The group cautiously made its way through the dark forests. The tall sentinels of the forest casting deep shadows over everything. There was little in the way of undergrowth, the ground being choked with decaying leaves and detritus from the trees above. The few scraggly plants and grasses that managed to survive from the little light present within the forest did little to obscure the area around the group. The trees, growing side by side, and in many cases intertwined with their fellows presented the greatest obstacle to vision, but with their party spread out across several paces they had enough eyes to see beyond the stands of obscuring trees. Despite the relatively great amount of vision possible in the interior of the forest, the men still advanced nervously, giving the occasional worried glances to each other.
The forest was not like the small belts of new growth saplings that dotted their civilized homeland. This forest was older, more primal, powerful even with its great titans of trees and overlapping shadowy canopies. The gnarled roots of every great tree spread out for dozens of feet in every direction, wrapping around stones and digging into the earth, only to come back out as if repelled by some unseen underground force. The ground was uneven and rocky, affording little footing for the inexperienced men that now strode upon it. Grumbling and cursing they made their way, tripping on unexpected roots, loose stones, or slippery moss that seemed to cling to everything on the dark forest floor.
It wasn’t simply a matter of just inexperienced men struggling through this novel forest either, it was far too quiet compared to what they had expected. The only sounds they heard were the leaves crunched softly with every step forward interspersed with the occasional frantic crunch of some small animal scurrying about. The awkward gait they were forced to adopt to accommodate the devilishly twisting roots slowed their progress and their curses and heavy footfalls onto the leaf covered ground surely alerted any animal or creature that may be lurking within the darkness to their presence.
The forest seemed wary of them and the inhabitants shunned them, choosing to cling to branches, lurk in shadows, or remain high above the treeline. Small score marks in the bark of the trees were occasionally spotted, an indication that there may be dangerous territorial creatures roaming the forest. Some of those scores were as high as 20 feet into the air. The thought of a creature that could casually leave marks like that filled the men with dread. Occasionally, they would spy some shadowy form, lurking on the edges of their vision, but every time as their vanguard went to investigate, it would be gone. Perhaps the forms hid behind trees, or climbed to places unknown, or that they never existed at all. The strange environment disquieted the men and caused them to question what they saw with their own eyes.
“I don’t like this quiet.” The Lieutenant softly muttered under his breath. The almost oppressive darkness and unnatural quiet may even be normal for this forest, but the experience was so alien to him that he was permanently set on edge.
They walked forward for hours, making their way uphill in the hopes of either finding a source of water or a vantage point from which they could spy some useful land markers. They had seen no sign of anything thus far, not even a single clearing within the trees. Eventually, they reached the crest of a hill that seemed to be as thickly covered in trees as the rest of the forest, and the Lieutenant signaled that they should take a rest. The sun was already directly above their position on the hill, indicating that it was noon time and as bright as it was ever going to get within the confines of the dark forest. The men spread out along the hill top as they rested, leaning on trees or sitting on the occasional boulder. The Lieutenant however, did not rest, but walked towards the tallest tree present on the hill, needing to crane his neck backwards to see its dizzyingly high branches.
“Daren, get over here and climb this tree. We can’t see anything with all these damned trees in the way and if we’re going to accomplish our task at all we need to know of everything around us.” The Lieutenant barked in a gruff voice, kicking the base of the tree with enough force to create a loud bang. Daren, a dour, tall but muscular man, who had been trying to nap on a fallen log, jumped up with a startled sound, unbefitting of a man his size or countenance. Daren was one of the ship’s accompanying marines on loan to the Lieutenant for the purposes of this exploration, a sharpshooter well used to spending hours wrapped in the rigging with a musket in his hands.
Daren groaned loudly, but upon seeing the stone set face of the Lieutenant staring down disapprovingly at him, he quieted and rushed to the base of the tree. Trees could be very difficult to climb at times, slick with moisture from the rain and mosses that grow upon their bark the footing is frequently uneven. With trees as high as this, only men of surefootedness and great stamina could hope to reach the top without slipping to their deaths. Fortunately, compared to the great masts present on most warships, Daren was no stranger to heights, and no tree branch could compare to having to grip a salt water-soaked rope while a vessel shook in three dimensions with the winds and wave. He walked to the base, reaching his arms up to feel for the branches. They were thick and sturdy, having survived likely hundreds of years of growth and harsh weather. They were well spaced for a capable climber to traverse.
Daren scrambled up the branches like a veteran climber, seeming to care more for speed of ascent than safety as the branches he went past trembled and shook unsteadily. He got around two thirds of the way up before slowing down, as by then the wind had started pushing the tree from side to side, and he proceeded with more caution. Eventually, he reached the top most branch that he deemed capable of supporting a man’s weight and stopped, leaning into the trunk and holding onto the branch to steady himself as the tree swayed. He peered into the distance as he gazed around their location.
They were in a vast sea of trees, almost unbroken in every direction. The hill they had crested seemed to be a foothill for a larger series of hills extending in a line of increasing elevation all the way to a tall mountain inland in the distance. A second chain of hills seemed to head northwards, likely to the great cliff that had been the first sign of the New World the convoy had sighted a week prior. The churning waters of the ocean were visible in the distance, along with the barely discernable ships of the fleet, anchored away from the shore and still conducting repairs as they waited for the trapped ships to rejoin them. Looking to the south and west he spotted what seemed like a break in the treeline, snaking its way through the landscape. Though he could not make it out, surely this was a river and exactly what they were looking for.
“There’s a river around 3 miles to the southwest!” Daren shouted down to the Lieutenant. He could not possibly know for sure what expression was on the man’s face down below as he relayed the news, but he was sure it was a smile. Getting out of this creepy forest would be good for everyone he mused. Taking one last look at his surroundings, he spotted what looked like a clearing along the far side of the river. It might just be a river bend, but perhaps there was something more there. It would bear investigation once they actually reached the river, but for now they had to start moving. After trekking through so much of the forest over the course of the morning, he did not want to risk remaining within when the sun went down.
Daren climbed down quickly, his desire to quickly leave the forest with their mission accomplished overwhelming his desire for caution. He misplaced his footing on a branch around 8 feet above the ground and fell clumsily. Some of the men below saw this and laughed at Daren, normally prideful at his sense of balance and talent at scaling the rigging, falling. One of the large foresters quickly rushed forward to catch him.
“Careful there, we wouldn’t want our master climber getting injured after such a trivial fall.” Gerald said after catching Daren and breaking his fall. The big man was barely phased by the weight slamming into him, and his slightly mocking tone made Daren’s ears turn red with embarrassment. He quickly pushed himself off of his rescuer and stormed off to collect his gear. The interaction made some of the men in the group snicker and Daren shot them an angry look before continuing his task.
“Listen up men. It’s already past noon and we have not been able to make very good time thus far and we need to get moving if you want to get out of here before nightfall.” The men looked at each other with nervous expressions as they listened to the Lieutenant’s declaration, quickly putting on their gear to resume the trek. The Lieutenant glanced at his compass before putting it away and facing southwest.
“We will be heading out now for the river Daren spotted to the southwest. It’s several miles away so you layabouts better hop to, double time.” The Lieutenant barked before the group set off again into the distance. They would be moving a lot faster and less cautiously now that they had a clearly defined destination, and a time limit before the sun fell. The Lieutenant hoped that the extra noise created as they traveled wouldn’t be enough to attract anything, especially not whatever creature was large enough to leave those score marks they had seen earlier.
