In the wake of losing his magic, Feyrith struggles to adapt and survive the new and constant onslaught from the feral jungle beasts, trying to keep himself as well as Sunwood alive. Something unnatural has disturbed the beasts and though it's danger...
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"Are you ready?"
Edwyr almost flinched, not having heard Wyn come up to him. He'd been staring at the jungle for a while now, standing here with Tempest, waiting for something to come out of the wall of trees and attack them as they gathered all of their people, squawkers, and supplies. But despite his surprise, he immediately smiled at the other elf, his presence relaxing him, and it was certainly not only because of how powerful Wyn was.
"Yes."
Wyn smiled back, though there was a certain sadness to the quirk of his lip. "There is nothing wrong with being afraid. We are about to enter one of the most dangerous places in the known world, after all. It is, in fact, correct to be afraid."
Edwyr wanted to get a little annoyed with Wyn for assuming that he was scared, but, well, he was, wasn't he? The jungle had always been such a fearsome place. He'd only ever ventured inside of it to dispatch a beast threatening Sunwood, staying within its edges for as short a time as possible.
"You don't seem very intimidated."
Wyn's smile grew a little, his eyes softening as he took a step closer to Tempest and ran a hand over her forehead, the squawker letting out a pleased chirp. Wyn had cast some spell on all of their squawkers to make them less likely to panic in the jungle. Edwyr hoped it was going to work because if they scattered in there, that would be the end of them.
"I am glad to hear I don't seem that way."
Edwyr frowned at the implication. "Are you saying you are intimidated?"
Wyn sighed, his gaze sliding to the tall trees of the jungle. They'd transported themselves to an Infuser Edwyr had no knowledge of, he barely knew where it was located, but he'd been told it offered the shortest path to their destination. He truly hoped that to be the case because he wanted to stay in this horrible place for as short a time as possible.
"I've studied this jungle for years," Wyn said, clasping his hands behind his back. Edwyr immediately knew that whatever the other elf was going to tell him, it would likely be a story, and a long one at that. "Documented its many beasts, its flora, almost died here three times."
Edwyr blinked, feeling a wave of protectiveness almost overwhelm him, but he quickly pushed it down. Wyn was old, which meant that this could have happened decades ago.
"But it is not the beasts I fear."
A chill ran down Edwyr's spine, something about the simple sentence disturbing him far too much. What else was there to fear? The beasts were what made the jungle so dangerous. He swallowed, narrowing his eyes. "What do you fear, then?"
Wyn turned his gaze back to Edwyr, a look of uncertainty in his eyes. "One day I ventured much deeper than usual, and I met...well, I am uncertain what I saw. It seemed to be sentient, it spoke to me. It promised a trade of knowledge." Wyn's expression turned irritated, as if he was angry with his past self. "Naturally, I accepted, like the fool I was."
