The Summer I Met The Goblin King (ONC 2023)

Chapter Eleven: NOT Lost

The map disappeared completely as Sir Godly, the magnificent, the holy, rounded the bend in chase of it. But that mattered not, for he knew the way without it. He'd looked at the map long enough that he knew exactly where they were going. Back down the forest path they were on and then onto another one, across the mountains and—and then he'd figure it out from there. Yes. Ha ha!

You are so smart, so capable. Yes, you are.

He puffed his chest out and marched back to where the group was. . . Or where the group was supposed to be. "Hello?"

Where had everyone gone?

Perhaps they had started the journey without him for they knew he was capable and could catch up with them in an instant. He appreciated being so properly valued and respected. Ah, what a wonderful group they had. It was the best group of companions he had ever known! But then again, he liked every fellowship he had ever been in. This one just happens to have two very attractive maidens. And one was a witch. Witches were so hauntingly beautiful and mischievous. And spirits. . . What naughty things spirits.

Focus man! Go find the group and prove to them you are an excellent tracker and knight, even though they already know you are, there's no sense in disappointing them.

Now, all he had to do was choose which forest path to take out of six options. Surely they would have left footprints or some kind of indicator of where they have gone. Sir Godly got down on all fours, looking down the edge of his nose at each pathway and sniffing the dust. His vision blurred a little bit as it did with things up close. Nay! He would not allow his eyes to show weakness! He squinted harder until it cleared up a little. That was better.

Three of the paths had new footprints. Which meant the group had split up. What fools! Why would they journey in seperate directions when entering the haunted wood ahead? Unless— they were tricked by a restless spirit and were all in trouble. Sir Godly drew his sword. It was his task to find them all and save them! It was his righteous duty as a knight of the kingdoms to save and protect all!

Three paths, three rescues. He decided to follow the one with the smallest footprints first. Children were weaker, thus they became the rescue priority. He was sure Idola and Hella could hold their own until he came to their aid. They were both strong women after all.

After he had journeyed for what felt like over five minutes, the woods creaked around him and shifted, pushing trees and brush in front of the path of footprints he had been following. Sir Godly stiffened, positioning himself for attack. "You can't scare me, you trees! I do not fear thy wood nor thy splinters!"

Hacking through vines that came to block his path, Sir Godly continued to follow after the footprints, until they abruptly ended at a ponds edge. The water bubbled, something or someone was beneath the surface!

Sir Godly dove into the water and pulled Gigi to the pond's edge. The girl coughed and spit out water.

"I don't know what happened." She wrung out her long shirt. "One moment I was walking, and the next I was plunged underneath water and stuck by some grasses. What is this place? Where's everyone else?"

"This is the haunted wood, a place that many have disappeared into and never returned." Sir Godly helped Gigi to her feet and swung his sword in his fingers. "As for the others, I am working on finding them. We just have to go back the way we came to find the other paths they went down. Splitting up is what the woods want us to do. We can't let that happen."

Sir Godly turned back towards the path to find it completely gone and replaced by a large bush maze. "Seems we shall have to blaze our own path young hero! Ready your sword and follow my lead."

The two hacked through every plant in their way until they came to stand by the same pond they had been beside before they had begun.

"I swear the path was this way. . ." Sir Godly turned around to see the forest shift once more, surrounding them in a grove of trees. "Perhaps we should go the opposite way to come out the same way." He nodded and walked around the pond. "My knight sense declares this is the right way!"

Gigi dragged her sword behind her and followed after him. "Are you sure? What if that just takes us deeper into the woods and not back to the paths?"

Sir Godly laughed heartily. "I am an amazing, marvelous trained knight, I know what I am doing, child." He patted her on the head and trumped forward.

They journeyed for ten or perhaps twenty minutes, and ended up exactly where they'd started. Unless the forest had shifted the pond to follow them. That was it, it had to be, Sir Godly wasn't lost, Sir Godly never got lost!

"Sir Godly, we're at the pond again," Gigi said, flopping to the ground and holding her face in her hands. "We're never getting out of here! I'm going to die in a stupid forest that hates me! Death by nature, how pitiful is that?"

"We're not lost," Sir Godly said. "We are simply being told by the universe that this pond is important to our journey. It must have something in it that we need to leave this forest."

"Like what? Death?" Gigi spat bitterly as she flopped onto her back.

"You think very darkly for a child. . ."

"You think very optimistically for someone who is lost."

Sir Godly stomped his foot. "I, Sir Godly, am not lost!"

The trees parted to reveal a path with small footprints that likely belonged to Barrett. Cocking his head to the side, Sir Godly stomped his foot again, and the trees moved to cover it. He stomped twice and it opened again.

"Our haunted forest has a pattern," he stated and walked forward every once and awhile doing the double stomp to keep the trees open. "I don't think it's haunted at all, I think it's a line of defense against something or someone. Very clever."

Gigi ran after Sir Godly. "What could they be protecting themself from? Should we be worried?"

"If someone with elemental magic went through the effort to make the entire forest their fortress, we should be more than worried for what foes we are to face." Sir Godly held his sword out in front of him as shadows gathered ahead of them. "Prepare to battle for your life."

A stampede of tiny rodents ran past, tripping both Sir Godly and Gigi. The shadows disappeared with the tiny creatures.

"That was soooo scary," Gigi said with a laugh.

Sir Godly bristled. "Well, it's always best to be prepared; you never know what you're going to run into."

A knife blade pressed into his throat. "Or who."