A couple days had gone by and the father and son had already gotten a head start on their journey. Night had fallen on the fourth day with Vannes setting up a camp for the two deep in the forest between their home and their destination. A tent perched behind a log that faced a campfire. The wildlife active and noisy through the night with a few exceptions, even the docile deer like Kelbi in the distance. Their fur a soft mossy green with blue in the mix could still be seen under the moonlight with their corkscrew horns visible even at their distance.
"Dad?" Leon woke from his sleep as he slowly crawled out of the tent.
"It's okay, go back to sleep." Vannes replied, glancing over his shoulder to see his son rubbing his sleepy eyes.
"I can't… I wanted to ask you why we were going there." Leon got out of the tent fully, sliding himself onto the log his father sat on.
"I wanted to show you what your mother saw first hand." Vannes wrapped his arm around Leon. "And there's research I need to do when we get there that involved the research she gave me." He glanced down at his son, who had dozed back off agaisnt him and smiled. "It'll definitely be an interesting experience for us both…"
Vannes gently carried his son back into the tent to lay him back down under the covers. Vannes laid down beside him only to doze off as well.
The next morning came. Vannes had already gotten up when he got this sudden eerie feeling. His hairs stood up on his arms and the back of his neck, making his feeling a reality as he slowly went to wake his son. "Leon, wake up."
His son slowly sits up rubbing his eyes. He sees the fear in his eyes as Vannes puts his finger up to his lips. The active forest that let them sleep had gone completely silent. As soon as he heard the difference, Leon remembered something his mother once told him. If the world goes silent around you, run. There's something out there hunting and more than likely that prey is you. Not all monsters in our world are peaceful to humans. His eyes widden when he realizes what she meant. The two quietly scurry to get their things packed and placed outside the tent. Vannes tries to stay quiet as he starts to take the tent down.
Leon grabs his pack and slings it over his shoulder when something blue sparks, catching the corner of his eye. Several small orbs of blue light start to fly out in different directions from the bushes. Bugs known as Thunderbugs that have the ability to store up electricity and are also a warning.
Vannes sees the bugs and realizes wat was stalking them. "Zinogre…" Once he recognized the signs, Vannes rushed over to Leon, grabbing a cloak out from his satchel and knelt down with Leon. Covering themselves to blend into the forest.
As they sat there covered in the jungle, large stomps can be heard growing closer with each passing second. Before stopping, the last stomp landed beside them. Leon could see under one end of the cloak a large, scaled tannish yellow claw with tufts of fur on the sides. The monster leans down by the dried fire, sniffing around the ashen left overs. It growls then lifts its head, howling toward the sky with a metallic wolf like roar. Blue bolts of thunder surrounds the beast and striking the ground near by until its roar stops. Vannes held the cloak tight around Leon and himself, feeling the static around them kicking up. It begins to move again, this time moving slowly away from the two as they tried to stay quiet. All this time, Leon could see the Zinogre clear as day. The wolf like monster stood out to him with the blue pulses of energy below its scales, finally understanding what his mother went through before having him. To be able to see monsters like this in such proximity made his heart race with excitement and terror at the same time.
"It should be gone now." Vannes spoke softly as he stood up. "That was a Zinogre, Leon. One of the few monsters your mother listed in her research." He glanced over to his son. His eyes lit up as he could tell his feelings through them. "Do you understand why I wanted you to come with me?"
Leon looks up at his father and stood up with him. "I didn't at first, but to see something amazing and scary at the same time…" he tried to think of the right words to use for this encounter. "It's more fun than being back at home."
Vannes smiles, tucking the cloak back into his satchel. "There's more monsters and creatures to see before we get to The Tower, we still have to be careful though."
Leon nods and begins to follow his father as they traverse the forest again. There would be so many to see must not enough time to take it in. After having the Zinogre encounter, the jungle became lively once again. Bugs, and all kinds of flying creatures flew around that the jungle became noisy again as well. Hours go by, the sky growing darker as a fog slowly beginning to thicken.
"Dad? Why's it getting so dark?" Leon asked as they walk through the forest.
"We're probably getting closer to the Marshlands to the east of Schrade." He took another step feeling the ground turn to mush and slosh under him. "Or we've just entered the Marhslands." He looks to Leon, "Stay close to me. This fog is only going to get thicker and there will be even more dangerous monsters within the Marshlands.
Leon nods as he follow close to his father. Trudging through the mud as it grew thicker. Little did they know, they were literally walking into something dangerous.