Hello there everyone!

Honestly, I don't want to use excuses as to why I haven't uploaded anything in so long... It's been a busy year, however, I should have delivered earlier...

I want to thank you nonetheless for the kind words you have left me and believe me, each of you has made my day! ;w; I am very glad if I can make this interesting for you!

Anyway! Please enjoy this next part of the story! And I hope to see you soon! :)


~ 3-1: Mad Forest

His sleep had been so deep that Trevor couldn't be disturbed by any of the sounds around them. He was only awoken by the sunlight beaming in his face. With a low grumble, he turned on the side, but then remembered what had happened and he jolted up from his spot, looking around in panic. They were still on the caravan, still traveling. The hunter let out a weary sigh.

"Hey, look who's awake now."

The voice beside him had Trevor jump a little, seeing Grant calmed him. His companion had been bandaged up by the other soldiers. It was morbid how this was the first time that Trevor saw him without blood gushing out everywhere. The pirate leaned against the side of the wagon motionless like a puppet, but he showed him a weak smile.

"How are you doing?", Trevor asked in clear worry, the young pirate was still looking rather pale.

The other waved him off and chuckled to himself. He was obviously exhausted, but seemed to be able to deal with his wounds. "I might have had worse, I believe, don't worry about me."

"You should rest some more." The hunter squinted his eyes at him. Grant laughed some more, though that stung in his chest as he suddenly gasped for air and held his hand to his chest. No blood showed on the bandages, his fingers trying to feel if something burst.

"I seem to have gotten you badly up there."

The pirate pursed his lips in amusement and tried to hide the tingling pain, but it showed in his eyes. "Ah, nothing less to be expected from a Belmont, I guess!" Trevor was somewhat surprised that a pirate, roaming the Black Sea, knew of his family name. Yet, the young man might be around more than the coast after all.

The name didn't fall on deaf ears. With them were a few other soldiers and they peeked over to them in interest. One of them found the courage to speak up. "A Belmont? Then the captain must be right when he said that you were responsible for the destruction of the Clock Tower! You are said to have inhuman strength!" There was both fright and awe in his words and Trevor shifted in place. He would rather not talk about the events and thus only nodded at that. The soldier's eyes widened a bit. "That's amazing! You have taken down one stronghold of Lord Dracula all by yourself! It must be true what the tales say about you!" The fright was steadily wearing off and the hunter found himself a little flustered.

"Is that why you decided to take us with you?", Trevor asked instead to get away from the main topic. The soldiers looked at one another as if they needed to think about the answer.

"Possibly", said one of them with a shrug, "we are generally sent out to pick up survivors that are around the cursed Castle. We bring them to the nearest village which we defend. We are too powerless ourselves to make a big difference during these days…" He let out a weary sigh and shook his head. There was shame in their expressions, but no one was going to blame them for it. It was difficult enough to defend oneself in this place after all.

Grant showed them a bright smile despite his wounds. It had something radiating to it even in this dim wagon. "But that's exactly what people need nowadays! Far too many feel helpless to what is happening, so your work is more than necessary!" The sincerity of it all had their worries blur and they could spot faint smiles in most of their faces. To have a purpose in during this terrible Curse wasn't as easy to find as one would think after all.

At that, Trevor turned back to the pirate and let his expression become more serious than it had been before. "You should join them", he insisted and nodded as if to underline his words. The smile on Grant's lips faded at that. "You have great skills, I am sure that they would be thankful for everyone that could help them."

"Forget it, I'm not going to leave." Grant was far too stubborn for his own good. He had almost died by his own hand, but was now convinced that he owed him one for exactly that. "I have just as much reason to get to Dracula's Castle as you do." His expression darkened some more, his hatred welled up and Trevor leaned back with a sigh. Rationality wasn't exactly on the pirate's mind, he figured.

"I know, they have turned you and I know that you are furious about this, but—"

"I have to take revenge." Grant hissed with utter disgust, glanced away and began to tremble. "This devil and his minions have hunted and murdered my family." The hunter's expression softened at that. Pure revenge might not be effective enough to risk one's life once again. Another factor, something more valuable, must have had its' influence, too. Grant bit on his lower lip, gnawing on it. "I have heard so late of it, but every soul they manage to kill strengthens the Hell spawn. If I have to die from this Curse, I want it to be as I attempt to save them."

Grant was either incredibly brave at heart or just foolish. Trevor wasn't sure what to think of it. His anger could be understood, but this was blinding his sense of logic.

"Besides...", added Grant as he tried to press his anger down. He might need to control himself, he realized. It still welled underneath his voice. "You won't be able to get to the Castle from the Clock Tower now, it's destroyed. And I would think that, as someone out of exile, you're not too aware of the countryside around here."

Trevor shifted at those words. It was true and he wouldn't be able to navigate himself around the area effectively. "What's your point?", he asked nonetheless despite him already having an idea of what he was going to say. The pirate spotted exactly that thought on his face and he found his grin again.

"I know of a different tower through which we could get to it. It's not as convenient as the Clock Tower, but it's the only one left for anybody on foot to access it." After all, the Castle was surrounded by water, located in a lake. The hunter frowned a bit. In a way, he was right. The pirate held more knowledge about their surroundings... It would prove itself to be useful in his mission. Or, their mission if Grant wasn't to leave anytime soon.

Trevor made one last attempt in talking some sense into him and he watched the other intently as he did so. "You have no obligation to me. I am grateful for what you have done for me, Grant, and I won't force you to march with me."

The pirate was an emotional fellow. Trevor was left baffled by how all his fury from before sparked with determination. "You know very well that my duty hasn't been fulfilled. I can't expect you to take responsibility for that, too. I would never forgive myself if I was to stay behind just now." There was something else that burned on his tongue, it was obvious, but he pressed his lips together instead. Trevor remained silent and watched him for any uncertainty welling up, yet nothing stirred in the others' face.

Before he could even add anything else, the wagon came to a stop. They all looked up in curiosity to see that they had arrived by the village. A few women from their huts hesitated in their work to take a peek at the new visitors.

"We'll rest at Arianne's inn, she surely is happy about the company!" The commander, by the name of Roman, was relieved to have arrived. Though Grant frowned as he glanced down on his ripped jacket and pants. The bandages were around his entire torso while he raised one hand to stroke his nose and the cheeks. A rough wound had dried there a while ago and one could already tell that it would leave behind a broad scar.

"I might not look exactly presentable…", he murmured to himself. Yet, Commander Roman, the large man resembling a closet in width, patted his back wholeheartedly at which the pirate grimaced out of pain which the bearded man couldn't see. Trevor weakly smiled back at him in pity.

"I'm sure that you can get a few new things around here, but we should get a proper meal first. We need to find you a pharmacist for your wounds, too, before we talk about fashion!" Those words reminded Grant of something awfully important, it seemed. The shock was evermore present on his face as one hand searched for something in the inner pockets. His fright wore off soon as his fingers seemed to grasp an object. Then, out of another pocket, he pulled out a piece of cloth that had been sloppily drenched in red dye. Grant bound it to his lower arm for some reason. It also had been ripped off of something bigger, with all these loose strings as if the cloth had been cut out.

"Ah, it's a good thing that the Lord of Darkness and his minions don't have a lot of use for coins or similar! They take whatever they want by force after all! A pirate can always have some use for a coin or two!", he explained to Trevor. He was being watched by the hunter after all. Trevor could only hope that the money that he was possessing wasn't just as violently claimed as the tales would suggest. Then again, Trevor couldn't imagine the other being this cruel, but he merely knew him for half a night or so.

