Blacksmith of the Apocalypse

They shot signal magic into the sky to call back the scouts who had flown ahead. After they traveled a while longer it was decided to set up camp when the day became dimmer. The first night of their journey was approaching and when one looked at their first day... good preparations were needed for the night.

One of the scout teams did not return even after several hours. These were their first losses and they already happened on the first day no less.

They parked the wagon in a defensive formation they could easily defend if something attacked them during the night. Soon the camp was illuminated by cooking fires as the chefs started preparing food for the whole caravan.

When Seth checked his <Map> he found that they had roughly traveled a little less than a 1/10 of the way to the place where they assumed Hope was. Extrapolating from that they would need 10-14 days to reach hope.

The griffins had been pretty much the most dangerous beast he had come across during his journey. The caravan having no bigger problems dealing with them gave him hope for this journey. 2 Weeks? They could probably handle that, at least their rations would.

After a meal by the campfire, everyone got ready to sleep and left the guard duty to the guards. Seth and Duhu still had their own camping gear in their inventory, as such their team slept inside two portable barriers. Wedan had his own tent which meant they had three comfortable tents for a good night's sleep.

Compared to the people sleeping on the carts or the makeshift tents of others, this was pure luxury. Seth didn't feel bad about having some extra security. He knew that there were mages among the caravan who put upwards and barriers around the whole camping site.

There was nothing to worry about when it came to safety measures. Still, when night fell and they all were asleep, something woke him up.

~ Seth, wake up. There is something weird about the forest. ~

It was the sorceress that suddenly woke him from his slumber. Puffles eyes also snapped open.

~ I feel it too. ~

"Do you think it's dangerous?" Seth mumbled drowsily.

~ it doesn't seem to have hostile intentions. Or any intentions to be honest. But something dark and disturbing is spreading in the night outside. ~

~Disturbing is the right word. I believe this is what I felt earlier today. Whatever it is, it feels familiar. ~

"But you don't think it will attack tonight?"

~No. ~

~No... ~

"Then I'm going back to sleep for now. We can check it out tomorrow."

Seth turned around in his sleeping bag and went back to dream of his steamy date with Mina.

The next morning held a big surprise for everyone. The griffins had been the harbinger of change Seth could have seen coming.

No light came with the morning sun and their camp stayed shrouded in murky twilight. The trees around had darkened with their trunks seeming almost black in the dim light and their blackened leaves blocking the sun.

What little shrubbery had existed in this place had turned into thorny vines that could catch their ankles with every step. The corruption had taken hold of this forest and spread past their camp.

It was true, this was no direct harm but indicated a great danger. Seth remembered how the floor of this kind of forest was littered with bones mere days after it even grew. What did it mean? There was a lot of death that followed these tainted trees.

Maybe the griffins were even the smallest concern for the travelers.

Everyone agreed that light was a bad idea in this situation, despite that it was needed. They cast light magic to dismantle the camp and get the caravan back into formation. On the go, they had distributed those with <Nightvision> along the caravan.

Most were among the spearhead in the front. The dire lack of people with night vision still meant that the drivers need at least some light to see the path.

In the darkness of these woods, the caravan resembled a broken Christmas light that came to life and slithered through the forest.

Wedan looked in wonder from behind as Seth kept whittling bone pendants with <Nightvision> enchantment on the go. They didn't get a high rating or give him experience but they were needed to reduce the attention they pulled.

So far, they were lucky that the darkness had only arrived recently, and nothing had followed it yet. A few hours after they set off on the second day everyone who needed it had a crude bone item that could grant <Nightvision> for relatively little mana.

Thanks to this the races and guards that had natural night vision could be distributed across the whole line of carts to get a good coverage against attacks. Whether it was needed or not, was still up for debate as all the smaller attacks from yesterday did not happen.

The dark forest was completely silent, except for them. Nothing but the constant darkness kept pressing on their psyche.

That was until the late afternoon when suddenly screams echoed through the twilight below the canopy. They checked the caravan but neither were they attacked nor was anybody missing. Maybe it was some creature or person that came through the patchworks?

But this was not the important question. The bigger question was what had killed the poor sob? It was now clear that something lurked in the darkness, and it hunted others. Seth was just glad that he decided to make those charms. The caravan traveled in total darkness as if it was day.

If whatever it was found its prey through the light they made, then this would not be their problem. Sound too seemed less likely to become their problem. Nobody found the courage to speak in this creepy forest. Even the mounts and draft animals instinctively kept silent.

Only the sound of the cart driving was heard of the caravan that sneaked through the dim nightmare forest. They were not attacked but the occasional screams in the distance that kept increasing as the day grew older, weighed heavy on the minds of the people.

Especially those of a weaker mindset.

They traveled for as long as it was possible but didn't get to the end of the dark forest. If this kept going on they would spend the next 10 days in darkness.

The caravan stopped to set up camp and sent the signal for the scouts to return. Everyone was on edge despite nothing happening all day. Maybe because nothing happened at all. Formations and wards were set up with extra care.

When the scouts returned everyone was glad to see, that this time none of them were missing. To avoid lighting a fire they ate cold rations before going to sleep. Without fires, the night became cold and a biting wind started blowing.

Puffles' giant body functiond as a windbreaker for Seth's little camp and they were not the only ones who sought the company of pets this night as many cuddled up to the beasts for some warmth.

The following three days were no better than this night. Cold food, cold days, cold nights. Even though they did not meet any dangers the mood of the caravan took a dive. Voices of discontent kept cropping up.

"Why can't we light some campfires? There has been literally nothing in this forest. It will help lift the people's mood." The leader of the freed people was arguing with the other representatives. The representative of the freed people was in favor, while the rebel leader, Elza, and Marcel were against it. The Races and Chimeras had not made up their mind yet.

There were many people among all factions voicing their opinion in favor of a warm meal. The troubled leaders looked to Seth who was for some reason invited to the council.

"Why are you looking at me?"

"What are your thoughts on the matter?" the sorceress asked.

This was not the first time the chimera showed interest in Seth. He didn't think she wanted something from him as a man. Maybe she wanted to gain his favor?

He had seen what she was capable of during the assault of the griffins. Except for some chimeras specialized in melee combat, she was probably the greatest success of the Theocracy's experiments.

Although she lacked memories of her former life, she must have been quite intelligent and talented even beforehand. Seth really wouldn't mind recruiting her for Minas Mar. He was not into dealing with politics but also thought that lighting a bunch of campfires was incredibly stupid at this point..

"Think guys. There was literally nothing ever since the darkness took over the forest. What happened to the monsters? Did you forget the screams that echoed in the night? The fact we have not been attacked means we are doing something right.

If our information is correct, we are out of the forest in about 5-6 days. Why do you want to risk our lives to "raise morale"?"

"But the people-"

"What is better? Unhappy people or dead people? Just so you know, if you guys summon some catastrophic calamity onto our heads... it won't stop at campfires."

The last part may have sounded ominous, or like a threat to the people present and Seth left it ambiguous on purpose. Truth be told, he was hellbent on burning the whole place to ashes the moment anything untoward happened.

He had been itching to for the last 4 days because it kept reminding him of some of the darkest days in his life. The hours he had spent on that motorbike. Driving in total darkness over mountains of bones, fearing an attack or ambush at any moment...

If it wasn't for the caravan, he would be doing his best to level his <Fire Affinity> to lv.10.

Whether it was because of the blacksmith's ominous warning or common sense, they decided against campfires for now.