The time passed quickly. True to their word, the group packed up their tents and put the campfire out before setting back off down the road towards Red Mount. Belmont wasn’t particularly happy about it, as he was yet to learn a new spell. They moved at a brisk pace and traveled until the sun had already started to set beneath the horizon.

Without any animals to hunt in the area, the group ate a somewhat disappointing meal of jerky and cheese. Ming received more than a few hopeful glances from all three of the other members, but she just shook her head sadly.

Once dinner had finished, the Happy Sunflowers set up camp and slept the night away. When Arek awoke the following morning, he joined Malissa in a jog around the camp followed by an hour of combat training with Belmont.

The moment they finished, Belmont whipped his book out and read like his life depended on it. Ming spent the majority of her own time within her tent, although it didn’t do much to conceal her anymore. On the bright side, she had a great reading light.

They set off earlier than they had the previous day – this time leaving right after yet another sad meal of jerky. Days blended together and boredom set in quickly. Ming nearly set fire to the plains several times with her new spells, and Belmont had grown so absorbed within his own book that he didn’t even bother scolding her.

By the time they’d been traveling for just over a week, the huge mountain was no longer at the horizon. It was the horizon. The massive peak stretched into the sky, blotting out the sun for nearly half the day.

There was no clear path up the mountain, which was completely encased in a dense forest that was impossible to see into. They’d only been traveling for a few hours that day when they stopped at the edge of the forest.

“Well, this isn’t ominous,” Arek said, peering into the darkness beneath the canopy. The forest was dark and still. It was eerily silent, as if it were completely empty.

“Do you think there are any animals in there to eat?” Ming asked, stepping up to the tree line and peering past a trunk as if a fat boar were waiting right behind it. “I’ve been looking forward to some real food for the entire trip.”

Belmont looked away from his book, closing it with a snap and tucking it under his arm as he looked from the forest to the map.

“There are a lot of spots to ambush someone in a forest,” Belmont said. “But it’s also quite difficult to track someone within it using nonmagical means. It’s unlikely we’ll have to deal with any human threats, since the Howler guild shouldn’t have figured out where we went yet.”

“It’s disturbingly silent, though,” Malissa said, spinning a dagger in her hand. “I’m not sure why, but that makes me very uncomfortable.”

“Noise tends to mean that prey animals aren’t scared,” Belmont observed. “I find it hard to believe that a forest is devoid of life, so that likely means that there are dangerous predators within these woods.”

“We can eat those,” Ming said eagerly. “Meat is meat.”

“She’s got a point,” Arek agreed. “And it’s unlikely the forest would have anything truly dangerous. Powerful monsters almost always take up residence within a dungeon.”

“Not all of them,” Belmont said, wrapping his book up and placing it within his bag. He sent a nervous glance into the darkness before lowering his voice. “The most powerful ones can roam untamed zones of wilderness.”

“There’s a city at the top of the mountain,” Arek said. “I doubt Red Mount is untamed.”

“And Magus wouldn’t have sent us into a dangerous situation, would he?” Malissa asked, although she didn’t sound particularly sure of herself.

“He totally would,” Ming said. “He’d probably think it was funny.”

“He doesn’t have a sense of humor,” Belmont replied. “But I wouldn’t be particularly surprised if the forest were dangerous. However, I doubt he would have sent us to our deaths.”

“It’s decided then,” Arek said. “Not that I think we even have another option. If the map is correct, it’ll take us a few days of travel to get through the forest. We should move as quickly as possible.”

“Quickly but carefully,” Belmont said, pulling his pink staff from its place at his side. “Escaping from the Howler guild just to get eaten by a monster would be a very disappointing fate.”

With their course of action decided, the Happy Sunflowers entered the forest. It was humid, but not overly so. A few stray rays of sunshine broke through the thick canopy, but they were few and far in between. No more than a few paces into the forest, the majority of the daylight had almost completely vanished.

A small ball of light blue energy faded into existance beside Ming, dimly illuminating the party and the surrounding trees. The trunks weren’t packed tightly together, which made travel a lot easier.

“Thank you,” Malissa whispered.

“No problem,” Ming replied, also in a whisper.

They crept through the woods, watching their surroundings warily. The dark shadows cast by the trees danced at the edges of their vision like shadowy devils, darting away the moment anyone glanced in their direction.

“How are we supposed to tell where we’re going?” Ming whispered, no more than a few minutes after they’d entered the forest. “All the trees look the same to me.”

“Just make sure we’re moving upwards,” Arek replied. “Red Mount is at the top of the mountain, so as long as we head up it, we’ll be fine.”

“Oh,” Ming replied. “That makes sense.”

She spun as something seemed to flicker past the edge of the light, but it had already vanished. Ming frowned and pulled her staff from the bundle on her back, clutching it to herself tightly.