Though the lantern offered light, it shed little warmth on Wirt's cracked skin. His coat had grown worn over his uncountable years in the forest.
The harsh wind continued to blow. Wirt clutched his axe tighter in his hands and peered through the rows of trees. All those years in the forest and the place still seemed like a maze.
"Would there be anything worse in the world then your lantern's flame dying?" The beast hung in the shadows.
Wirt shivered. Though he didn't answer the beast, the question echoed through his mind as he walked home, lantern in hand.