Both brothers whipped around at a sudden flash of light behind them. Whatever it was, it seemed to have happened among the trees some distance off from the path. It was not too near to them, but it was not too far off either.

"W- What was that?" Sky muttered, beginning to tremble.

"I- I really don't know," Blake answered, fearing that it might be a potential threat. "Come on, let's get out of here."

With an arm around his brother, Blake picked up the pace as they continued along the path, until he was frightened by a jump and a short yelp from Sky.

"What's wrong?" Blake urgently enquired.

"S- Something hit my leg," Sky replied, backing away from what appeared to be a root of a large tree.

Blake watched in disbelief as the root seemed to slither across the ground, moving all on its own. He was then in even more of a shock when he looked up to find the branches of the surrounding trees swinging about in still air. He snapped out of it just in time to raise an arm and block one from hitting him right in the face, before raising walls of ice on either side of the path to protect Sky and himself from the attacks. Clearly terrified, the child had started to scream.

The ice walls were not going to hold for long. Blake had to act fast. Grabbing his brother by the waist, he bolted from between the walls just as they were smashed by some of the heavier branches and sprinted along the path while freezing in place any branches that got close to them. Thankfully, he only had to keep it up for a short time, as they had already been rather close to the edge of the forest. Emerging from the trees, Blake slowed to a stop before dropping Sky, his hands resting on his knees as he panted to catch his breath.

Sky then suddenly tugged on his sleeve to get his attention. "Blake, look."

The boy was pointing to a small building in the distance. If one looked carefully, they could see people coming from it. Imagining that it could possibly serve as shelter for the night, Blake decided to cautiously approach the place.

He took his brother by the wrist before they made their way towards the building. "We'll check it out, but stay close to me."

[@Letmehaveone2] [@anyone else outside the tavern, or at the edge of the forest]