Rescuing Yuna (1)
"What is this?" The old lady asked with a slight curiosity.
"I call it a Stardew Pearl." Leon said, slightly happy internally on the fact that this drove her curiosity. "I can leave this as a gift for you."
The old lady kept observing the crystal for some time.
"This is not a rare crystal, yet I have never seen or felt something like this ever. It feels like I am holding something out of this world," she finally spoke, her voice filled with awe.
She carefully placed the bead back in the box.
"So…." Leon tried to negotiate again. This was the only other thing he could offer.
If it did not work, he would have to look elsewhere.
"Well, I guess I can help you a little," she said, her voice now sharp and clear.
"The girl you seek hides in the Gloomwood, south of the city. There is a small community there, veiled by a faint, protective magic."
"A community in Gloomwood? Is Yuna there?" Leon asked.
"Enough, boy. That is all I will say. the rest is up to you"
She picked up her needles and resumed knitting, the rhythmic clicking filling the silence once more.
The deal was done, and the conversation was over.
"Thank you,"
Realizing he would get nothing more from her, Leon gave a slight bow, left his Stardew bead with the box, and left the tea shop.
"The Gloomwood?" Kira asked as they stepped back into the shadowy alleys of the Tangle. "That's something! Let's go!"
Leon nodded, his mind already plotting a course. Their next destination was set.
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The road south from Iridis was quiet.
Leon walked at a steady pace, the city shrinking behind him.
Kira floated beside him, her form now solid enough that the wind barely made her flicker.
"Are you sure about this, Leon?" she asked, her voice a whisper in his mind.
"The Gloomwood... it has a bad reputation. Even in my kingdom, we were told stories about it."
"What kind of stories?" Leon asked aloud, his voice low.
"That it's a cursed place. A forest that eats the light and swallows travelers whole. They say no one who goes in ever comes out."
"Good," Leon said, a small smile on his face. "That makes it the perfect hiding place."
♢♢♢♢
They reached the edge of the forest by midday.
The stories were not an exaggeration.
The trees were gnarled and ancient, their branches twisted together like arthritic fingers, blocking out the sun.
The air was unnaturally still and cold. No birds sang. No insects buzzed.
It was a wall of oppressive silence.
"Leon... this place feels wrong," Kira whispered, her twin tails drooping. "It's so... quiet."
"Quiet is good," Leon replied, his eyes scanning the treeline. "It means we're close."
He stepped out of the bright sunlight and into the perpetual twilight of the Gloomwood.
The temperature dropped instantly. The world became a place of muted greens and deep shadows.
He began searching for tracks, for any sign of a community.
There were none.
The forest floor was a thick carpet of dead, black leaves, completely undisturbed. It was as if nothing had lived or walked here for a hundred years.
'No animals. No birds. It's like the forest itself is dead,' Leon thought.
He stopped. "Kira. Can you feel anything?"
She concentrated, her fox ears twitching.
"Yes," she finally said. "It's not the trees... it's like a curtain. A curtain made of magic, woven all around us. It makes my spirit feel fuzzy."
"Can you tell where it's coming from?"
"It's everywhere. But... I think it's stronger that way." She gestured deeper into the woods with a translucent hand. "It feels... thickest over there."
"Good," Leon said. "Lead the way."
They moved deeper into the forest, with Kira acting as a spiritual compass, guiding them toward the heart of the magical veil.
Suddenly, a sharp thwack echoed through the silent woods.
An arrow, black-fletched and deadly, embedded itself in a tree trunk, inches from Leon's head.
He stopped.
"Leon, someone is watching us!" Kira cried, her form flickering with fear.
"I know," Leon replied calmly, his eyes scanning the dense canopy. "They're good. But not good enough."
He took another step forward.
Thwack.
Another arrow slammed into the ground at his feet. A clear warning.
He kept walking.
Thwack. Thwack.
Two more arrows, one on his left and one on his right, herding him, guiding him.
"They don't want to kill us," Leon murmured. "They want us to follow."
He followed the "path" they laid out for him until he reached a small, secluded clearing.
And then, they emerged from the shadows.
Three of them.
A hulking bear-kin holding a massive wooden club.
A lean wolf-kin with a sharpened spear, his lips pulled back in a snarl.
And their leader. A cat-kin, his face covered in old scars, his yellow eyes narrowed with suspicion. He held two wicked-looking shortswords in a reverse grip.
"That's far enough, human," the cat-kin said, his voice a low growl.
"You've got a lot of nerve, walking into our forest."
"I'm not looking for trouble," Leon replied evenly.
"Lies," the cat-kin spat. "No one comes into the Gloomwood by accident. You're a bounty hunter. You're here for the fox-girl."
"I'm not a bounty hunter."
"Then you're here to die," the cat-kin said, and gave a sharp nod.
The wolf-kin lunged.
His spear was a blur, aimed directly at Leon's throat.
Leon sidestepped. The spear passed harmlessly by. With a movement too fast to see, he chopped the inside of the wolf-kin's wrist.
The beast-man yelped, his fingers going numb. The spear clattered uselessly to the forest floor.
The bear-kin roared and swung his massive club in an arc meant to shatter bone.
Leon flowed under the attack. As the club whistled over his head, he jabbed two fingers into a pressure point on the bear-kin's thick leg.
The hulking creature's leg went completely numb. He stumbled, collapsing with a crash that shook the clearing.
The cat-kin leader, Roric, watched in stunned disbelief. The bear kin was one of his strongest fighters, yet he was defeated so easily.
"Who, who are you?" He asked apprehensively.