Forest of Mist.

The forest of mist...

"Blast it! I'm back to where I started." He cursed loudly enough to hear his voices echoeing through the bamboos.

Octavius tried several times choosing each direction only bringing him back to the starting point.

"This is the seventh time already." He grew more anxious.

"Curses! That Cornelius had to disappear at a time like this." He muttered when the eerie and hushed sound made by the breeze blowing through the bamboos startled him.

The clopping sounds mixed the rythm alarmed him.

He drew his blade from the sheath and struck it with force.

"Woah there!Have you ot had your fill of spilling enough blood yet?" Cornelius asked barely dodging his blade.

"Where were you the whole time?" He bellowed in frenzy.

"Sightseeing." He replied.

"Wha-?" He felt stupid for even asking him.

"The forest is cursed." He reported.

"Cursed?"

Octavius felt a vile taste in his mouth.

"You tried to move everytime taking a different path. You end up in the same place."

He agreed.

"It's like we're moving in circles wasting our time. It'll be dark soon."

He looked around the forest shrouded in mist.

"It's like the time here has stopped."

"More like it keeps getting reversed."

He corrected his statement.

"Everytime I took a path and ended up to the place I first arrived, the wind blew in the same direction. I tried several times in different directions. But ending up there only meant repeating time."

He felt helpless.

"What about your compass?"

Cornelius shook his head.

"Then we're stuck here for the rest of our lives?" He grimaced with time running out of their hands like sand.

"We'll have to look at more clues." He suggested.

"What...kind of clues?" Octavius didn't understand how they'd get clues with time continuosly reversing in this place.

"I don't know....but it's a gamble." He inhaled deeply and breathed out while pondering over the odd occurrence.

"There is an old saying...In such odd places there is always a treasure hidden." He paused and sudden thought clicked his mind.

He got off his horse and took out his camping tools and started setting up fire.

"What are you doing?" He asked confused of his abrupt gestures.

"Putting a gamble." He told him.

"Atleast try explaining so I can understand."

He got of his horse.

"The fire smoke...it can give us the clue to way out... hopefully." He took out a sickle blade and started chopping bamboos for wood.

"We just need to sit back and wait."

Octavius helped him build a fire. He also set up the dinner from the last bit of rations they had.

The mist became thinner at night. The campfire almost died out. They had kept it burning and his guess was proved.

The smoke did not return or remain atop.

The fireflies gathered around them in clusters.

"Fireflies?" They both guessed that there was a water body nearby.

"Let's wrap things here and follow the smoke trail."

Cornelius nodded in agreement.

They packed up their things and set out at night.

It was a tiring walk since they had to be careful of the forest floor. He took the bag of seeds which had the linking stone pendant and wrapped it around him to be extra careful.

"Look!" Octavius called out pointing infront of them.

More fireflies were clustering together.

It was like they were forming a mirror.

"This phenomenon is indeed rare." He studied the pond glowing brighter than the clusters of fireflies gathered over it.

He crouched closer to the water body and studied the water by submerging his hand into it halfway.

He reflexively drew it back and felt his fingers.

"This is odd?" He frowned and stared at the surface.

"What's odd?" Octavius was more cautious about the pond and other thingsm

"This may be the cause of the mist...but... It's not water." He wasn't sure what this pond was.

"The mist has fogged your brain aswell. How can water body this big can't be water."

"See this." He raised his hand which was dry.

There was not a hint of water drop on his hand.

"What ridiculous statement is this?" He refused to believe it making Cornelius lose patience.

He sighed and decided to do it once again.

"Should I splash it on you or something to make you believe?" He grumbled and once again drew his hand into the pond.

He pulled it back but by now the pond was pulling him to itself

"What the-! Damn let go of it!" He suddenly struggled to pull himself away from the strange phenomenon.

"Octavius! A little help! Pull me away a hard as you can."

He did as he was instructed but in vain.

The garrons shrieked as Cornelius was sucked into the pond as whole.

Octavius watched in horror.

"N-no way!" Just as he pulled out his sheath to fish him out the water rose higher.

The garrons pulled and broke free of the reins that ties them to the bamboos and escaped the pond's clutches.

Moments later he was swallowed by the waves and the fireflies dispersed with not a single being left surviving except for the fading sounds of horse hooves and hushed wind making whistling sounds while passing through the bamboos. It was as if no one ever stepped into that place that night.