Not a friendly place

The pair young and old stepped foot into the new dark land. The grass was a navy color, and since the place had a lack of sunlight, it felt dry and rough. The trees were a mix between dark blue and dark purple. The trunks were large and thick, in pristine condition; A clear sign of the scarcity in exploration.

A few creatures could be seen as the two walked. Bugs on logs or crawling on the trunks of trees, small creatures with a tough exterior rolling past, and in the distance a large shadow that created a loud chirp. Art gulped as he looked around, the place carrying an eerie feeling to it. He wandered off from Doan, a colorful looking stone peaking his interest. When he bent down and tried reaching his hand for it, the stone moved, turning around revealing 3 pairs of black eyes and mandibles. It sprouted legs and ran off. Art shuddered and quickly caught up to Doan.

"This place is kinda creepy" He pointed out, still carrying two pink vials of molten fudge in his hand.

Doan agreed with a brief nod. He swatted a few insects and even some webs out of the way with his arm. Art stayed close behind him, not wanting to attract any other unfriendly creatures.

After about 10 minutes of walking, Doan stopped at an open field surrounded by trees. A short distance from them was a small body of water. There was no way to distinguish if it was shallow or deep as no light reflected upon it. A white round creature could be seen, slowly making its way up to the surface of the dark blue waters. It illuminated a wide radius around the two, letting them see their surroundings easier.

'I wonder if The Great Remmy ever discovered the things in this place.' Art shivered as the glowing creature showed him many small eyes in the trees around him.

"I say here's a good place to rest. It's a spacious field, perfect for setting up base. There's water right there and I'm sure we can find something to eat." Doan decided, pointing to the dark blue water.

Art now stared at the white creature, as more of the same being swam up from the pond. The small creatures' luminescence chained together, creating a more enhanced glow, due to the amount on the surface. Art looked at the swimming creatures closely. It resembled a fruit with its smooth interior. It had no mouth or eyes, but it had fins below it that allowed it to swim.

"Maybe we can eat these things?" Art pointed to the blank creatures.

"I'm sure it't wont harm us." Doan agreed.

"We should leave a few though, it wouldn't do us any good if we removed the only light source in this dark plain." He added.

While Doan decided to stay back and make a temporary shelter for the two, Art went off to explore the Uncharted Lands. He was assigned the task of bringing anything that could be harvested or picked.

He tiptoed warily through the strange region, jumping out of his skin as he heard the strange chirp from earlier. As he ducked underneath a few vines hanging down longer than the rest, he noticed a small group of fruits sitting on top of a bush.

He crouched down, putting his two vials of fudge down and slowly pulled off the fruits from the bush. He closed his eyes and his bracelet started blinking pink, his candy energy forming a small crate where he could put his findings in. He placed his two vials and the fruits he had gathered into the crate.

He decided to walk in the same direction, stopping to crouch down and pick fruits at every bush he passed by. Soon the trees became darker and the eerie atmosphere worsened as he stopped at an arc made of tree logs. It was tall and wide, with an encasing of old, weary, blue bark. As he walked through the new region, a sudden noise made him jump.

[CRACK]

Art followed the sound, noticing he had simply stepped on a stick. He sighed out in relief, and continued exploring. He held his candy made crate in one arm, as he walked.

"What's that?" Art asked himself, as he saw a random tablet with a curved top. It was placed inside of a broken trunk, and had writing in the center.

"here lies The Great Remmy." He read.

"What the? The Great Remmy died?" He took a small step back. If the man who had explored all of Sweeten didn't survive in a place like this, what chances did he have?

Now he was starting to worry a bit more. It seemed like the Uncharted Lands were a very dangerous place.

** ** ** ** ** **

"Here's a good spot."

A large gust of wind pushed forwards and a group of 10 trees fell down, having been cut.

