11 Sable Glade

It defied easy classification.

The towering monstrosity loomed over him like a two-story building.

Bloodshot eyes on a face that did not resemble anything known to Aiden.

Its sharp, bony claws held a twisted figure that had once been a man, gnawing at the head as a child nibbled at a stick of candy.

The man's white clothes stained in blood stood out against the dark skin of that… thing.

A massive white stone was painfully pierced through the monster's chest. It seemed as though the stone was molded into its flesh, as if the monster had regenerated itself around the stone, making it a part of its twisted form.

'What does it want from me?'

'Is it in pain?'

The colorful wisps started to come together, gathering around that monstrous being.

Just moments later, his sight began to break apart into pieces.

Abruptly, he was brought back to reality, where he stood holding the white material.

"What was that?" He muttered to himself, startled.

As he slowly calmed down, he looked around to make sure that what he saw was just an illusion.

He then ripped the white material.

After tearing the material, he fashioned himself a simple tunic with an opening for his head, tying it on his shoulders and waist. Additionally, he ripped a small piece to protect his groin.

Turning around, he walked up to one of the skeletons.

Just a moment ago, he noticed small flasks laying beneath one of the benches. He picked them up.

He also picked up one of the swords and swung it hard against the ground.

BANG!

It broke apart like glass.

'What a shame…'

He laid down on one of the benches furthest away from the skeletons and tried to fall asleep.

Having been walking around for over a day without sleep, he was exhausted.

'I need water and food… I can return to the cave to fill my flask, but what about food? Finding something edible in this Old Forest would be a miracle… How far from civilization am I? Can I even make it out of here?'

…

Unable to sleep for long, Aiden woke up after a short nap, finding his entire body sore and his throat dry, making it impossible to fall back asleep.

He stood up, picked up two flasks, and was about to leave the church, but realised that it was the middle of the night.

He decided to wait the night out, laying half-asleep on the benches.

As soon as the sun was up, he started making his way back to where he started, following the markes he had left behind.

On the way, he felt like some of the twigs were misplaced or simply dissipated into thin air, but nonetheless, he was still able to find his way.

Without the need to place those sticks as he walked, it only took him a few hours to get back to the cave.

He walked up to the entrance and looked down at his clothes.

'I should keep those dry.'

He took off his clothes, pushing the flasks in front of him as he crawled back into the cave.

After filling them up quickly, he exited the cave again in the same manner.

He shook from the cold.

The bruises, that had partially healed already, opened up yet again.

He waited for a while for the water to dry off and put his clothes back on.

He turned his head to the right, where the forest of complete darkness was.

'Definitely not.'

He chose to go in a slightly more northward direction, but he made sure to stay away from the pitch-black forest.

He continued further; now, with his flasks of water, he could venture deeper than before.

He wished that the forest would become less dense and that more light would break through the crowns; maybe that would give him a little hope.

However, that wasn't happening; the scenery remained constant and unchanging.

He stumbled upon some more swertu berries here and there and also found some dark-ish Errish Mushrooms.

'These are hallucinogenic.'

He wisely kept his distance.

He had been walking for hours and then he suddenly noticed something moving in a dirty pool of water.

Peeking from behind a tree, he stole another glance.

'Wait. That's…'

He came closer.

'Its a human.'

At first glance, he presumed the man might be dead.

The body appeared completely intact.

The man's clothes were worn and dirty and showed signs of wear and tear.

Aiden stopped for a second when he saw that the man's chest was moving up and down.

The man was taking slow, steady breaths.

'He is alive.'

The man was big, seemed middle-aged and his hair was even darker than Aiden's, virtually black. His clothes were also extremely dark.

'Should I wake him up? He could be a dangerous person... I should just walk away.'

'But he might be the only human I will ever meet…'

Aiden was getting anxious.

People who are not strong enough would never go into an Old Forest on their own.

So Aiden concluded that the man was most likely a strong person who could help him survive.

He found himself torn between the positives and negatives. While the man could potentially be hostile, leaving him behind might invite even greater danger, as the man could follow him and strike from the shadows.

Moreover, Aiden's stomach was growling in protest.

'Maybe he knows a way to find food out here?'

Finally, he picked up a long twig and nudged the man with it.

"Hello! Hey! Sir! Wake up!" he yelled.

"AAAAAAA!" The man jolted awake, shaking his head and twisting his body.

He opened his eyes wide.

Aiden, now a bit further away and on guard, looked at him warily.

The man, still disoriented, held his head with both of his hands.

He had a massive headache.

After a few seconds, he raised his head and looked at Aiden.

His eyes were yellow. He had a short, dark beard and a mustache. One squigly black line was tatooed on the wrist of his right hand.

"Who are you?" The man asked.

Aiden maintained his distance.

"What do you mean, who am I? Who are you?"

The man broke the staredown, looked around and up at the tree crowns.

"Sable Glade…."

Then he looked directly at Aiden.

Aiden watched as the man's body began to glow in a dark red light.

A gentle white vapor started emanating from him, floating up into the air.

Aiden sensed a similar energy to the one he felt back in Nafas, yet different—no smell, just an odorless energy.

In an instant, a red tendril flew like a hand toward Aiden.

Before he could react, the twig he held was forcefully shoved out of his hand.

Then the light disappeared.

"Don't worry. We both want to get out of here," the man said calmly.