A whole day had passed.
The overall mood of the group was still not very good. No one wanted to travel.
Thus, we unanimously decided to take a rest day or two.
A slow pace was much better than distractedly rushing through the Death Zone, after all.
So we only walked until we found a large, hollowed tree. Its cavernous interior was spacious enough to serve as our makeshift base for now.
The gouged trunk was so wide that all of us could comfortably sit inside, with plenty of space to spare.
Moss covered the walls like natural padding, and the heavy scent of damp wood stuffed the air.
It wasn't exactly luxurious, but compared to our options of either camping out in the open or getting cooped up underground, it felt like a five-star hotel.
There was just one problem.
A very hostile, very toxic tenant had already inhabited our five-star suite and was refusing to vacate the place for our use.