Commander Roman then gazed around his group of soldiers and his carefree smile vanished underneath the bushy beard. The hairy eyebrows bent to have his expression look ten times as terrifying. When one already thought that he couldn't get any more intimidating, he raised his booming voice to command everyone else. They had other plans for later in the day after all. "There might be other survivors out there, we have to be prepared to rescue them, too!" So they immediately got to move the wagons through the village. Most of the soldiers preferred to walk at that point, including the strange duo between them.

As many terrors as there were around all these people, the villagers tried to preserve some form of peace for their home. Or those who were now calling it their home after the soldiers were able to save them. Over time, it had become a patchwork of different village folk coming together. It could be seen in front of the simple huts and the windows. The knitting as well as the clothing were of different colors and patterns. Everyone was showing where they originated from while accepting the existence of the other.

In the end, they only had one another after all.

Some of them actually approached the marching soldiers and greeted them friendly. They were known in the village and they often heard how they were happy about seeing them alive and well.

"New visitors?" One of the maids walked alongside with one of the soldiers. By the barely existent distance between their two frames, one could assume that they were familiar with one another. The young woman peeked back over her shoulder to watch Trevor and Grant. A pleased hum fell from her lips, though nothing ever too indelicate showed in her expression. Her awe was mainly focused on the soldier anyway.

In fact, both of them had to get used to these kind of comments around there. They did rather stuck out between the soldiers that all wore similar clothing to have some sort of uniform that tied them together. Meanwhile, there was Trevor with his brown tunic and ripped cloak and Grant who was walking barefoot. It was a miracle that the cloth was even still connected by these threads. Somehow, this look was somewhat obvious to someone who called himself a pirate. Either that or Trevor had lost a bit sense of reality during those years of exile.

The hunter couldn't ponder about his knowledge anymore when they had arrived by said inn. The other villagers that had followed them around were entering it as well. This early in the morning, there weren't any people by the bar of the inn except for a plump lady that was cleaning the floor on all her four. When the soldiers entered, her dark eyes lightened up in utter joy and she forgot all the work that she had before. The lady, Trevor assumed that this had been Arianne, ran towards Commander Roman right away. She threw her arms around his neck at which he quickly responded the embrace with the same relief.

"You have been gone for so long this night, I was worried for all of you out there! What would we do without you and your brave men, Commander?", she asked with her eyes filling with tears. Commander Roman only chuckled at that and patted her shoulders in appreciation. He wanted to say something to her, probably soothe the poor woman from her woes and worries that had fallen off of her like a rock on her chest. Yet, she edged away from him to get behind the bar and pull out a bunch of plates for them to take. The commander and some of the other soldiers hasted to her to help Arianne out, telling her that they couldn't watch her do all the work by herself while some others finished up the cleaning job, though doing that rather sloppily. It was another activity that seemed to keep them sane from all that was going on around the village. Something normal and domestic, at least. Once they had all found their respective tables, Commander Roman waved the duo closer. Arianne shooed between them like a mother hen to give each of them some goat milk, cheese and old bread until Roman took hold of her arm gently to introduce them to her.

"Look at these two fine gentlemen! We have picked them up by the Clock Tower, can you believe that?" There was some pride in his voice at which both Trevor and Grant couldn't help but feel flustered, though the pirate was a lot better at hiding it.

The eyes of the inn lady grew big at that and she looked between them. "The… The Clock Tower of Untimely Death? The very same one? People have said that you couldn't even get past the first stairs without any monster trying to kill you! And they have been in there?" The shock didn't wear off. She couldn't believe his words, but the Commander nodded and his smirk grew on his lips.

Arianne crossed herself multiple times and mumbled prayers lowly, then turned to eye the duo. "That would explain why you guys are so cut up! Every time we have someone new coming to the village, I praise God for leading them to us! I'm sure that He sees a greater purpose within you." She moved over to their side and show them reassuring smiles. It seemed like she was close to pulling them between her arms and press them against her bosom affectionately. Instead, she stemmed her hands to her hips and took the offered chair that Commander Roman had pulled from under the table. Then Roman faced the duo again and his expression hardened.

"As we were leaving, some of us watched how the large shadow of a tower collapsed on itself on the horizon. The entire complex has fallen upon itself. It seems like it's thanks to you that we have one stronghold less to worry about."

The hunter glanced from the corners of his eyes to Grant who gave a weak shrug. The entire destruction happened more out of chance. Trevor had activated some kind of alarm rather than actively taking the building down. Other than "we didn't do a whole lot", Trevor couldn't mutter anymore. Neither of them were sure about the truth or how the events went down in the end.

Commander Roman leaned back in his chair, tilted it a bit as he took hold of the mug with milk. As he took a sip of it, white drops would hang in his black beard like tiny pearls and it took away a lot of the intimidation factor from before. "But you have faced the wicked Wallachian Demon, have you not? If it has survived any of it, it sure would have followed our tracks viciously. It craves blood terribly of anybody near. We haven't come across any of its' monster soldiers either... We usually are troubled by them if we got closer to the Clock Tower. Having lost their leader might have had an effect on them." The hunter could only nod at that question, but he could see how Grant paled a bit and he sunk in his chair at that mention.

In fact, it wasn't getting any better for the pirate. Commander Roman spoke about the crimes of the Wallachian Demon. Apparently, it was a less valuable kind of vampire. It had terrorized villages and towns in the area with its army to gain land for its master, Lord Dracula. The leader seemed to have witnessed parts of its' horrors before in the past, though he was often unable to be of true help. He was either too late or alone. Thus, he wasn't going to throw his life away just to seem heroic for about two seconds before the demon would have torn his limbs apart. "This… This thing is without a soul and feasted upon so many. As if it needed to compensate for the fact that it would never be filled with true life or the grace of God again. However, murderers can't be redeemed, it's the blood of the innocent on its claws that damned it. At least, the bastard vampire now rots in Hell." Roman took another sip from his mug as if he was trying to drown his memories in alcohol. Perhaps the prominent scent would block out his mind and his senses altogether.

Suddenly, Grant got back on his feet, a lot shakier than he was in the morning. His hands supported his frame by stemming them against the surface of the table. The pirate hadn't eaten or drunk a lot, his face paler and his expression spoke of pain. "I… I need to go take a rest. I'm not feeling too well…", he panted and Arianne immediately got back on her feet to support him. Trevor watched him with worry, though he could already tell that this suffering didn't only come from his physical condition. These tales were twisted enough. It had weakened his appetite and once he thought about what Grant must have been thinking all this time. He couldn't possibly imagine how awful those words must have sounded in his ears.

"Let's get you to a spare room, young man... You look sick and as pale as a ghost", the inn lady mumbled to him soothingly as he stroked his locks to calm him down. Her eyes darted to Commander Roman and for a moment, some form of fury showed on her expression. "These two have gone through quite a lot last night, it might not have been the best idea to remind them of that. Have you already called the pharmacist, we should have them get checked up." The Commander flushed red at her scolding and agreed with her shakily. Then he directed those complaints to one of the other soldiers. One of them jumped on his feet immediately out of fright and hastened outside to find said pharmacist. In the meantime, Arianne helped Grant upstairs to the guest rooms while Trevor watched them take their leave with a worried glance.

The hunter almost jumped in his seat when the Commander had smashed the mug back on the table. It trembled from the impact and he wondered how neither of those two objects had broken. "I feel sorry for the poor fellow, his memories must be haunting him. I can't blame him, the Demon was one terrifying beast of incredible brutality and speed." Roman crossed himself as if he had one memory in front of his eyes himself. "I can't imagine how you have taken it down... But on behalf of this village and all other places around the Clock Tower, I wish to thank you for your bravery. Your strength might have put an end to the raids in particular."

