HSV RPG: Chapter 1: The Forest of No Return

The old woman croaked, "Be careful, young one. The Forest of No Return is not a place for someone as weak as yourself."

"Yes, ma'am. Your payment." I placed the small bag in her weathered palm, listening to the clinking of the gold coins inside.

I could hear the soft thuds of our feet hitting the damp ground in the Forest of No Return. Rentaro and Sora's armor weighed them down far more than they would have liked so I, the rogue, was to be a scout ahead because I was lighter on my feet with the thin potato sack cloth that covered me from head to toe.

The Forest of No Return was known to be a danger zone in which many knights and warlocks went missing with no return. It was a terrifying thought that seemed to grasp ahold of my heart, preventing me from traveling much farther than my team. How would we survive this terror?

"Kori! Look out!" Sora called out behind me just in time for me to jump over the vine trying to snake around my ankle. I heard an animal begin to shriek in the treetops only trying to intimidate and scare us further than we already were.

"Where the hell is this hideout anyways?" Ren's yelled plainly and normally like he usually would, which showing the lack of fear that seemed to be plaguing me.

"The gypsy told me that it would be a straight shot through! We just need to avoid making any turns! She said most of the travelers get lost forever because they get scared and run the wrong way!"

She had also told me the forest was alive, brimming with the feral beasts that attacked nearby villages in the middle of the night. She told me about how the forest itself would move to distract travellers and get them lost along the way so they would be trapped forever within the grasp of the forest.

My job was to get us information about this forest and to get us through it in one piece, which was becoming more and more difficult as we delved deeper into the woods. Every small landmark looked the same as the last and it took everything I had to continue a straight path through the mind-numbingly similar forest. There was nothing else I could do for my team that keep my mind steady and continue forward.

Step by step, we went forth. We were determined to find this hideout and I wouldn't fail them now even if all of the nymphs and fairies in this forest were to jump out and guide us the wrong way. A handful of parlor tricks weren't going to keep me from getting my job done.

I was near giving up hope and feeling as if I had failed my team. But then I saw the light of the boss's hideout up ahead. Ran Medo, the Evil Medic, we're coming for you. Team Blondie is on their way. You can bet on that.