Chapter 11: Adventurously Adventuring in the Adventurous Forest filled with Adventure

Escaping had been an easy effortless thing. Spongy and Eadam simply collapsed the tunnel Gheel had made behind them as they went. Then, when they surfaced, before them were trees.

Great big trees.

Great big trees with frosty blue leaves.

Leaves heavy with snow.

“This, this is the Snowy Forest isn’t it?” Eadam asked.

There are many snowy forests in Elcon of course. The Great Snowy Forest however is one of a kind. The biggest. The best. The most mystic. The most denizens.

“This is perfect, Cinders will think twice before entering the forest” Waufronk said.

“can we think twice about it?” Kepo asked.

“No, true adventurers never think twice!” Ulex proclaimed.

“Is that a good idea?” Eadam worried.

“Yes! The Great Snowy Forest is filled with adventure of all kinds!” Ulex gushed.

“loot is better than adventure” Kepo countered

“To get loot you have to go on an adventure for it, isn’t that how it works?” Waufronk asked.

“Loot is no good if you are dead” Eadam said morosely.

“then people would loot us”

“Spongy no want looted” Spongy affirmed.

“Weren’t we going to have to pass through the forest anyway Mr. McHeft?” Gheel asked.

“Well, that is true, but there is no reason that we can’t do so adventurously!” Ulex said.

“I think that after that mess back there, an adventurous rest would be called for” Waufronk suggested.

The forest loomed above them, the depths of it dark, holding the unknown within.

“Yes, well, drained as some of us are, we must adventurously set up camp in the forest!”

“I feel fine though. Better than I have in a long while actually” Eadam said.

Everyone else stared at him.

“What? Don’t look at me like that. You’ve all eaten and horsemeat doesn’t taste good. I mean you wouldn’t eat the cook would you”

“i think i would catch something if i ate you, like depression” Kepo said.

“Or dandruff” Waufronk added.

Ulex waved a thick limb.

“Enough of that, we can talk about Eadam’s mysterious cookamancy when we set up camp”

There was no complaint to Ulex’s command and the adventurers moved onwards, into the Great Snowy Forest.

“I am not sure it is called cookamancy” Gheel said as they walked.

The Great Snowy Forest was the first forest of Elcon. All of it was said to be produced from one tree that the Traveller who made Elcon had planted. Others claimed that it was planted by the mysterious eye civilization of which there were ruins scattered across Elcon. Some maintained that it had always been there. Some said that it was just really old and the trees were merely descended from trees from the Wastelands.

“Chefry perhaps?” Waufronk suggested.

Whatever the origins, the forest was old. The trees of this part of the forest had growing on them fungus shaped like masks of various denizens, the mask-fungi were all different colours and of course naturally made for a fairly unnerving sight. The masgi, as they are known, are quite poisonous, and it is said that if one eats the masgi, the shape of the fungi grown from the one you ate will have your face.

“Foodology” Eadam tried.

The undergrowth of the forest was a bed of pommoss, which at one particular time, bloom into a wool-like ball. The rest of the time they are just a vaguely annoying green ball of moss. Oddly pommoss do not attach themselves to anything and instead roll about wherever they are found. Naturally many denizens and beasts play with them.

“no way, it has to be hungercism, since it banishes hunger”

Spongy Snaps was giggling like a child as he ran through the pommoss, sending waves of the things flying about. Waufronk flapped above the others as they dealt with the waves caused by Spongy. There was nobody that begrudged Spongy his fun.

“What’s wrong with Foodology” Eadam complained.

The gingerbread man had saved them too many times for that.

“Isn’t that the study of food?” Waufronk said, he was an educated bat, but that just meant he knew enough that he didn’t know if he didn’t know.

In short order, they came across a tree alcove. The way the trunks twisted made a little space above the undergrowth, one with only one entrance. There was all kinds of little spaces in Elcon, crevices and alcoves and so on, it was a valuable adventuring skill to notice these places.

“I agree with Mr. Heer, but perhaps the name of Instiration is fitting”

“ooo that’s good, that sound right”

“Well done Gheel!” Ulex congratulated.

“Spongy no get it”

“I wish I had thought of that myself” Waufronk said.

They quickly set up camp. They had managed to collect everything when they fled. They even had the cloth that the gnarg had gotten wrapped in. It was in surprisingly good condition, so they still hung it over the entrance of the alcove, after covering it with some fallen branches and leaves and pommoss of course.

“I thought foodology was good” Eadam muttered.

Ulex turned to stare at Eadam.

“What, I did!” Eadam defended himself.

“Well, I think we’ll have to talk about what happened with Calleydron, don’t we. Adventurously talk even!” Ulex said, keeping on the matter at hand.