Again, Trevor found himself helpless towards these words. He wasn't even sure what he had accomplished and realization hadn't hit him, yet. Instead, the hunter had wanted to go upstairs as well to check on the young man, but he figured that the pirate needed some time for himself right now. After all, his well-being was just as important to the hunter as it was to his own. That realization had him left wondering for a moment. He somehow knew that, deep in his mind, Trevor had already decided to take Grant along on his quest. Not only as a guide, but also as fugitives who roamed the countryside for their duties. Also, as much as Trevor didn't want to admit it as such, he had grown somewhat fond of the pirate for his honesty and his warm smile. His death wouldn't have been fair.

Though the hunter did wonder how Grant had been able to survive the transformation. One would think that the demon completely took over him and his mind, using his body as a vessel for it to follow its own dirty deeds. Yet, once Trevor had defeated the Wallachian Demon, his human counterpart was released somehow. Trevor was more than glad to have given him another chance somehow to live his own life again. It was only through this thought process that Trevor realized how the pirate had felt thankful for it all. He merely wanted to repay him despite the fact that all of that happened by mere chance as well.

In his mind, it was already decided.
It seemed like Trevor was going to have a companion for his mission. For them to act out the holy mission of the Lord in Heaven to save what the ruler of Hell had let loose on the world.

Half of the day had already passed after the pharmacist had arrived with his herbs and salves to take care of them. Grant had barely been awake when he was being treated. He was drained, so it seemed and the pharmacist said himself that it was a miracle that the young man was still alive. Their wounds were treated and bound up again. After that, Trevor allowed himself to take the other bed in the same room as the pirate was sleeping in. A nap should be enough to give his body some recovery. The hunter had planned to continue his quest in the evening.

"If you want both of you to crawl all over the ground and become prey for whatever is it there, then you can leave. But I'm advising you to wait at least until the next morning." That was what the pharmacist had told Trevor with a frown when the hunter had explained his plans to him. His tired eyes would look over the sleeping from of Grant who had remained on his back the entire time. His expression lightly affected by the pain of his body and cold sweat had already run down his temples. Indeed, it would have been important to continue as quickly as possible, because who knew when it would be too late to stop the Lord of Darkness. However, Trevor could also understand that, in this form, neither of them might have been strong enough to hold up against an entire army of monsters, even together. If they wanted to stand a chance against the spawn of Hell himself, they would need all of their strength that they could muster up until then.

The rest of the day had been rather uneventful, though they decided to take a bit of a walk through the village. As they did so, Trevor admitted and accepted that Grant would be allowed to go with him at which he pumped his fist in the air with a wide smile.

"Told you so! But I swear, I will try my hardest to be useful, too!" As confident as he was giving himself before, there was genuine worry as well as hope in his voice. Trevor couldn't help but smile at that. He patted his shoulder carefully and the nervous chuckling of the pirate ceased.

"I'm sure that you will be of great help either way", Trevor replied gently. It has been a long time ago since he was feeling comfortable around someone else like that. Being able to call this person more than someone that he knew, it was almost strange. "Though now, I guess you can get something more comfortable. Whatever you're supposed to be wearing right now, it won't be enough", he added with his smile turning to a smirk. Grant pouted playfully at those words.

"Oh, look who's trying to make a fashion statement here! Mister 'I wear brown all day, everyday'!", the pirate sneered back and squared his shoulders, then he pointed at his own face. "Though, what do you say? This makes me look rather intimidating, doesn't it? Some pirates do have nicknames, perhaps I'll just call myself…". Grant lowered his hand and gave it a thought. His gaze trailed off before it snapped back up at Trevor again, his eyes shining. "How about 'Grant, the nasty'! Sounds pretty dangerous, right?"

For a moment, Trevor waited before he would give an answer. He tried to understand whether this was supposed to be a joke or not. Yet, as he couldn't notice anything resembling to that, he just showed him a frown and slowly shook his head.
This time, Grant didn't fake his pouting.

With that, they had gotten their clothes fixed. At least, in Grant's case, he would have had new ones sewn for him until the next morning. He did pay by himself, though coins didn't have as much value anymore during these days. Therefore, it wasn't exactly expensive or anything, but they accepted them anyway. Once the Curse was going to pass one day, these might come in handy. Besides, helping out two handsome men out was a treat for these young women.

At least, that's what the grandmother from one of them mumbled to the duo after the girls had left to gather enough cloth to start with their work already. Trevor had taken it with a silent nod while Grant seemed to be more than okay with having the girls take interest in him. Instead, the hunter had grabbed him tightly by the neck and dragged him after himself with the pirate protesting how he had been through Hell and deserved a treat in the end.
Again, no comment from Trevor.

In their free time, they discussed in Arianne's inn where to go next with the help of a map that they had received from Commander Roman. In the back sat the plump lady and prepared another stew for dinner from the few herbs and even fewer vegetables as well as mushrooms. The pirate let his index finger travel over the paths on the withered map many times. He was quiet as he made up a suitable route in his mind already and frankly, Trevor realized how little he had seen of his home country in his life. Some of the places that were on this map were stroke out with red coloring. The hunter could only imagine what this had meant. Same counted for some of the bridges and churches that would be usually found on the main paths.

Before he could ponder too much about what had happened during these years in Wallachia, Grant raised his voice and pointed at an area near this village. It was covered in poorly drawn trees. "We should take the road through Codrii Vlăsiei…", he mumbled as if questioning his own words. Codrii Vlăsiei was the largest forest of Wallachia. Strange enough, it meant 'the Forests of Wallachia'. It functioned as an area to hide from armies like the ones from the Ottoman Empire or to avoid falling into the hands of justice as a criminal.

Yet, due to the mysterious events happening over the few months, the villagers have come to call it the 'Mad Forest' instead. It was nothing worth bragging about or a territory that they could claim and control. The inhabitants had found a way to live right next to something as dangerous as this. They believed if they were to stay and not bother any creature that was hiding in the forest, they wouldn't be having any trouble.

"They said that, months ago, demons had kidnapped the children of this village... And others. We believe it is for some form of sacrifice or ritual in the night. It depends on the moon phases, considering how the kidnapping occurred towards the end of the month. The souls of children are free from sin and thus pure", Commander Roman mumbled as he watched from the side as he sharpened his sword. Trevor gave his words a thought, he hadn't seen many children around. In fact, he couldn't remember a single one other than maybe three toddlers. The Lord of Darkness fed from the souls that had been reaped for him. It would make sense to kidnap children just for this purpose. They didn't have any other powers or potential to be in the way otherwise.

Grant let his finger wander over the path that lead through the woods. It stopped at another town on the map that hasn't been crossed out. "Well, we could head for that town as our next destination. From there, we could take a ship and see if that can carry us nearer without having to walk all the way there." This town was by a river and it did show that it had a harbor in use. Though the hunter wondered if they even used it anymore... He could imagine how monsters inhabited the water just the same. The pirate had finally glanced up from the map again to watch the other to see whether he accepted his plan. Yet, all he could spot was doubt and suspicion. "I know, what you're thinking. Once we arrive there, we might as well find everything destroyed. There's always that possibility, too. But, it's the only other nearest goal we can have to get closer to Dracula's Castle." Then it was Trevor who studied the map some more. They had moved from the Castle quite a lot since they were picked up from the Clock Tower. With horses in a caravan, it had taken almost an entire day to get there and it was without any disturbances. The Codrii Vlăsiei would lead them even further away actually. The most direct path towards the second tower was out in the open without any shelter or places to find rest. Even if they were determined, this was a plan close to suicide. More so than the actual mission already was.

