Chapter 4: Journey Through Darkwood (Part 2)
Just about half-way between Darkwood Camp and the end of Darkwood, Roy heard a sound. It sounded like the laughter of a small girl, and the boy was suddenly calmed. A blue light off in the distance danced freely through the air, and Roy was inexplicably drawn toward it. He walked slowly forward, and the light paused momentarily, and faded slightly. Within the light appeared the form of a beautiful woman. Roy smiled, and continued walking. The woman disappeared, and the light again brightened. The ball began to spark with lightening, and horde of Hobbes appeared, wielding axes and hammers. Roy was still being drawn toward the light, and, it seemed, his imminent death.
The ball of light then cast Lightning at the boy, and knocked him down, flat. Roy was quickly yanked out of his trance, and realized exactly what was happening. The mass of Hobbes was approaching, and Roy suddenly panicked. He stood up quickly, and drew his sword, the light of the lanterns reflecting roughly off the dark metal. The Boy estimated that the Hobbes were 10 yard away. Being that they were slow-moving and stupid, they could be more easily killed. However, the fairy would be a problem. Her attacks were too fast for him to effectively dodge, and he had no abilities with the will to return fire. Roy quickly evaluated the situation, and knew what he had to do. He pulled out the enchanted potion Rouge had given him, and yanked out the cork stopper. He immediately threw his head back, and swallowed the contents of the bottle in one gulp. As soon as he swallowed, he looked at his hands. Slowly, they became translucent. Looking at himself, he realized that his clothes and weapons weren't disappearing, and quickly dropped all of his belongings, even his weapons. By the time he removed his all his apparel, Roy had become completely invisible.
The Hobbes and the fairy seemed confused; discombobulated at the sudden disappearance of their victim. They all looked around for a moment, and then the fairy went quickly to work, casting lightning, and killing all the Hobbes. The Hobbes panicked and began throwing their weapons at her, but she dodged with the grace of an angel, and then attacked with the ferocity of a devil. Once all the Hobbes had been slaughtered, the fairy went about her business, floating around near the road to attract some other foolish traveler.
During the fairy's assault on the Hobbes, Roy had taken to the woods, but stuck close to the road, so as not to loose himself. When he was convinced he was clear of the danger of the fairy, Roy returned to the road, still completely invisible. He walked a short distance when he came upon a sign that read "NOW ENTERING GREATWOOD. BEWARE OF BA…" The rest of the sign was illegible, seemingly etched out from a blade of some kind. Roy stopped to rest for a minute, until he looked down and saw his feet. He gasped and his eyes opened wide, for the potion was wearing off, and he would be visible again in a matter of minutes. Roy then hurried for the end of Darkwood, his mind still spinning with the events of the past day. He could see the entrance to Greatwood, and picked up the pace as he continued. By this point, he had become completely visible, and was trying to cover himself while running.
Roy had made it to Greatwood, and had entered an area with a cave to one side, and a stone hill on the other. He walked slowly into the center of the area, and noticed some bushes next to a recess in the wall. He didn't take note of the recess, but instead crawled into the bushes and lay down to sleep. It was nearly nightfall, and Roy hadn't eaten anything nor rested since the night before. He gathered some soft moss together, and placed his head upon it. Within minutes, he fell fast asleep, his head filled with fear. He wasn't sure if he would make it out of Greatwood alive, given the problems already encountered. Roy counted himself lucky that he hadn't been killed by the fairy or the Hobbes, or found by the Balvarines. But along the road to the Guild lay even more challenges, the first of those being his lack of suitable clothing.
Every ounce of the boy's strength was gone. Eventually, his thoughts slowed and returned to the town he had grown up in. He thought about the days he would spend on the beach, just looking out into the water. He thought about his friends that he had left behind, and feared he would never see them again. The boy thought about his mother and her unwavering love and care for him. And finally, as his mind started to go dark, falling into a deep sleep, he though about the voice he heard and the blue light he saw near the Graveyard. But before he could ponder any further, his mind went completely black, and rested for the night.