Harry took a quick break to catch his breath and said to Alan.
-That… Is the guardian of the forest… A mythical creature that nobody should have to face ever… I fought against it once… Took my best friend eye and 20 of the best men i’ve ever known.
He takes a whisky bottle from under the coach, opens it and starts to drink it right from the bottle itself as he proceed with his explanation.
-There are several beasts like that one on this continent, each is more terrifying than the previous one… i was only able to make it back alive thanks to lady luck and your good driving.
As he keeps drinking, he feels a bit down and decide to lay down a bit on the coach and recover his strength as he proceeds.
-My apprentice… he wasn’t as lucky… the fool found what i asked him to get… but it was right beside the beast lair and he went for it.
Finally Harry snaps out of the scare of his life, he takes a deep breath and proceed.
-Keep driving until we’re totally outside the forest reach, we’ll talk properly once we’re safe… oh… and congrats on learning how to drive the cart so fast, normally people falls off and fails a lot of times before actually being able to drive one of these.
After his explanation, Harry cuddle himself on the coach, takes his hat off his head and put it on his face, as if he was trying to focus his thinking for a while. Meanwhile Alan was scared to death of the beast that was surely following them, as he felt it’s gaze on the distance. He focused only on the road ahead to try and reach the end of the forest as soon as possible.
-What the hell happened there professor? Talk to me… is your apprentice… -said Alan almost too scared to ask- dead?
His only answer was silence, even with everything quiet the travel was really stressing as Alan knew the beast was hunting them. After an hour or so, the “mood” felt a bit lighter than before and the moon was illuminating the way out of the forest, almost as if it were guiding them away from danger. Little by little, the forest “sounds” came back to normal and finally the end of the forest was right in front of them. As soon as they were finally out, Alan used the brake and told the professor.
-We’re out of the forest Harry… and it would be a solid 200 gold coins for the most traumatic experience of my life thank you.
As he got no answer, Alan went off the seat and inside the cart. He finds Harry lost in his mind and with a half drank bottle of whisky at his hand. He also finds his locket on the floor and as soon as he picks it up to give it back, he can’t help but to see the picture inside.
-Professor… your locket… who are them by the way? She looks far too young to be your wife to be honest.
On the photo there was a young and beautiful lady with a big smile and two kids, one hiding behind her so only his face can be seen, and the other one looking somewhere else totally uninterested on the photo itself.