Commander Roman let his sword lean against the table and approached them with both worry and disbelief. "You can't be serious. You can't think of getting through Codrii Vlăsiei, it's far too dangerous out there! No one has ever found their way back since they went on the searches for the children!"

Arianne placed the knife down with which she was chopping up the mushrooms into the tiniest of pieces. Her face held no expression, but one could tell by her eyes that she was only tired at this point. "All this time, I have watched brave men such as you venture out on their different quests. I have never seen any of their faces again." She let out a weary sigh and returned to her work. "I can only pray that they have somehow managed to get through and not have found their deaths in this forest. Too cruel of a fate to disappear between the trees without anybody knowing of you anymore... As if you never existed." The inn lady shuddered at the mere thought. To die without a final resting place. It was too cruel for the victim and everyone knowing them who would never be able to put an end to their sorrow. Arianne had met and got to know so many that each of them seemed to have left a carving in her chest. The fact that the inn lady was able to smile through the day wholeheartedly showed great inner strength and hope.

Silence fell over them and no one dared to raise their voice. Only the dull clicking of the kitchen knife dicing the mushrooms resounded. Trevor was the first that made a move. He carefully shoved back the chair as if the sound would disturb their ears. Then the hunter edged closer to Arianne and took her by her arm which prevented her from continuing her work. Under his palm, he could feel how much she was trembling. Once Arianne raised her eyes to meet his, she saw both determination and kindness in his expression.

"These days, nothing is safe or sacred anymore. These monsters will not stop until they have consumed all life that can be found in this world." There was the same firmness in his voice as it was in his blue eyes. A rattling sigh came from Arianne and she nodded weakly. His smile grew, some of Grant's bright attitude had left an impression on him. "Besides, we seem to have survived the Clock Tower of Untimely Death. Got in, have fought and stumbled out alive. Sounds promising so far, doesn't it?" It had the effect that the hunter had wished for, a weak smile curled on her lips and soon were parted by a soft chuckle. Trevor pulled his hand back as he had registered how she had calmed herself down. "We'll come to visit you again even if we make it through the forest. After all, we'll need to repay you for your generosity."

Arianne waved him off with a blush covering her cheeks. "If I can help anyone in their travels during these nightmarish times, I am more than glad. I just wish to—"

"You're too warmhearted for your own good, Arianne!" Roman didn't let her finish her sentence anymore. His bright laughter drowned every other word on her mind. Softness was in his gaze nonetheless as he leaned back to turn to her. "But it's great to witness. Please, never change!" This brought a worse blush to her cheeks and Arianne showed him her back instead with the cutting board now on her lap.

The heavy atmosphere of what might be coming was still hanging in the air. Yet, they had to focus on what was right and good in the world. Celebrating life when their enemies wanted to see them in despair. It was as if they were spitting in their faces with their own joy and friendship that they were sharing with one another. Together with the other soldiers, they started to have their dinner. Some villagers had come by to enjoy the company as well, some even playing music for their amusement.

There was a lot of laughter and happiness found in that evening. Not even the darkness of the night could have left them frightened of what was about to come. Honestly, it was almost like they had forgotten about it. However, both Trevor and Grant were aware that they couldn't celebrate all night. They would need to get out of bed as soon as the sun would rise in the sky again to make their way to the forest. It didn't seem like in the pirate's nature to leave a party so early, but he was reasonable enough to know that they would need every hour of rest that they could get. Commander Roman was somewhat saddened when the two of them had announced that they would go to bed already, but he wasn't going to stop them. After all, their wounds would need to heal properly if they were to do anything the next day.

Quite frankly, Trevor didn't sleep well that night. Could have been the noises from downstairs or the images of his dreams which he forgot in the morning. With a groan, the hunter sat up and rubbed his temple. The silence of the early morning was pleasant to his ears while his muscles trembled and tingled with slight pain. Yet, he chose to ignore it. No point in dwelling in this sensation.

As he turned to see if Grant was still in bed, he found the sheets empty and he raised his eyebrows in confusion. The young man did carry worse wounds than him, a lot of them. One would think that he'd sleep more than that. Though Trevor wondered if that wasn't just something that Grant did usually. After all, he had woken up during their ride on the caravan before the hunter did, too.

Just as he had been thinking about the others' traits, the door opened and the pirate entered. With two plates in both his hands and two mugs resting on his lower arms. Grant kept the perfect balance as he handled the pottery and joined his side. Also, there was a sack strapped to his back, though that he didn't need to balance, luckily. Trevor hastened to him to take everything from him before he would drop anything, but Grant only laughed at his gestures. The objects that he had carried were not more than trembling lightly after all. Once Trevor had taken both the plate and the mug from one arm, Grant used the now free hand to place the other two objects down without breaking a sweat. He pulled the sack from his body to let it drop on the floor. By the sound of it, these were most likely the new clothes that the young seamstresses had sewn for them.

"Arianne said that we should get a proper meal before we leave for our mission!", Grant explained with his usual carefree smile and knelt down to the floor. They didn't have a table to share their breakfast with, so the floor it was. The breakfast consisted of the same ingredients as the day before, the rests of it. Trevor wasn't going to complain. Food was hard to come by. It was more than what most people had, so he broke the bread in two pieces and placed some of the goat cheese over one of them.

"How are you holding up?", Trevor asked instead out of worry and curiosity. He did see how the pirate was trying to cover up some of his pain in front of him. Trevor was still fearing that this quest was bringing more harm to the pirate than anything. However, Trevor knew that the young man was too stubborn. To start another argument was pointless and Trevor knew that much.

Grant took a sip from the milk first and bit into the cheese afterwards. He chewed a bit and swallowed part of it before he was able to show him a smirk again. "I'm doing just fine! Better than yesterday!" That much was obvious. Trevor was about to scold him for being this careless, but Grant already waved him off immediately and added: "I am recovering well! My muscles aren't aching as much anymore, I feel rather energized and motivated, too! So nothing for you to keep overthinking about!"

Again, Trevor couldn't say if Grant was this confident naturally or if he was an incredible airhead. It was one of those character traits that Trevor might need to get used to before he was able to let the pirate roam around freely without having to worry about his safety. Perhaps, he would need to see him in battle before arguing about it.

Trevor let his gaze wander over to the sack filled with clothes. His frown only darkened. "When did you wake up to pick those up? I would imagine that you'd like to sleep a lot, being a pirate and all…"

Grant didn't wake up this early last morning, though he was sure that the other was already awake when he had risen from his own sleep.

The pirate pursed his lips in amusement and shifted in place to fold his legs underneath him to get in a more comfortable position. "Now that makes me sound like that I'm lazy beyond belief!", he exclaimed in a playful matter and he placed his food back in the plate as he leaned back. "I don't know, I was never that good at sleeping in, except if I was sick or had drunk too much the other night…. Then again, sometimes I still wake up before dawn and I will be confronted with my head hurting as I turn in bed in hopes to fall asleep again…." The pirate let out a weary sigh and shook his head at the memory. "I guess, it's just something that I do. I hope that it doesn't bother you, great Vampire Hunter", Grant added in a more mocking tone and the hunter scoffed at those words.

"If one of us is getting up early, then we're in good hands."

