NOVEL WEB Chapter 27: Scary Moss
‘It can’t be,’ I gasped in disbelief as my eyes fell on the clear, shimmering wonder streaming down between the tree roots. Having spent most of the afternoon looking for just a hint of a tiny brook, I hadn’t even hoped to find one anymore. But there it was, in all its wet glory.
The sight made my eyes water and my mouth feel even drier. Yet I rein in my horses. After the previous experience, I knew the consequences of letting caution go. And so, straining every sense I had at my disposal, I scanned the area for any signs or sounds of beasts. Apart from a few squirrels scurrying in the branches of a nearby walnut tree, however, I saw none, not even the giant mossbears. Of course, that didn’t mean they weren’t there somewhere. The way they managed to blend in with the forest was unbelievable.
Since none of them, though, was using this brook right now, I couldn’t care less. The key was not to disturb them.
With that in mind, my eyes on the forest, and my focus on that flowing nectar, I made my way to the brook. Standing there with bated breath, I then dipped my toe in the water as if it were to disappear before my sight. The brook didn't go anywhere, though. It wasn't just some delusion, a daydream conjured up by my thirst - it was real. At that point, my caution broke, and I plunged to the bank, watering my parched throat.
‘Oh my...that’s it...amazing...’
Embarrassingly, the sounds I was making were nothing to be proud of. One might even think I indulged in more than quenching my thirst, and to be honest, for a moment, I felt like I’d reached new heights. But my only regret I had wasn’t being a bit lewd or unaware of how clean and safe the water was to drink; it was not having anything with me to scoop water into: no bottle, no canteen, no bladder, not even a bowl.
The idea of making this trip every day made me think twice about returning to the ruins. On the other hand, it was the only place that held hope for a somewhat normal life for me.
No, I wasn’t about to go and live there, pretending the ruins were a perfectly fine house. That would be nuts. What I saw that place as was a connection or a bridge to civilization out there somewhere outside this forest, the beginning of a path I had not yet found the courage to take.
Nevertheless, the path I decided to take right now was not back along the trail in the moss I had left behind, but along the brook. With enough time to spare and my thirst quenched, I hoped to find something like a stream this one flowed into, maybe even a fruit tree on its bank. It would be awesome to taste apples instead of just smelling them.
But instead of a fruit-laden tree, after a not-so-long walk, I came across a bridge.
Well, calling it a bridge was a bit of a stretch. You could have crossed the brook dry-footed without much effort, so all that was needed were a few larger stones to bridge the tiny creek. Not what really mattered, though. That was the road leading over the bridge.
‘Seriously, like, what the heck?’
Shouldn’t the road the old merchant drove over be hours of walking somewhere behind my tail? Was this another one crossing this forest? If so, who built them and why?
“Guess you don’t know either, huh, Sage?” I asked my tail, waving carefree behind me. Of course, as always, Sage chose to wisely remain silent, leaving me to figure it out on my own.
‘Well, shit it,’ I thought to myself after a short while of following the two ends of the ribbon trailing under the carpet of moss between the trees with my eyes. It wasn’t like knowing who built these roads would have helped me in any way. What I needed to know was where they led and what kind of people I would find there.
‘Wait, what’s that...?’
Just as I was about to head further along the brook, leaving the road to be just another road, I noticed something unusual at the edge of my domain. There, under a layer of moss like everything else, lay something with edges too fine to be naturally made. My curiosity piqued, I tackled the moss, ripping it away. Slowly, the thing began to take shape under my hands: some sort of chiseled stone.
It seemed too big for a mere upturned bollard, though.
‘Information about the route, perhaps?’
With a rush of excitement, I pounced on the moss and uncovered the first letters under my fingers.
[...ome...]
‘Rome? Just kidding.’
What were the chances of two cities in different worlds having the same name, right? Besides, it was my weave translating the engraved letters for me. I had no way of knowing it wasn’t telling me shit, messing with my mind, like this whole damn world.
[Welcome to...]
‘Oh. Oh...seriously, though?’
Was this some kind of border between the two countries?
A dense, impenetrable forest inhabited by bloody strong beasts, a merchant going back and forth - actually, that would make sense.
Well, I couldn’t have been further from the truth.
....[Welcome]....
..... . [to].... . .
[Esulmor Edge Inn]
‘N-no way...’
Reading the inscription several times, I stared at the road, dumbfounded. Now that I knew what to look for, it wasn’t hard to spot the stone walls where the road disappeared between the trees on one side. It was quite scary how the omnipresent moss could make things blend in with the forest - so scary, in fact, that somehow, I don’t know how; I made it back to where I started from.
‘H-how, just how?’
It just didn’t make sense. I went in one direction. I was sure of that. Even though the brook flowed more to the right, I didn’t follow it that long, so...HOW?
Yet, no matter how much I wished to believe that my sense of direction wasn’t that bad, once I got closer, there was no doubt. This was where Liam, the old merchant, had camped out overnight, the place where he had seen me and where he left that sweet bun for me to enjoy. Although now a little more moss-covered than I remembered, the rock with the old man’s message and the drawing of my mug stood right in front of me.
Yep, I was back in the ruins - and unable to help but struggle with the feeling of this whole expedition of mine being pointless