Chapter 6

Hooves crunched against old leaves as the small troop passed through the fog into the first ring of the Forest of All. The darkness of night fell over them like a blanket, caressing the sleeping trees and thickening the air almost as well as the fog that now swirled around the ground in small pools. The Hunter and his Stag led the way, his cape flowing over the back of the mighty animal and settling in layers on its rump. Snow Bringer followed close behind, large hoof prints of ice the only evidence of their passing.

"Much has changed since your last coming, as I am sure you have noticed, Enchantress." The Hunter spoke softly but his low voice carried behind him.

"Brave Hunter, you have been hard at work, I presume?" the Gypsy Witch responded in her sweet tone.

"Alas, though I wish to take the credit for this wonder, it was not I." He turned in his saddle to look at Cedric and the Witch. "A great shift is to blame, one I have not seen in many years. The fates may finally be on our side again."

The Witch nodded, and the Hunter turned back. Cedric, more confused than ever, spoke his thoughts.

"Great shift? Fates? I fear I do not understand."

"You will in time, Sir Knight. Patience is not your strong suit." The Witch looked over her shoulder at him. "This first ring that we are in now was for a long time one of the most terrifying places in all of Da'nu. But as you can see..." she lifted an arm to point to the petrified landscape around them, "most of the evil has returned to the inner rings. Life will grow anew here, and it will become the thriving sanctuary it was so long ago."

As the Knight looked closer, he could see small sprouts of leaves budding from the long-dormant trees and meager beginnings of blossoms at the ends of their branches. He had never known the Forest of All to be anything but a terrible, destructive place. ‘A stain on the center of the map,' his king had called it once before. The thought that it had been more than a dark, dead forest like he had been told it was since he was a boy baffled him into stunned silence as he looked around.

"Woah..." The Hunter and his Stag came to a silent stop, Snow Bringer a step later as the Gypsy pulled back on his mane. There was an edge of caution to the Hunters tone.

Time stood still as the Hunter pulled his bow from his shoulders softly and slowly to not make a sound. All Cedric could hear was his heart drumming in his ears against his metal helm as anticipation rose in the dead air. He reached for his sword that was normally at his side and quickly remembered he didn't have one. A feral squeal almost made him jump, his armor creaking, and he could see what the Hunter had stopped them for.

A huge, tusked animal turned and looked directly at the Knight. Anger flashed in the boar's eyes as it pawed the ground ready to charge. The Knight froze in terror, but the Hunter spurred to action, pulling a black wood arrow with a razor sharp tip from the quiver at his side, docking and drawing his bow in one smooth motion.

Without even one breath the arrow was in flight, burying deep into the chest of the boar. A shrill squeal sent shivers down Cedric's spine as he watched the heavy animal pull back before falling to the side, skin twitching and legs jerking as they held onto life.

The Hunter dismounted and bounded to the animal, expertly unsheathing a silver dagger and sliced through the tough skin of the neck. Blood sputtered out in the dim moonlight and the boar's body finally gave in to its fate. A faint wisp of white smoke left the nostrils and flew up into the canopy of the forest, its soul leaving the body and returning to the Mother Tree.

They sat in silence again as the Hunter finished his task and cleaned his blade and arrow on his pant leg. He lifted the boar and draped it over the rump of the Stag, the mighty animal not even flinching at the added weight.

"That will make a fine meal, Brave Hunter," said the Witch, her pride in him seeping into her words.

"It will be something, though not enough I'm afraid." His voice was reverent and calm, heavy with the life he had taken. The Stag twisted his antlers around for the Hunter to use as a handle, and he remounted without another word. They continued forward, the six-legged horse and its occupants a few steps behind. Before long, an orange light could be seen flickering through the trunks.

"Your camp is full again?" the Gypsy Witch exclaimed, a touch of disbelief in her voice.

"Much has changed since your last coming, Enchantress."