Chapter 3 (part 5)

Traveling East for about a half of day, they arrived at the forest as it hid it’s secrets in the late afternoon light. Shadows littered the heavy undergrowth as a light mist danced amongst the top of the trees. Tempest sat on a stump just a few yards from the forest’s entrance. He opened up a bottle and took a drink. Various wounds he had received from monsters on the way there started to heal. He passed some of it to White Glory, who rested on his shoulder. When they regained their strength, Tempest stood up and faced the entrance.

“So…” Tempest spoke first, “This is the forest of mist…”

“Yes.”

“Are you sure the jewel is in here?”

“Pretty sure”

“So if it’s not here, then I can stop doing this; right?”

She glared at him for a moment, “Fat chance, you’re not getting out of this that easily. Plus, what those two ladies say if you came back empty handed?”
Tempest grumbled.

“Hm? What’s that?” She asked.

“Fine.. I’ll keep looking”

“Good” Her expression lightened, “Time to get lost.”

Now it was Tempest’s turn to glare as they both entered the thick wooded area. As they did, shadows swallowed their existence.

The mist had gotten heavier the more they went in. There were also plenty of monsters that tried to attack them. However, they kept moving on after their momentary battles. Onward through the fog-like mist. It seemed as if they had lost their way. The scenery was starting to copy cat itself, while the mist’s low visibility was no help. It wasn’t until Tempest spotted something several feet away that the aimless wandering seemed to seize.

“What’s that?” He asked.

“What?”

“That.”

“I don’t see anything.”

“Look a bit closer.” He pointed towards the faint outline of what looked like a small stone slab setting vertically.

“I still don’t see anything.” White Glory said assuming he was hallucinating. Tempest sighed and grabbed her from her now hovering position. "Hey!” The little dragon squeaked out as some of her white feathers flew. She struggled against him as he forced her head to his view. Then she finally saw it, “Oooooohhh… there is something there isn’t there?”

“Yes!”

“Okay, okay. Let’s check it out!”

Tempest put a hand to his head and slightly sighed. Nonetheless he followed her lead as she paddled her wings toward their finding.

It was nothing more then a stone slab with small writing on it. The writing was hard to make out, especially when green moss covered parts of it. Tempest kneeled down, but couldn’t make out a single word. He even went as far to remove the moss and uncovered the full text. White Glory perched on his shoulder once again and stared at it intently.

“Any clue what it says?” Tempest asked curiously.

“Yes.. It’s Fairy.. I can’t really make it out all the way.. Let me see if I can piece it together…”

“Okay.”

Her tail twitched ever so slightly as she seemed to be fixated on the stone. Her face furrowed and twisted as various clicks and growls whispered in her throat. “Hmmm…” She muttered.

“Figure it out?”

“I think… I think it says ‘Here is a lost soldier who betrayed the fairies’ or something akin to that.”

“That’s odd…”

“Quite, but in what way?”

“If there’s a grave of someone who betrayed them, then why would they bother making and marking it in the first place?”