The
Unlucky Traveler
Part 1
The
road ended several feet ahead, just before the towering trees of the
Silent Woods. A sign stood where the road faded from dirt to grass,
warning away travelers with a skull. There were words on the sign as
well, but Hodge could not read them.
Hodge
was breathing heavily from all the running. He wet his lips with his
tongue and stared deep into the shadows under the trees. It was mad,
he knew, but with the King's men not far behind him Hodge would far
rather risk what doom awaited him in the woods.
The
world knew that few returned from the Silent Woods, and those that
did came away from their journey's with broken minds or missing their
memories. But the life of a thief was not an easy one, and Hodge
fancied himself up to the challenge. He knew that on the other side
of the woods and up the west side of the valley sat the border to the
merchant's republic and all of its riches.
He
hardly had time to catch his breath when the sounds of hooves and
shouts echoed down the hill behind him. Hodge ran a bony hand through
his midnight hair and tied his belt tighter around his waist. Then he
sprinted into the shadows and away from certain death by the
headsman's ax. He did not stop again until the sun had set and the
moon shone full and bright in the sky.
Hodge
nearly collapsed between the roots of an ancient tree and rested, his
long legs burning and his breath short once more. Once his breathing
slowed to normal he pulled a ration of salt pork from his pouch and
ate. As he chewed his ill gotten dinner he began to take in the
environment around him.
These
woods had earned the name well, for Hodge could hear nothing but the
sounds of his own making. The moon's light seemed to drain the world
of color wherever it fell and the shadows became all the darker for
it. The silence too made Hodge uneasy. He felt as though he were
sitting amongst the scenery of a charcoal drawing. He finished his
ration and felt the hair on the back of his neck stand on end, and
for a moment he sat stock still.
Out
of the corner of his eye Hodge could see movement, but when he turned
slowly to look nothing appeared. A feeling of dread came over him and
he stood cautiously, trying in vain to shake off the wave of
gooseflesh that prickled his skin.
He
decided to start moving again, hoping that the more ground he put
behind him the better he would feel. He felt no fear of pursuit by
the King's men as they would presume him dead by now, or worse. The
thought did little to comfort him as he pressed onward.
He
tried his best to stay out of the deep shadows, fearful of what may
lurk there unseen. Perhaps if he had not needed to flee the kingdom
so hastily he could have pilfered a lantern to light his way. His
course meandered back and forth through the trees and made for slow
progress. Hodge prided himself on his sense of direction, but even so
it was difficult to keep his bearings straight here in the woods and
he struggled to stay westward.
Ahead
of him he began to see flashes of light through the trees and at
first he thought the King might have ordered his men into the forest
after him. He shook his head – if that were the case he would hear
the sounds of men shouting, but the woods were silent as ever. Hodge
also knew that he would not make the other edge of the woods before
dawn and the nearest town was nearly another day's walk from there.
As
he navigated around a steep drop in the terrain he began to remember
the stories he would hear about the woods. Some said that fearsome
and terrible creatures roamed the woods by night seeking unwary
travelers for their supper. Others would tell that people would enter
the woods despite warnings and disappear forever, and those that did
return would have no memory of their time there or worse have gone
completely out of their heads.
Hodge
gripped his tattered cloak a bit tighter at that thought. Could a
forest truly drive a man crazy? He didn't know and hoped he would not
have to find out. Even if he was confident in his abilities, could he
really avoid such a fate?
He
shook his head to clear it of such rubbish and focused again on the
rough terrain ahead, stopping to get his bearings. Looking around he
found himself standing across a small path of sorts that lead
northward. He pondered the track wondering if it were a game trail or
such. Surely it couldn't be a hunter's track, could it?
After
a moment Hodge decided to follow it and see. He suspected it would
lead to nothing and he could simply reorient himself west then. To
his surprise the track began to widen as he followed it, with the
trees becoming more sparse as he went. Not much later a steep hill
loomed over him and it took him a few moments to crest it. He
stopped to take a few more breaths before continuing, but his breath
hitched in his throat when he saw what lie down the other side.
Below
lay a town of middling size sitting at the foot of the mountains. In
the town there was movement like that of any large town he had ever
been to. The town was lit with an eerie pale blue-white light that
put Hodge in mind of specters and ghouls.
Copyright Kevin Franks 2013
