It took three days for the group to make their way through dozens of miles of frozen thickets and icy taiga to finally reach a part of the forest that wasn’t completely covered in white. It was a strange-but-not-unknown feeling for Alma to see no snow outside of the summer time. It had been a few years since she traveled so far from her home and was so used to the annoying gray clouds above her head that now in their absence, she found herself longing to see them again. She didn't like the sight of the white clouds, as she felt they were too "pure and pristine," as if they had something to hide besides the sunlight. And with less clouds overhead, she was finally able to see the regular pink sky that's often hidden behind them.

In terms of weapons and supplies, Hwalín had her twin blades while Alma was forced to use her old hunting rifle which went by the name of “Aimer.” She thought the moniker a tad generic, but was convinced by her friend after being told it meant something romantic in her language. She had also made a ton of sandwiches for the trip, not being much a cook but being that the food came from her sister’s home, she felt the need to prepare it all herself.

They had been able to keep warm through those cold days thanks to a strange enchantment cast by Qu'l-Nia. She had created special cloaks for them that were magically—and ironically—formed from the snow around them. Alma recognized them as the same cloaks they had been wearing when she first spied them battling with the chthonae. This had also meant to serve as camouflage from any more otherworldly creatures they might encounter along the way. Alma remained skeptical about that added bonus and chose to remain wearing her familiar black coat however.

Although Hwalín had seemed unfazed through the whole ordeal, the process in which the cloaks came about had surprisingly astonished Alma. Neither the preparation nor the technique itself was at all like the same nature spells she was used to seeing her witch friend regularly perform. It hadn't been a simple bending of the rules of the world, more so it was like ignoring them all together and that played the biggest part in Alma’s reluctance to accept its boon despite her complete amenability to magic.

And all Qu'l-Nia had done was sing.

There came no warning. The moment she had opened her mouth and the change of tone began to shift in her voice, Alma had jumped back, covered her ears and swore loudly. Hwalín laughed and had to reassure Alma that there was no need for such precautions since once she had heard the dimension walker’s dulcet tones the first time, it was no longer necessary to avoid hearing them again. Hwalín, whose power came from her ears, still took certain protective measures from time to time though.

“Is that the scent of sweet viris flowers I smell?" Hwalín practically leaped for joy at the rare sight of fresh verdure. The subtle scent of the flowers couldn't hide from her keen Hecatian nose. " I had almost given up hope of seeing anything with a blasted color."

I'm more of a horchid flower girl myself, thought Alma, aloud.

"We are finally outside of Derleth's sphere of influence," Qu'l-Nia noted, her gaze fixated on the threshold where the blankets of snow had abruptly ended. "Curious. It does not stretch out as far as I had anticipated."

"That's impossible. It's been snowing here for as long as I can remember. You're saying all this time, all this snow's been caused by him?"

"He has been here for tens of thousands of years. From what I have told you so far, it is not something that should come as a surprise to you."

Alma was always taken aback from how casually she would throw those big numbers around.

"Do not fret, Alma," continued Qu'l-Nia. "Your people seemed to have adapted quite excellently to the harsh conditions for them to have been able to set up such a vast and prosperous princedom on such infested lands."

"That's not exactly what I was worried ab—"

"Hey, look! Look!" Hwalín had come running up to them with a handful of turquoise flowers, a wide grin across her face. "I've never seen virises of this color before. Beautiful, right?"

"Wow, I never expected such a girly side from you." Alma wore her usual wry smile. "You know those are poisonous, right?"

"Oh, not to my people." Hwalín kept grinning, then placed a few of the venomous plants into her mouth.

Alma was speechless.

"You wouldn't believe the kind of high we get from these," she said while she continued chewing them thoroughly without swallowing. "Yeah, I know what you're thinking. But they also give me the added benefit of increasing my senses. And that includes my already Nia-enhanced hearing. We'll find your friend's place in no time now! I'll also be able to listen for any ambushes by those pesky bug freaks. Not to mention any other stray animal that might cross our paths that I can slice up for an easy meal."

"I already know the way, Hwalín! And we're not even halfway through the lunches we packed! Was eating those flowers really such a good idea?"

