Hunter of the Evernight
Chapter 624: The Grim Forest

Chapter 624: The Grim Forest

The Grim Forest.

It held the title of the third largest forest in Eventide, behind the second largest, Nightingale Forest, which served as the new home for the Razan vampires, and the Wandering Fores,t, which stood at the top as the largest forest in the world.

Of course, apart from being large, it stood out in another way which was related to why it was given such an odd name.

It was the only forest in Eventide that had trees that bore no leaves, and even the type of trees present in the forest were found nowhere else in Eventide.

The trees in question resembled human bones when viewed from an angle with a pale white bark and branches that struck out in rigid forms reminiscent of bones.

No one knew how these trees came to be though there were various unverifiable accounts of how the trees came to exist and even why they somehow continue to persist.

This was the reason the Grim Forest was considered one of the seven mysteries of the world alongside Quillion, The Bed of Roses, and the Branches of the Absolute One.

Alongside its peculiar nature, It was also said to be the last place a man would wish to find himself as not only were the Banshees a threat, but the entity that resided in the forest seemed to hold a great distaste for men.

It was into such a forest that Arwen walked into, accompanied by her Banshee escort.

The moment she stepped past the boundary, it seemed as though the rays of the Lightbringer dimmed, leaving behind very little light to illuminate the environment.

This caused the area to appear even more eerie though Arwen thought nothing of it as her eyes glowed a faint green while she took steady steps forward.

She seemed relaxed in such an environment, in great contrast to her companion who appeared wary, her gaze sweeping across the area as she searched for something.

Just like the trees, the ground was bare as well, with not a single blade of grass in sight.

"You should be careful, my lady, there are areas around the forest where the ground is too soft to walk on." The Banshee escort remarked.

"That won’t be a problem." Arwen intoned only to pause as she sensed something.

The next moment, her lips curled at the edges as she muttered. "She’s here."

Following that, there was a rumbling, accompanied by shrill cries that caused the Banshee escort to immediately transform into her cryptid form, in preparation for battle.

Arwen, on the other hand, appeared relaxed as she glanced in a certain direction, awaiting the arrival of whoever was coming.

Soon, it arrived, and her eyes flashed with intrigue at the sight.

It appeared as a small wooden hut with a chimney that continuously billowed out thick black smoke but that wasn’t what stood out.

Neither was it the fact that the front of the hut shared odd similarities with a human face with two windows serving as the eyes, a door serving as the mouth, and two pipes at the side serving as ears.

It was instead the fact that this hut was actually standing and most importantly, it was standing on two comically long chicken legs.

"My Lady, stay back, I’ll handle this." The Banshee escort intoned only for Arwen to ignore her as she took a step forward.

The next moment, the chicken legs of the hut slowly drilled into the ground, quickly disappearing and allowing the hut to be on ground level.

The door swung open after that, revealing a repulsive yet ferocious old woman with a long and pointed nose, dressed in ragged clothing.

Her eyes glowed an ominous orange and her skin was covered in boils.

She had a prominent hunchback and she appeared as though she could fall apart at any moment, yet she took steady steps forward with a cane that seemed to be forged using human bones.

A smile blossomed on her lips as she laid eyes on Arwen, revealing that she had no teeth and a decayed mouth that left one feeling nauseous.

"My lady." The Banshee escort intoned as she came to stand before Arwen only for the latter to shove her aside and walk forward, quickly closing the distance between her and the old thing.

The lady said nothing as Arwen came within arm’s length before raising her hand and creating a tongue of flame-shaded green.

The orange eyes of the old thing reflected the green glow briefly before Arwen muttered.

"Help me and I’ll help you recover what you’ve lost."

The old hag licked her lips with her blackened tongue that seemed a bit too large to fit into her small mouth before nodding in response after which she turned and walked back inside with the door closing roughly behind her.

Arwen had a satisfied smile on her lips as she watched the hut stand up before making its way into the darkness, vanishing from sight.

"My lady, this..."

"Another ally," Arwen remarked. "Come, let us continue on our way."

Saying that, Arwen led the way and the Banshee escort followed.

***

Ever since Arwen’s kidnapping, if it could even be called that, the ladies had been stuck in the lodge Alice had provided for them, though the latter had long since left, unwilling to endanger herself any longer, considering Nadia wasn’t interested in her in the first place.

As it was, the situation in Pheripolis had gotten even more troublesome with tales of woe spread on the streets of a coming battle against the barbarian chief who claimed himself to be the son of a deity.

Several people were already clamoring for the government to surrender to avoid bloodshed, though they seemed to have been instigated by a select few who supported King Ull and his grand scheme of a united empire.

There had been numerous crackdowns by law enforcement, but instead of a reduction, the clamors seemed to increase, with Pheripolis currently moving on a one-way path to civil war.

It was in such a city that the ladies found themselves trapped with no means of leaving.