Chapter Two

The trees seemed endless and the noise of war battered overhead. Thick branches covered the quickly dimming sky. It turned from pink to black in the blink of an eye and left the lame wanderer in complete blackness. His fears kicked in. Now that every branch stretched out to touch him in the formidable darkness. His wounded leg twanging with the slightest stroke of a jutting root. He winced in pain, his arms outstretched into the never ending blackness before him.

A crackling of twigs sounded out from behind him. He spun around instinctively, his eyes wide, desperately seeking light from the pitch black. He held up his rifle, aiming it pointlessly into the void. No more sounds. His breathing started again and he carried on walking, faster this time, now that adrenaline was surging through his veins.

He continued forwards for what seemed like hours. All sounds had ceased so only the uneven crunch of his boots kept him company. His eyes were struggling to stay open and his leg was burning with pain. But he noticed it, not far ahead was a little break in the trees, where the moonlight changed the empty black into a comforting blue. He hobbled through it and into a little clearing. In the centre of which was a strange sight.

A house, like nothing he had seen before. It loomed across the large glistening moon in the clear night sky. Shadowed it with trees, trees bursting from the rocks that built the walls. Hundreds of them, their roots tangled between the mortar and slashing into the earth below. Large gaping windows looked out at the forest before it and a great oak door sat ajar at its centre. It creaked slightly in the gusty night air but was too heavy to swing on its hinges. The wounded soldier, desperate for somewhere secluded to rest his searing leg, stumbled towards the door. The closer he got, the stronger the stench of rotting was. He looked about him and noticed the trees were quite different close up. They were gnarled and twisted. They were crumbling slowly and their weakened trunks had been burrowed into by lord knows what creatures. He headed inside, keeping his breathing to a minimum to keep from sucking up the putrid air.

The inside was warm, strangely warm. A large old fireplace stood across the room from the door, but nothing had burned there for god knows how long. The walls had roots broken through them. Huge crumbling holes where long thick roots protruded menacingly. Wooden floorboards felt squishy with humidity. The room had no furniture, just a fireplace, and some stairs off up to the left. The rock walls had moss growing from the cracks, and the fireplace was decaying in its spot. Its tiles had long since lost their full pictures, all that remained was the implication of beautiful carvings. The marble mantle piece had cracked some time ago and balanced its two parts upon a beam hammered beneath them. The soldier hobbled over to the spiral staircase, that disappeared into blackness, so that he could take a seat. He sighed with thankful relief as the pressure was taken from his injured leg. He lay back against the cool stone steps, the moist warm air keeping him in perfect balance. Unable to stop himself, his eyes fluttered closed and he drifted gratefully into sound sleep.