"Traveller, I can feel it—the taint in the air. It's getting worse," Lucian's voice trembled through the link. The fear in his tone was palpable, his awareness of the dark magic around them growing sharper with each passing moment.
The Traveller glanced around. The trees, already twisted and gnarled, seemed even taller now, their bark darker, warped into shapes that looked almost humanoid. The branches above twisted together, forming a dense canopy that seemed to suffocate the sky. The world around them had become more abstract, more surreal, as if they were walking through a nightmare where the rules of reality were starting to dissolve.
The Traveller raised his head and froze. The Crimson Moon, which had loomed high above them earlier, now seemed impossibly close. Its blood-red glow had intensified, casting everything in a sickening hue, warping the landscape in eerie light. It felt as though the moon itself was descending toward them, threatening to consume the world in its malevolent glow.
"We need to get out of here," the Traveller muttered, his voice laced with urgency. He rummaged through their belongings, desperately searching for something—anything—that could help. His hand fell on the Lamp of Light. It was a last resort, but they were running out of time.
With a flick of the flint, the lamp sparked to life. The white fuel inside ignited, casting a brilliant glow that cut through the oppressive darkness. The moment the light touched the twisted forest, the trees recoiled. The very air seemed to writhe in agony, as if the light was burning away the tainted magic that clung to the surroundings like a suffocating shroud.
Lucian gasped. "It hates the light."
Wherever the light touched, the world shifted. The twisted, surreal shapes around them began to retreat, the unnatural growths withering and curling away as if recoiling from something pure. The dark magic in the air was dispelled, if only temporarily, and the forest's grasp loosened.
But what truly startled them was the road.
It was there—just meters away, as if they had never left it. The moment the light of the lamp reached the forest's edge, the world itself seemed to snap back into something familiar, something real. The path they had thought lost was now within reach, clear and untwisted.
Lucian breathed a sigh of relief. "We're back. We're—"
But his words were cut off as the white fuel in the lamp flickered. The light dimmed, sputtering violently, and within seconds, it was gone. The forest surged in around them again, the darkness reclaiming the space the light had banished.
The Traveller cursed under his breath. "That was too close." He tossed the now-empty lamp aside, its once-precious white liquid burned through in mere moments. "One gold… for just seconds of light."
Lucian's voice was small, almost lost in the growing shadows. "The road's still there, though… we just need to reach it."
The Traveller nodded, his grip tightening on the Ghoul Sword. They had only a brief window before the forest swallowed them again, and he wasn't going to let that happen. They hurried toward the road, the path visible but slowly becoming more obscured as the darkness crept back in, threatening to warp reality once more.
The world around them felt heavier with every step, as if the very air was growing thicker with the taint. The trees, which had recoiled from the light, were now slowly closing in again, their twisted branches reaching for them, eager to reclaim the space that had been stolen from them.
With one final leap, the Traveller's boots hit the cobblestone road, and Lucian, still inhabiting the meat maggot, could feel the shift immediately. The oppressive weight of the forest, the suffocating darkness, the eerie sway of the trees—it all melted away. It was as if they had been yanked back into reality, back into a world that made sense. The Crimson Moon was now high in the sky, smaller and more distant, no longer looming over them like an omen of doom. The forest, once alive with dark intent, stood still, its twisted branches now nothing more than silent sentinels.
The Traveller straightened, catching his breath. "The road... it must have some kind of magical property," he murmured, glancing down at the cobblestones beneath their feet. "Lucian, have a look."
Lucian focused, and the familiar pull of the "inspect" skill activated.
Cobblestone Road
Description: A road paved with stones imbued with the power of the Citadel. It anchors all that travels upon it to the material realm.
Price: The order of Civilisation.
"The order of civilisation?" The Traveller frowned, staring at the cobblestones as if they might offer some further explanation. "What does that mean?"
"I don't know," Lucian replied, his voice thoughtful. "But that's the only way I could describe what I felt—like the road is part of some larger order and it is consuming that."
The Traveller scratched his head, glancing warily at the trees that now stood silent along the road's edge. "I don't like the sound of the price, but I think we're better off sticking to the road from here on out."
They continued their journey along the cobblestone path, their steps measured, their pace steady. The forest seemed to have had its fun with them. The remainder of their journey was uneventful, at least as uneventful as it can be in a dark magical forest. The further they walked, the more it seemed like they were leaving the nightmare behind.
The forest began to thin, the twisted trees becoming less frequent, their branches less menacing. The suffocating darkness that had pressed in on them from all sides started to ease, and the path ahead seemed lighter, more open. Lucian felt a glimmer of hope.
"There's light ahead," the Traveller said, his voice quiet but filled with cautious optimism. In the distance, the faintest hint of a glow illuminated the end of the road. "We're finally getting somewhere."
He glanced up at the sky, where the Crimson Moon had been ever since Lucian was born. But something had changed—it no longer hung large and oppressive in that location. It had shifted, fallen slightly in the sky, as if time had finally started moving again.
"That's a good sign, right?" Lucian asked, feeling the shift in the air.
"I'd say so," the Traveller replied. "Let's keep moving."
As they continued, the road's texture began to change. The ancient cobblestones, which had felt so solid beneath their feet, gave way to something more mundane. Lucian instinctively "inspected" the new material.
Ordinary Stone
Description: Simple stone, worn by time. It carries no magic or enchantment.
"They're just ordinary stones now," Lucian reported.
The Traveller nodded, his eyes scanning the thinning trees. "Good. That means we're leaving whatever magical influence was holding us in that nightmare behind. The power of the Citadel is no longer needed."
They pressed forward, and with each step, the forest's presence diminished. The trees no longer sought to ensnare them, the roots no longer writhed beneath their feet. It was as if they had passed through an invisible barrier—one where the twisted, tainted magic of the woods could no longer reach them.
They had escaped the forest's grasp.
Lucian breathed a sigh of relief. "We made it."
"For now," the Traveller said, though a small smile tugged at the corners of his mouth. "But yeah, we're out of that mess."
They continued walking, the light ahead growing brighter. The road, though now unremarkable, stretched out before them, a sign that they were back in the realm of reality, far from the dark magic that had nearly consumed them.
Yet it seemed fate wasn't will to let them off just so early. In the corners of Lucian's eye he saw... a gingerbread man?