It took Zena a second to fully realize what she did. When she did though she tried jumped back in shock at what she had just done.
Looking at the worm like creature almost made her sick. It had been butchered to the point that its mouth was no more all the teeth were chipped or missing. Yet it was not the worse thing she had seen but close to it.
Anderson on the other hand, had seen much worse on his hunts through the outskirts. Especially the dad their dad had died.
Just the thought of that dad made Anderson shake.
Trying hard to shake the thought of that dad out of his head, and to take Zena's mind off the worm he ask, "Did you get anything?"
"I did" at the same time Zena tried summoning it. After a few seconds the memory formed in Zena's hand. It was a silver sword with a serrated blade.
As she held it she look at its description.
[Shredding Maw]: The jagged teeth of the corpse eater which shred all the remains of corpses left by others.
After they looked at the memory they went back to their now somewhat destroyed camp. Anderson went and put out the fire they had used earlier. Once done he and Zena finished the meat and climbed up the tree again as the sun was starting to set and they were tired from the days events.
As soon as they laid down they both instantly fell asleep.
The next day, as the sun started to rise, they both got up and headed back down the tree to get an early start at their long travel ahead.
For the first 4 days nothing really happened they would wake at dawn and walk till dusk. They were able to keep the meat from the serpent and worm so they did not have to worry too much about food. Especially since the nightmare creature's meat did not seem to spoil like normal meat.
During their journey they encountered more of those worms most of them just past by them as they hid in the trees when they saw one. However, on the 5th day they had to fight another worm. This one they had seen to late to climb a tree. Zena used her memory to almost stop the first attack, causing her to be pushed back. However, this gave Anderson the opportunity to use his makeshift spear to stab the worm in its side. With it now injured and focusing on Anderson, Zena had a window to strike a deadly blow to worm right in its brain. causing it to die.
Unfortunately they did not get another memory. Due to their quick kill of the worm they were able to continue to travel at a bit slower pace for the rest of the day.
However, it was the evening of the 5th day that something in the world changed. The once impenetrable vail of the trees broke. The sky also had a change. Clouds, dark clouds were starting to fill the sky.
Upon seeing these clouds both Anderson and Zena knew their time was running out. That day they decided to not stop at dusk, but to push through for an extra hour or so.
On day 6 the forest ended. Not gradually, but instant it was like walking into a new world. The air felt like static to the skin. The sky was now black almost no light made it through. Let the land was still visible. The grass glowed bright.
Infront of the two there goal awaited. The mountain was almost tripe the height of the trees and much more treacherous than any tree in the forest.
Zena spoke in awe, "That's it, the end to this tedious nightmare."
Anderson looked at her expressionlessly, "Tedious, that's what you call this" sighing "I hope you didn't jinx us"
Also, "We should camp in the last set of trees as after we start ascending the mountain I don't think we while be able to rest again.
Zena slightly nodded in agreement.
Minutes later they had finally set up their final camp. They ate the last of the serpent's meat and went to sleep.
Unfortunately, for them the world around them did not let them sleep for long as rain drops woke both of them up.
At first they didn't think much of it since they were still a bit sleepy but within seconds they were both wide awake and staring at each other. The seventh day had started.
Within moments the two were able to grab everything they needed for the climb.
They climbed down the tree and started there rush to the mountain.
The air around them still felt like static when they ran. The world around them slowly got louder too. The rain started falling harder within minutes of the first drops that woke them, they had lost most of their vision of what was in front of them.
Luckily the area around the mountain was slightly sloped up so they did not need to worry about the rain pooling under them. However, that advantage was also a double edged sword as it meant the water would pool in the forest where many different beasts lived.
Right as they reached the base of the mountain they heard something that froze them. Something they had not hear since their first day in the giant forest. The howl of the decaying wolf. However, that was not the only thing they hear. They heard hundreds if not thousands of different howls, screams, and cries. It was deafening. The forest they had once been traveling through almost peacefully changed. It was becoming an abyss for those unholy creatures that lived within.
Anderson and Zena now filled in pure terror climbed the cliff with everything they had. Yet what they heard was not the end as all the creatures started rushing to the mountain. However, they were not the only creatures moving. Those that had inhabited the mountain were also stirring. All creatures of the holy and unholy seemed to have one thing in common at this time.
CLIMB