A leaf drifted past my cheek waking me up from my thoughts.
Brittle and orange, already curling at the edges. Fall had settled in fully now. The trees here had begun shedding their branches slowly going bare in preparation for the cold months ahead.
Despite being a different world, it followed a lot of the same rules of science that the previous world had that I could recall. It had four seasons, plants didn't particularly enjoy the cold, people needed food, and gravity still stuck you to the ground. (most the time) Most things here were roughly the same.
Sure there were SOME differences.
That is to be expected when being reincarnated into another world.
Like how you wake up one day, and your neighbors farm was just casually flattened by a wyvern.
But otherwise, things were surprisingly logical.
And even the things that were different still went by there own set of rules.
I was very thankful though that Fall was still Fall.
I enjoyed the smell of fall, in truth it was my favorite season, so every year fall came I found myself in enjoyment that this worlds fall worked very much like my old worlds. And it was obvious that this place was settling into Autumn uniform.
The air here smelled like damp moss and something faintly flora. But it wasn't quite like the flowery scents that I was use to . .
There was interesting but something about it, it was unusual but I couldn't quite grasp why. Perhaps a native plant only to this specific area?
It was a alluring scent, almost to pleasant, as if the forest was trying to lure me deeper with its perfume. Perhaps these woods really were fae touched like the people said.
I mean it's not exactly common for a lesser demon to be patrolling on the outskirts to than immediately attack you without question. Most the time demons enjoyed to talk and make deals, but the one from earlier was pretty "Shoot first ask questions later" as people from my old world would say.
I suppose I should be abit more on guard. I didn't exactly have plans to be part of some fairy princesses harem. I did read how it was common for fae folk to take on human pets.
The irony if that happened after I had already rejected multiple marriage offers. Mother really would never forgive me if I ended up being some fae girls play thing.
Still, it would be my first time encountering a fae if that did happen. It would be a curious thing to study and observe. I wonder if I found a fairy if it would allow me to interview it?
All though I can't fully sink into curiosity just yet. I still needed some focus on what was ahead of me. But I did have the luxury of the season being in my favor during my exploration.
One good side to the leaves falling during fall was visibility was better. You could see further between the trunks, which made navigation easier, though that didn't mean it was safe. These woods weren't mapped, the deeper you went the easier it was to get lost and I had already been traveling on foot for a couple hours. Getting lost was actually surprisingly easy.
Trees had a way of looking identical when you weren't careful.
I use to hike alone in the woods all the time in my old world and developed a habit of keeping myself grounded through subtle markers: the angle of a broken branch, an unusually shaped patch of fungus on a trunk, the sound of nearby water. Anything that wouldn't be the same in every direction. Most importantly if anyone ever gave you a map. Don't be a idiot and assume your to good for it. Keep it safe, don't lose it. So many horror movies in the woods could of been avoided if the so called expert didnt assume they were to good for a map.
Another important skill was if ever for any reason at all that you had the trail for a moment, was to avoid making to many twists and turns, limit yourself. It makes retracing your steps way easier. Rules were important, especially in forests like this, dense, old, and untouched. No proper trails and those that existed long been swallowed by the wild.
Wind whistled softly through the trees. It wasn't night yet, just a hour away from sunset so the chipping song of birds still filled the woods, but then oddly enough out of nowhere they went silent.
I paused.
Wind brushed passed my cheeks.
Beneath my boots, the grass shifted, almost nervously.
In a clumsy daze I continued to walk forward . . but why why was I walking?
Still no sign of a beast. But the tension in the air? What was that? It was Like the forest itself was holding its breath.
No . . more like I was being rejected and told to go away . . I felt this feeling before.
I stepped over the carcass of the demon from earlier. Its body was already half-sunk into the undergrowth, like the woods were trying to erase the embarrassment of having housed something that pathetic.
I was back where I started . . had I gone full circle?
That was weird though, I was extra careful to avoid going in a circle, why was I back here?
Annoying . .
looking down at the corpse of the slain demon. It honestly was a pathetic thing. Hopefully I didn't anger some higher demon over the offense of killing its minion.
I had honestly thought it was a goblin at first.
To be fair, it squealed like one.
"Next time, wear a name tag" I muttered, brushing dirt from my robes.
Mumbling in annoyance upon the realization I had just been robbed easily three hours of travel time I sat down on a stone pulling out my map. I marked this spot after I slaid this low class demon. I wasn't to far away from the entrance if I wanted to turn back now. But how did I end up back here? Unless I had gone crazy I spent a hour going in a straight line, and then made a left after I hit the water fall.
I placed extra effort to mark my path, follow the map as closely as I could and only making the most minor of detours when needed. There is no humanly possible way I went in a circle . .
Unless . . ?
I breathed out . . "magic"
One downside to this world, is while it obeyed most the laws of science I was familiar with, it came with a interesting feature. Magic, magic was amazing, it allowed anyone who could wield it to do wondrous things that existed only in dreams . . At the same time though it could be just as much a nuisance.
I should've expected something like this to happen.
Officially, these woods were called Maplewood Forest, thanks to the towering maples that stretched for miles.
But the locals had another name.
The Feywoods.
They said it was haunted. Cursed, even. But by what?
That's what I came to find out.
Some claimed a voice-mimicking beast ruled these woods.They said if you wandered too far after sundown, it whispered to you.. soft and sweet whispers of a woman.If you answered, it took your name.Others spoke of a mans voice inviting you to a riddle game. Lose, and it slices out your tongue for its collection.
I've yet to meet anyone without a tongue.But one thing always stood out to me, not what people remembered, but what they didn't.
No one agreed on what it looked like. Hell no one could even agree on a gender!
Same creature. Same location. Same legend.Three entirely different descriptions.
That inconsistency was the most consistent thing of all.
And that made it interesting.
And interesting was worth chasing.
I'd thought I was chasing it.But apparently, it had already noticed me.Because somehow, despite walking in a straight line for nearly an hour, I had ended up back at the same spot where I had left this pathetic excuse for a demon
That left one answer.
A barrier.
There were many types, some blocked weapons, some absorbed spells…
And some?Some quietly moved you several miles from your location without you even realizing it.
My eyes lit up . . . wait a moment . .
A barrier of that scale, cast passively?
Shapeshifting of any kind was already rare, as the action of transforming ones body into another creature was a skill that took a lifetime of refining and training. Despite being a court wizard who had access to some of the finest teachers the kingdom had to offer, there wasn't a single shapeshifter among us. Yet here this damn thing was shapeshifting and casting relocation barriers that went across acres of woods?
The monster manuals would say stay away.They'd scream it in bold red ink: "Do not engage. Do not pursue."
But but . . but..
But aww! I didn't care!
How interesting it would be to be the first to witness a creature that hasn't been seen by mortal eyes in so long.
What did did it look like?
What language did it speak?
Was it a he? Was it a she? NEITHER?!
Did it even have a name, or was that the reason it stole names?
The stories it must have, to have such mastery over two advanced forms of magic it must be easily several generations old!
My curiosity practically dragged me forward by the collar.
My curiosity screamed at me.
But how do I get past this barrier . . ? It was definitely a barrier . .
I stopped to think . .
But to get past the barrier you must identify when it activated and where it was. . . That's when I remembered, when the birds stopped chirping . .
I smiled
Clever creature but not clever enough
I guess it was time to say goodbye to my fallen companion
"Well my ugly little companion of a corpse, I'll be seeing yah, make sure to tell your boss it wasn't personal, okay?"
I picked up my staff and as I did the corpse slowly reduced to ashes. I sighed. I really hope I didn't end up with some angry demon lord chasing me later..
Demons weren't exactly interesting . .