Chapter 726 - Going Down
Hao Xuan and Tasgall walked out of the cave and into the forest. The illusion formation that was protecting the entrance reset after they left and the cave's entrance disappeared once again.
The few strands of orange and red light that were still falling through the thick canopy signaled the setting of the sun over the neverending forest.
Hao Xuan closed his eyes for a few seconds and basked in what little light was left before it would disappear for the next 15 hours or so, just like it had done for the last 10 months. He could not help but recall the many hardships they had endured to get here.
The first few days after they found out that it would be a while before they could return brought an expected anxiousness and a dislike for Hao Xuan that was the main reason they were here. Even though Burak tried his best to explain and reason with them, many of them did not see it that way.
But soon after that, the anxiousness and hate towards Hao Xuan were replaced by the will to survive as the twisted inhabitants of this world finally attacked.
Every single night without fail they would come with the darkness, bringing with them the raging snowstorms. The cold wasn't that big of a problem at the start but it hindered their vision and as time went by, the cold started to set into their bones.
After about three weeks of fighting every single night and moving from one spot to another during the day, they finally couldn't take it anymore.
Burak decided that it would be better to head into the nearby forest and take their chances there since this way it would take the creatures longer to find them, and he was proven right.
The sunlight greatly limited their movements and gave the barbarians ample time to put some distance between them. Although the snowstorms still continued overhead during the nights, the trees provided a lot more cover and kept the billowing winds at bay.
It was the mist and fog that was the main problem here.
Another two months went by like this. The further they got from the city the less frequently they got attacked. It seemed like there was a very real limit to the movements of the strange creatures but before they could celebrate, one misfortune replaced another.
There were very few large beast species that lived deeper in the forest. Most of them were not that aggressive but the few that were, made it quite difficult for the party to travel through their territories that stretched for hundreds of kilometers if not more.
It all started on one random night.
The party had taken refuge within a mine they found on the side of an old mountain. There were a handful of man-made structures outside but they were so badly damaged that one wouldn't even be able to tell their original appearance or purpose, meaning it had been abandoned much longer than the city.
The first night there, Hao Xuan tried exploring the mine but there was no end to the claustrophobia-inducing shafts and tunnels that kept leading deeper into the ground.
It was a great place for them since it was out of the way of the larger beasts and provided more than enough cover from the elements all the while giving Hao Xuan a space to work in.
A little more than a month went by like this as their new lives fell into an oddly mundane routine of sleeping and hunting. They got too used to the peace and quiet and to get rid of their boredom, a few of the barbarians started to go much deeper into the mine than they should have.
And it was all done in secret, as dares and challenges from one youngster to another to explore the inky depths of the mountain that had not seen a light for eons. Deeper and deeper in they went, picking the strange black gems that the mine held until one fateful night they went too far and in the process woke something up, something that should not have seen the light of day again.
The next night one of the barbarians came up to Isak and Burak complaining that he couldn't sleep because of all the noise.
The prince and the captain of his soldiers investigated but found nothing that could explain this strange 'noise' that could not be heard by anyone else.
That next day, the barbarian that had made the complaint was nowhere to be found. When Burak investigated, more than a few others came forward and swore they had seen him going down, but none had seen him return.
A day passed, then two and three but the boy did not come back. Isak led a few men and followed his trail but lost it soon after. There were far too many footprints going in every other direction.
The only thing of note were the various articles of clothing that were dropped along the way. Not ripped off, but taken off.
Four days later another barbarian came forward complaining of the loud whistling and banging noises.