They walked and walked. The Fragrant Forest was dimly lit, and the deeper they went, the more quiet it became. Kael could barely hear her own footsteps. The air was thick. Heavy. She tried to act calm, but the truth was, she was scared. Really scared.
So she stuck close to the horse, where Ravyn rode silently. She stayed just inches away from the side of the horse, watching his back like it was her only protection.
After a long while of walking, Kael started to feel more relaxed. The forest didn't seem that bad. Maybe people exaggerated about the Fragrant Forest. Maybe it wasn't as dangerous as the stories said.
But right when she had that thought, Ravyn stopped the horse.
Kael looked up. "Why did you stop?"
Ravyn didn't say anything. He was still. Just staring forward.
Kael followed his gaze.
Nothing.
She saw nothing. Trees. Shadows. A few floating leaves. But that was it.
Then, from the side of her vision, Kael noticed something near one of the trees. Something moved.
She quickly turned to look at it.
Gone.
There was nothing there.
She turned forward again.
And her heart stopped.
It was there.
A monster.
It stood on two long legs. Its arms were just as long, almost touching the ground. The whole body was pitch black, like it had swallowed all light. It gave off thick, dark smoke that floated into the air and vanished.
Its eyes were big. Too big.
Its mouth stretched from one side of its face to the other, curving upward until it nearly touched both eyes. The teeth inside were perfectly white, shining against its black skin. It had no nose.
Kael stared at it. The longer she looked, the more wrong it felt. It was like her body wanted to run, but her legs wouldn't move. Something about the creature was... wrong. Deeply wrong.
It was uncanny. Like it shouldn't exist.
Ravyn jumped off his horse and unsheathed his sword in one clean motion. The sound of the blade sliding from its sheath echoed in the quiet air.
The monster didn't move.
Instead, it slowly rotated its head, like an owl. All the way around. Its face was now looking at the back of its body.
And then—
Another face appeared.
Right on the back of its head. But this face wasn't smiling. It was sad. Frowning.
Kael was frozen.
Then the monster lifted one of its long arms and touched its own head. It pressed down. The head popped off its shoulders like a cork from a bottle.
Kael gasped.
The monster held the head in its hands. Then, like a bowler about to take a shot, it threw the head at them. Hard.
The head bounced on the ground, rolling towards them with that same wide, horrible smile.
Kael backed up. Ravyn raised his sword.
The eyes of the head began to flash red.
Beep. Beep.
It was slow at first. Then faster.
BeepBeepBeepBeep.
Ravyn's eyes narrowed. He stepped forward and swung his sword with great force.
The head flew into the air, spinning away from them.
And then—
BOOM.
It exploded.
The blast wasn't massive, but it was enough to kill twenty grown men standing close. Leaves flew. Dust covered the trees. Birds screamed and took flight.
Kael covered her head, falling to the ground.
Silence returned.
Ravyn stood still, his sword lowered. Smoke from the explosion floated into the sky.
Kael slowly got up, shaking.
The monster was gone.
Seconds after the explosion, the air turned cold. The lingering smoke from the head's detonation curled in strange shapes above the forest floor, and an eerie silence settled over the area. Then, soft thuds began echoing from the dense woods, faint at first but growing louder, closer, and more in number.
Kael tightened her grip on the reins of the horse, her eyes scanning nervously. Ravyn stood in front of her, sword drawn, unmoving, gaze locked on the dark treeline.
From the shadows, small black figures began to emerge—one, then two, then dozens. They looked similar to the elongated creature they'd just faced but were significantly shorter, barely reaching Ravyn's chest. Their limbs were still disproportionate, with overly long arms that hung near the ground, clawed fingers twitching like agitated insects. Their heads were rounder, less monstrous—but their grins, wide and toothy, were just as unnerving.
Kael's heart pounded. "W-What are they...?"
Ravyn didn't answer. He stepped forward and said flatly, "Kill them."
Kael blinked. "Huh? Me?"
Before she could say more, the blacklings screeched in high-pitched tones and surged forward like a wave.
Ravyn moved like lightning. His blade flashed through the air, cleanly slicing through two of the creatures in a single motion. He spun, his cloak trailing behind him like a streak of shadow, and cleaved three more in a wide arc. Black mist erupted from their bodies as they dissolved into ash.
Kael stumbled backward. One of the creatures lunged toward her. She barely dodged in time, feeling its claws swipe through the air beside her face. She gritted her teeth, drew her short sword from her back, and slashed clumsily, cutting into the monster's chest. It screeched and disintegrated into smoke.
"Okay... okay, not too bad," she muttered, trying to steady her breathing.
Another one came, and she ducked, then stabbed upward into its gut. A second tried to tackle her from the side, but she spun, letting its momentum carry it past her before kicking it hard in the back. Ravyn, meanwhile, was dealing with his own group. He carved through them with terrifying precision. His movements were almost inhuman—fluid, efficient, relentless. Every time one of the blacklings jumped toward him, they were met with the cold slash of steel.
Still, their numbers weren't thinning fast enough.
Kael tripped over a root and hit the ground hard. Her sword skidded from her grip.
Three of the monsters immediately noticed. They pounced.
Kael's eyes widened.
But before they could reach her, Ravyn appeared in a blur. He cut all three down in a single sweep, bloodless, smokey mist filling the air. He glanced at her for just a moment, no words, no expression, then turned back to the fight.
"Thanks," Kael whispered, scrambling to her feet and picking up her sword.
She wasn't about to get saved twice.
With renewed determination, she charged into the fray. She dodged low beneath a slash, rolled to the side, and thrust upward into a creature's neck. Another leapt at her, but she ducked and slammed the hilt of her blade into its jaw, stunning it long enough to stab it in the chest.
Ravyn's voice cut through the chaos.
"Don't let them surround you. Keep moving."
Kael nodded. "Yeah, yeah, I got it!"
The monsters began to shift tactics. They didn't rush all at once anymore but circled, darting in and out like wolves testing their prey.
One scraped her arm with its claw. She hissed in pain but retaliated with a fierce swing. Another barely missed her leg with a swipe.
Then two rushed her together. She managed to stab one but the second knocked her off balance. She was falling—
Until Ravyn's arm caught her.
He threw her behind him and stepped forward.
"Stay behind me," he said, his voice cold.
But Kael didn't want to feel useless.
"I can still fight," she growled.
"Then watch my back," Ravyn replied.
And so she did. While Ravyn handled the brunt of the onslaught with his fluid, deadly strikes, Kael moved behind him, intercepting any of the sneaky ones trying to get around him. Her sword skills were far from perfect, but adrenaline made up for a lot. She managed to kill five more.
The battle dragged on, and slowly, the numbers thinned.
Finally, after what felt like hours, the last of the blacklings let out a screech and lunged at Ravyn. He stabbed it mid-air. It burst into mist.
The forest was silent again.
Kael dropped to her knees, panting, her clothes torn and body sore.
Ravyn stood tall, barely winded. He looked around, scanning for more.
When none came, he relaxed his stance, sheathed his sword, and walked to his horse.
"They're getting bolder," he muttered.
Kael looked up. "You okay?"
He nodded. "You did well."
Kael blinked. "Wait. Was that a compliment?"
Ravyn didn't answer.
"Hey, I heard that!" she called, limping after him.
But he was already checking the trail ahead.
The forest wasn't done with them yet.
And whatever came next, Kael was sure it would only get worse.
But for now, they were alive.
And that was enough.