Grant let that comment slide as it was with a content smile. They finished their breakfast in peace before they rummaged in the sack for the clothes. The pirate got rid of his old ones and pulled over the dark green shirt and put on the wine red pair of pants. They were somewhat tight around his calves, but the pirate was fine with that. After all, he was soon distracted by the new blue jacket that he had received. "With inside pockets, too! Man, they sure thought of everything!" Grant was more than pleased to move the tiny leather bags of his old jacket to the new one. A piece of jewelry came into sight that had Trevor rather curious.

"A necklace? Why aren't you wearing it?" The pirate flinched at the mention of it. His hand, which held unto the necklace, made a movement as if about to hide away the existence of it all, but then he held it out with a weak smile. It was a silver necklace with a gem at the end of it. It was in light blue and held little elements within it as if it was a drop straight out of the ocean with tiny sand particles shimmering and algae along in deep green. Surely, this necklace was of a special kind of value and not only in coins, but also of personal connection for the other. Otherwise, he wouldn't keep it this close to himself.

"It's not exactly the most useful piece of jewelry to wear when you do parkour. I always have to be afraid that it would slip from my neck at every jump. It would just smack me in the face and frankly, I'm not up for that, so I keep it tugged in my jacket."

This was only half the truth and Trevor knew that, but he wasn't going to push him about it. After all, his words made sense and he didn't lie to him. If it was something that he was uncomfortable talking about, he wouldn't force anything for no reason other than his curiosity. They didn't know one another for that long, he couldn't expect to have won his whole trust. Grant didn't comment on this either and let the necklace slip into his inner pocket again. Then he took the red piece of cloth from his lower arm and bound it over his head like a bandana to keep his hair away from dangling in his face.

The hunter's cloak had been fixed and he got a new tunic for him to wear if the old one didn't serve its purpose anymore. For all of this to be done, every seamstress in the village had to be working until the deepest night. Trevor thought about seeing them again and thanking them for their work. Once they had prepared properly and cleaned up the room, they moved downstairs where Arianne was already waiting for them with little packages. Naturally, the motherly lady couldn't keep from giving them something for along the way. She wouldn't listen to their protests, so they tugged the bags to their belts instead and embraced her with words of gratitude. It was all worth it to see her blush again under the praise as she waved them off with a giggle. That smile of hers made her look younger, it was heartwarming to witness.

Commander Roman was by the door, too, along with some other soldiers that had waited for them to wish them luck for their journey. Of course, they had something prepared for them, too. The leather bags were filled with objects of practical use, like bandages and herbs for their wounds and a set of daggers. As Grant had reached into his inner pockets to pay them for these objects, the commander wouldn't let him do so. Roman placed his hands to each of their shoulders.

"The only repayment that you have to fulfill is you staying alive. You can be wherever you want for all I care, but I'd want to know that you are save."

Trevor had to take a deep breath to keep his posture steady and return the gaze with the same confidence as Roman did. "Same counts for you and your men. Please, stay save as well." There was a certain softness to his words and Commander Roman could only nod at that. His own expression softened just the same before he let them go.

Some of the other villagers looked after them as they had left. They hadn't gotten to know these men, but if the soldiers had trusted them, there had to be something good about them, too. Not that any of them raised their voices to do more than greeting. Some others even wished them luck, but it was more under their breaths than anything else.

"Once we've saved Wallachia, they'll be all over us, I'll tell you that…", grumbled Grant at the reactions of the villagers. It was a contrast to the joyful smile he would throw at them if he happened to cross gazes with them. When he turned back to look at Trevor, that smile was gone. "People are like that, they change moods quicker than the sea their tides." The pirate shrugged at his own words. He didn't seem to enjoy the truth, but it was something that he had gotten used to over the years. After all, how much recognition could a fugitive get anyway?

The sun hung low when they had arrived by the Codrii Vlăsiei. It wasn't a long march from the village, so they still had enough time on their hands. The duo was awestruck as their eyes glanced over the trees. There were so many before them, it was as if they were standing in front of a giant army. As light as it was outside, they could barely make out what was in the forest after a set of trees. It was an assortment of fall colors on the crowns and the ground covered with the leaves.

Grant let out a low sigh, his expression held something pensive as he spoke. "There is something peaceful about this, wouldn't you say? It's almost strange to me to think how the evil hordes are hiding in there. Locking up and sacrificing children in this spot."

The hunter only glanced at him for a moment before he gave an answer. "Nothing is as it seems anymore these days, so we shouldn't let our guard down. They didn't call this the 'Mad Forest' for nothing", he replied firmly and marched forward without looking twice at Grant. He only watched him take a few steps, then followed up and drew one dagger to get himself ready for whatever could jump at them.

At first, this entire situation didn't seem as bad as expected. The sound of a few birds reached their ears. Here and there rustled a bush, but it were little animals that escaped from one hideout to another. The further they had gotten on the path, the darker their surroundings became. All the trees around them sucked away the light, the leaves becoming evermore dark. Taller and taller they grew, a misty realm was forming before their eyes. They began to lose track of time and the path wasn't clear anymore, because grass was grew over it. Barely anyone crossed the woods these days.

It was somewhat further up when something else reached their ears. Clicking and cracking in various ways. Their steps slowed down and their eyes wandered over the scenery. Between all this green, it wasn't difficult to spot two skeletons leaning against a tree.
The pirate didn't wait to take action. One dagger swirled in his right hand before it was flung towards one of them. The precision was perfect, the blade piercing through the temple and into the tree. This fiend burst into dust and the other skeleton staggered back in shock. Though before it could even draw its' sword, Trevor had pulverized this foe the same with his Holy Whip. The duo stopped in place, listening if there was anything else. But silence fell over them again and they continued after Grant had pulled out the dagger out of the tree trunk.

From this point on, they were more cautious about their surroundings. The birds' singing was decreasing by the moment and soon enough, they were surrounded by the dark. From the corners of his eyes, Trevor noticed something glowing. He turned immediately to face this source and in the next second, a feathered creature charged towards him. It would have dug its' giant claws into his face if it wasn't for Grant who had blocked that attack with a slash of his dagger. The bird flew away in fright and the hunter was able to take a better look at the creature.

"I-I have never seen such big owls!", he exclaimed before he took another breath. He had felt his heart jump in his chest from the shock and his hand was stiff around his belt. "Thank you nonetheless."

"Don't thank me this early…" Grant frowned at his words, then pointed with the dagger around them. A couple pairs of eyes were glaring at them from between the trees and Trevor shuddered from the sight. So many of them, but they didn't dare to attack just yet, sometimes their eyes would disappear. Between the cracks from the tree branches underneath them, the owls chimed in. Never would the hunter have thought how eerie the sound could echo between the trees. The owls would wait for a fitting moment to attack them, so they had to be ready for every air strike. Once they came close enough to their respective area, they would attack from above. Luckily, none of this strategy changed, so it was easy for them to figure it out and avoid injury. However, if the owls wouldn't be hit, the duo had to stop in their tracks. The creatures would come right back for them until they would be taken down or once the two of them escaped the territory.
They had done this game for a while with one or two skeletons thrown into the mix. Once more, they were the least of Trevor's problems and Grant proved himself just as capable against them.

The more steps they took, the more their muscles ached and grew heavier. Cold air crept in, crawling underneath their skin. It didn't help that the path was starting to go up, needing to walk up a hill first. Between their feet, Trevor felt mist slowly rolling in and covered the ground like a blanket, dulling the colors of the leaves just a bit.

Usually, the fog wasn't as present in the woods as it was outside in the field. It must have been quite a strong one then if it managed to enter the Codrii Vlăsiei through all the layers of trees. In actuality, their space cleared up a bit from the trees as if someone or something had gotten rid of them. It almost felt unnatural and they were out in the open.

