Deep in a lonely, dark forest, ten strangers stood huddled together; frantically scanning the woods around them for signs of what creature or creatures stalked them. The canopy blocked much of the light, leaving a dark, leaf covered floor absent of tracks but for those the nervous group left in their own wake. Only one person stood apart from the group, the irwinian Yvereian smiled almost at them with an air of condescension. “There is nothing in the woods.” He chuckled, stepping away from the group and turning amidst the trees with arms outstretched. “Nothing stalking us, nothing waiting to pick off stragglers.” he sighed, looking at the mass that remained bundled together. “It’s just trees! He heard an old branch fall, that’s all you’re frightened over, a stick.” The irwinian’s long fingers wrapped around a random stick on the floor, waving it lazily at the group. “Grow up.”
The wounded gorun in the centre of the mass of people looked around slowly, thoughts racing. He started to open his mouth to speak but closed it quickly, eyes narrowing as he joined the others in carefully scanning the forest around them.
“The Arcanist said three things over here right?” Yvereian looked at the group as he strolled calmly to a bunch of trees growing close to each other. The irwinian moved the leaves around on the ground lazily with the stick until it finally tapped something. Picking it up be smiled before turning to the group. “I found it, Very dangerous; a small rock.” He tossed it in the air, catching it before suddenly pegging it at a random angle deeper into the forest. Turning back to the group, he spread his arms as if having proved something. “Nothing! The cataclysm that destroyed Einode killed every creature on the island. Food will be fruit, vegetables, and fish. That’s it. There is nothing to be afraid of.”
With a sigh, the irwinian pushed past the group to continue in the direction they had been heading originally. He didn’t have to turn around to know they were following him. A massive clump of people staying close together, trampling the entire undergrowth as they stumbled through the forest. He could hear them whispering, but he couldn’t make out the words. At times it almost sounded like someone had whispered the word ‘kill’, at other times ‘bait’.
“I can hear you, you know.” He called back, not turning around. “You aren’t nearly as quiet as you seem to think.” He shook his head a couple times in disbelief at how quickly fear gripped these people. “You’re believing an gorun. They’re known for being slow and paranoid, you know?” he called back, smiling to himself as the sound of the group walking stopped. He chuckled once, finally stopping to turn and address the group face to face. But they were nowhere to be seen. A single line of footprints broke the leaves of the forest floor. Ahead, or more aptly; in the direction he thought he was walking away from, he could see the coast. The ocean in near view stained red with the blood of a massacre, but otherwise the waves lapped calmly.
Yvereian turned back in the direction he was walking and shouted into the dark and silent forest. “Hello? Everyone?” he dropped the stick he’d been carrying, rushing forward amidst the trees and calling for the group. What had happened? How did he lose them, they were right behind him the whole time.
The irwinian paused for a moment, leaning over with his left hand on his left knee, right hand gripping the stick as he used his fist to support himself against a tree.
He could hear voices in the distance. How had they ended up so far from him? A part of him wanted to run back to them. But what was the point? There were no predators on this island. There wasn’t actually anything to be afraid of and it seemed like their fear was infectious. It had spread throughout the group so easily, perhaps it was the cause of his mad desire to rush back to them. Yvereian chuckled to himself. He might follow the group, stalk them to play with their fear. He had to do something to amuse himself in this place after all. He quickly crept from tree to tree, growing closer to the noise. He could see one of the humans in the distance amidst the trees. As his hand fell to resting on the trunk of this random tree, the irwinian felt like lightning was ripping through his heart and mind.
The tree he found himself at the base of was different from all the others. The trunk started thicker and strange vine or maybe even vein like protrusions the thickness of his arm traced up the sides. It was the only tree he could see with branches in reach that could perhaps support him, and it was a burnt and be-speckled colour. But it was just a tree, he should forget about it and check where the group was. It was at this point that he remembered the stick in his hand. It felt strangely uncomfortable, as if the bark was simply rubbing against him the wrong way. But he couldn’t simply discard it, it was one of the sturdiest around, it would make for a great weapon. But what did he need a weapon for? There were no predators on the island after all right? It felt like he was arguing with himself.
He could argue all he wanted later, the group was moving away. If he didn’t follow, he could easily lose them again. As the irwinian’s hand began to peel away from the tree to resuming walking, the strangest thought of the day flitted through his mind. ‘Just make sure not to fall’ Fall? What brought that up, what would he fall off? Looking around for any reason for this strange thought, Yvereian’s eyes found a strange arrangement of large stones. One stone had been pulled away but otherwise they sat as almost a structure of their own. He dropped the stick in order to lift the stone and replace it with the others. This was most likely some form of grave marker, it would be rude to leave it defaced like that.
After the stone was returned, the irwinian found himself reaching for the random stick. But why? It was just a stick, there was no point to the effort of picking it up again. It was almost like the compulsion of an addict, a need to pick up the stick and carry it with him. What was going on? A little concerned at his own mental state, the irwinian watched the stick on the ground as he slowly crawled away from it. At some point he’d finally lost sight of the stick and deemed it safe to stand up. He had to get back to the group. If for no other reason than to make sure the others could keep an eye on him. Something wasn’t right and the only thought he was sure was rational was that he needed to be watched. He needed someone to make sure he didn’t go crazy or wander off on his own again. He’d never been like this before, was it this place?
