"How about that tree right there? The one with the really spindly branches? I might have seen it somewhere before."
"Fidget, we've passed by a lot of trees with branches like that so far."
"Yeah but...that one the biggest!"
"I think I would have remembered seeing that the first time."
"Oh okay...um...that big rock over there maybe? It's big and flat and smooth, and we might have-"
"That definitely wasn't there around the place we were at."
"Ahh...right…"
They hadn't been walking around for too long, but enough time to realize the area was a completely different one than the one they were familiar with previously. There wasn't a clear trail through the trees no noticeable trees or boulders anywhere that were recognizable. At this point, it looked like the three were doomed to spending a night in the wilderness since none of them seemed to have the slightest sense of where to go.
"Ugh...I don't want to spend the night out here…" Fidget muttered, "not when I know there's monsters lurking around somewhere, waiting for easy prey like us to just fall asleep and become easy pickings for 'em…"
"Come on now, Fidget. We've been in worse places, haven't we?" Dust said, "remember when we had to camp just outside of the Sorrowing Meadows at the base of the Blackmoor Mountains? It was pretty cold and we were still pretty close to those zombie creatures."
"Don't remind me." Fidget said dryly.
"Well...on the bright side, we haven't actually run into any monsters yet, have we?" Dust asked, shrugging, "it's been pretty quiet actually, so far."
"Maybe we're in a quiet area." Fidget suggested, then groaned and lowered her head into her paws, "Ohhh...does that mean we have to find some and follow the trail of monsters back to Aurora? I remember a lot lived on that route back…"
"Maybe, maybe not. For now, I don't even know where to find monsters right this moment, and I'd rather not go looking for them just yet." Dust replied, kicking an egg-sized stone of of his path and absently watching it bounce into a nearby shrub.
"Good." Fidget huffed, "To be honest I'm really not in a mood to fight right now an-...oh?" She cocked her head at something in the distance and fluttered toward it, off to Dust's left.
"Fidget? Where are you going?" Dust called after her, following right behind. She headed right for an area where several boulders lay near felled trees and rotten logs. Behind the torn-looking landscape, a rock face rose at the base of a large hill, about twice as tall as Dust. The nimbat came to a stop in front of it, staring at it curiously. Dust skidded to a stop next to her, turning his head and shooting her a confused and partially frustrated glance,
"Fidget?"
"Oh, sorry about the detour, Dust. I just…" She frowned crossing her arms, "I thought I sensed something from behind here."
"Behind this wall?" Dust prompted, reaching out a hand to touch it. It was definitely a rock wall, "is it your nimbat sixth sense, by any chance?"
"Yeah, something like that." Fidget replied, darting off to the side to examine the side of the wall. Its width extended backwards into the hill, looking like the earth had devoured it. Fidget sped off to the opposite side, and made a sound of surprise, "oh, Dust! Lookie here, there's a crevasse here!"
"Fidget, I thought we were supposed to be finding some way to get back to Aurora?" Dust muttered, though he followed her to the crevasse in question just for a look. Indeed, a long split ran up the wide width of the rock wall, probably long and wide enough for him to fit in without much difficulty. There wasn't much light beyond the crack, however. By the looks of it, it was most likely some cave that had gotten blocked off over the passage of time.
"I know...but we aren't having much luck, and I'm just a bit curious to see if there's any treasure hidden in there."
"Well, why don't you fly in and tell me?" Dust challenged, glancing at the smaller creature expectantly.
Fidget shook her head, chuckling uneasily, "Nah...I was hoping you'd go in there while I wait out here."
Dust shot her a wry smile, "And here I thought you weren't afraid of the dark." Fidget groaned in exasperation,
"For the hundredth time, I'm not! I've mentioned before that we nimbats just don't like flying into dark and endlessly gloomy caves. That's all!" She pouted. Dust tried to bite back a teasing laugh,
"Oh no, you wanted to see what it was so badly, why don't you fly in first and I'll follow?" Fidget huffed at him in annoyance, and in a blink darted into the crevasse, much faster and sooner than Dust expected. As he promised, the fox stepped in after her, blinking to adjust his eyes to the gloom.
"Dust, is this a wise decision? We were supposed to be finding some way of getting back on track to Aurora Village." Ahrah's voice sounded in the din, sounding with disapproval. Dust sighed quietly,
"I don't know, Ahrah. We haven't had much luck finding any way of getting back on track, and you're still being interfered by something. I guess it wouldn't be much trouble to just see what treasure Fidget seems to be sensing." He huffed under his breath, "Too bad she can't sense where the nearest town is."
"Very well Dust, but I would still advise you two to be cautious. As I said, the interference is preventing me from sensing any incoming dangers as well, so be aware you may confront an enemy at any time." The sword warned, and Dust nodded,
"I hear you, Ahrah, we'll be careful."
