After travelling to the Eastern continent and settling in for a few days, Eric and his team had gathered as much information from the locals as possible. The consensus was not to enter the mountainscape; locals know the area as the Forest of Ghouls. Although entering was not illegal, many locals expressed that anyone who had ever entered had never returned. Locals believed it to be the Gods' sacred lands. Thought to be cursed to prevent anyone from leaving once they had come across the secrets within. Eric had asked one local if they knew anyone who had entered, “A cousin of my sister-in-law went in, never returned. His burning curiosity got the better of him. No number of warnings from family stopped him. A crying shame if you ask me, and that was 20 years ago.”

Much of the literature about the forest of Ghouls hid itself in the forest, describing a forgotten civilization that drowned in wealth thousands of years ago. Mostly depicted in children’s books, with very little found in any historical writings. However, all writings had an ominous tone laden with warnings.

The team grouped together, checking over supplies and gear before heading into the Forest of Ghouls. They had managed to get a local from the nearest village to guide them to the entrance of the mountainous landscape. The guide was too scared to step any closer to the tree line.

An eerie fog ebbed out of the tree line deliberately towards the group, stopping just shy of them. It appeared to go unnoticed by the group. However, unease began to settle into the more sensitive team members.

“Eric, do you think there is any merit to these stories? We have even less to go on than last time. None of the books we found even knew of anyone having returned.” Queried the man with a scruffy black beard as he zipped up his bag and slung it over his shoulders.

“What do I always say? Nothing ventured, nothing gained. Besides, Enzo, there is nothing further to find out, and with our experience, it’ll be a breeze.” Eric reassured.

“I have a bad feeling about this. Something just feels off about that forest. I think I might sit this one out. I’ll see you when you get.” The woman with long black braids said taking a step back. Enzo patted her shoulder to comfort her; it was only her second expedition with the team.

“It’s okay, Quinn. It’s how we all felt when we were all new to expeditions. You get used to it; it comes with the territory of going into the unknown.” A Caucasian man with long tie-back brown hair affirmed.

“Charlie, I appreciate what you are saying, but you're definitely not changing my mind. I’m not going in there.” Quinn remained firm, feeling a shiver up her spine. “I’m going back with the guide.” She pivoted towards the guide, who was already edging back the way they came.

“Alright, suit yourself. We’ll see you when we get back.” Eric waved Quinn and the guide off.

“Good luck out there,” Quinn took off with the guide more quickly than on their way to the forest.

“So, for those of you who haven’t met yet. I’ll make some introductions. This is my Wife, Maria, my eldest, Simon, and my youngest, Terri,” gesturing to each of them. Maria was of a fine built with waist-length ebony hair and olive skin, Simon and Terri took after mostly after her, however their hair was curly and had green eyes like their father. “And this is Charlie, our explosives expert." Charlie gave the thumbs up, earning some giggles from the children. "Enzo, who may not look like it, is our cartographer; he maps uncharted expeditions to stop us from getting lost.” Enzo nodded. “And Levi, our expert free climber and medic. He used to be a medic in the army.” Levi stood at attention, with buzz-cut brown hair, wearing a neutral expression.

“Now that is all out of the way. Shall we get going?” Eric was met with nods, except Maria glanced nervously at Eric, but remained silent. “Don’t worry, Honey. I’ll keep you safe.”

Anxiety set in the group, but as they pushed forward, the fog became thinner. After some time had passed, the trees became sparser, leading to a fifteen-metre cliff. After inspecting the area near the cliff, they concluded the only way forward was upward. Levi began setting up the climbing gear and assessed the route up the cliff face. Levi scaled his way up as if it were second nature. He hammered pegs into the escarpment where there were no stable holds as he went. Once he reached the top, he found a sturdy tree to tie the support rope to and then passed it down to the others at the bottom of the cliff. Levi surveyed the surroundings for a second, and he thought he saw something out of the corner of his eye. When he looked back, nothing was there. Brushing it off, Levi yelled down the cliff, “All clear.”

Enzo strapped Simon to his back and began the ascent. Attaching their harness to the rope, they climbed up one at a time. Maria was next after Enzo; it had been some time since she had last been rock climbing. It brought back memories of when she first met Eric while attempting a free climb. Maria missed the feeling of adrenaline. Being a mother had changed her perspective on climbing; she wished her experience hadn’t been lost over the years. Maria approached each hand and foot hold with caution.

“You’re doing great, Honey,” Eric encouraged. Maria smiled as she made it about halfway up.  She felt that it was all coming back to her.

Maria reached for the next handhold, leaning her weight into it. It was a mistake as the rocky protrusion crumbled under her grasp. She cried out in panic and she fell away from the cliff, desperately grasping for the rope. After what felt like minutes, she had a firm grip on the support rope and swung back towards the cliff with her feet out. Bracing herself, she steadied her position against the cliff. Her heart racing and letting out the breath she hadn’t realized she had been holding.

“You okay, Maria? You had me scared for a second there.” A bead of sweat trickled down Eric’s temple.

“Yeah, I’m okay.” Terri had Eric’s leg in a death grip, looking up at her mother.

“Daddy, I don’t want to go up,” Terri said, looking frightened. Eric pried Terri off his leg and knelt at her eye level. Terri had very recently turned eight, and Eric understood that it was only natural for her to be scared. It shook him, too, to witness Maria’s miss-step.

“It’ll be okay, Terri. I do this all the time for work. Your mum hasn’t been any climbs in a long time.” Eric said, reassuringly rubbing her shoulders. “Take a deep breath and hold on tight. It’ll all work out, and we will be at the top in no time.”

Terri pouted, “Okay.” Eric hugged Terri, patting her back soothingly.

“Ready to go next?” Terri nodded. Terri was secured to Eric's back and made it up the cliff without incident. Charlie followed behind, like a monkey up a tree, making it to the top. They all paused at the top to pack up the climbing gear. Levi methodically inspected each piece of equipment before putting it away, and Charlie started to get out their lunch. Eric was setting up a small fire from resources nearby. Enzo was sketching out the lay of the land, taking advantage of the height from the cliff. Enzo made notes in the margins of his sketch pad as he went.

They filled their stomachs with comforting stew. The two children began to yawn as they struggled to keep their eyes open. They had been hiking for most of the day to reach this point. It was no wonder that they were tired.

“I think it would be best if we set up camp here tonight. The kids aren’t going to cope with any more, and we don’t want them to burn out before we find anything.” Enzo stated while stretching out against a tree.

“Agreed,” Eric responded. The adults set up camp for the night. Not long after tucking the kids in, they all soon turned in for the night. Only Charlie remained up, doing the first watch.