Chronicles of Ilandri - Volume 1

A Shadow in the Forest (Pt.3)

Looking down did nothing to settle his nerves as he prepared himself to make the leap. He closed his eyes and gripped his medallion tight in his hand, taking deep breaths once again. In the next moment he threw his body, with all the strength he could muster, toward the ledge. It was slightly higher than where he had been perched but his hands found the edge and gripped on for dear life as the rest of his body followed him over and slammed into the wall. Without thinking he pulled himself right up then realised he had knocked the wind out of himself and probably bruised, if not broken, a few ribs.

He continued upward, using the steps provided by the broken wall to reach the upper tier. Only a few feet now remained between him and the roof of the tower, of which less than half remained intact and probably less again remained safe. He did not allow these thoughts into his head as he continued to climb, once again risking the strength of the vines growing out of the stonework. This time they seemed strong enough to hold his weight and he swung across the gaping mouth of the tower to reach a protrusion of stone on the other side. Climbing on top of it he could easily grab a hold of higher stones and pull himself onto the roof.

It was much windier up there and the stones were still a little damp from the rain making it quite precarious. The view however was quite spectacular and looking downhill the whole forest and valley floor was spread out before him. He had never seen it from that view before and did not until then appreciate just how truly immense it was. Nothing could be seen looking uphill as the trees had virtually swallowed the tower and the treetops poked up higher than where he was stood. The spire of the tower did not look safe but would afford a much greater view of the forest, as it was still just about higher than the trees. Again he climbed up without thinking too much about the danger involved.

As he had thought, the view was improved and it allowed him to see uphill also. It seemed nothing was about for miles around. Other than his companions there were no other signs of life about. No birds hovering in the sky, or mountain lions prowling the ground. If he had not seen the deer earlier, or eaten rabbit and fowl the day before, he would have believed the forest to be devoid of all life since the shadow had laid over it. Thinking of it again made him shudder and he knew that it was time to descend the tower. When he looked down he knew he wouldn't be able to go back the same way he came, however the trees nearby had plenty of vines growing from them and would allow him to carefully rappel down the side of the tower.

Having his feet back on solid ground was quite relieving and he walked over to where Buron was standing, holding his horse while he was climbing. "No sign of anything for miles my lord." He said, quite to Buron's disappointment.
"We shall continue then," replied Buron, after Nathaniel had redressed in his armour, swung back into his saddle and taken up the reins. He looked back at the magnificent stone structure as the company walked away. Although it was a ruin, it had a kind of beauty to it that stood out against the dismal backdrop of the shadowed forest. The sky began to brighten again as they ascended further into the foothills and soon the path diverged once more, this time running parallel to the mountains. It was this diverged path that they took; the other would have taken them beyond the forest and into the mountains. Although this path was the more preferable as far as Nathaniel was concerned, he would have preferred to head back to the city. It was certainly the lesser of two evils, since the path they took headed deeper, remaining in the darkened forest.

The scenery did not change very much as the path progressed. Midday passed again and the journey back grew ever longer with each step they took. Quite bizarrely Nathaniel was beginning to feel less and less anxious, as if something had brought a wave of calm upon him. Although the forest did not become any less dark, it somehow had a brighter outlook, as if they were leaving behind whatever evil had been dwelling with them. The feeling was short lived however as the sun hid back behind the clouds and the sky grew dark once more before unleashing another torrent of rain down upon them. He was now feeling quite miserable, as he was being rapidly re-moistened. As the group drudged on through the woods, his feelings of anxiety slowly came back to him and he was back in the same mood as when they had set off, worried about what lay ahead of them.