Welcome to the Winding Woods
You peer down at the map you hold in your claws once more, eyes squinting as you try to make out your position on the tangled mess of backwoods roads scribbled across the page. You stretch your wings a bit to try and relieve some of the tension from your bags dangling on your sides. How you had ended up in the Tangled Wood you don’t know, but it is undeniable that you are there now. You pick a spot on the map you can only hope is your current location, folding it back up and stuffing it back in your bag.
The road ahead of you is unkempt and winding, the only thing keeping it in tact being the constant wear on the ground from foot traffic, and given how deep in the wood you are you have no idea how even that remains. A thick cover of what can only be called smog completely blankets the sky above you, and a cool breeze blows through the pines. The only way you can see your own claws in front of your face is from the light of the bioluminescent mushrooms that line the trail, but even those are partially obscured by a thin, rolling fog.
As you walk you can’t help but feel like you should turn back. Everything about these woods is foreboding and dark. How on earth can there be dragons who call this place home? Even still, you know you have no choice to push forward, for behind you is an endless maze of trails that, too, are shrouded in darkness. You continue to walk. It is all you can do.
The path suddenly begins to widen. Ahead of you is a clearing in the trees, the ground barren and trampled by the feet of dragons who were here long before you. There are several other trails that converge here as well, and in the center you see a tall wooden post with signs sticking off of it in every which way. Scrawled on each plank is the name of some place you’ve never heard of before. The signs seem to point towards the trails that will take you to their namesakes.
You decide to take a chance and choose a path to take in the hopes that it will lead you to someone who can help you find your way. Although most of the trails appear the same, there is one wider than the others, showing more signs of frequent use from its size and deep wagon wheel scores running down the center. Further inspection of the post leads you to find that this trail will take you to a place called Verfolgt Castle. In high hopes you set out on the trail, desperate to find some sign of life at the end.
The well worn road beneath your feet takes you into a darker part of the wood, snaking through unkempt patches of bramble that creep towards the trail. Once in awhile you cross a makeshift wooden bridge that holds you aloft over gushing streams of ice cold water. After what seems like hours you find the treeline thinning away, giving birth to a cobblestone path. Your pace quickens as your reach the stone. Up ahead you can see the shadowy form of an ancient castle on an isle, its lights aglow in contrast against the gloomy sky.
Almost making a dash now, you surge forward, crossing the stone bridge that connects the isle to the surrounding woodland. Frenzied claws push through the doors of the gatehouse, and as you burst into the castle courtyard you find yourself surrounded by huge crowds of dragons. Only a few turn to look at you, while many others continue to go about their business carrying parcels or pulling carts. Just as you begin to take in the scene around you a heavy claw grips your shoulder, and you turn around to see two Guardians staring at you sternly.
“No one enters the castle without going through security,” one grunts. You notice a few other dragons sporting armor have surrounded you. “Trespassers will be dealt with harshly by our Lord Takkun.” It seems you’ve made a rather unseemly entrance. You can only protest as you are forced deeper into the castle grounds by your new escorts.
