Chapter 92: Dead Lands

They walked through the forest, tall oak trees flanking them on all sides. Ferns and bushes dotted the open space between the trunks, elusive roots snaking just beneath those, making it very easy to trip. Darius, Emerius, and, surprisingly, Liam, never had any issue avoiding the hazards, while the others fell more than once. Whenever Annie or Red collapsed, the others rushed to their side. Darius would offer a hand with perfect posture, while Liam extended his arm like a gentleman from some old film. Red even got a small pat on the shoulder once from Emerius. Charon had no such pleasantries, usually getting a laugh or a wayward comment about "being careful." ’Rotten bastards! It’s not my fault that there are so many roots! Why couldn’t we have taken a car?’ He grumbled to himself as he stood again, brushing off his knees. His robes were already collecting dirt and stray leaves, sticking to the fabric like a clingy girlfriend. Ahead of him, Darius was explaining something about forest navigation to Annie, gesturing at the moss on one side of a tree and the inclination of the sunlight. Charon didn’t need a compass to tell him that he didn’t care. Just in front of him, Liam was humming. Not a tune. Not a song. Just... a sound. Low, meandering, like someone trying to pretend they weren’t bored. Noticing Charon’s dour mood, the brute called back to him. "You doing good back there?" Charon snapped in reply. "Peachy!" "Great! Because if you trip again, I’m gonna start keeping a tally!" He caught a glimpse of Darius’ smirk as he turned away, clearly trying not to laugh. Annie wasn’t even pretending to hide it. ’One day I’ll be feared across the realms. An unstoppable soul mage with an army of undead and a divine scythe, blessed by the gods... and still these people will mock me for stepping on a root.’ They pushed deeper into the woods, and the terrain slowly began to rise, the gentle incline sapping at their legs without them realizing it. Charon glanced up once and noticed the leaves shifting from green to amber, touched by some unseen change in the land. The forest felt older here. Not just aged, but ancient. Like it had seen too much and wanted to forget. Darius frowned, soon followed by Annie. They stopped to inspect the change, pulling a leaf off the branch and studying it. Confused, Charon stepped over a spindly fern and joined them. "What’s wrong?" Darius held the plant up. "This coloration... it reminds me of further South. It should not be this far North." Annie seemed lost in thought, her eyes roaming the myriad branches above them as if considering a possibility she didn’t want to. They spent a few more minutes there, waiting, before continuing on. The leaves continued to change, turning orange, then yellow, then the trees began to grow more shriveled. Their limbs began to curve back in on themselves, as if the branches were trying to cower in fear. Gray became the new normal, the ancient oaks suddenly lifeless and petrified, their life force ripped away. The sky itself mirrored the shift, the blue hue growing more pale. Emerius became incredibly tense, his eyes flitting side to side. He jerked at every shadow, his perfectly combed hair somehow managing to become slightly messy in the process. Charon’s breath caught as he remembered a similar region on their journey to the Fort. ’They called them the Dead Lands. Do they stretch all the way up here? I thought they tried to avoid them at all costs.’ Darius slowly drew his blade as if to answer Charon’s mental question, his voice barely more than a whisper. "This was not here last time I came through this way." He naturally turned to Annie, their most informed member. She shook her head in response, her blonde hair bobbing and fear clouding her face. "No, it wasn’t. No maps or charts indicate the Dead Lands being up here. We should be miles from the border." Without warning, Liam ripped his waraxe from the strap around his back with one hand, using the other to grab Red’s shoulder and pull her between him and Charon. The giant spun to face to their left, the dead foliage strangely dense, as if someone had turned the forest to stone. Emerius was half a second behind him, drawing both of his swords with a loud ring. Charon ripped the dagger from his chest, his mana already roiling as he prepared to summon every skeleton he had. They watched expectantly as Liam stared in that direction, unflinching. The grip around his axe tightened as his knuckles turned white. Charon inched closer to him and spoke under his breath. "What is it?" He received no response for another minute, Liam unmoving until he exhaled deeply. "Nothing. I thought I saw something move, but it must’ve just been my imagination. These lands aren’t right." Agreeing with him, Charon turned to Darius. "Why are we here, anyway? Shouldn’t we be avoiding the Dead Lands?" Darius grimaced, his sword still held in his hand. "Yes, we should be. There are no records of them being this far North. We receive traders from this route all the time; we should have had some warning." "Do we turn back?" The tall man paused, his gaze passing between them all as if he were considering the risk they would be taking. His breath came in short bursts before he seemingly reached a decision, his gaze hardening. "No, we press on. This is an oddity, certainly a magical one. With any luck, we will quickly reach the rest of the forest, and can continue without issue. Remain vigilant. I have never heard good stories from the Dead Lands." Emerius reacted the most to his words, his body beginning to shake slightly. Despite his clear fears, he didn’t speak, instead choosing to calm himself by slowly spinning his swords in the same flourish he usually did before a fight. ’I know death mages are spooked by the Dead Lands, but isn’t that a bit excessive? We won’t be here long, don’t worry, Emerius. Just a few more minutes.’ His hopes proved to be unfounded, as the reality of their situation set in more and more. Gray was replaced with black, affecting even the stones at their feet. They turned to sharp shards of onyx, a color that matched the trees. Plants grew scarce, with some patches of land being completely barren. Suddenly, the sky lit up with red lightning as a stray bolt echoed miles away. The entire group jumped in fright, their weapons all lashing out to strike at ghosts. It created a lingering spiderweb along the dark sky, illuminating the area. After that, Charon summoned his skeletons, preferring to have the company. The others appreciated them as well, especially when he had them spread out to create an outer ring as they walked. ’If anything attacks, they will have to go through my summons first.’ Only one thing seemed to enjoy the Dead Lands, a fact they did their best to make clear: The Warden of the Acheron. ’Explore.’ His voice made Charon jump, the others reacting by turning to the nearest skeleton, wondering which was being attacked. "Sorry, guys, false alarm." ’Where the gods have you been? You can’t scare me like that! This place is freaky. Freaky! You’ve already told me once before you want to explore, and we can do that, once I have an armed entourage of a million skeletons!’ ’Explore.’ ’Yes, explore! I know you want to explore.’ ’Now.’ ’Now? Now!? We have a mission to do, somewhere far away from this spookiness! Can’t you see the lightning? It was red! That’s the color of evil, we don’t do evil!’ He stopped mid-thought, his brow furrowing as he remembered what he wanted to be. ’Okay, yes, we do evil, but only once I’m stronger! Then, we can both work together to be a hero, defeating all the evil we want. Until then, we survive!’ Not immediately hearing a response, he assumed the conversation was done. The Warden, however, soon proved him wrong. ’Power.’ ’What do you mean power? We have very little right now, except for the Zeta Colossus, and I really don’t want to use him right now.’ Charon enjoyed having the secret trump card. The moment he revealed it, the Fort could try and force him to field it in their larger force, or try and extract it from him entirely. ’I’m sorry, Warden, there is just no reason for us to stay here any longer than we have to.’ This time, there truly was no further response.