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[b]"[color=ab2020]Jesus Jess, chill.[/color]”[/b] King called with a grunt as he fell, hissing as he felt his converse soak in another layer of dirty moisture, [b]"[color=ab2020]It's either this or getting shot up back home, though...[/color]”[/b] He didn't feel the need to finish the thought.  The forest before them would explain his hesitance easily; words were now just things to trip over, just like the roots underfoot and the frightful nothingness ahead.

King's eyes turned forward, glaring out in the darkness that could perhaps be endless. The rain thudding down around them didn't help distinguish any kind of depth to the void beyond the trees. No, that wasn't right. He could feel depth, even if the black sheen in front of him seemed solid enough to press against. There was a shimmer to the air, just as there was to the map and van. Magic seemed to favor nature, after all. King swallowed the threatening fear and waded after the group, taking note of Aiden's hand wrapped around his sisters with a hideous sneer. If only the darkness was thick enough to hide [i]that[/i] from his own wandering eyes. Pointedly, he turned away and rushed to the head of their group, tugging his hood more securely over his forehead as the path below them grew muddier and slicker with old and loose dirt-turned-mud.

It wouldn't be wise to continue on like this, King felt his mind whisper as his hand shot out to catch a low branch and his feet fought to re-balance themselves. A gnarled root had tugged a clean cut into his mucky jeans, crossed right across the front of his shin. There was a sting of momentary pain and then just more gritty wetness which King couldn't help but groan at. [b]"[color=ab2020]Fuck this.[/color]”[/b] He said, straightening up from the branch and turn his eyes skyward. Water pressed against his cheeks and eyelids, freezing cold and scented with oceans and rivers that settled far beyond where any of them had been. He felt the magic simmering in the air again, twisting around them, welcoming them. For a moment, he thought he heard whispers. Nonsense words, ringing in the ear that was turned closest to the path. [i]Come, come, come[/i]  they said. King pushed the noises away and opened his eyes, staring at the group and then the path. His palms felt warm with unsettled energies, and then he tilted his head down to stare at the mucky path and utter an unspoken spell.

The first glints of light streamed from behind rocks and rain-pressed ferns; fireflies without the 'flies' part. They drifted up and glinted warily around everyone's heads, blinking in and out of existence. Some would fade then, and more would replace them, forming from the shimmery magic King could see lining their feet. The forest nearby also streamed with blinking lights, but it only seemed to last for a few feet away from King, seeing as he, the spellcaster, made himself a focal point for the magical orbs. [b]"[color=ab2020]There we go.[/color]”[/b] He muttered eventually, nodding ahead. Water dropped from his nose, rainwater mingling with sweat. [b]"[color=ab2020]Stay close if you don't wanna trip or something.[/color]”[/b] He shoved his warm hands into his sweatshirt pockets, hoping to retain the heat as the chill of rain once again washed over him, and then he started up after the path again.

And they walked, and walked, and walked, guided by magical fairylights, until the trees on either side of the group cave way and a wall of smooth stone stood before them. No... Not just the wall. A cave was staring darkly forward, yawning lazily. Above it sat an old tree, roots forming the weepy roof of the cave. King only knew it was old because he could [i]feel[/i] age wafting off it, enclosing his rain-soaked head in a sensation of ice ages. He didn't like the feeling at all. [b]"[color=ab2020]Well,[/color]”[/b] He hissed, taking half a step back, which in turn made a puff of orbs vanish as they pressed against his shoulders, [b]"[color=ab2020]This is certainly scenic. What are we supposed to do here?[/color]”[/b]