More rustling from the trees and bushes. Grant held his dagger close to him as his head snapped around in hopes to spot something. "These definitely aren't birds anymore."

Trevor rolled his eyes at his words. "Obviously." That was the only answer that he was willing to give to him, but the pirate glared at him for that. Wasn't his fault if the other pointed out the obvious facts, was it?

Before Grant could even start some sort of playful argument between them, a couple of monsters jumped in front of their feet. Their form resembled humans almost. Though their backs were crooked, forcing them to bend over, and their faces distorted as if they had been burned. It was a group of hunch bags; that was what their appearance reminded Trevor of. The creatures didn't seem to care about their fate and jumped from all four in place. Sometimes backing off, other times jumping closer to the duo which kept them at bay with their weapons. They were especially cumbersome and quick. Nothing too much of a challenge for Grant who was swift himself, but Trevor found himself cursing under his breath whenever his whip would crack through the air instead. Their laughs were mocking, little clicks and the hunch bags jumped up high to sit on the branches.

"Honestly, I had hoped to not meet any of these. These demons are everywhere and they drive me nuts, I swear…" Grant glanced up at them in disgust, but he wouldn't throw a dagger after them. They were ready to dodge anything at that point. Trevor frowned just the same as he watched the creatures and returned the gazes. Yet, they remained in place. Some of them actually jumped along from above and threw rotten fruit at them, often missing. Their deformed hands weren't helping a lot in their task, they were only supposed to claw at them.

"It seems that the presence of the Vampire Killer keeps them back", Trevor mumbled more to himself than to the other who pursed his lips in interest as he glanced at the holy whip.

"Believe me, these creatures don't fear us or our weapons. They don't even fear death which is why they had thrown themselves at us!", replied Grant with a wide smirk which died away just as quickly with his next words, his gaze finally directed towards them. "That must mean that we have something far more dangerous ahead. But let's just hope that those are the weak types of hunch bags…"

Unfortunately, Grant's wishes weren't met at all. His frightful assumption soon became reality when their feet didn't crunch through the leaves. There was even something sticky to the ground, though it was covered from the fog, so it was hard to make out at first. As soon as they would be able to peek through the mist, it all became clear.

Spider web. Thin layers of it everywhere. The further they had gotten, the more it spread. And not only over the ground, but up the tree trunks and crowns, strings dangling from above. Not a single enemy from before had shown their face in this area and it could be understood why.

"Spider nests. Great. Just what we needed." The pirate huffed out of irritation while the hunter left this without comment. Instead, they focused on everything around them. Little spiders crawled all over the place, but nothing too unsettling.

Instead, it was the next few moments that had their stomachs twist in disgust. By the tree trunks, they would spot thicker balls which hung there, completely covered in web. But some of the older constructions revealed what was inside of these cocoons. The lifeless faces of so many human victims stared back at them mercilessly. Most of their flesh nibbled away from their bones and the rest had rotted. Flies had taken the place of the spiders and jumped all over and inside the corpses if they weren't foolish enough to get tangled in the webs, too. It almost seemed like a plan to feed the regular spiders with the flies. Unfortunately, it wasn't just the tree trunks that were decorated with the bodies of any traveler. Smaller ones dangled down as well and it wasn't hard to guess what kind of victims they had made. Sometimes, bony hands stuck out from the sides as if they had made one last attempt to free themselves before they suffocated in these cocoons by having hundreds of small insects crawl down their throats, eating them up slowly from the inside.

Those images had Trevor shake his head. His frame shivered from the imaginary sensation. It was as if those tiny spiders had somehow found a way on his back and under his tunic, making him shift. The pirate noticed his discomfort. He, most likely, shared the same thoughts. Thus, he decided not to mock him for his reactions and instead rubbed his back soothingly as if to chase these imaginary spiders away.

More crawling.

The two of them jumped in place at the sound.

This time, it was much more obvious than with the regular animals. It was above them, something greater using the crowns to move swiftly and hide away from their sights. However, it wasn't the duo that took up the main attention of... Whatever was above them at the moment, but something further ahead. Despite of all the disgust and insecurity building up in their chests, they decided to follow. It didn't take long until they had reached a cave in those woods. It was just as much covered in spider web and cocoons with dead people stuffed in there. Clearly, they wouldn't move a muscle anymore as half of their heads were bitten off already. Now that the creatures finally showed themselves, they were able to spot gigantic hairy spiders with a human each in their mouths, hurrying inside the cave. The rock beside the cave almost looked like a door that had been taken out of the opening. Yet, none of the monsters bothered to close the door behind them. They weren't exactly born with any sense of morals after all.

"Is this part of the path that we need to take to get to the next town?", asked Trevor in a low voice, fearing that the spiders would hear him somehow as they spoke.

Grant, apparently, wasn't as sure either about their hearing abilities and returned the question with a whisper: "Not that I know of. We have gotten away from the main path most likely, but it is hard to tell with the mist and the spider web…" He could only tell by the ground. The path would feel harder and more robust than the rest, though that could be deceiving now through the web.

Despite this explanation, the hunter approached the cave with careful steps anyway. He listened in to what was going on inside while the other sat back to watch their surroundings.
It was faint, very faint, but Trevor believed to hear something resembling humans.

That alone had him turn to Grant and he gestured him to join his side. At first, the pirate hesitated, but then gave in and hurried over. Trevor stopped him with one arm and placed his palm to his ear to have him mimic this gesture.

After a few moments of dreaded silence, concentrating hard on what was coming from the cave, Trevor finally decided to raise his voice again: "Crying." That was all he would dare to say, but it was exactly what he had thought to hear. Someone or even more were crying.

The pirate glanced up at him and pressed his lips together. There was another line on his tongue that he had wanted to pass on to the hunter just to state his thoughts, but he realized that maybe that would waste his breath and make too much noise.

"Spider queen." Grant nodded towards the cave and Trevor gave that a thought. It would make sense if the spiders were to carry their prey inside when they could have just as easily chosen another tree to hang them up on and feast on their flesh that way. Therefore, something bigger had to be in the cave. "Or eggs." Many, many eggs for giant spiders like those to feed and take care of them. "Possibly both." That was the last add to his comment and Grant paled significantly at the thought.

But if it was to feed anything in there, how could they still hear faint crying? Either that or the spiders were playing around with their prey until it became tired and gave up to their fate. However, spiders didn't exactly seem like the most playful type to them.

In all honesty, Trevor didn't like the sound of his own words. "We have to get in there." As much as everything within himself protested against marching into an infested spider cave, he knew deep down that every life deserves to be saved. Up until now, they haven't come across any single living soul.

Grant must have seen the glint in his eyes. There was no protest coming from him either even if he frowned as he gazed back at all the spider web surrounding the cave. Then he watched his environment and edged closer to a tree to break off a thick branch. "I'm sure that there's no light in there", he mumbled to the hunter as he walked back to his side and nudged Trevor's oil lamp with his elbow. "So if we're too much in trouble, we can burn the entire cave down by lightening this!" The pirate held up his stick, then buckled it to his belt. Trevor did as he suggested and turned on the oil lamp for them before they took a breath and stepped inside.

Every movement echoed in these high walls of the cave. Their steps, now ever so sticky against the spider webs, gave their position away because of the echo. Every other spider was doing just the same, so one could call it even. Actually, this should have given the duo some sense of security, but it was the opposite. Whenever something was getting closer, they've found their legs paralyzed. Their eyes stared towards the pitch black path of the cave. However, what gave them further strength was the fact that they hadn't misheard the crying. The echo was clearing this up more and more.

