After I gathered some food which consisted of dried meats, bread, and granola bars, I set out for the portal at exactly midnight. My cell phone didn't work and I couldn't even use my tag, so I decided to leave them both behind. Reaching the portal, I had no time to waste for my experiment. I wanted to see if time passed by here when I was inside the portal.
Setting foot into the portal, I was met with similar scenery as before. The difference, this time, was the dark fog in the air. Checking my surroundings, I decided to go for the same path as I did last time to make it to that village again, this time with offerings for my trust. Running through the thicket proved to be just as difficult as before, giving me some slight scratches along the way. As I made my way towards the village, the fog got thicker. That's when I realized that it wasn't fog at all; it was smoke.
As soon as I made it to the village, all that was left were the burning embers of the houses and the yards around them. The farm was destroyed and the lake was dyed a crimson red. Snapping out of my shock, I realized something; there were no sounds besides the faint crackle of the fire. Walking around, I noticed no signs of struggle, but that didn't make much sense to me. The lake clearly had blood in it, so there must have been some sort of battle. How could there be no blood stains or weapons anywhere? Were they all put to sleep by some sort of drug, then dragged into the lake and killed?
With nothing left for me to salvage for my expedition, I decided to head out and explore some more. As I headed out, the forest gave me a sense of unease; there were no noises, only the sound of the sticks and leaves snapping under my feet.
After what seemed like hours of walking, the sun started to set. With the forest continuously growing darker, I decided to sleep in the largest tree I could find. Walking up to the thickest one in sight, I could only admire it as I stared up and saw no end to it with my limited vision in the darkness. As I started to climb the sparse branches, I noticed small orbs of light appearing around the area randomly. The small areas of light glowed a yellowish-green until they faded out, followed by more appearing then before. As I continued climbing, I noticed that the tree bent in odd shapes. As I found a sort of mossy ledge to sit on, I let the darkness take over and fell asleep.
Waking up seemed to be more of a task then it should have been. I can't move. All I saw were the countless trees in front of me. Only able to move my eyes around, I noticed something moving in the corner. A... tree? That... what? As I lay here dumbfounded, the tree kept moving closer to me, it's trunks moving in a way that seemed like clumsy walking. "Boy, do you realize where you're sitting?" the tree asked me, it's 'mouth' seeming to open and close as ours does, except there was nothing inside. Still unable to move, I couldn't even talk back. Not that I would have, I think I almost shat myself. The tree furrowed its brows that were made out of thick bark as it spoke to me again "I'm certain you have a mouth that can speak lad. Why don't you start using it?" the tree questioned.
After nearly soiling myself, I was able to move my fingers. Was it something in the forest causing my paralysis? Either way, I was regaining my movement quickly. "I..." is all that I managed to spit out. "Hmm, what's that? Come on boy, I don't have all day." the tree muttered, his patience running thin. Was I a threat to his territory or something? No, he could easily snap me in half if he wanted to.
"I... I don't know where I am." I told the tree. The confused look on his face instantly changed into laughter. "Hohoho! You're telling me you don't know that you're in the Forest of Ents?" the tree exclaimed. The Forest of Ents? Then does that mean the tree I'm sitting on is an Ent as well? "I-I apologize Sir... I had no idea. Would you like me to leave? I can head out right away." I frantically explained. "You mean to tell me you ran here at night and you're still alive? If that is true, I will direct you to the next best destination for yourself. Head North East, you should find a river. Past that river, you will find the cliffside where my old friend can help you out. He may give you a startle at first, but you must trust in his judgment. Now, hurry on boy. You mustn't run through here under darkness." the Ent warned. Although I wanted to ask why not, the Ent didn't seem as if he wanted to explain the situation.
Running through the forest is proving to be easier the further I head North East. The fact that the trees that I had to weave through were able to walk and talk made this place even more confusing then it was before. My thoughts came to a stop as I approached a river that separated two very different lands. On the side of the Ents was a lush green forest, but on the other side was a rocky plain that seemed to have no life whatsoever.
Crossing the river proved to be rather difficult since I was never much of a swimmer, but there were enough large rocks for me to hang onto that helped me make my way across. The ground on the other side seemed like it was once fertile, but some sort of disaster made it into this barren wasteland. As I continued North East, I came across the cliffside. To my surprise, there was still a piece of life left in these badlands; there was a sparkling green tree where golden apples hung from.
