Lucas woke up on a mountain; this time, the mountain was peerless, standing high above the clouds as the starry night shone against the depthless dark. "For god's sake, why is it always mountains? Why couldn't it be something simple like a nice green field with flowers?" Whined Lucas as he got to his feet.
Staring down at the endless drop that awaited him should he fall. "If you're gonna show me something! Then hurry up!" Shouted Lucas as he glared at the stars, "Oh, what's the point? I'm gonna forget everything as soon as I wake up," Muttered Lucas as he sat there waiting for the dream to end.
Yet he still sat there stuck atop the mountain until the stupid dream decided to release him, yet nothing happened, maybe this was a good drea-
SWOSH
A loud flap of a bird's wing alerted Lucas to a massive flock of swans flying past in beautiful synchronization as he stood still, admiring the beauty as a sense of ambedo overtook him. If only he had his camera to take a photo. Lucas let out a small curse at the dream for being a dream,
Then he remembered it was a dream and summoned a camera in his hand, letting out a sigh of relief as he held the camera to his eye and steadied himself to take the photo.
3...
2…
1...
Sna-CRUNCH.
Lucas woke in a sweat, panting heavily as he looked around, confused, fortunately he was the only one up as the rest were huddled in their sleeping bags. Coin and Ruby shared one, snoring loudly while Oz slept rather peacefully.
Lucas laid on his arms as he waited for someone else to wake up before realizing the sun hadn't even peaked over the horizon, with a sigh he got up and smelt himself.
"God's I smell, buuut… I have been in the forest for a good while, so it builds up I guess" muttered Lucas as he stood and walked into the woods, looking for a river or lake to bathe in, walking past trees and taking berries off a nearby bush while he kept walking.
"Maybe I could skip stones when I get there, would need a smooth stone though, ehh…I'll make it work" mumbled Lucas as he passed by a particularly tall tree marked with three lines going down. "Weird, maybe there is a murderer around" mused Lucas as a rumble came from his stomach.
Snacking on the berries as he kept on his search, throwing a few into his mouth for every minute of the search. In all honesty he should've been bored of walking through a forest every day but so far he still managed to see beauty in the way flowers bloomed and trees swayed with the wind.
So Lucas had nothing much to worry about in terms of hating the scenery though he would like to get back to civilization, maybe a warm bath and a steak. That would be nice.
As his feet started to feel sore he found a pristine lake, the water sat in tranquil stillness. While Lucas sat at the water's edge, he looked for a rock only to find no luck as he eventually gave up on the idea.
"For a forest called stonepine you'd think they'd have at least one smooth rock" said Lucas as he took off his clothes, getting ready to hop in the water as he stood near the lake's edge, opting to get a running start.
He walked backwards till he got to the right distance, then ran towards the lake and jumped, making a huge splash as the water ripped in waves around him, though despite his enjoyment of the splash he couldn't help but notice how shallow the water seemed.
The water was barely up to his chest while his feet stood on smooth rock. "Rock? Wait a second I swear it looked deeper" muttered Lucas as he popped his head under the water to see dozens of boulders sat in the lake making a new floor, leaning closer to the pile as he examined the rocks.
'What the hell? Why do they look like that' thought Lucas as he got closer to the pile and attempted to lift one of the higher rocks.
It came off with a bit of effort and a loud crack as if the boulder snapped.
what greeted Lucas was a horrible sight as a rotted body laid there missing a head. 'Oh…oh god there is a murderer in the forest' thought Lucas as he immediately went to the surface.
Racing out of the water as he grabbed his clothes and put them on despite him still being wet. Ready to run but halted by the sound of footsteps,
Step. Step. Step.
The sound of shoes moving against the ground as Lucas dived behind a tree and hid, holding his breath as the figure's steps stopped and in its absence whistling took place. The sound appeared too relaxed for the tense situation Lucas found himself in.
The whistling continued as a loud splash took up most of the noise. Then without a second to waste, the figure simply walked away. Continuing to whistle that obnoxious tune as Lucas's finally let out a breath of relief.
An invisible weight was lifted as the figure walked further and further from the lake. Lucas slowly walked over, peering into the serene depths as the body of a woman missing her head floated down to the rocks. landing with the rest as Lucas got a first hand view at how the forest buried the fallen.
Vines burst out of the stone. Wrapping around the body as they held her in place. Then stone climbed up the vines, eventually giving the body a small coating of rock. As the body became entombed
Lucas sat shocked. He couldn't believe his little thought of a murderer was actually a real thing to worry about. But it was a real worry nevertheless and besides, he was pretty sure this wasn't his first time seeing a body either. Though there was one problem…
Should he tell Oz? The question rampaged through Lucas's mind as he walked back to camp. Oz seemed trustworthy, but they had just met a day or so ago, and them being a killer would explain why they're alone in the forest, Lucas could ask them. Then work his way from there.
