We know that to the east of the Glass Capital lies woods, rivers, and eventually the coast. However, the western edge of the land is flat plains, caves, and the dark western woods. Very few people live in this area if they aren't accustomed to the dangers of these kinds of thick woods.
The people that live in this part of the world either want to be left alone or don't know any other kind of life. They are hardy, self-sufficient people, who can make a living from what looks like an unforgiving terrain straight from some ancient hellish nightmare.
Packs of the worst races of Demi-humans lived here in the ancient past but they were hunted to before the humans and demi's split. A race of beings who referred to themselves as Demons lived in these woods. Some might still exist tucked away in the caves and underground lairs. However, they had not been seen in ages.
The forest spirits however still loved these woods for their quiet serenity. And with anything this deeply overgrown the woods here still spoke the old languages. The trees told each other tales of long ago.
The roots touched and mingled and shared life with the birds and small mammals. The shade protected the bugs and the sunlight kept them all warm.
To the various small life forms that called it home, the trees were gods. And as long as the humans and demi-humans respected the trees, the trees would protect them also.
For people like Loran and Cai-Pel, a forest as old as this one was quite the place to be. If Loran had been full blood or more than half-blood she would have been able to commune with the trees. As it stood she could hear them talk but the voices were muffled. It was like listening through walls.
Loran had gotten into the woods out of town before she sought out the forest and made her first step. She had reached out in her mind for him, the forest quickly gave her a location before she stepped into the shadow of a giant pine tree.
"You are calling on me quite often lately." The spirit said from a branch far above her head. He was laying quietly and serenely, trying to take a nap.
"You never come when you don't want to. You have more interest in what is going on than anyone. I know there is more to it than just curiosity." Loran was putting her hands on the bark of the, she knew she couldn't understand its words fully but she could feel the intent from the way it moved. The tree was content with life and glad to have visitors.
Cai-Pel dropped from the branch and landed on his feet with no effort to stop. It was a sign of his magic and looked almost like teleportation. Loran knew it was just his ability to move from any surface to another while attached to the woods. "You know, I do find myself intrigued that any human as plain as that one would try and change everything. He reminds me of another man, so very long ago. When I was still young, and just the spirit of a small tree."
Loran coughed, "Old men do love to reminisce."
Cai-Pel scowled her but then shrugged, "Maybe we do. Just remember who helps you."
Loran did a fake curtsy before looking up with mischief in her eyes. "You know you enjoy my company. Come on, ready to go upset the balance of the world and complete epic feats?"
Cai-Pel motioned for her to go before him. "Lead on brave knight. You are in charge, I am merely a humble servant." His cheesy smile gave away the sarcasm he felt. These two had known each other the length of a human lifetime. This kind of playfulness was just a normal part of their relationship.
Loran reached around behind her and pulled her map from its carrier in the small of her back. She unrolled it and looked for the blot. It had moved ever so slightly. She was headed in the right direction. There were 3 in the woods now. Earlier in the week, there had been only two.
She noticed there were no notes around the edges yet from the others before rolling it back up. It tucked away safely back into its spot and Loran sighed. How would she identify these souls? They had talked about the problem of not having Ed around to track them down. Her only hope was Cai-Pel at this point. She hadn't told the others that she had spirits on her side. She hadn't asked him yet.
"You know why I'm here don't you Cai-Pel?" She said rearranging belts and pulling a sack of water off her belt.
Cai-Pel strolled around in a circle and smiled. "Of course. Do you think you were the first person to ask me to help?"
Loran looked over and dropped the bag, "Who else Cai-Pel?"
He smiled and held up a finger before waving it back and forth. "A gentleman as old as myself never tells his secrets. Let's just say I already promised to help you. You have a spirit on your side, and that stands out less than the boy having divine power around him."
Loran cursed under her breath. "Would you have ever told me?"
He looked at her and winked, "Only if you asked. You are a smart little girl. You would have figured it out eventually. When I started giving hints. I won't walk you to them though. You will have to get us close and then I will confirm if the person is a target. I can only help in the forests though. I am useless in the plains and deserts."
She sighed as a smirk crossed her face. "It's not a hunt if the guide does all the work, isn't it? Okay, you are my truth stone. Do I have to ask or will you point them out?"
Cai-Pel danced on one foot, he was acting bored but he was actually very amused. "How about this. You can ask if we are getting hotter or colder to a soul. And if we meet someone you can ask me to verify if it is them. Will that work? We can make it a game of sorts?"