"Sorry, Alm," Hwalín huffed. "They smelled so sweet and the ones back home are so expensive! More so to get them imported. You know, centuries back they used to have wars over this stuff. Until they learned how easy it was to fucking grow. Damn it, Alma. Really sorry. We’ve been out here in the wilderness for so long, I felt like getting a little risky."

Alma shook her head.

"It's fine. It's fine, okay? Just keep an ear out for anything strange." She pressed the small button on the side of her All-Strap a few times, emitting small beeps until finally causing it to project a small holographic map of the surrounding area. The blinking red dot indicated her location right in the center of two different, sprawling forests.

The Tindalos Forest stood on the eastern side of the map. It was where the group had spent most of their time traveling through and the area Alma felt most at home in.

On the western side was the Keziah Woodlands. Another vast, seemingly endless expanse topped from end to end with wild fauna and, if rumors served, the occasional beast of magical renown. Many different types of enormous trees thrived throughout the forest. Toppled ones that proved to be obstacles large enough to bar a path for miles. Even on their sides, they were too tall to climb over easily. The easiest solution was simply to have makeshift tunnels bored right through them.

A rainbow array of leaves dotted foliage and floor alike with colors that were a blend of red and yellow shades. An exotic collection of colors that masked the true dangers of the land. Darkening briar patches or hiding behind looming bushes were creatures summoned from another world by complex spells with no other intent than to serve or protect. At least, that was the purpose that was hoped of them.

It starts as many tragedies do. With many a novice witch or wizard with far more ambition than sense, who make the trip to these special forests—arcane landmarks filled to the brim with the strong energies of the planet—locate special ley lines centered in one of the four cardinal directions, chant several rehearsed incantations here and there, drop a random ounce of bodily fluid and then proceed to do something as complicated as a summoning in a few hours. A feat that would normally take an accomplished conjurer several days to complete. Of course, once they've actually called forth whatever powerful being they had chosen to underestimate, their inexperience at binding the beasts quickly reveals itself and the story ends with an errant horn in their gut or throat as their final grim reward—if they're lucky. The things the more terrible kind do, with their foul proclivities, are better kept unsaid. With its goetic summoner now dead, and with no means to return to its place of origin, the displaced fiend makes a new home in these enchanted forests, where it quickly makes a name for itself as an apex guardian.

Strictly speaking, entry into these forests became expressly prohibited by law. However, with a cadre of wayward monsters roaming about, enforcing that law had been relegated to something of the honor system.

Obviously rules and systems don’t exist for characters such as Alma’s friend. When asked by Alma why she would ever choose to live in such a dangerous place, her friend gave the insolent impression that she wished herself to be known as just another one of the magical curios haunting the forest.

“This forest is such a pain to navigate. It’s no wonder I never come by here anymore.” Alma kept glancing between her map and the path. “First time she sent me the directions to this place, I almost got lost twice. Been a few dozen times since then. She always assures me it's safe, but I always tell her to go screw herself. Before that, I'd usually meet her at her dad's. Now we usually just meet up somewhere in between. I assume you two made it to the city by coming from the opposite direction. At least that’s around the place where I first met you. Doubt you came in from Kuranes. The borders are a bit hectic right now and it’ll take anybody days to get permission to enter or exit."

"We both arrived by some sort of train," Qu'l-Nia told her.

Alma cocked her head.

"The velorail," shrugged Hwalín. "We took it all the way from my current place in Mitra, since for some reason there's no paved roads out here."

A velorail was an enormous 10,000-ton, snake-like vehicle that carried passengers lengthy distances along a powerful beam of hard light. It travels exceedingly fast.

"Well," said Alma. "They've tried putting some roads in but they always seem to freeze and crack and get buried. So everyone here just takes the velorail. Not like people ever come out this far anyway. We’re practically at the end of the world."

Alma followed a strange creature lazily flying by with her eyes. It looked almost like a paper cutout of a dragon with its wings extended but unflapping. She was unsure whether it was borne of magic or a creature from beyond. She asked Hwalín if she could see it. Hwalín had just missed it.

"No roads out here either cause of the danger," continued Alma. She knelt down and ran her fingers over the coarse bark of a nearby tree. Looking closely, she quickly found what she was looking for—a few runic symbols, carved into the wood. "No one ever likes dealing with magic."