The group was stunned, stepping out of the forest and immediately getting hit by a cold wind.
"This place…" Celestine couldn't even finish her sentence, at a loss for words in what they found.
A large open field, winds blew as the moonlight above gave a beautiful shine to it. In the field was a long flowing river, glowing in the moonlight and seemed to go on forever on both sides. The scent of dirt and leaves was quickly replaced by a refreshing and calming smell, the anxiety of Colton already started leaving his body.
"Even the forest at night wasn't this beautiful." Quill commented, nearly dropping her bow from the shock.
"Such a serene landscape…The only time I saw something like this is the paintings in my parent's castle." Celestine took a step forward. Out of everyone she seemed to be the most interested.
The grass beneath them felt soft, almost like a pillow. The team began to walk forward, leaving the forest and trees and into the field, still in disbelief with what they were looking at.
As they went further, a feeling of calm rushed to their bodies. Some wanted to sit down while others wanted to continue walking. The feeling was almost similar to what Colton had felt when he left those book worlds and was stuck in that odd place before returning to the library.
Soon, they stopped near the river. The water was crystal clear, glinting like diamond. But was rather wide and seemingly deep, with Colton able to see the bottom of it. Looking to be almost neck deep or lower.
Marcus sat down, taking in the new place they were in. "This place looks rather comforting if I do say so myself." He lay down on his back, relaxing as much as possible. Celestine and the twins quickly joined, also embracing the comfort this place gave.
"Even though it feels nice, the scent still feels off." Quill remarked, she was more serious this time, uncertain with the place and looking around.
"Agreed, Colton and I had experienced ambushes whenever we stumbled into areas such as this. Mostly after a long skirmish and the supply wagons were empty." Calliope explained, bringing more memories to Colton's mind. But rather than discomfort, the overwhelming feeling of relaxation seemed to have stopped his anxiety and fears.
The calm of the river and field tempted Colton to sit down, but just like Quill, he felt something was off.
"Come on Ms leader. This isn't a war, or a skirmish. Just a river in the middle of a forest. And none of those wolf things are in sight."
"That may be true, open ground is never a viable option. Especially in an area we barely know off." While they talked, Celestine's stomach began to grumble.
"Apologies, I suppose my stomach isn't as used to adventures and eating less." She chuckled.
Myo looked beyond the river, staring at the line of thick trees. Another forest. But the trees looked far larger than the one before, and darker in color.
"Since the journey is far, it won't hurt to take a break once in a while." Myo spoke, smoking from his pipe again.
"Perhaps, twilight is the least advisable time to embark on a journey, regardless of army size and armor." Calliope pondered.
"Even then, I doubt this field would be a suitable place to establish a temporary camp." Myo pointed at the forest beyond the river after Calliope noted her observation.
"Those trees seem large enough to stay on."
"Perhaps, the problem is moving through the water. It seems deep." Calliope walked closer to the river water. Taking out her sword, she slowly submerged it, finding out how deep it was. But to her shock, the sword only continued going down. Until nearly her entire arm was inside.
"From that I assume the water may reach to the neck or even the lower half of the head. Though." She glanced at the water again, "The water at the moment looks calm. So it may be safer to travel. Though remain cautious when crossing." After a few seconds, Calliope jumped into the river. Her body almost immediately sunk to the bottom, leaving her head as the only visible thing. The sudden drop nearly gave Colton a heart attack.
"It seems it's not as deep as I presumed. Once we reach the other side, we will establish a temporary resting area." She slowly walked forward, the weight of her armor managed to anchor her to the bottom.
The rest of the team jumped down, but some had difficulty, having worn lighter clothing and light weapons. Even with the calm current, some had found themselves trying to keep themselves afloat as the river water flowed.
One of them was Quill, her light cloak and bow made her barely able to stay afloat in the river.
Colton took out his weapon, moving it closer to Quill.
"Grab onto it." He spoke. Quill grabbed onto the top of the hammer while Marcus and Calliope helped the others move through the river.
The calm current proved to still be difficult, with the team neck deep in water. But they slowly continued until they reached the other side. Each of them crawled out the river, relieved to have crossed it. But annoyed with their now wet clothing. Quill checked the feather on her head, seeing if it was wet or not.
"Alright, I'll see if I can make one of those trees decent enough to live on." Myo spoke, running from the group without warning. The team sat around and waited, looking at the field once more.
"Say, are you still hungry?" Quill asked, looking at Celestine.
"Well- Yeah, but that can be ignored. Since it might cause problems with the mission." She responded, flustered.
"Calm down, hunger is understandable. And we are in a forest. Our best hope is that there's something to eat. And the wolves can't be eaten anyway." He laughed.
A few more minutes passed and Myo returned to the team.
"Managed to make a small abode on one of the trees, just cleared some branches and that's it." The team stood up from the ground and followed behind him.
"Oh, and it seems the forest is much more lively. I spotted a few rabbits and other things." The words interested Quill, making her think.
"Hm, wonder if I can try cooking something up."