Collecting himself, the sailor straightened up as he strode through the woods toward the voices. It wasn’t long before he caught sight of the other survivors. “What are you doing still standing here?” His snide tone settling him back into a comfortable arrogance.
“Are you okay?” One of the human women asked, eyes sweeping up and down his body. They didn’t need to know what he was thinking about himself. All that mattered was that they didn’t let him wander away again, at least for now. But now to organise a situation like that?
“I told you, there’s nothing out there.” He looked down at himself, only now realising just how dirty he had become. Brushing away the dirt and leaves, he tried his best to ignore the scratches and bruises. “There are some hard to see ledges and small cliffs and pits. I’m probably quite lucky I wasn’t seriously hurt. But for everyone’s safety we should remain in close proximity. Make sure no-one falls again.”
“But what about the noises” the rat spoke up, its voice a little grating but he ignored the unpleasantness.
“The wind. Blows the branches around or knocks sticks out of the trees. You’ve been jumping at the wind.” She didn’t seem to believe him. The irwinian rolled his eyes before continuing. “Nothing attacked me. There is nothing in this forest except us. He has you all paranoid.” The sailor’s long finger pointed to the midst of the group, to the face of the gorun that hated him so. “He wants to control you, and he’s doing it through fear. Subtler than normal for his kind I’ll give him that. But it’s the truth.” The gorun simply bared a few teeth, silently watching him as the group broke into a wash of hushed conversations.
There was this strange look in the gorun’s eyes, at first Yvereian was sure the brute was going to lurch forward and strangle him. But instead he simply opened his mouth and spoke. Words dripping with hatred and vitriol he was shocked no-one else picked up on. “Can we just leave this forest first?” Much of the group agreed immediately with the wounded gorun. The irwinian sailor glanced around at the seemingly endless forest around them before asking almost sarcastically where he expected to go instead. “That way.” the man raised a giant arm to point past him. “The pine trees give way to some other forest up ahead. We can clear our heads there.”
The irwinian turned to look in the direction, only to see the steadily growing darkness of the dense forest. Rolling his eyes, he nodded. If they wanted to wander in circles, fine. It was only a matter of time before they saw the folly of following this idiot. The group began to move in a sort of wobbling mass. Those on the side in the direction they wanted to go, would take a single long stride, then wait as the same movement rippled through the rest of the group, with each person taking smaller steps to give a little room for others to move as well. He was thankful though, when one of the humans stepped out of the group to walk with him instead.
It took a long while for the irwinian to finally see where everyone was so eager to reach. Through the tall, sparse trees, one could see a mass of shorter ones. More light shone among the leaves and roots of this ‘neighbour forest’. He didn’t see what the big deal was, one forest or another they were simply collections of trees. It pissed him off to watch the gorun wince and groan as he walked. The brute’s wounds weren’t that bad, he could easily walk on his own. Yet he seemed to demand everyone support him. Nothing was more infuriating than laziness, and he was done with it.
“Happy? We’re out of the pine forest. Oooh big deal! A bunch of trees is different to another bunch.” He shouted, slightly louder than he had intended, as he watched the crowd lowering the gorun to sitting at the base of a tree. “He’s manipulating you. Can’t you see that?” Several people were looking at him like he was crazy. Others continued to stare into the sparse forest as if looking for something. “He’s frightening you with lies. Twisting the way you see the world so you think you’re in danger! You think it’s safest with him but that’s all he wants you to think.” two of the humans and one of his kin looked to be coming around. They glanced from him to the goruny manipulator nervously.
“Syell-” The gorun sat up, still leaning on the tree but clearly in a more assertive posture.
“You shut up. You’re going to say I’ve gone crazy. But I walked away from your group and wasn’t attacked. There’s nothing in that forest, and if anything was in this forest, it would have gone over there too. There is nothing on this island and you’re just trying to scare people into doing what you tell them. But it’s so obvious a trick, you’re not catching me in your net.” He was shouting so much, it took a minute for him to realise there were a pair of arms on his hip pulling him back.
“He’s a little loud, but he has a point.” One of the humans finally spoke up, glancing between the two. “If there was anything following us, why wouldn’t it have attacked him when he walked away? I didn’t hear anything. I was just trusting him-” He pointed at the gorun, who seemed to be growing more nervous every second. “when he said he heard something.”
With all the speed he could muster short of blowing the cover of being wounded, the gorun stood up. His size cut an imposing silhouette over the curious human. Expecting this moment to come to blows, Yvereian stepped forward himself. In an instant he drew the stick that was tucked into the back of his pants, brandishing it as if ready to strike the gorun across the side of the head. The large man flinched at the sudden movement before recoiling with eyes wide upon actually seeing the weapon. “I’m going this way.” The irwinian forced a calm tone, gesturing with his head in a random direction into the forest. “You’re all welcome to join me.”
As he marched away, the irwinian made the concious choice not to turn around. If anyone was coming with him, he was glad. But he didn’t want to be seen turning around to check. Only when he reached a small clearing, did the irwinian sit down and look around. At first he was alone, sitting in silence, left to wonder if perhaps he had been wrong. What if there were living creatures on this island? Was that the sound of them creeping nearer? He turned, and watched as two humans; Miles Samson, and Elizabeth Wrale, and one of his kin; Kelebris Lane, emerged from the foliage.
“Sorry about that.” Miles spoke up as he moved to sit near the irwinian sailor. “There was a little more argument but I wasn’t going to stick around. He was clearly lying about something.”