A little later than I was hoping. My exucse is Thanksgiving this time :DDD
I hope everyone had a good time with their families and enjoyed the food! Keep in mind that I say this expecting that a good number of introverts did NOT enjoy being forced to be around other people...that number includes myself.
A Tiny Monster Attacks
After walking an arrow’s shot into the woods, Janner saw a pile of dried wood that could have been placed there by one person. “Kalmar,” he whispered, crouching a bit to study the ground near the wood. There were no footprints around it, but when he glanced to his left, he saw broken underbrush. The snapped twigs had Kalmar’s name written all over them. When I find him, Janner fumed inwardly. He is not going to be a happy person.
He walked over to the twigs and began following a trail that Kal had unintentionally left for him. It led him further into the forest for about ten minutes before abruptly disappearing into a stream. Janner balanced carefully on rocks that barely jutted out of the water and landed gracelessly on the other side in a stumbling crouch. He scanned the grass and ferns for any sign of Kal but found nothing. Janner walked a stone’s throw in every direction coming up from the stream, but saw no disturbances. Then he walked back to the place where he had landed after crossing the stream and looked out at the woods before him.
Janner stood there, dismay descending on him like the forest shadows What was he supposed to do? He couldn’t leave Kalmar in the woods to become the hapless prey of a squeeblin or a quill diggle. No matter what Kal said, quill diggles were dangerous and they would shoot people with their quills if they so desired. Janner didn’t know the long-term effects of their spikes, but their short term ones were not pleasant.
Still, he had no way of knowing where Kalmar had gone. And there’s probably no way of figuring it out either, Janner thought wryly. Because Kal’s spur-of-the-moment ideas don’t involve much of a thought process.
Wait! That was it. The way to find Kal was to think like him, which essentially meant not thinking. Janner knew his brother would choose the direction that he could run most freely, which meant the one that sported the fewest trees.
"Straight ahead it is then," Janner muttered. Right into the heart of the forest.
He felt branches whipping his face as he ran through the woods. Soon, the leaf canopy overhead was so thick that he couldn’t see the sun. The trunks became a blackish gray and the leaves a murky green. The mosses and mushrooms grew thicker in the dark and damp environment, and Janner almost felt as though he was back in the jungle where they camped.
He had clear passage for a solid five minutes, but then the trees subtly morphed into thinner ones that grew close together to the point that he couldn’t run without crashing into them. Janner had no choice but to slow down to a walk and force his way between the skinny tree trunks that refused to bend and let him through.
He scolded himself, knowing that Kal wouldn’t have come this way. He probably would have realized his mistake as soon as the trunks became smaller and would have chosen a different route. There was no use looking for Kalmar where he was, but Janner knew there was also no use in going back the way he came. He saw a bit of a clearing up ahead and hoped he would figure out what he could do there.
Janner forced himself out of the tight-knit strand of trees and into the openness of another bunch. As he paused to think, he realized that the trees here weren’t particularly open, in fact, they were more closed off than most forests Janner had ever been in, they were simply open compared to the stand he had been stuck in before.
He went through what he knew: the fact that Kal was missing, he had run off on his own for who knew what reason, Janner had no way of knowing which direction that was, and that he himself was quite possibly lost in the woods.
“Just great,” Janner said sarcastically as he turned to his right and began walking again. Kal was right-handed, so maybe he had gone to the right. As he walked, the darkness around him deepened. Janner wondered whether it was the clusters of leaves overhead or the lessening of daylight that created the dimness.
I just hope I can spot any creatures in front of me before I barrel into them, he thought as he picked up his pace and began jogging through the forest, dodging a tree every now and then. I won’t be much use to Kal if I get pummeled by a horned hound or some other vicious creature. Who knows what’s out here?
After failing to see anything monstrous lurking in the shadows, Janner finally resolved to call his brother’s name in an effort to locate him. If it did attract any unsavory creatures, at least he had his sword to defend himself. “Kal!” he yelled, then paused to listen for a response. He heard nothing. “Kalmar!” Janner shouted this time, a bit louder than before.
He grunted in frustration and walked forward again, mumbling under his breath. “Kalmar Wingfeather, I have no idea where you are but when I find you, I swear I will —”
Suddenly, rustlings came from somewhere in front of him. Janner stopped abruptly. He slowly cast his gaze over his line of sight, not making a sound. He caught a flicker of movement from one of the clusters of underbrush to his right. He held his breath. Kal wouldn’t toy with him, not like this. At least, I don’t think he would. That meant that whatever was in the bushes was some sort of wild animal.
Janner crossed his left arm over his torso noiselessly and gripped his sword’s hilt. Whatever was hiding in the bushes was probably small, but that didn’t mean it was safe.
The bushes shook again, more violently this time. Janner tensed, ready to kill whatever sprung from the underbrush. Within a second, Janner barely managed to catch a glimpse of something small and speckled before it had charged him and knocked him to the ground. He landed with his right hand outstretched and bit back a cry of pain he fell. Janner clenched his teeth and forced himself to his knees. He heard squealing coming from his left and quickly stood up, drawing his sword at the same time. Janner knew a fighting stance would do no good against a creature as small and as strong as whatever it was that felt like running him into the ground. He figured his best bet was to dodge the attacks until he found an opening to kill the tiny monster.
Its shriek sounded again, and this time its charge followed.
Janner timed his dodge perfectly and went down into his roll and stood up in time to see the little creature’s look of utter befuddlement. It stopped abruptly and glanced around, first looking to its left, then up and down, and finally to its right, where he stood, grinning at it.
The little thing stamped its tiny feet and shrieked in dismay and anger. If the situation hadn’t been so dire, Janner would have laughed aloud. But the creature looked at him straight in the eyes, and he saw hatred and murder in them. He swallowed nervously. He could dodge the thing all he wanted to, but having to land on his hand and push himself up with it over and over and over again was not optimal. Janner couldn’t think of a good way to kill it. It was too small and too fast for his sword to be of any use. He wouldn’t have the time to stab it anywhere before it would’ve already knocked his feet out from under him.
It squealed again and charged him, shaking him out of his thoughts a moment too late. Janner found himself back on the ground, hissing in pain. He shook his head and propped himself up on his elbow, trying to pinpoint where the creature was.
Then he heard its triumphant shriek from behind as charged again, teeth bared and snapping angrily. Janner whipped his head around and stared in horror, bracing himself for what he knew would be an incredibly painful death.
Notes: well, this chapter is a bit shorter than what I would prefer. Do you really think I'll do something like that to Janner right now?
I mean, I might 😏
Squeeblin?