189 The Chattering Forests (1/2)

The trees themselves were healthy with thick trunks and solid, armor-like bark, and grew far taller than those in Riviera, but there was something about them that was just off. Their bark was black like the night, and their leaves a shade of muddy green that seemed to absorb light.

The result was that with how closely and thickly the treetops clustered together, the sun was entirely blotted out, making the forest pitch black even during day.

In this darkness, countless entangling and thorned vines, black and purple poisonous bladed grasses, and noxious spore filled mushrooms grew. Faye led the way, a flame dancing at her open palm as a guiding light.

Launcelot stood right behind her, shield upraised. Celeste and Ava stood behind Launcelot as they seemed to be a ranger and mage respectively, their gear made of light leather unsuited for withstanding strong blows.

Li followed behind all of them, capable of seeing through the darkness but not knowing the way. His forest spirit senses were hampered here. In the Winterwoods, he had an idea of where everything was with just a bit of focus, letting his divine hearing pick up the sounds of life.

Here, there was a sort of static interference that made it difficult for him to navigate. It also did not help that this was not his forest, so he was not as closely linked to it as he was with the Winterwoods.

Faye stood still, and everyone froze. Launcelot raised his shield. An insectoid chattering sound echoed in the darkness, and to normal human ears, it would have been extremely difficult to place where it was.

The enclosed nature of the tree trunks and branches caused a sort of echo chamber to form, and when the chatter cracked through the forest, it traveled and reverberated far.

But Li knew it came from a distance away, and he said, ”It's fine. No nearby threat.”

Faye looked at Li, and then at Launcelot, evidently not too convinced of Li's capabilities, and the nobleman nodded to reassure her that Li did indeed knew what he was doing.

She resumed leading.

Li could sense great trepidation in each member of Bulwark, evident in how they carried themselves, how tense they were, how at any given moment, they were ready to turn and fight. And he could not blame them.

Launcelot was mid forties in terms of level and judging by the life signatures that Li could sense, the creatures here ranged from the thirties all the way to the mid-fifties. This sensing also did not include Darkbeasts, which Li could not get any real measure of in terms of level, likely because they had no level.

Though that was no threat to Li, it was a grave one to Launcelot, and, coupled with the eerie nature of this forest, would be more than enough to keep these people on edge.

”The next tree, the one with the cut marks in the trunk, has a few brain spiders lying in wait in the branches,” cautioned Li as he picked up the life beat of the spiders.