The inside of the crack did indeed look to extend back into a cave, completely dark save for the outlines of some shapes in the distance. To his surprise, Fidget had flown ahead of him. He supposed he should feel guilty about teasing her, now that he was aware they could be in danger without Ahrah to forewarn them.
"Dust! Where are you?" Fidget's voice echoed back at him, from somewhere farther in the cave.
"Fidget! I'm coming toward you, okay? I should probably tell you to be careful, Ahrah can't sense if there's anything dangerous that lives in here." Dust called, steadily making his way into the darkness. He reached out to the side, gently brushing his fingers along the walls of the cave to help get a sense of where he was going.
"Alright, alright, I'll be careful, but I assure you if there is anything in the area, I am totally not scared of it!" Fidget's voice huffed, "I've dealt with caves before!"
"Can you at least wait for me? I'd feel a bit better if we were closer together if it's this dark in here." Dust called out to Fidget, nearly stumbling over something large and solid in the shadows, feeling a turn coming up from the curve in the wall.
"Oooo, who's scared of the dark now, huh? Baww don't leave me Fidget, I need you cause I'm a scaredy cat in the daaark caves!" Fidget's voice mocked, badly attempting to mimic his voice, "This isn't actually a cape I'm wearing, it's my baby blankie because I'm such a scaredy cat!"
Dust rolled his eyes, regretting having to damage her pride to make her come in here, "Alright, alright, you're taking what I said far too personally." His ears twitched as they picked up the soft sound of Fidget's wings, which also echoed a bit in the cave depths. He must be closing the distance between the two of them. Good, hopefully Fidget will let go long enough to realize that they should probably stay close in this cave, as it was turning out to be much larger than Dust previously anticipated.
He rounded the corner, surprised to see an exit to the cave that appeared to lead them back outside. He saw Fidget's silhouette in the exitway, hovering in place as she waited. As he approached, she darted outside, sticking her tongue out teasingly, "Hah! Who's scared of the dark now, not m-"
They both stopped short as a dark cloud was shot out of seemingly nowhere at Fidget, causing her eyes to widen and her paws to fly and grip at her throat, "D-Du…!" she gagged, losing altitude.
"Fidget!" Dust yelled, launching himself forward toward her. As he did, another dark mist shot out from the other side, bombarding him with deathly-smelling fumes that seemed to burn his very flesh. He almost lost composure at how fast and sudden the second blast was, but his hands quickly found Fidget's sinking body and he swiftly threw his body out of the miasma of thick ebony clouds, Fidget's body held close to his chest. He turned his head from where he had landed on his side, letting out a breath to see the black mist hover only in place around the cave mouth before dissipating. He then noticed the two large plants on either side of the entrance. They were circular, both about the size of a wagon wheel, with dark green and red-spotted petals that frayed out in all directions. They were close to the ground but held up by thick, twisted, dark stems studded with fang-shaped thorns. They were unlike any plant Dust had seen thus far.
He attempted to get up, but an explosion of dizziness overtook him and he collapsed back onto his side, his legs feeling shaky and unstable. "What?"
He remembered Fidget in a heartbeat and looked down at where he held her. She hadn't moved, and appeared to be unconscious and completely limp in his arms. Not even her wings twitched, as they often did while she slept. Dust gritted his teeth nervously, struck with the awful thought that Fidget might be…
He laid her down on the ground and gently pressed two of his fingers against her chest, relaxing as he felt her heartbeat. Good, she wasn't dead.
"Master, forgive me, I was not even aware those were there." Ahrah sounded, and sounded as remorseful as a sentient weapon could sound, "You and Fidget were both hit by it."
"It's okay, Ahrah…" Dust began, only to suddenly be interrupted by a sudden violent coughing fit that left his throat sore and burning, "you mentioned...an interference. But...what was that…?" Dust lowered his head into one hand, shutting his eyes tiredly, "I feel weak…" he groaned.
"I believe those were...rancor blossoms. They're an uncommon type of plant with roots that grow close to the surface of the earth, and if one were to tread on its roots, it would release a very potent cloud of spores that afflict any creature nearby." The sword paused, "But it's very strange... rancor blossoms are only known to grow in marshlands, and they typically don't grow so close together."
"Well I guess it's our unlucky day." Dust groaned, trying to gather enough energy to stand back up. Those spores must have been pretty strong to have him on the ground so soon, and this and the fact he was struggling to get back up made him worry for Fidget, who was much smaller and probably unable to take the kind of damage he could.
Ahrah voiced his thoughts, "Dust, you may escape most of the severity of the rancor blossom spores due to your size, but Fidget…"
Dust managed to at least rise to his knees, still holding Fidget's body close. She was breathing faintly and unevenly, emitting tiny coughs every now and again. She was in bad shape, there was no doubt.
