Arrival

After four days of travelling, they finally arrived to the Apex. It was a smooth journey which Dahlia didn't expect.

She thought that they would be caught up or not pass through Turswelt but they did a reroute. She didn't expect that the nearby town beside Turswelt was less guarded and even though it only a had one narrow passage to Lawless Region, not a single person inspected the place.

She thought that the kingdom would never let anyone from the dangerous Lawless Region to pass. It seems that she was wrong. There was more than what the rumours say.

When they arrived Finn's other companion, whom Finn referred to as his senior, parked the wagon at the back of a rundown pub. When they got down from the wagon, Dahlia looked around to observe the surroundings.

Dahlia didn't expect that Lawless Region actually looked like any other normal city in the South. She expected the place to be deserted with corpses lying carelessly on the ground. However, she figured her imagination was quite exaggerated.

Finn who was busy removing the corpses from the wagon. Comparing its smell days ago, it's smell now was unbearable even for Dahlia. Still, Finn and his companions managed to move them without having a change of expression. It showed how they are already used to doing this type of job.

When he was done, he stood near Dahlia's observing figure.

"Maybe it isn't what you expected, but its dangers still remain." he said mysteriously and turned to talk with Milby.

Dahlia turned her head to look at Finn. What he said was right. She didn't plan to let her guard down. Instead, she decided to be more vigilant.

After Finn and Milby were done with his discussion, they turned to Dahlia and asked her what her business with Lawless Region was. They wanted to know before they go their separate ways.

"I'm looking for the Witch." she answered.

Milby looked at Finn with a creased forehead. Then Finn laughed.

"Ah. You're looking for the face stealer.." A voice interrupted. Dahlia glanced at the person. It was Finn's senior.

"Face stealer?" Dahlia asked.

"Well, you could guess what she does.." It was Finn who replied. "Better keep that face hidden if you're awfully attractive." then he laughed.

He said it as a joke not knowing the impact on her. Dahlia who knew how beautiful she actually is, couldn't help but form her lips in a thin line.

'What was that suppose to mean.'

She wanted to ask further however she didn't want them to think that she was a narcissistt. If she told them that she was beautiful and that she wanted to know what that meant, they would only laughed at her boldness.

"So where—"

"Deep in the Dead Forest.. But if you want to live, I suppose you should stay out of that place." Finn warned.

Dahlia, who didn't seem to have heard his last sentence, continued, "And where is that?"

Finn chuckled at her bravery. "Hey. Even if your strong, this is a witch we're talking about.. Even experienced mercenaries don't dare to cross that part of Lawless. If I didn't consider you as my friend, I wouldn't warn you like this." He turned serious this time.

Dahlia nodded her head. "I know, but.... I'll be careful."

Milby snorted. He didn't know how strong Dahlia is so it was easy for him to judge her strange sense of bravery. Dahlia glared at his direction. Seeing this, Finn just gave up.

"Fine...that was just a friendly reminder. It's up to you anyway" Finn sighed. "Its west from here.. But sometimes the witch just takes people from this part of the town."

"I don't know about the details but.. Be careful." he said and tapped Dahlia's shoulders.

They decided to depart. Finn bid her farewell and left with Milby and his senior.

Dahlia looked around. She didn't ask Finn where she could stay for a while. She thought it was unnecessary. She knew thieves and murderers were considered as normal citizens in this city.

If she stayed in an inn or other places for lodging, she'd probably be killed in her sleep. Dahlia knew it was impossible but she didn't want to kill anyone in this place as much as possible.

She wandered around town. Even though it looked like your average town in the south, one thing was different. It was the citizens.

The citizens had eerie auras. They had the smell of bloodlust.

They looked at her walking figure, as if noticing that she was an outsider. Though some who walked around wore cloaks, they still managed to differentiate her from the crowd.

They observed her movements, contemplating if she was an easy target for robbery of kidnapping. Slave trading was also common here. She wouldn't be shocked if they saw her as a potential slave.

Proving her right, some of the were already following her. She hastened her pace. She was already used to people following her so she didn't mind them anymore.

She then headed to the West. The direction she was headed was towards the Dead Forest.

She sensed that those who were following her stopped on their tracks. She then remembered how even citizens feared this part of the Lawless Region.

'So it's this scary, huh?' she muttered to herself as she stood at the entrance.

She scanned the Forest. She didn't know why it was called dead. The trees and plants around it seemed alive. She thought it looked like a spooky forest but it turned out to be a normal forest instead.

Those who were following Dahlia moments ago couldn't help but shake their heads.

'She's crazy. ' They thought as they stared at Dahlia who was standing at the forest's entrance.

Even them, the locals from this dangerous town, didn't dare step foot on that forest. That forest was cursed. Inhabited by a vile witch.

It wasn't even a forest at first. It was just a plain that dried up but it developed into a forest after the witch moved there.

No one would believed that the forest which looked harmless, had a vile origin. Countless bodies from victims of the witch were used as the trees' fertiliser. That's why they called that forest 'Dead Forest' because it was a forest grown from the dead.

Dahlia then took a step towards the Dead Forest.