Molnor is a ruined city? Damn it! Dall slammed his fist on the table. His fist went through the rotted wood. He straightened up and fixed his thoughts. Molnor doesn't physically exist? And this was during the 3rd century, who knows what century it is now. What was he to do now? Going to Molnor is still probably the best idea, as he can gain more knowledge on the history and region. However, he can't stay there long or else he'd be under the effects of the forest's curse.
"...the triwoods aren't a region I want to be in, but King Albert made me the platoon leader for the mission. Sure I'd love to be the leader of a regime, but that cursed forest spits off her remnant purity and ends up mixing with your own. That's why there is no animals in that forest, not even monsters would dare getting their Purity mixed. It's death. I'm setting out in three days, it sucks because I was going to propose to Maria next week; it will have to wait. May Gala guide our reunion! I'm taking a large group of Maileers, here's who's going: Allegheny..."
Martin proceeded to list the people who he commanded; Dall wasn't too sure what a Maileer was, but seeing as how they were under Martin he assumed they were like scouts. The notes hadn't made much clear about what 'purity' meant in this sense. The following three days were all him complaining about having to go on this mission, Dall found it funny but useless.
The next entry after that jumped about six days...
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29th Janitua, 3rd Century
"We made it into the forest, our food is stacked for the next three months; that is if our purity lasts that long.. On the southern end of the forest near the kingdom, we ended up finding a decrepit sign made of the same trees that fill this forest. It was written in Zorosh though, so we presumed that the Triwoods once housed a clan of Snow Elves. No one in their right mind would be living out here. If there happened to be some civilization who spoke Zorosh and was surviving despite ***** curse, then they'd be too dangerous to face.
"I can't mess up this mission, if it succeeds I'll be promoted to Third Rank Barony in the kingdom, that's how much emphasis the king is putting on it. It is such a crucial mission of discovery for the kingdoms history that we can't miss this opportunity. May Gala's stars save us from ***** curse!"
Well I'm right here, I might not speak Zorosh though Dall joked, considering the fact that he hadn't been under the strange person's curse. Maybe there was a period before you were corrupted, but Dall didn't plan on staying long enough to let that happen. Snow elves though huh? Dall would love to see that, but from what it sounds like; they aren't too friendly, nor would he like to meet them. The 'kingdom' is to the south of the forest, that is what interested Dall. If all failed with Molnor, he could always head to the kingdom. If it still existed, he had no sense of time. Maybe he'd even find Maria and give her his condolences, if she was still alive.
Another week went by of Martin complaining about the cold and other small things with no useful data, however Dall had noticed that they use a 31 day system. He had no sense of telling what month of the year Janitua might be, but it is followed up by Darnua. That is for sure.
Though, Dall felt too much time was passing, evident by his heavy eyelids. He was beginning to get exhausted. So he stopped the reading there, and put the journal in a leather rucksack he had found near the bed. He walked up to the door. "I wonder if there is any way to close it" he studied. He knew from the notes that there wasn't any animals out there, but he wasn't going to chance getting attacked by snow elves... Out of curiosity, he stuck out his hand and placed it on the wall next to the door.
A mechanical rumbling sounded as stone began to rise and close off the room. Dall was now stuck in a small stone prison. However, it was safe enough for the night. He threw off the cloak and jumped into the bed.
As uncomfortable as it was he fell right asleep.
...
Kingdom of Geri, Palace of Albert
A scholar sat at the table, studying the magic rune intently. For half a century it hadn't lit up, however just recently it began glowing intensely. This was a rune discovered on the body of the kingdoms expeditionary forces only survivor sent to the Triwoods, he had came back unable to mutter even his own name and had a ruin strapped to his body.
For half a century, it hadn't done anything. However, just as of yesterday it began to to glow a radiant white. It flashed on and off, as though giving off a sign of intrusion.
The Zorosh symbol for "Danger" was carved into the carefully cut round white stone, and flashed every few seconds.
The reason of which was a mystery to all those in the Palace's school of purity.
...
Dall woke up when his body naturally jolted forwards. He had no sense of time in the dark stony cell, but he relied on his internal clock to guide him. Dall threw on his cloak and fastened the blades on his back. He slung the rucksack over his shoulder and surveyed the stone room once more before grabbing the map off the desk and opening the magic door.
Today Dall wasn't wasting any time. He didn't want to be caught in a frenzy by staying around too long, he needed to keep his sanity before anything happened. Today he would set off to Molnor. From the looks of the map, it was only a half days trek on foot away, and with his newly gifted gear, it would be a piece of cake to traverse the snowy forest with ease. However, Dall wasn't planning on rushing as he wanted to search for signs of life to see if the Snow Elves truly did exist.
The familiar red glow of the stalactite shone on his face as the stone wall opened once more. Dall decided to leave the door open incase some other poor soul stumbled across the cave in need of shelter. It was a good place to stay safe and warm from the tundra outside.
Dall began out the cave when he remembered the pool of water. He wanted to fill up before he left in order to not draw thirsty during this possibly long trip. Who knew how long he'd be wandering, and he didn't want to chance it. Sure, he could melt snow into water and drink that, but he didn't want to take anything from this cursed forest. He even solemnly wanted to eat the berries. However there was no other choice.
Dall walked to the water source and splashed it on his face. Sleeping in that cave dried his skin out and left his feeling dehydrated. He cupped his hands and began to drink the water. Its too bad that Martin hadn't left him a canteen, but he wasn't picking on the dead.
Dall was about to leave when his eyes met his reflection in the water. Though the cave was dim, he could still clearly see his reflection in the water. What he saw almost made him throw up.
In the water, he was staring at a young man with long thick black hair and fluorescent cyan eyes. The boy, who was, or now is Dall; had a rough looking complexion, and was unkempt, sort of like a slave. He had a scar under his left eye, and dirt caked into his skin. This wasn't Dall...
He felt his face and saw his hands go up and touch his face in the reflection. It wasn't an image, it WAS Dall. He had strangely changed into this other body, this young man who wasn't him..
What did that mean? Did the reason he had blood surrounding him stem from this! The boy had been killed, and Dall's spirit had ended up transmigrating into this boys body. Yes, this seemed like the most believable theory, even if it is outlandish and hard to comprehend. However, who wanted him killed? and who was the original owner of this body? Dall sighed and smashed his face into the water. 'His' face.
This meant new trials, he couldn't just show his face around because there was someone out to get him. The footsteps he originally followed were his original murders', thank Gala it disappeared halfway.
Thank Gala? Dall paused, he had began to subconsciously adopt this worlds faith system...
Oh well, if that's what it takes to survive. Dall grabbed his stuff and set off out of the cave. Ready to wander once more.