Children. That was the sound of children sobbing and crying. If there was just one bit of hope to save some of the children that had been abducted from their homes, then Trevor would have had the courage to chase the most hideous monsters with the wish to eradicate them.

In his blinding task, Trevor lost his sense of hearing. He didn't even care anymore, but it was Grant who brought him back to reality. From the ceiling above them dropped one of the massive spiders, the pirate took hold of Trevor's arm and pulled him back roughly. The creature had wanted to crush the hunter with its own weight. As it figured that this task held no fruit, it turned in place to face the two of them. Its' body covered the path in front of them completely, and they couldn't pass it by running past it.

"You should stop losing yourself in your thoughts, I won't be able to save you all the time!" Despite the panic expanding in his grey eyes, Grant couldn't help but joke around, though half-meaning it.

"I can't do all the work myself", he replied with a weak smirk before both of them had to turn their attention to the spider in front of them. It didn't really want to have to do anything with their conversation.

From its' mouth, the monster spat out a light green liquid. Both knew better to avoid touching it, dodging the attack. When it came in contact with the web instead, it sizzled it all away and left behind a clean spot. Neither of them waited a moment longer to attack. Trevor's whip had the beast hiss and edge away as it kept spewing out more of the bubbling acid. One dagger to its' head had more of the acid spray out of the wound, though the spider itself was immune to the destructive effect.

But as simple as it was to battle one spider, the echoing of the struggle wasn't without consequences. From all over, they could make out the crawling of other spiders. Trevor cursed under his breath and yelled to Grant that they should rush deeper into the cave before the other monsters would find their way to them. With the Vampire Killer, he lashed out at the legs of the spider. The beast had to give in to the sudden bolts of pain and found itself confused when both humans jumped from two different sides over and under these legs. The time it needed to turn around was too long for it to reach them with its gooey spit and the wound to severe for it to muster up the strength to haste after them.

Not that this was a problem. The spider was aware of its' companions. They would be able to handle two mere humans and then they would feast on their flesh. In anticipation, it looked after them and let its' body plummet to the ground.

In the middle of all their panic, the duo had realized in what kind of trouble they had gotten themselves into.

This was the main nest of the spiders. They were clearly outnumbered to those beasts that were born and raised from this spot on. With that being said, they didn't turn on their heels and escaped right away. Instead, they tried to keep their breathing down and listen for anything around them. Between all the crawling and slithering of the spiders in that cave, the sounds of the crying children was getting louder. At some point, the sound was becoming so unbearable through the echo that the hunter felt numb pain in his ears. Perhaps the actual children weren't as noisy. There was quite a lot of whimpering as well, they were so close to hold their hands over their ears to block the sound.

With a groan, Trevor gazed around them. Their steps were quick to avoid any new contact with another spider. Of course, they were all over the place trying to find the source of disturbance. However, the crying was some form of shield to them as the monsters couldn't make out their position through sound anymore. All of a sudden, one foot was sinking in the ground. Trevor pulled it back with a surprised gasp and his eyes tried to make out what the cause was.

A hole in the ground, it was covered in multiple webs. Grant stepped around it and his jaw dropped. Before he could say anything for sure, he knelt down and held his ear close to the web, then his expression darkened and he pulled out another dagger.

"Help me to cut this down." That was all the explanation he would give for now. Trevor followed his example without questioning. He had enough trust in the pirate to know that he wasn't going to make him do this for no good reason. So he pulled out a dagger himself and began piercing the blade into the web which was much harder than he had expected. The material was thick and had hardened over time, it seemed. Both of them groaned under the work, just moving in a circle was difficult, having to jerk the daggers from side to side to get it to move an inch or two. Half-way through, Grant pulled the blade out again. Not that the next task was any easier, but he took hold of the cut web nonetheless. The hunter understood immediately and imitated the action. Together, they moved back on their feet to slowly rip of the rest of the web from the hole it was covering.

Trevor let the light of the oil lamp illuminate the inside of the cave.
At last, the cowering frames of a group of children came into sight. They all glanced up in pure terror and curiosity, all huddled together in their prison. Their cheeks were sunken in, none of them of a healthy color in their faces. It were hunger and pure fright that kept these children from collapsing on the spot. The fact that they were seeing two people again, however, had them calm down a bit from their pitiful whimpers.

The pirate smiled to himself in content at that sight no matter how depressing it was. Because the walls of the hole were pretty steep, it was him who climbed down. Naturally, out of fright, the children backed off and Grant held up his hands in defense. "Don't worry, we're not here to harm any of you!" He spoke in a soft tone and he showed them a smile just as soft which had the group stop whimpering so loudly, at least. At that, the young man knelt down to his knees to be on one level with them. As frightening as he could look with this fresh scar across his face, his expression held more warmth than Trevor could recall ever seeing on a person's lips. "You must missing home a lot, huh?" In all honesty, Trevor wouldn't have expected the other to sound so sincere when he talked to a bunch of frightened children. All of his honesty sipped through without restraint. The children stopped backing up. The pirate pointed up to Trevor, then opened his arms. "And guess what? We have come all this way to find you here!" Apparently, the children were starting to trust Grant and his words. Some even dared to approach him to take a closer look at him and Trevor up above them. The hunter paid them no mind as he glanced around to make sure that no spider was passing through right now. "We can take you with us and get you out of this scary forest!" Something on his expression hardened though, his tone becoming more serious. After all, this situation required more care than anything else if they were to have children tag along with them. A group of 13 tiny people in need, in fact, where the oldest child might have been eleven and the youngest a five year old. "But you will have to listen to everything I or the other nice man tell you to, understood?"
Silence finally made way for the soft whimpering and the oldest child, a ginger girl with pigtails and freckles all over her face, walked up to him with a straight face. She gazed up, then looked back at the others and shifted on her feet. Somehow, most children gave their agreement to that. Many bawled that they wanted to get out of here and needed to be home with their families. It was hurtful to hear them whimper like that, especially since no one could tell if any of their family members was still alive or not.

Before the pirate could ponder too much about that subject, he picked up the ginger girl and wrapped his arm around her chest. His other hand took hold of the wall to heave him up until his feet found a solid foundation to take her back in his two hands. Then he lifted her up towards Trevor who pulled her up to his side. That procedure continued with the other children who, more or less, depending on each one individually, protested against this kind of treatment or got frightened which motivated Grant only to be quicker to have them as little in the air as possible. To hold up a kicking child while standing up against a wall wasn't exactly the safest place.

Last, but not least, the pirate crawled out of the hole to face the hunter surrounded by an army of terrified children. "Look, you stay together. Hold hands if you need to. Trevor is going up in the front while I stay at the back of you to make sure that nothing is getting to you!" There was enough confidence in his words for everyone and Trevor found himself agreeing on it. On the one hand, he was the one with the oil lamp. On the other hand, if they were to face the spiders, his whip would keep them in place while Grant could shoo the kids around the danger. Since they didn't have any better idea, the children assorted themselves and found someone else to hold hands with. So the march began towards the exit. Many of them would squeak or gasp at every single sound, but the duo found the patience within themselves to tolerate this. After all, they had been just as nervous only moments ago. Besides, they would lie if they said that they weren't nervous right then, too.

However, the fact that the crying had ceased, had their sound barrier melt away. Now the creatures would detect every crack around them and they followed it without any hesitation. Trevor paraded up front, his cone of light revealed the ground, sides and ceiling before them. It unraveled the dark until it would hit the shaky, hairy legs of a spider. Then the head, the burning eyes and the twitching body behind it.