"Some minor improvements, but nothing major." Doan sheathed his sword and picked up a log. He carried it back to the place they decided to set up camp. He repeated the process until he had brought all the logs back to camp with him. He decided in order for Art to find his way back to camp, he was going to need a fire. He collected a small group of thick branches. He sat down on the logs which he had laid on the ground, and using his sword, he started carving off the bark, leaving only one untouched. When he was finished he also carved out a horizontal line in one of the branches. 

"So far so good." Doan said out loud. He noticed the sky was starting to darken, a purple hue spreading across the atmosphere. There was not a single cloud in sight, and to make matters worse, the Uncharted Lands were not a very luminescent place. 

'I should hurry' Doan reminded himself.

He got up from the log he was seated at and went back to the area he had cut down. He didn't want to ruin the environment any more than he had to, so he decided if he needed any materials he would grab everything from the same place. He scanned the ground, soon coming across a dry bush. Instead of leaves the bush was made of wires made from different fibers. Doan bent down and chopped the bottom of the bush, taking the entire thing with him. He smiled, satisfied he had found the perfect thing to use.

When he got back to camp, he placed the dry bush near his pile of branches then sat down on his log. He picked up the branch that still had the bark and started sliding it across the small line on the smooth branch he had carved out earlier. He increased his pace and applied more pressure on the branch. He continued applying pressure on the bark, creating friction and soon enough embers.

** ** ** ** ** **

"Oh no." Art noticed the forest getting even darker. He looked up and noticed the sky was a dark purple. He seemed a bit paranoid, clutching his candy crate, and slowing down.

"Didn't Doan say that this place is where the Black Licorice Basilisks live?" He gulped. After being chased and almost eaten by one, the least thing he wanted to do was come across one.

He decided to forget about the horrifying creature and continued exploring. He gathered some plants, and even some dead looking flowers. Along the way, he also pulled off a few vines from the dark blue trees that hung right above him. He shooed away a few small bugs who attempted to eat his crate full of his findings.

Art hadn't realized where he was going until he stopped dead in his tracks. The ground had changed from grass to dirt or stone. It matched in color as the previous terrain Art had walked through. In front of him was a large cave which brought back a few dreaded memories.

'I'm sure whatever is in there is sleeping, as long as I'm quiet I'm okay, right?' Art reassured himself. 

[BOOM]

An immensely loud sound, as if on coincidental cue echoed throughout the entire forest. The ground vibrated, and the cave started rumbling. Art took a step back, eyes wide in fear. Suddenly, the sound of multiple serpentine-like creatures reverberated through the cave and out of the entrance. The sound of something grinding across rocks followed after. With a chorus of hisses, 4 large creatures emerged, raging with hostility. Art's hopes came crashing as he recognized the species.

'It's the Black Licorice Basilisks!' Art panicked, and started sprinting off, with the group of the black-scaled beasts following behind him.

Although, his stamina had improved once more, his speed hadn't. He ducked a few tail attacks from two of them, and continued running, holding his candy crate tightly. The two that missed their attack seemed enraged even more, and started speeding up. He clenched his teeth and swung his arms harder, hoping that would help him with his speed. The wind hitting his face and the dark environment didn't make things any easier for Art. 

"This place is the WORST" He yelled at the top of his lungs as he tilted his head up and sprinted, the adrenaline in his body boosting his speed temporarily.

He didn't know how long he had been running for, but his eyes lit up as he saw a light in the distance. The 4 angry creatures, repositioned and were now all lined up equally, all slithering towards him. Once he was only a few meters away, he noticed the light was a fire. Suddenly, the Black Licorice Basilisks hissed and quit chasing Art, turning around and fleeing from the flames.

He ran as close to the flames as he could and fell over on the ground exhausted. He sighed in relief as he caught his breath. He looked at his stomach as he had placed his candy crate there after laying. He smiled, glad to know everything was still in it. The previous experience soured his mood and he closed his eyes.

'Black Licorice Basilisks are the worst'