[center][h2]The Journey Begins[/h2][/center]

[center][h3]~ Liven ~[/h3][/center]

[center][i]Interacted with:[/i] [@Rune_Alchemist][/center]

Nick trudged towards the forest, trying his best to ignore the zombies who ignored him in turn and instead went after the loud, powerful distraction that was Elisette. Viorel's charm worked like a... charm. Bad puns aside, Nick was glad he reached the forest without anything hostile noticing him, even if he had a burning torch with him. Everything was going smooth so far.

The forest was unlike the one with the deer and Kyrnith. The trees here were dead, leafless, snow and frost filling the hollowed parts of the bark. The wind that blew in this place was freezing cold but Nick was fortunate he had his trusty torch to keep him somewhat warm. Well, at least there were no more zombies that he had to watch out for.

As he wandered the dead, frozen woods, Nick soon saw a dirt path in the distance with a red-cloaked figure treading upon it. Weird, Nick didn't remember Little Red Riding Hood visiting Grandma in the winter.

* HOWL *

Ah, how could he forget about the Big Bad Wolf? Several undead hounds emerged from behind the frozen trees and blocked Nick's way. Wait, weren't they supposed to not notice him because of Viorel's charm. But these ones were very clearly noticing him, their sharp teeth bared and growling. "[color=skyblue]Oh, come on.[/color]" Nick whined as he held his torch aloft in reflex. He wasn't that surprised though, this world was not lacking in things that could and wanted to kill him.

The hounds snarled as they took some steps forward before one of them made the first move and pounced. Nick reacted quickly and swung his lit torch at the undead canine and swat it away. Now it was time to do what he did best: Run for his life. But wait, these were hounds. Not exactly slow creatures so would running actually be the smartest idea?

Well, Nick had little ideas besides fleeing so flee he did. But running back would probably lead him back to the zombie horde where the hounds could alert their human allies to his presence. No, Nick needed to forge ahead. He swung his torch wildly at the undead canines to keep them away for a couple of seconds and give him a headstart. From there, he would try to bolt forward and towards the cloaked figure.

"[color=skyblue]You! Yeah, you! I got dogs on my tail! We gotta run![/color]"