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Oci paid for the food– giving Marco a pleased smile when he saw the muffins– and carefully packed them into a backpack he'd also bought. Slinging the backpack over his shoulder, he headed out of the store and back towards the Woods. "Just as a warning, there might be a person at the true entrance to the Woods. So… be ready to be talked out of going in there. And just ignore them."
Marco nodded, "I highly doubt anyone can talk me out of this" he said softly, After all, the king needs to pay for what he did to my family, to my parents, and my little sister…. and for sending my older siblings on a death quest so he could hurt us…
“That’s what we’re going for,” Oci said, shrugging. “Are you okay with taking turns carrying the food?” He asked, putting his arm through the other strap of the backpack. “Actually, probably not. It’ll interfere with your shifting, won’t it? Actually, I don’t know.” Oci shook his head slightly and stepped back into the grassy field. “If the guard tries to physically stop us, just let me take care of him. You save your strength.”
"Yes the bag would interfere" he said softly, "But the aura of the woods won't affect my strength.. it'll just put me on edge mentally…"
“… Right. But still, save your mental strength. And your physical strength. You’re going to need it to fight whatever magical creature we might encounter.” Oci turns and starts walking parallel to the woods. After a few minutes, they come to what looks like an old road made of paving stones, leading directly into the woods. “The only path that still exists into the woods. Hopefully, it hasn’t broken up too far away from where we need to go.” Oci whispered to Marco, turning onto the path and walking towards the woods. “Oop, there’s the guard.”
Marco nodded, making sure to memorize his every word, looking ahead to where the guard was, seeing that it was a old woman, your classic crone with silvery white hair and wrinkly face and long ragged cloak.
"Well, what's our cover story? Hopefully, we can get past her without fighting. To save our strength and all." Oci whispered, slowing his pace. "How about a dare? Kids do it all the time on this road. Who can get the farthest, who can pick a leaf and get out alive, all that fun stuff."
"Why not tell the truth?" asked Marco, "I mean, sure; it's treason. But that doesn't mean we should flat out lie."
"Oh, why not the truth?" Oci looked at Marco. "Oh, hello there, we're just gonna pop into these woods and grab a deadly staff to kill the king. Have a nice day!" He snickered. "To on, tell the guard that. I want to see what happens."
Marco hummed, "On the other hand, why do we have to tell her anything at all?" he asked, "Does she have to know why we're going on a suicide mission?"
"Well, I guess we could just walk past her and ignore everything short of her actually grabbing us." Oci tilted his head slightly, thinking. "Yeah, let's try that approach." He continued on towards the guard, staring straight into the depths of the forest, where the path disappeared into gloom.
Marco nodded, following him carefully, "My point exactly, and if she asks, we don't lie." he hummed, falling silent again with a soft sigh, watching the crone with his peripheral vision.
"Excuse me, boys. Don't you know where you're going?" The crone takes a few steps and stopped in front of them. "Those are the Everlasting Woods. Certain death." Oci sighed and looks at Marco.
"Tell her." He muttered, a smile playing on his lips.
"We need a special relic from those woods," said Marco confidently, drawing his confidence from reserves he didn't have. "We need it to kill the king, and unjust man, who in my opinion, quite honestly deserves death." He fell silent and waited for her answer..
"Ah!" The crone's eyes bugged out, and her mouth hung open. "You– you're getting a relic from the Woods to kill the king?" Her eyes narrowed, and she pulled a slender sword from hinder her cloak. "I'm afraid I can't allow that."
"Oh, look what you did!" Oci sighed heavily and pulled a long knife from his belt.
"Hey, it's least it's not on our consciences" he said with a shrug, drawing his staff. "And it's two on one, and with that, she probably would've stopped us anyway!"
"Huh." Oci shook his head and twirled his finger in the air. A swirl of darkness rose from the shade cast by the trees and shot towards the crone. The shadows wrapped around her eyes, condensing into a pure black band.
"I can't see!" She cried, taking a step towards them, the sword slashing wildly in front of her.
"Alright, let's go. Skipping the fights we don't have to fight." Oci dodged around the crone and ran towards the woods.
Marco nodded, following him into the trees, focusing on anything but the death aura that engulfed them. After getting a few yards in, he shifted into a large stallion, trotting up to Oci, nudging him in a gesture to mount up.
"Okay, I hate this place already." Oci shivered, brushing a leaf from his hair. He jumped when Marco shifted, then started at him in confusion. "Wait, do you want me to…" He mimed jumping onto a horse.
Marco nodded, It's faster dummy he thought, unable to speak as he stomped a hoof lightly, aiting for the other to climb on.
"Okay, then." Oci struggled his way into the horse– sue him, he was short– and carefully took a hold of the mane. "So, basically just follow the paved path. If it ends before it gets to something that would look like what we're looking for… Well, I guess we'll figure that out when we get there."
Marco whinnyed again, before setting out at a trot, letting the other find his balance before upping his pace to a faster trot, a comfortable, yet much faster mode of transport.
Oci had never ridden a horse before– his family had never been into that sort of thing, and when they kicked him out… Well, there wasn't a lot of time for horseback riding when you were on the streets. So, he was having an interesting time, to say the least.
Marco kept his pace, hoping the other wouldn't be too sore later ashe kept going like that for most of the day, gad that his shoes turned into horseshoes in this form.
"Okay, we've been going for quite a while. I don't think we'll get there today, and you need your rest." Oci said, brushing another leaf from his hair. "I think, if we stop here for the night, we'll get there around mid-morning? Maybe?" He shrugged. "We could go through the night, but… You'd probably get tired, yes?"