The group hadn't stopped walking for even a minute simply jumping over obstacles and ducking under low branches. The grass under their feet was moist and seemed to swallow their shoes after every step. There was no sound other than a cricket every so often. Kyle was the most talkative and Alicia was just silently enjoying the walk.
Hannah would look above and through certain gaps in the canopy she could see the starry sky and that brilliant silver moon. It was peaceful walking through that forest and even the trees seemed to look beautiful in their sight.
They weren't sure if they were making any progress in leaving the forest but they weren't trying to rush.
"Hey, guys...do we have any idea on how to save this world?"
"No."
"No."
Kyle and Hannah gave their honest opinions and stopped what they were doing. Alicia also stopped her skipping and looked to a tree next to her.
The roots of the tree had black lines spreading all over them with no grass anywhere near them. There was also a barely visible dark fog coming from them.
"What is this?"
Alicia crouched low to observe the roots up close and the scent of death hit her nostrils. It was barely noticeable but the scent was there and Alicia took a step back.
"Hannah I think you should come over here."
Hannah walked over and crouched low to smell what her sister had earlier. The scent was definitely unpleasant but Hannah was familiar with it.
"Grimoira-death"
"A death grimoire?"
"Yes...it seems someone had been using spells from a death grimoire here. Death grimoires are more associated with the control over the undead and don't actually control the law of death itself. There's always residue left if a Death grimoire is used to affect the natural life given to a living being."
"So can we consider this a threat..."
Kyle's face had changed to one that was serious. He couldn't tolerate anything that could be considered as a threat in his life. Whether it was a threat to his family, his friends, his meals or his own happiness.
Alicia was still carefree and turned to look at something else that better interested her.
"I don't think we can consider this a threat. It doesn't look as if it's a complicated spell but one that was trying to turn this tree into an undead...looks like the person failed."
"So we have no more reason to be involved with this?"
"That's right."
With that matter done they continued on their journey. They had delayed themselves enough so it was now just a matter of having their objective completed to start the next. They had travelled deeper into the forest and the surrounding trees were growing taller in size.
In turn, the spaces between trees grew larger to the point they no longer had to jump over roots. But there was more evidence of the use of a death grimoire as they walked. The black spots were small in size at first and were not too easy to spot. But now they were everywhere and even had started eating at the barks of the trees. The smell was irritating as well.
But they ignored these and just enjoyed the peaceful walk that made the forest look even more beautiful. Hannah often looked up through the canopy to see the starry sky and that brilliant silver moon.
"I don't think we can ignore the death grimoire anymore..."
Hannah had been thinking too herself while she was admiring the moon and made her opinion known. Kyle seemed to agree as he silently nodded, Alicia on the other hand wasn't happy.
"I still don't think we should...delving into this may not prove too useful, but if you guys still want to I'll follow you all the way!"
Kyle smiled and kicked a small pebble in his path. Hannah returned to looking at the silver moon through gaps in the canopy. On their way, they had noticed several indications of other living beings in the forest.
There were several footprints of different sizes heading off somewhere to their right. Definitely bi-pedal since the imprints definitely resembled feet. There were a few stray piles of sticks under some of the taller trees and the odd chirping sound indicating birds were also present. But they hadn't stopped for a moment to look at these.
They had been following the signs of the death grimoire deeper into the forest. They had determined they were heading deeper because of all the signs of wildlife and the growing size difference of the trees. The smell was growing stronger and was irritating the noses of the angels to the point they were sneezing. They had torn certain pieces of their cloth fabric and used them to cover their mouths to at least relieve the irritation.
After what was 24 more minutes of walking they noticed the signs of the death grimoire had reduced and stopped in their tracks when they disappeared completely. Kyle walked ahead for a few more metres before returning.
"It seems there are no more tracks forward. What was the distance, Hannah?"
"About 2 kilometres from where we first started...maybe more."
"So we have to work with a search area of 2 kilometres in diameter...I suggest we split up into groups of two."
Kyle wasn't happy with how large the search perimeter was but it would be best to at least make sure it wasn't a threat. It could also be considered that since they're angels they would have to still be involved at some point. Alicia was still not happy with this.
"I still don't see why we should delve into this...I mean sure it smells bad and obviously, someone is trying to control the law of life but I don't think we have the authority to arrest the person."
"We aren't going to arrest them..."
"Then what are we going to do when we find them?"
"You-you might be right...I guess we really have no right to interfere...Kyle I also think we should just leave it."
"Alright."
Kyle and Hannah had changed their mids so fast it slightly disturbed Alicia. As long as everything was fine she had no more problems and continued walking as if nothing had happened. Hannah had slowed her walking speed and Kyle jogged to Alicia's side to have a chat.
{Myrac are you there?}
{Yes, master.}
{I would like your own opinion on the death grimoire.}
{My opinion would be that you're probably thinking too much on it, master.}
{I...guess you're right.}
And so Hannah left the matter for another time and kept walking catching up with the pace of the other two.
********
{This is definitely troublesome...}
The elf king had travelled a trip of 340 kilometres to the edge of the dark forest with his divine dagger concealed under his shirt. He was currently observing the ground and wasn't too pleased.
{This is the only path into the forest that doesn't lead to certain death...yet it seems there haven't been any recent movements in or out of the forest.}
He stood up and looked to a giant Birch tree that had a beautiful house high on its thickest branches. There was a magical talisman that kept records of the forest path and was replaced every seven months. He did a quick check and was sure that there hadn't been any sort of movement. Surprisingly even the orcs hadn't followed the path for their usual migration to the Ferlon Nation in the far west. It was very troublesome indeed.
According to the records, there had been loud sounds of fighting and several bright lights. Then there was that damned Lich family who he had banished to this forest. He could easily kill everything in the forest excluding the dark elves.
{Guess Ill just walk around and hope for the best.}
With a shrug, the elf king walked deep into the trees and disappeared in the shadows.
********