Yeah. Lucas wouldn't call them that until he was sure, and very far away. If his suspension was even the smallest bit true.
Lucas made his way back till the trees cleared for the camp. Coin and Oz had just woken while Ruby remained sleeping, Coin ran in Lucas direction and chirped at him, Lucas took it as a question to where he was and gave the penguin a short answer of a walk.
Oz greeted Lucas with a polite wave "where have you been?" Asked Oz as they activated the Runes alongside the fireplace as blue flame burst from the small opening, putting a small pan on top of it.
"Just went a bit out to wash up, a small pond a long way away from here" Said Lucas in an attempt to get Oz uninterested. "Why would you do that? You could've waited and borrowed my cleanser" Lucas heard even the slightest mention and immediately a groan left his mouth.
"What's a cleanser?" Said Lucas as Oz nodded "A nifty little gadget. More efficient compared to bathing" Replied Oz as Lucas slowly shook his head in confusion.
"Whatcha making?" Mumbled Lucas as he sat near Oz who pulled a bag of what looked like dried meat and put it on the pan. "Meat. Though I will see if I have any leftover herbs from alchemy" Pulling a jar filled with various herbs.
Setting it across the mat as they picked certain herbs from the bunch "I didn't think alchemy and cooking shared ingredients" Said Lucas. "A large majority of herbs and plants used for alchemy are mostly unsuited for cooking though the most common herbs in cooking are used as middle ground for most easy potions"
"Whatcha mean middle ground?" Asked Lucas "certain potions require a certain amount of materials used. But you can substitute some of those with thyme and rosemary or other common herbs, though if we are being specific I am mostly on the potion making side of alchemy, I'm not one for the other schools of the craft but I do dabble occasionally" Explained Oz, joy clear in their voice.
"How many schools of alchemy are there?" Oz thought for a second before answering "If I recall correctly then…potionmaking, transmutation…about hundreds of off-shoots and five main schools" Said Oz as they flipped the steak.
"And potionmaking is your niche?" Asked Lucas as he passed over salt.
"Yes, Out of the five schools it caught my attention due to the fact it's the closest to magic despite it being pure science"
Oz continued "the simple ability to turn herbs and materials found in nature into a liquid that holds special properties dependent on the Ingredien-" Lucas listened as the words seemed to blend together, but at least he was getting the important parts of it.
What broke him out of his daze was the slight smell of smoke as Lucas's eyes drooped down, "Uhh…Oz? A bit of burning isn't a part of the steak right?" At the mention, Oz looked down to a small line of smoke and charred meat greeted them.
"For Father's sake" mumbled Oz as they took the pan off the heat, placing it on the side of the mat as it sat there. "Welp. I guess I'll have to get rid of i-"
"I'll eat it" Said Lucas. Coin waddled over at the mention of food
Oz stared at Lucas. "Lucas it's charred" Said Oz with a hint of doubt "yeah. But I am starved and that takes priority" Oz stared even harder before signing and passing Lucas the meat.
Lucas and Coin dug in as Oz grabbed a cube and put it against themselves before pushing in it as a soft glow flew over Oz before the glow faded.
Lucas and Coin split the meat while Ruby woke up with immediate disgust before walking by Oz as the pair stared at their gluttonous counterparts.
The group packed up and began their venture through the forest.
"So Oz. Why are you in Stonepine?" Asked Lucas, Oz thought for a second before answering
"I was looking for a certain…fruit? Honestly I had little idea on what I came for, I heard a rumor of a glowing fruit known as 'the tear of Lunaris' rare thing it is. Supposed to have mystic powers, so I wanted to study it, hence why I came" Lucas stared for a little before a quiet sigh of relief left his mouth.
The duo chatted for a while as they crossed the forest, Lucas's wasted time via admiring the sights, Oz picked up herbs of interest while Coin and Ruby mostly stuck near Lucas, eating the occasional berry.
Lucas tried going though his memories, though none were really that interesting, simple sights of fauna and the occasional wildflowers. Nothing else had really captured his attention all that much.
But maybe he would find something truly stunning sooner or late-
"Hold on!" Said Oz, making Lucas look up from his daydream. They parted some bushes and Lucas got his first good look at civilization. Not that far was a town of 250 or so buildings surrounded by stone walls sitting proud with a river running near what looked like farms of wheat spreading itself across the land.
"Heh. Beg and you shall receive" Mused Lucas as he stared at the view. He burnt the view into his head as he stared, a familiar yet distant sense of ambedo overtook him
And with that the group made their descent down the hill to stone's edge.