The Dark Forest

A huge hexagram dotted with a multitude of otherworldly symbols glittered blue as the Section-41 members appeared in the clearing at a constant pace. The clearing was enclosed by a translucent grey barrier that kept the raindrops at bay.

This was one of the outposts that could be used to teleport in and out of the hidden town of Giza.

Residence tokens with special permissions allowed only high-level members of the Dark Church to directly access the barrier around the town. This was the reason why no guards were stationed at the six gates of Giza.

Trees tall as castles surrounded Aladdin and the rest, and a strange green light - almost sanctified – filtered through the vast canopy of leaves that hung above them.

This was the famed Dark Forest that surrounded Giza in every compass direction but the East.

The Forest was rumored to be a habitat for many frightening species of calamity beasts that were supposed to have gone extinct on the mainland of the Eastern Continent. The legends further alleged that beast emperors had once upon a time traversed the Dark Forest.

The Forest seemed to possess the wisdom of its own: Its voice the sudden howls of a pack of calamity wolves some distance away, and the flicker of the calamity apes swinging through the branches above.

Aladdin had a strange intuition that the Dark Forest was aware of their arrival.

But he was not deeply worried since the party only had to travel northward through a small patch of the Forest before reaching the westernmost shore of Lake Bluu. This lake marked the borders and entry point into the western part of the Ubaya Marshlands.

Aladdin habitually glanced back to see if the gate was still glowing but all he saw were the members of Section-41 appearing out of the thin air within the clearing in the forest.

"Looking for someone in particular?" A female voice appeared beside him.

"Miss Olivia! What are you doing here?" Aladdin glanced worriedly around to see if Miss Fox was nearby. He didn't want to spark off another conflict between the girl and Olivia.

"She is not yet here. Don't worry. Did you think about my offer?" She inquired; her face plastered with a charming smile that could melt the hearts of brave knights.

"I won't do it!" He mumbled.

"Don't rush to make a decision. Just think about it for a few days before giving me a reply. Remember this is a once in a lifetime opportunity." Olivia intoned while winking at Aladdin.

Aladdin felt his heart trembled at the flirtatious behavior of the girl.

"I will think about it. Will give you an answer within days." Aladdin nodded at the Du Pont girl while looking around at the members of section-41 still appearing within the forest.

"I won't wait for long. You're not the only seer in Giza."

Aladdin nodded.

"The others are here. Think about it as soon as possible." Olivia replied before walking away.

"You're friends with Olivia Du Pont?" A voice once again sounded behind Aladdin.

"Eehh!" Aladdin's heart jumped to his throat once more as he turned to look at Elena who had appeared behind him at some point in time.

"No! She was just inquiring about something." Aladdin replied, his tone defensive.

"Be careful with her. The descendants of the Eastern families are not to be trifled with." Elena warned before turning away.

[Be careful of Eastern families and their descendants! Why is she then friends with Miss Fox] Aladdin wondered.

Although Aladdin was perplexed by Elena's warning, he chose to curb his curiosity as all the sixty mystics had assembled within the clearing.

"Listen up." Chiara's voice sounded as she voiced the Matriarch's orders.

"The fifty mystic wizards and witches will be divided into 10 groups. Each group will be led by a mystic king or queen. You can choose your groups before coming to receive your talismans from Constantine." Chiara paused while glancing at the members of section-41 before her.

"But remember one thing: This is not a mission to exterminate the calamity frogs in the Marshlands but a scouting mission. You should avoid fights if you can."

"If you manage to find something suspicious, you can send a communication talisman to summon the Matriarch, Constantine, or Myself. We shall respond as soon as we can."

"Remember: Don't die in the Marshlands," Chiara warned, her voice solemn.

"Yes, captain!" All the members of section-41 replied in unison before starting to form groups with others.

Section-41's members appeared more energetic and as sharp as swords after leaving the town's borders. This was the normal practice of the dark church assassins when out in the field.

"We should form our team with the rest." Elena intoned.

"They are already coming over. Hope Ali-Baba and Miss Fox won't get into a fight this time around." Aladdin replied.

In but a few minutes, section-41's members formed groups and started moving northward into the forest leaving only the Matriarch and Chiara in the clearing.

Cutting their way through the dense, suffocating undergrowth, fighting through the very air, which hung heavy, moist, and still; Aladdin's group soon made it out of the Dark Forest and onto the beautiful shores of Lake Blue.

So far they had been lucky.

They had been attacked, of course, by some common bees, mosquitoes and, stinging ants; however, the calamity beasts like the snakes and scorpions of the Dark Forest had left them alone.

"Aladdin. Check for a safe route. The Matriarch warned us to be particularly careful on this mission." Ali-Baba intoned, his voice calm but imposing.

He was now the only mystic-king in their party and thus their de facto leader.

Aladdin hurriedly cast the pendulum divination spell in search of a safe route to tread on into the Ubaya Marshlands, but the results puzzled him.

All the directions were laden with danger. Even the southward path back into the Dark Forest was showing a depraved level of danger.

"What should we do?" He inquired; his tone anxious as he looked towards Ali-Baba.

"Of course, we summon the Matriarch," Ali-Baba replied while retrieving a communication talisman.

****

Concurrently in Hugo's attic room…

Hugo woke with a start, his head still spinning as he tried to perceive the mysterious changes within his body.

As he oriented himself to the surroundings, he was shocked stiff to find Tracy observing him curiously.

"Aunt Tracy! What happened?" He exclaimed as he abruptly jumped out of the tub.

"Eehh!"

Hugo was perplexed as his intended small leap exceeded his expectations.

He floated in the air, just above the tub for a few seconds before dropping back into the elixir that was now covered by a greasy pigment.

"Ahh!" He yelled.