After riding inside the carriage for more than a solid hour, they at long last managed to reach where they were headed – a strange kind of forest where every single tree was carved from deep crimson maroon wood. Instead of regular ponds or lakes you'd find anywhere else, here the water pools were replaced either by steaming hot springs that hissed and bubbled nonstop, or on those far rarer occasions, by pockets of glowing molten lava. It was like the whole forest was built around its own massive stove; a wild place that could burn anyone who stepped foot in it if it so chose.
The king had never wanted to come out here from the very start, not even for a second. But in the end he had no choice but to make the journey, all because of the brutal war that was raging across their lands right now.
A good number of their traveling companions already had their leather boots burnt clean through until they were nothing but blackened crisp scraps. That meant most of them had to trudge forward barefoot, forcing themselves to block out the searing sting that shot up from the ground with every single step they took. Thankfully though, Maximus's sword was different – it shielded him completely from the heat and stayed perfectly intact the whole time. The rest though? They were pushing themselves to their absolute limits just to make it even a single mile further along the path.
The princess didn't seem to be bothered by the forest at all, not even a little bit. So she turned to look up at her father with a confused look on her face.
"Father, why are all of them whimpering and crying like they're in so much pain? What even happened to them?"
The king just stood there with his jaw tight, holding back the tears that were prickling at the corners of his eyes. He was walking barefoot too, same as everyone else in their group.
"Yeah... I honestly don't know myself..."
Maximus knew they couldn't just keep walking on and on without stopping, not if they wanted to make it to the battlefield in any shape to fight. So he started scanning around the forest carefully, his eyes darting back and forth across every shadow and every glowing pool he could see.
'If all those old stories about this place are true... if this forest really is like a small fire that's been burning nonstop for hundreds and hundreds of years, then what kind of thing could possibly be strong enough to resist its heat? Steel won't work for sure – after about an hour it'd just heat right up again, and then everyone would be stuck standing on the burning ground all over. Wait a minute though...'
That's when it hit him – what felt like a real genius idea. First he reached out and laid his hand flat against one of the trees in this flaming forest. To his surprise, it didn't feel scorching hot or like it was going to burn his skin off. It was just warm is all – slightly warmer than you'd expect from regular wood, that's all he could really say about it.
'If we cut down some of these trees and shape the wood into something we can stand on, it might just be what we need to get through this place alive. We might actually stand a chance of surviving this war if we can pull this off first. Only problem is, I don't know who here has the strength or the skill to cut through wood this thick – oh right... the king can do it.'
Maximus called out loud enough for his voice to carry over the sound of crackling heat and bubbling water.
"Hey your majesty! Over here a second!"
The king heard him right away, and he made his way over through the group as fast as he could manage on the hot ground.
"Yes? What is it you need?"
Maximus lifted his arm and pointed straight at the tree he'd just touched.
"Use your wind power to cut this tree down for us."
The king glanced first at the massive crimson trunk before looking back at Maximus, a look of trust crossing his face even though he wasn't sure what the plan was yet.
"...Alright then. Whatever you've got planned in that head of yours, I'll go along with it."
The king held up his hand and pointed his index finger directly at the tree. With a quick sweeping motion, streams of sharp wind sliced through the wood cleanly, cutting it into thirty separate pieces all at once. Maximus got to work right after, arranging and shaping each piece until they formed one big solid platform. The tree had been so huge and wide that there was more than enough space for every single person in their group to rest on it. This was going to be the first real step towards making it through this impossible forest alive. Maximus raised his voice again, calling out to everyone around them.
"Everyone! Come on over here and stand up on these crimson wood platforms! I promise you – it'll help take away the pain!"
All the dark elves in their group saw the big cut sections of the forest's strange wood spread out in front of them – thirty pieces all lined up nice and steady. They wasted no time at all, hurrying over as fast as they could and climbing up onto the surface.
The moment their feet touched the wood, their pain vanished completely. They let out sighs of relief, finally able to stand comfortably after hours and hours of struggling across the burning forest floor.
"Alright, so king–"
Maximus turned to his right to say thank you to the man who'd made it all possible. But when he looked, the king was already gone from where he'd been standing just a moment ago. He'd moved quick, and was now standing up on the platform with a look of quiet pride and deep relief written all over his face.
Maximus let out a small chuckle, shaking his head playfully at how fast the king had been. Then his eyes drifted forward, towards where the path led next. That's when he saw it – a huge cloud of thick dark smoke rising up from somewhere far in the distance, billowing high into the otherwise clear sky.
"...What in the hell?"