Chapter 2: Lady Lighthouse

The forest grew eerily dark. The few sun rays that managed to find spaces between leaves barely illuminated the floor. This made seeing nearly impossible. Hiding behind a tree, a man was crouching, taking advantage of the darkness. Out of breath, he weakly wiped the sweat off his forehead with his shirt sleeve. The man was in his late fifties. He was getting way too old for this.

There was a sound nearby. Not a big noise but a small one; so small that a normal person would have passed it off. He immediately stopped panting. He has been through enough to know exactly what that sound meant. His chasers were still onto him. But, didn't he loose them by the river?

Their presence began to worry him deeply. He was indeed growing old and either off his game, or they were better than he had anticipated by been holding back their full potential for the right moment. He knew that moment was when he was too worn out to fight.

Another sound but this time it was closer. Too close for comfort. The man placed his hand on the inside of his upper arm. A tattoo of strange symbols was engraved into his skin. The mark was actually a special seal. In order to break it, the blood of the owner must touch it during a chant. Then, the scroll will be free. Something he couldn't let happen.

The man reached into his pouch and threw a miniature ball into the air. A second later, the bomb denoted, sending a huge puff of spicy fumes in all directions. Cries of pain told him that he had hit his assailants accurately and it was time to run.

The guardian of the scroll was forced to stop running by a hidden tree root. Scrambling, he got to his feet and soon found that he couldn't take another step without pain shocking his leg. Blasted tree! Now is not the time to get an injury! He had no choice but to crawl for the nearest trunk.

This mission was NOT going as well as it should have. All he was ordered to do was to take the scroll to Aria by river. It was a port city in the Land of the Sea Mountains. There, the rebel leader, Ganara, would be waiting for him. In turn, he and the other rebel advisors would use the scroll to help win the war they were fighting against the established government. In the end, he would get paid for a small job and help win the war. He was assured that it would be a simple task.

Although, fate had another idea: while he was on his way, a group of stealthy attackers came out of the water and overtook his boat. He was barely able to escape and seek refuge in this forest.

He sighed quietly. "Can this get any worse?" he asked the skies.

This forest… didn't it border the City of Wood? He had friends there that could hide him! But how far away was he?

He tried to examine his surroundings in order to determine where he was eve though he couldn't see anything. All the trees were the same, dark, tall, and thick. They loomed like giant pillars over him. Their color blended with the shadows, so it seemed like he was just staring into a big mass of nothing.

"Why was it like this?" his mind screamed in frustration.

The answer hit him like a bag of bricks. He began to chuckle because it was so obvious. Why hadn't he had thought of that before he ran into this damned woodland?

People call this place "the Forest of the Lost." The word lost is literal. People who don't have good intentions or unconfident aren't allowed to pass. They can come in but they eventually become disoriented by the darkness like he was. The "impure" are left to wander the forest. They are under the mercy of the animals and the Lady Lighthouse.

The lady of the forest decides the fate of the traveler. If she finds their character unfavorable, she'd leave them to animals under her motherly care. Nevertheless, if she sees that they are honorable and certain, she will guide them out of the forest as a lighthouse would lead a boat safely to shore.

Many insist that the story is only a myth with no evidence that doesn't contain "illusions." Many argue that the evidence lies in the carcasses of the lost and the word of the survivors.

The man looked into the darkness. The lady could be watching him now for all he knows, considering whether to help him or abandon him.

He rubbed the seal. What would he do? Wait or rise to the challenge?

No. He has been through too much to become a sitting duck. He was going to carry out this mission. It was a duty not only to his friends in the rebel group but to himself. One last job. One last time to show the world what he got. Cowards and fools get lost, but he was neither of the two.

He stood to his feet and randomly chose a direction. Ignoring the pain, he took off. If he could just reach the edge of the forest then …