"This forest has dark powers, it drains energy from weak beasts..." What Mohsen didn't want to mention was that this Forest did not simply drain energy from those who stayed in it, it ate life forces from those who stayed there. And since Yilas's body was physically weaker than his and Zassar, she was affected by the Forest almost instantly. The herbs were only able to protect her for a few hours at a time, they will need to push through this place within a few days if they wanted to make it out alive.
Trying to warm Yilas up with his hugs, Mohsen knew this was going to be a tough ride for her.
"But we still have to make it through. Yilas, can you hang in there?" Mohsen looked at Yilas partly to encourage her, he knew with her personality she wouldn't want to hold anyone down.
"Ye-Yeah, I'm fine..." Yilas tried her best to stop herself from shaking, she nodded her head firmly, proving her determination.
Zassar furrowed his eyebrows, he didn't feel right leaving Yilas uncomfortable. One look and he already knew she was lying.
"I can carry you with my arms, that way you can have more heat from my body."
"It would only make her tired faster, hanging onto you while running isn't the best position." Mohsen immediately refused Zassar's idea, besides, he wouldn't want Yilas to be in the horse-man chest anyway. The beast's muscle was much more abundant than his so what would happen if Yilas like that feeling of his physics? The less bodily contact between the two, the better in Mohsen's opinion. "We should keep going..."
The three all exchanged looks and nodded, they resumed their journey without another minute of stalling.
The forest was creepy to Yilas. Even though it should be around the time the sun started rising, it still dark all around and not to mention the temperature seemed to never rose. As if it was covered in a gray filter, everything seemed gloomy and with the interference of the mist, they couldn't see much ahead. The two men walked diligently yet carefully, the ground they were walking on felt cold and damp, it was the exact opposite color of Yilas's snowy skin.
The three had entered the place for what felt like hours now but they hadn't come across even one living creature, the only sound that they could pick up was the cold rustling noise of the wind between the tree's leaves. Yilas felt all the plants here were strange as if they were organized there by someone. They had only passed tall trees, not ones that were shorter than 10 meters, yet there were no grass or bushes on the ground. And the more they traveled, the more Yilas felt out of breath, she had thought it was only symptoms of her anxiety.
"Are you sure this is the right direction?" Zassar asked Mohsen concernedly, he had never entered this forest since beasts said it wore a curse, so he wouldn't know the way.
"Just keep going..." Mohsen answered coldly, there was a growing concern within him but he didn't let it show. "I will leave a mark on this trunk." Mohsen used his fingers and scraped off a decent size piece of the trunk.
After walking for a while, from a distance they can see that exact same mark again. An eerie feeling started to creep into their hearts.
"We are going in a circle." Zassar voiced out, he couldn't hide the uneasiness in his tone.
"It's because of this damn mist." Mohsen silently cursed, came out of his mouth was a 'Tsk' sound.
"What should we do now." Zassar sounded panic, he had started to feel chilly as soon as they entered this forest. He knew they should have listen to Yilas and shouldn't have messed with this place.
"If only I could use some of my energy to light up the place..." Mohsen mumbled lowly, he was thinking out loud. The white-haired man rubbed his chin, he was physically drained from the endless walking, and also his energy was almost at his bare bottom because the forest had been draining it this whole time. Zassar couldn't use any energy of sort so he was useless.
"Maybe... I should give it a try." Yilas suggested, she hadn't been practicing much but it was still possible for her to use her energy.
Mohsen looked at Yilas, he didn't agree but he thought long and hard about it. They didn't know the effect of the Forest on Yilas's health so it could be extremely risky.