It wasn't only one. It was two—No, three other spiders that had followed their path!

Of course, the children screamed out of the top of their lungs. Trevor stepped back, forcing them to do the same as Grant stayed close behind to make sure that none of them was going to escape out of pure terror. Besides, they were sure that the yelling was going to attract more of these demons. It wasn't exactly helpful to have them around, though that was to be expected. Needless to say, they were kids. Not that it kept Grant from glaring at them for a second before realizing just as much.

All that Trevor could do properly was to keep off the beasts with the whip, though he was unable to stop them from spitting acid. It forced the pirate to command the children backwards, but not without flinging a dagger or two.

"You'll have to run past!", yelled the hunter out of frustration as the whip snapped at one of the spiders. It staggered backwards from the impact.

It didn't take the other a second to come up with a prompt complaint. "What?! Are you insane?! What if there are more of those? We'll have to run together!" But once they'd escape, the three spiders would haste after them and possible new foes could be right ahead. Yet, defeating each of them would be impossible. Not without risking the lives of the children. The hunter gritted his teeth in despair and glanced back over his shoulder to watch them for a second.

Another few strikes of the whip to keep the beasts in place. "You said something about burning this place down, remember?" To feel a smirk on his lips was somewhat weird in this situation. He couldn't deny that the thought of ridding these spiders with some fire was more than satisfying imagine. After all, fighting them was a much more tiresome idea. Needless to say, a ludicrous idea, too.

The pirate returned the smirk just the same, but the children weren't exactly comfortable with it. Therefore, he turned his gaze towards them as he spoke to them in a firm manner. "We will get out of here, understood? You won't run away from us or the group in general!" Not that they were sure about his words, but most of them realized that there was no other choice than to listen to Grant. With that, the hunter let the Vampire Killer answer. He pushed the spiders back, but his attacks were more aimed towards their legs to make them immobile. As soon as the monsters figured out that plan, they scuttled around quicker, yet much more uncoordinated. This caused them to collide into one another and it was easier for both Trevor and Grant to hit their marks.

Without waiting a second longer, both of them chased the children down the cave between the three spiders that were trying to get the hang of it and untangle their legs. Until that was accomplished, their group had already left them behind.

As expected, more enemies waited along the way. Some more and sometimes it was less, but the duo handled them as they could until a few of the younger children were getting out of breath. The pirate didn't hesitate to pick up two of them and lift them in his arms while he would ask another one to climb his back. The hunter let one tired child climb his back as well, though he was the one who would need his hands free for the moment. Even the older kids themselves tried to be of help for the others, knowing that they couldn't leave one of them behind in this place. Trevor could feel how the young boy was pressing against his back and his tiny hands clutched to his tunic in pure despair. Somehow, as much as the kid was being an extra weight, it give him more motivation just the same. His body was a shield to an innocent person and being a protector to many more. It was as if exactly that had him come to Wallachia in the first place: to be able to protect those who needed him the most as he carried out the mission of God. For those, this world was worth saving, no matter what a bunch of other people thought of him or his family name.

This wasn't the time to ponder about his place or fate though. With newfound determination, Trevor and Grant moved their way through the cave. They kept the children with the pirate where he would direct them into different corners and throw his daggers at those spiders that aimed at their group with the acid. Most of the monsters would direct their attention to Trevor though. He seemed to be a much easier target all alone with a child strapped to his back.

That was the first mistake that the spiders had done: underestimating what Trevor was capable of. The second one was to do the same with Grant with his aiming skills that were extraordinary, blocking the mouths of the spiders with his blades. Naturally, none of that could actually kill these creatures. Neither of them had unlimited strength or daggers for that matter, so their main goal was to get out of the cave. The quicker, the better. Especially for the kids that were slowly getting out of breath,but their fright had been frozen and their screaming ceased. They were beginning to trust the two men that had saved them from their prison and as they were becoming aware of their capabilities, the hope for rescue was greater than their fear of being consumed.

When their eyes finally caught sight of the end of the cave, they first spotted how the fog was gone and had made way for heavy rain. The sound of raindrops hitting the spider webs reached their ears, they were so massive. One glance was thrown back behind them where another group of five spiders was chasing them down.

"Trevor, give me the oil lamp!", Grant called out as he slowed his steps and lowered the three children to the ground. He shooed them towards Trevor which they promptly did despite their helpless whimpering, then he held out his hand to receive the lamp. "I'll light the stick from earlier while you and the rest get out of here! With the rock on the outside of the cave, we might be able to close this place up for good while it burns!" Since they only had mere seconds until the beasts were to arrive on the spot, Trevor wasn't given enough time to think about this properly. So he followed his words and handed over the lamp and picking up two other kids in his arms which were about to fall over. With that, he commanded them roughly to reach outside while the pirate did as he had said and lighted the stick. While the spiders came closer, Grant waved the flame around to have the spider web catch on fire. The flames attached themselves to the walls and climbed them up as smoke emerged as well. As light as it was becoming, the ashes and smoke were making it hard to see the giant hairy bodies of the spiders. However, the pirate only needed to drop the burning stick to the ground and turn on his heels and run. The fire kept the attackers off and he could hear them let out frustrated hisses. They'd spit at the ground to extinguish the fire, but the flames were spreading quick. No matter what they did, the creatures were soon covered in flames as well.

Trevor had already placed the children down and hastened to the rock to stem his arms and body against it. The object moved inch by inch and the hunter trusted that Grant was quick enough to get out. As the rock edged closer to the opening and began to cover half of it, the pirate dashed outside. He was panting heavily, though he didn't wait another second after another deep breath and joined Trevor's side to help him with the task. The son of Belmont sure held incredible strength, he could have done this by himself. Some of those rumors about him and his family must have been true after all. Not that this was of particular importance right now, they were glad for every ounce of power they could get. Even some of the older kids were shoving themselves between them to get a hand on the rock as well. Their shoving proved to be successful, not covering all of the opening, but enough to not have anything of the size of this spider pass through. There would be air to feed the flames further while it was pouring outside, too. The faint sounds of thunder was reaching their ears and as the task was done. They gazed at the shaking children with a tired, yet content smile.

"See? We've almost made it! We all have to stay strong now, it isn't long until we should be out of the forest!" Grant was more than relieved to see how they all made it out okay and alive despite the mutual shock that they were having from this encounter. This wasn't going to leave them with nightmares and scares in their minds, but better than to end up as a snack. Trevor opened his cloak to have some of the kids hide under the cloth to protect them from the rain. Not all fitted, but the pirate was generous enough as well to take off his jacket and let the rest use it as a shield by holding it over their heads.

Taking a break would actually be essential soon. All this running had drained somewhat of their energy. The kids complained to one another in low voices how their feet hurt or how hungry they were, but stopping in these part of the woods was asking for trouble. Grant had to explain more than once how they were coming to an end of the Codrii Vlăsiei as the trees were starting to become scarcer than before.

Trevor let his eyes wander. Indeed, they were leaving behind the deepest part of the woods. The rain found their way through the leaves easier, drenching them all. His long mane was clinging to the sides of his face and his shoulders, his clothes becoming heavy on him. Needless to say, his feet swam in his boots by now, too.

In the distance, they could spot a form of abandoned estate. At least, that was what the ruins would tell them. Broken pillars and statues and what used to be a garden had become part of the forest.

As unsettling as it was, this was probably the safest place to find around.

Not difficult, Trevor thought to himself, anything would be safer than the cave at this point.