4With the Amulet of Sincerity around his neck Vincent saw things he'd never seen before. Mystik was right. The forest was dying, but very slowly as if something were draining the life out of it as a vampire drinks blood from his victim. Plants and animals were mutating into hideous flesh-eating monsters. The forest floor was covered in thick, slimy opaque water. The bones of many unfortunate souls littered the ground.
Vincent had never imagined the world could ever look this ugly. He remembered this had always been beautifully green forest wit majestic animals, now it was no more than a giant, untidy graveyard. With one hand he clutched the amulet while the other hovered over the dagger thrust in his belt. His muscles were very tense, ready to strike out at any creature that dared to try to eat him. He picked his way carefully through the underbrush and tread as lightly as he could. He could not hear anything save for his own ragged breath and the dry leaves that crackled underneath his boots. At least he tried to move quietly!
This was the first time in thirteen years that he'd been on the ground! The people of Ardan had always relied on foreign merchants to trade them what they needed.
The sun was beginning to peep up into the sky, its light warming his back slightly. Looking around, Vincent saw something gleam a silvery-white on the ground of a dirt road. He moved toward it quickly, knelt down beside it and got a closer look. He took out the glow crystal Mystik had given him, lit it and held it over the object. Although the sun had risen the forest was nearly pitch black.
An odd sign with glowing letters lay flat on the ground. It was half covered with leaves and slimy green mud. Vincent wiped the sign clean with his hand and tried to make out what it said, "City of Ardan." He said aloud to himself softly.
Vincent remembered back to the time thirteen years ago. He'd been five years old then when he, his mother, his father and his sister Cara had lived in that magnificent city on the ground before the mist came. The City of Ardan had many tall white buildings that were taller than trees, there had been things called machines that could perform all kinds of tasks and there had been a lot more people back then. But when the mist came people started to kill each other off and break out into fights on the streets. The city was plagued by crime, fires, illness until it became an unbearable place to live. Monsters started attacking the city, taking the lives of women, children and men as easily as an adult takes candy from a baby. That was when the few civilians who were left sane left the city and built a refuge in the treetops. They renamed it Ardan and tried to forget the past, but they could not. Vincent remembered that a couple of months ago his father had ventured off into the mist. He never told anyone, but his mother why he went and it made Vincent hate him. His father had never come back. His mother wouldn't tell him why or where his father had gone. So over the years Vincent had gotten the idea into his head that his father didn't love his family or him. Vincent hated his father with an intense hatred. The very mention of his father's name made him angry.
His father had been a famous knight. His father had been loved and admired by everyone. Vincent had looked up to him, but now he was gone during the times that his family needed him the most. Vincent resolved that he would never be like his father. His family would always come first.
Could one of the nine remaining magical items be in the city? He'd never heard about them before. It was possible. Ardan City had been a huge place as he remembered it. He frowned and stood up. Vincent turned to his left and crossed a murky stream. He knew the old city was in that direction. The dirt road he now traveled on was narrow and twisted around like a snake. The trees and plants about him grew thicker, blocking out most of the sun's light. Vincent held Mystik's glow crystal ahead of him so he could see where he placed his feet.
He hadn't gone far before the hairs on the back of his neck began to prickle. He heard that queer noise again. A low, faint hiss. He turned his head slightly and, from the corner of his eye, caught a glimpse of something gleaming through the leaves of the bushes that lined the sides of the dirt path. A pair of red eyes stared out at him. Vincent had a hard time controlling his urge to run away even if he knew it would be in vain.
Vincent swallowed hard. He drew his dagger from its sheath and gripped it tightly. He'd never fought or killed anything in his life. If the creature attacked him, he wouldn't go down without a good struggle. His body tingled with alarm. He kept walking, but all of his senses were on high alert. He saw another pair of eyes then another and another until the whole row of bushes on either side of the road gleamed red. Scores of eyes watched him. But there was hardly any noises at all save for a low chorus of hisses that sounded like fingernails scratching against a chalkboard.
Vincent bared his teeth. The heard held the dagger was slippery wet with sweat. His pulse raced faster each second that slipped by. What were they waiting for? What were they? If they were going to kill him then why didn't they just do it and get it over with? He briefly closed his eyes and whispered with trembling lips a prayer to the Mother, goddess of life. Suddenly he wished that Mystik were here to guide him or that he was back home with his family in the safety of the trees.
Something huge and black flashed across the road behind him. Vincent whirled around just in time to see a creature dive into the bushes- a furry black dog or was it a cat? His skin crawled.
And the silence was broken.
It came from all around him- growling, roaring and the queer hissing noise. But he only saw the bushes rattling violently. The eyes were gone. That creature must be attacking those things. Vincent thought, slightly relieved, but he wondered if the dog or whatever it was probably fought with the red-eyed creatures so it could eat him. He thought about taking this perfect opportunity to run when the noise rose to the point where it shrieked in his ears. He ran off down the path with his hands clamped over his ears. So terrible was this din that his ears began to ring and ache. His boots thudded down the seemingly endless path, his breath came hard and fast, his heart beat nearly as fast as a hummingbird's. But he could feel nothing- nothing more than the pain and fear of the sound that pounded in his ear drums and pierced his mind.
He ran, ducking, weaving and stumbling, desperate to escape the creatures and the sound. But the forest was like a giant echo chamber. No matter where he ran there was no escaping it. He cried out for help, but he couldn't even hear himself above the deafening hissing. Finally his boot caught under the thick root of a tree, he slipped and fell, exhausted, he lay writhing, helpless in the dust.
There came a series of triumphant hisses nearby. The bushes beside the boy thrashed and rustled. A swarm of spider-like humans with the upper body of a human and the lower body of a spider surrounded him, all hissing and bearing sharp bloodstained fangs. And in moments, a sticky web net was thrown over him. He struggled to cut himself free with his dagger, but the webbing was too strong. Vincent struggled like a mad-man, thrashing his arms and legs. Then something cold and hard hit him on the back of his head. He blacked out and knew nothing more.
Hours later Vincent had come around very slowly. He had no clue of where he was, or how long he'd been out. There was a dull ringing in his ears. His throat was very dry and his body was numb all over. I'm alive. He thought with surprise and a feeling of joy at the same time. Why am I still alive? He tried to think, though his brain seemed to be clouded thickly. The last thing he could remember was seeing the black creature, hearing that dreadful hissing noise and running. The rest was forgotten.
He was lying on his back. Moonlight slanted through the trees high above him. It was night, he thought drowsily. But which night? How long have I been unconscious? Where am I?
He heard a growl nearby. He tried to turn his head in the direction of the noise. IT was only then that he realized he couldn't move!
Panic seized hold of him. He tried to lift his hands, move his feet. He couldn't even lift a finger.
Slowly, he realized that his body was completely and tightly bound in silky white webbing. The webbing of a spider. He was caught like a fly in a spider's web. A big fly for a big spider. He thought gloomily. He cried out for help again, but none came. The only response he got was from the growling creature that now prowled into his view. It was a wolf! It was the very same wolf that had leapt after the hissing red-eyes when he'd been on the path. Before he could blink it leapt onto his chest and started to tear at Vincent's bonds with its teeth. A good creature! Vincent felt nearly all the despair that had swept over him wash away. It was trying to help him! But then to his dismay it jumped off of his chest and trotted away. "Wait!" Vincent called after it, thinking that it was going to leave him there for whatever it was that had bound him so tightly, but the wolf turned around and looked at him with it's great furry head tilted to one side as if it were observing him, deciding if Vincent was worth saving. And then to the boy's astonishment the creature was lost in a blinding flash of light.