Chapter 337 (S4)

The Witch's Garden was a place that made Vorbuk feel uncomfortable. While traveling on foot through the terrain. Further they traveled towards the east to reach the capital of Drethia the colder it got. Everything on the eastern side of the continent was colder. It was a valley perfect for the vampires who had no need for warmth.

Prince Leo was not like the werewolves who could endure such a cold climate. The colder it got the more his body shivered from the temperature. The wolf could see the prince was getting worse at enduring the cold air.

At first Vorbuk was growing worried about the prince traversing the cold climate. It did not take long for Prince Leo to come up with a solution for himself. With his fire element it was able to rotate a light heat around himself. It warmed his body and helped him maintain his durability against the cold.

"Will you not grow exhausted from doing that?" The wolf asked the prince curiously.

Prince Leo smiled without worry as he replied to the wolf, "I will be fine as long as I do not overdo it. Do not worry about me."

"Who was worried about you?" The wolf asked sarcastically to try and mask the fact that he had been caught worrying about the prince.

"It doesn't help that it is the winter months." Ashley spoke up while looking at the sky. He could see a storm coming. Things could get dangerous if they get caught in the storm. Storms in Drethia were deadly occurrences because they were unpredictable.

"Listen up everyone!" Captain Cory called out to everyone, "We will be passing through Death's Passage. Nobody wanders off on their own or they get left behind."

Death's Passage was a long stone passage that ran through the witch's garden. The entire passage was littered with corpses of those who died on their way through. Dangerous beasts lurk in the darkness of the path awaiting prey. Some rumors even claim rogue vampires wander the passage and feed off of stragglers who are caught alone.

It stretched over several miles. Thick trees covered the land so heavily that no sunlight could shine down on the ground. Impossible to tell the time of day made the passage of time near impossible to recognize. One could get lost for hours, days, or even weeks until they wander out of the passage of die within the bounds of it.

A heavy fog covered the passage. There was no method of traversing the land around the passage. If they wanted to go further into Drethia it meant no choice but to cross Death's Passage. They could not get distracted and become separated from each other. It would be near impossible to find someone who got lost in the passage. The land was alive and always shifting, some believed it was due to black magic cast on the land.

The terrain was so thick that it was impossible to tell where the stone ended and the trees began. Vorbuk could not understand how the trees took root in the ground when there was so much stone. Pirates took out magic stones in order to light the path as they walked. Captain Cory lead them through the passage.

Sssccccrrrrrrrrkkk!

Strange noises from beasts could be heard among the darkness before them. The beasts did not step out into the light. Born in the darkness the beasts had long adapted to it and avoided the light at all costs.

Vorbuk stopped and looked around as he listened to the noises. Sounding tortured and desperate they continued to call out from the darkness. It was like listening to phantoms haunting his worst nightmares. Chills were sent down his spine.

"Master," Ashley called out to him while motioning for the wolf to keep moving, "We should be careful not to get left behind."

What are those sounds? Vorbuk thought to himself.

Ashley could not understand what the wolf was saying however he could see the curiosity on his master's face so he tried to explain, "They are wandering demons that haunt this passage. The souls of the dead who are forever trapped in Death's Passage. If you die a horrible death in the passage it is said that your soul will forever be trapped here."

"Those trapped souls attract demons and other magical beasts to roam the land here. It makes it near impossible for someone to safely escape Death's Passage alive. Countless lives have been lost in here and that is why they named it as Death's Passage." Ashley explained further.

The wolf listened to every word the vampire spoke. It was the reason why he brought Ashley. Since the vampire was from Drethia Kingdom the knowledge he held about the kingdom was vast. It made learning about Drethia while on the move much easier for him. He did not want to miss any detail he could learn about the kingdom and the vampires that lived among it.

Booommm!

Thunder rolled across the sky. It was very loud and rumbled along. Ashley was becoming more restless as he heard the sounds of the storm coming closer.

"What is wrong with you?" Prince Leo asked the vampire as he noticed him becoming a bit jumpy.

Ashley grit his teeth and replied, "I think a storm is coming."

"You got that right." Captain Cory jumped into the conversation when he heard them mention the storm. Sniffing the air he could smell it. Storms gave off their own scent that Captain Cory had grown accustomed to noticing in advance. He had been aware of the storm for a while, "It seems like it will be a bad one."

"What do we do?" Prince Leo asked.

Captain Cory clicked his tongue and replied, "We move faster and do not look back until we are out of Death's Passage."

The wolf walked slowly behind everyone while Ashley kept his pace matched to the wolf. He would have walked faster but he could not. Focus was stolen as his mind was thinking of something else entirely. The wolf could sense something else following him from amidst the darkness. It gave him a cold and dark feeling.

Clip-Clop

Clip-Clop

His ears flicked as he thought he heard the sound of horse hooves in the distance. The sound faded away into nothing as if it was never there to begin with. It felt like the land was trying to make him loose his mind.

Is it the effect of Death's Passage to make you go crazy? Vorbuk pondered for a moment.

Vorbuk wanted to write it off as nothing. He wanted to believe that the land was playing tricks with his mind. However he did not know that he had not misheard. Amidst the darkness of Death's Passage they were being watched closely by many.

One of which all other beasts in the passage feared. He did not need to see in order to hunt. The only thing he needed was his undead steed. The headless horseman did not cower before any beast. Twisting the reigns of his steed he followed their group from a distance. His long sword firm in his grasp as his thoughts were as unknown as his aura was dominating.