Orion recognized this section of the path; they were very deep in the forest of red trees now as the road started to curve upward towards the entrance to the mountains. Suddenly from up ahead, a flash of golden light overcame the forest, searing through the trees and instilling them with a strange warmth only for a brief moment in time.
The hunter turned around to see the other two in a confused state, "Want to go check it out? I've never seen anything like that before." While both of their faces began to hint at curiosity, they still looked hesitant while Draco replied, "Are you sure we should? We might end up losing time."
The hunter just shrugged calmly as he responded, "It's better to mess with the unknown before it messes with you." Indra's face immediately calmed at the thought as she chipped in, "That's surprisingly a good point. Let's go check it out, it could be helpful."
Nearing where Orion thought it came from, he was a distance from the path, surrounded by green underbrush, and all sorts of birds and insects were humming and chirping around him. Through the wildlife however, he noticed a massive wall of thorns, and he called to Indra in a childish tone, "Indra come clear these thorns with your electric stick, please."
Indra flashed frustration for a moment before she started weaving through the brush to him. "That is both wrong and disrespectful at the same time." Indra stood in front of the wall of brambles and began to spin her spear as it charged with electricity, and in one strike, split the wall to create an opening they could all comfortably fit through.
Jumping in front of her, Orion squeezed through first and moved extremely carefully as if the priority of the mission were keeping his clothes in one piece. He looked around to see what looked like a natural garden blooming with life in this secluded spot in the forest, glowing in the twilight.
Nothing looked out of the ordinary for a garden, as life in the forest was beginning to settle for the night, and Draco spoke behind him. "What's that one on the ground over there?" He was pointing to an apple tree around the center of the garden with something on the ground beside it that looked out of place.
As he walked close, he could see a curved sword with a red wrapped handle sticking out of the ground. As he drew close enough, he realized it was pinning a dark cloak and garments to the ground, like a makeshift tribute in some way. "I know that people frequented the forest, but I haven't seen anything like this before, so we'd best move on and keep our guard up." Draco was still standing, staring at the strange sight. "What do you think happened here?"
Orion didn't look very sure but answered anyway, "Someone ditched their clothes and sword, I guess? Or is making some sort of offering? I don't know, but near the bridge to the mountains is a nice cave we can sleep in for the night."
They left uneasy and unsatisfied by what they had seen, but were still able to peacefully navigate to the other side of the forest by the light of a full moon.
Sitting around a makeshift campfire in a small hollowed out part of one of the bigger redwoods, Indra and Draco were looking around worriedly, "You sure that it won't catch on fire?"
Orion let out an exaggerated sigh as he answered, "It would be easier for you to catch fire first. Anyway we are going into the mountains tomorrow, and while it won't take very long to get to where I think that cave is, it will still be tedious and require some climbing. We also might run into some unsavory creatures, but likely nothing stronger than that dragon."
They just nodded as they began to get comfortable and fall asleep, leaning against the inside walls of the magnificent tree. Orion however, couldn't find rest, so he decided to climb the tree for a better view. As he climbed up the cracks of the red bark covering the tree like the scales of a crocodile, he began to notice the moonlight grow brighter the higher he got.
Bursting through the needles atop the tree and he took a full circle view around, a beautiful sight was to behold, red turned to silver in the moonlight, swaying in the midnight breeze, he could only hope the moment would last forever.
In the distance to the south, he could see the capital, and to the west were the farmlands of the region. Northeast of where he was held the tall mountain range with sparser plant life, as well as the location of the temple at the highest point in the mountains. He wondered if he should pay them a visit, only to realize it would be too far out of the way.
The moment was fleeting as all beautiful ones were as he began to feel as if he was being watched, taking another quick look around he saw nothing that he hadn't before. Orion then ducked below the canopy and dropped a small distance down to a thick branch lower on the tree and got as comfortable as he could, finally able to drift into sleep.