chipmunks or anything, either.”

Lykou looked around warily. “...m-maybe all the critters in this forest are nocturnal.”

“N-not a lot of plant stuff for anything to eat, either. N-no… berries or anything,” Kuna said, then gulped. “Though I s-suppose we just haven’t seen it yet.”

They both continued to eat slowly in silence, taking note of every little sound the forest made. The breeze picked up, however, making an occasional faint, eerie sound as it moved through the trees. The stronger gusts made the trees creak and groan. The presumed owl hooted again a few times. It didn’t seem any closer than before, so at least if it was something else, it didn’t seem to be honing in on them or anything.

“Y-you think those… spirits will bother us in our sleep?” Lykou nervously asked.

“I d-doubt it. They’re n-not likely to bother you unless you l-look lost or pay too much attention to them. Which doesn’t tend to apply to s-sleeping people.”

Eventually they finished their light dinner and just sat there, eyeing the darkness beyond the fire with suspicious wariness. The moon peeked through the clouds, casting a faint glow on the far end of the clearing for a moment before the clouds passed by again. They half expected to see some kind of monster to come creeping out of the woods towards them. Fortunately, nothing of the sort happened, and a few minutes later the moonlight was again obscured by cloudcover.

“This f-forest really creeps me out,” Kuna said quietly.

Lykou squeezed him gently. “S-same here…”

“...let’s get s-some sleep. The sooner w-we do, the sooner we can get up and t-try to get to the gate as quick as p-possible.”

“Y-yeah, alright,” Lykou agreed. He got up and banked the fire while Kuna set up their new bed mat. Once they were both were inside, the sereva used his magic to seal up the entrance good and tight, leaving just enough small gaps near the top of their shelter to ensure they’d get some fresh air. Both of them huddled close and it took a while for them to doze off. Even through the thicker-than-usual wall of roots around them, the periodic sounds of the forest were still unsettling. But they at least took comfort in one another’s closeness as they did so.