Behind the Mask finds a Jester

Beware the Fruits of the Forest

As sundew wanders through the trees and foliage of the forest, he wracks his mind, trying to remember where the hell he'd seen Forren before. He could have sworn he'd seen him in Rosewood at some point, but where? Where had he seen him? With his frustration for his forgetfulness growing, he decided to take a look through his journal. He usually writes things down inside that may be important. Perhaps it would answer some questions? From a satchel on his belt, he took out his journal and began slowly thumbing through the pages. He scanned the words he'd written down, hoping they would give him some clarity.

After a bit of looking, he happened upon a page with a missing poster on it. "Missing. Alder Feywood," It read. The sketch of the person on the sheet made his heart drop. It looked exactly like Forren: same hair, same round glasses, same face shape. Everything added up. He stopped walking and just stared down at this page in disbelief.

After a moment, he looked up to gauge where he was, realizing he hadn't been paying attention to where he was walking. He noticed that he'd happened upon a clearing, a beautiful clearing with flowers and plants ranging around the whole thing. However, something unsettling lay in the very center of it. Two bodies rested in the flowers, perfectly preserved with no sign of decomposition. They lay on either side of a bush with poisonous berries growing on either side of it.

The first body Sundew noticed greatly resembled the sketch on the missing poster he had in his journal. Yet again, same hair, same round glasses, same facial features. Everything lined up to Forren and the poster. Although he looked completely preserved, the body still had flowers and moss growing on it. Patches of moss laid across his skin and small flowers bloomed from once opened, yet unhealed scabs and wounds.

The other body was in the same condition, completely untouched by decay, yet overtaken by nature. However, this body was of a young girl. She had the same long, auburn hair as Dontia and wore the same white dress, although without the teeth. She was human, not a fox like Dontia had been.

Still having his journal out, he quickly began flipping through the pages once again, searching for something he swore he had. Finally, there it was. "Missing, Udara Mordeces." As he suspected, the sketch on this poster lined up with the looks on the girl's body. He looked towards Alder, then towards Udara, then back towards the berry bush. That's when he noticed something odd.

Sundew moved towards the berry bush, standing so he didn't disturb either of the bodies. Around each of the berries was an aura of green. The color of it reminded him of the color the two spirits' eyes had shone when reminded of their pasts.

Gears began to turn in his head as he remembered a saying repeated to him many times as a child about these very woods.

"Peer closely towards any fruit of the forest. Lest it shine green, forbid yourself from eating it, for you will be trapped for eternity."

That was enough. He couldn't bear to look at this sorry sight any longer. With that, he closed his journal, replaced it in his satchel, and began making his way back to their campsite.

As he arrived, he had a disturbed look on his face. On the other hand, Sylvalur was happily chatting with Forren while Dontia lay asleep in the grass.

Upon hearing him, the two turned their heads towards Sundew with Sylvalur taking notice of his demeanor. He quickly quiets his talking. "Are you alright?" He asks.

Sundew looks towards Forren, then Dontia, then Sylvalur, and lets out a sigh. "Can I talk to you for a second?" He requested with a serious expression on his face.

Sylvalur looked surprised, but swiftly stood up with a nod. "Yeah, of course." He responds.

"This way." Sundew commands, leading him away from the campsite.