Dust himself was feeling the weakness and dizziness that forbade him from gaining both feet, the painful coughing and the fatigue. It was horrible for him, but he could only imagine how it felt for Fidget. The fox shook his head. There was no doubt about it, they needed to get to a town as soon as possible, and Aurora Village felt somewhere unreachable.
This was bad, this was very bad.
Dust glanced about the area-which was surprisingly rich with trees and plantlife-grimacing as he saw cliffs and rock walls surrounding the area around the cave mouth, , fencing them in and extending far into the distance. The walls looked too high to even double-jump over, and appeared to have no handholds to speak of to use for climbing. Dust hissed under his breath in frustration.
"Master," Ahrah sounded, "We should quickly leave this place, you and Fidget need to seek medical assistance immediately, and we would fare better out in The Glade than in this strange place."
"I know…" Dust murmured, casting a look at the cave mouth, "but I'm not so sure...those rancor blossoms are literally right on either side of the cave mouth, and looks like I won't be able to jump over the roots without hitting the top of the entranceway. I don't know if I want to risk rushing past them with Fidget like this." He sighed desperately, sweeping the area again with his obscured gaze, "we...I don't know...we'll need to find some way around or some other way that leads out of here…" He struggled to his feet, planting Ahrah into the ground and using it as a support until he managed to stand, albeit shakily. He tightened his arms around Fidget as he swayed briefly, praying his strength wouldn't fail him and cause him to drop her unconscious body.
Come on, you can't just drop dead...again...you need to get out of here. Find some help for Fidget and yourself. You have to!
Cradling her body close with one arm, and holding Ahrah with the other, Dust started off, ears pinned back with the effort. Every step was weak and shaking, and he gritted his teeth and hoped his legs wouldn't give out anytime soon. He tried to concentrate his depleting energy into walking and keeping a hold on Fidget's body, just concentrate on those two things and keep looking for a way out.
Dust wasn't sure if they were even outside or still in the cave, at this point. It was very dim, as if it were dusk, though he wasn't sure if enough time had passed for it to be this dark. It seemed like it would be outside, though he got the sense that he wasn't, he felt like he was still closed into a space, someplace dark and hidden and far away from where he needed to be. It was a depressingly heavy feeling, and Dust shook himself impatiently. There was no time to be sulking about it now.
There were many trees, like a forest, and they kept filing back into the dim distance, with dark, ashy bark and sparse leaves that looked more dead than alive. Some had crooked branches that arched through the air and curled earthward like giant, gnarled talons coming down to pluck up any small prey on the ground, some were tall with dense canopies of leaves that seemed to droop toward the ground. Shrubs and thornbushes lined the areas around the trees, and the occasional puddle was seen off the path, despite that it didn't seem to have rained recently. The ground was growing progressively more soft and marshy underfoot, perhaps this area was more of a marshland after all, making at least a little more sense for the appearance of those rancor blossoms. Not a lot, but a little more.
The entire area was gloomy and well-shaded, so much so that Dust could probably picture this place being dim even during the day. He hoped it wasn't too dim to see if he could locate another way out of here, but frustratingly enough, it didn't appear the rock walls on either side of the area were going to disappear anytime soon.
Dust growled. He was growing more unsteady, beginning to stumble and totter off his path and everything was appearing more disorienting and dizzying around him.
He felt Fidget slip a little bit in his arms.
"Dust…!" Ahrah hummed to life, catching his attention. His grip tightened on Fidget, but he felt all of the energy seep out of him. Dust fell to his knees, quickly catching himself with one arm, the other still holding Fidget close.
"N-no...I can't…I need a moment…" Dust panted, lowering his head to start coughing violently again.
He couldn't believe this was happening. A miracle had brought him back from from his molten grave, and only for him to probably end up wasting it by stumbling around and lost in the wilderness just outside of the village he needed to get to. Or, it looked like Fidget was more likely the one to go first. She was very weak in his arms, not even a slight twitch or jerk in her unconsciousness thus far, and that worried Dust. He knew her to be quite, well, fidgety in her sleep, true to her name.
No, no it would be alright. He maybe just needed to rest for a moment. There was still time. He would get them all out of here, and Fidget and him would get a proper chance to recover, and they would rejoice again over his victory and his miraculous return to the world of the living. He just needed a moment to rest.
Dust wasn't sure which side of his personal argument he believed more, and shook his head, wincing as it antagonized another bout of vertigo. He hoped he would be able to get up in a moment and attempt to keep walking. He had to.
Right now. Right this moment.. Dust convinced himself enough and lifted his head, only to be startled by the sight in front of him.