"That was close. I used up a lot of energy right now. I need to..." Before Liliana could finish her sentence I felt my body return to my control. As I regain control, I feel an intense feeling of exhaustion wash over me.
I see why she couldn't even finish her sentence, I can barely stand right now.
I stumble towards a nearby tree for support and slide down on my back.
That was, crazy.
Now that Liliana is, asleep? Or resting or whatever, I'm on my own again. I need to find a soldier to protect us or at least get us out of this place.
I look around the forest and see a large golden streak on a tree. This was one bigger than any of the ones I saw before. That means I have to be close right?
For hours I travel through the forest. Passing by the other-worldly plants and avoiding more beasts, while following the trail of golden streaks.
Right as the sun becomes out of sight, I hear rustling in a nearby bush.
My body instinctively jumps behind a tree, it feels like I've kept some of Liliana's reflexes from when she was controlling my body.
I expect a growl from whatever is in the bush but instead, I hear what sounds like a foreign language.
The voice speaks a few times. Obviously trying to tell me something but once it hears that I'm not responding -- I hear more rustling in the bushes.
Suddenly, I can understand the voice.
"Hey, I know your there, come out from behind. I am a soldier of Noctis. I don't want conflict." A male voice speaks to me.
I don't think he has a reason to lie. He's from the kingdom Liliana has relations with, this is my ticket out. I just hope he can understand me.
"Ok! I'm coming out with my hands up." I yell to the man.
I do as I say, coming out of hiding with my hands up. As I come out so does the man, he's wearing all dark blue clothes. He was dressed like a business man, if business men carried around swords behind their back and wore pieces of medieval like armor.
We both seem to scan each other.
"You're not from any of the neighboring countries, are you from Valheel?" He asks with curiosity
Valheel? What is that? I realize that I actually don't have a back story as to how I'm here. This is perfect.
"Erm, yea I am." I say with uncertainty.
The man stares at me for a moment before replying.
"Interesting, I assume your a traveler? Why are you in the Inu Forest?"
"Inu Forest?" I ask
"Well, the Inusitatus Forest as it's officially known."
"Oh, I came upon this forest by accident and got lost." I cringe at my own response. If this man wasn't suspicious about me before, he has to be now.
"Well, this forest is an unforgiving one. You were in one of the more dangerous areas of the forest. You're lucky to be alive, follow me and I will guide you to Noctis. There you can find shelter." The man replies.
He doesn't seem to be suspicious? There's no way he is that dense. Something is up but I have no choice but to accept his help, getting out of this forest is my number one priority.
We begin walking through the forest.
The silence that fills the air isn't an awkward one. I can tell the man is extremely focused, he must be looking out for beasts. Although I don't know much about this man, I can tell he's spent a good amount of time in this forest, until we were out of the dangerous part of the forest he was able to avoid all the beasts with much more safety than me. Although I can't say that that's much a feat.
We walk more and more until eventually I see the man lower his guard. We must be in a relatively safe area.
Eventually, we reach what looks like an outpost of sorts. I'm greeted with a large wooden gate with banners draped over the sides. The banners have a circle made out of different weapons as the main art. The gate seems to be connected to a large wooden wall, greatly over towering me. A top the gate, two soldiers yell at us.
"Sir Bale! Who is the boy next to you?" He yelled from the gate. Although he was at least 15 feet above us, I could clearly hear him. Was he yelling just that loud or was this the result of a machine? I don't see him holding a megaphone.
"A lost traveler! Open the gate!" The man yelled back, again, his voice booming near me. I instinctively put my hands on my ears to block the sound. My ears feel like they're going rupture from the incredible volume.
The man, who I now know is Sir Bale, looks at me with confusion.
"Oh, I'm sorry, I thought I sensed a spirit connected to you. Are they a fledgling?" He asks with concern.
I don't have time to think once again and I'm forced to reply on the spot.
"She isn't, but she used up a lot of energy whilst battling creatures we encountered in the forest and is dormant right now." I say.
"I see, well I apologize for the injury, when were inside I will have our healer fix you up."
"Thank you."
In my mind, I let out a sigh of relief. I keep getting insanely lucky with my answers...
"One wrong move and I will take you out." Bale thought to himself.