"Kids games? Really?" The tilt of her head gave away how angry she felt about this.
"Well compared to me, you really are just a child." His smile was full of teeth and just barely holding back his laughter.
She picked a leaf off the ground and threw it at him. "Fine, I will show you just how good I am at your child's games!"
She packed up her water bag and touched the tree again. She asked how far this tree would let her travel. She told the direction to the tree and she felt it respond. When it signaled it was ready she felt a tug as she took a step forward.
She looked up and she was out of the pine woods and at the edge of a great divide. The pines gave way to a small clearing only a few yards across. On the other side of this clearing were towering gnarled oak trees. They with huge dark green canopies.
The ground under the leaves was dirt and small plants. Grass didn't filter down so the air smelled of rot and wet in some areas. She crossed the opening carefully. It reeked of a trap, but none came. She knew she was being watched. The hungry things in the woods rarely saw meat that moved this brazenly in daylight. That meant this fay woman was either an Apex predator or too dumb to know where it was.
When she crossed into the forest she felt the change in atmosphere. The pines had held life as sacred. They provided for and endorsed the other forms of life in the forest. Here, among these ancient oak tree's she felt that primal survival of the fittest. The oaks grabbed to the ground and drowned out anything else from growing that didn't compliment their forest.
Birds and animals lived among the branches and roots. They didn't know that they were also tiny guardians against insects, plants, and other issues the trees wanted to avoid.
When she put her hands to the first large oak she felt its shock at talking to someone else. It screamed and spoke to her in angry tones. She couldn't tell if it was angry at her or angry at something else.
Cai-Pel heard the tree's talking, he knew she couldn't speak with them directly. He waited and sat talking to a tree nearby.
She sighed and tried to think smoothing calming thoughts to prove that she wasn't a predator. The tree sent out frustration before going quiet. If a tree could sulk, this was it sulking.
"You really never worked around trees this old before have you?" Cai-Pel quietly mused.
She sighed, "Our oak tree's got harvested when they hit 15 years old. They refused to grow any higher than that and we used them for homes."
Cai-Pel rubbed the bottom of his nose and looked at her with one eye. "Now you know why. They are temperamental. And species that can talk to trees all pretty much agree. Oak trees are impossible to live with. They are... needy."
She was shocked. The young trees were full of optimism. Yes, they were sure they were the best trees. But that cocksure attitude only lasted until the ax cut through its base.
"Can you tell me that it's not mad at us?" She wasn't going to ask him to help. Cai-Pel liked to help others who helped themselves. And she relied on no-one.
He nodded, "It has invaders further in. The normal occupants have been harassed and they feel unwanted life taking hold."
That made sense. She put her hand on the tree and asked where to go. She knew it was probably sending her to the problem area, and she hoped that the area was near to where she wanted to go anyway. She felt the tree get excited again, this time it nearly threw her to the location. She took one step and stumbled when she stopped moving.
The tree had put her deep in the forest. Oak tree's line a deep hole in the ground. The gash in the earth had a soft cool breeze coming out of it. That felt good in the stagnant air that lingered among the trees. The problem was air shouldn't come out of a cave. There were no signs of a waterfall or anything to force air out. She looked at the opening and saw nothing out of the ordinary.
Loran took a step back and collected her thoughts. She pulled her map out and the blots had moved a little. One was still the same. One had moved slightly north and west. The last one was now past where she was. It seemed to be a straight heading to her last location. That concerned her. If it knew she was here, and if it was evil, that meant she might be in harm's way.
She put her map back and reached around her thigh to undo two blades. They were larger than a knife but smaller than a sword. They were her family's ancestral weapons. Normally she used a standard short sword when she was on official knight duties. Today she needed to be more prepared.
Cai-Pel was up a tree eating an acorn the size of a grown man's fist. He watched with amusement as she got closer to the hole. Cai-Pel already knew. This kind of hole was artificial. He could sense the power coming off of it. Thankfully it's occupant wasn't home. It had flown off in the other direction. Cai-Pel knew that the demon race existed in very small numbers and had never really been wiped out. This particular creature was far deadlier if they upset it.
Cai-Pel looked up at the sky. If the occupant came home, running might be the only option. These were the only creatures older than him. He smelled its coppery smell from the hole. You never forgot the dragon smell no matter how long you had been alive or dead.