"On orders, Captain. Sleeping from dawn until late in the morning, we will finally rest our tired bones" confirmed Reidar, who immediately agreed with Dag's idea.

The two of them rested again, while Karl, who was the only one who had managed to sleep soundly, continued to read the almanac, enriching his scientific knowledge.

After about 6 hours of sleep, Dag and Reidar awoke.

They had finally regained their strength, they felt their bodies regenerated.

Dag stretched out, watching the Sun's rays penetrate the dense branches of the trees.

"Finally... I slept like a newborn" he said, happy and rested.

After cooling off with a sip of water, the three adventurers departed north.

"It's been 3 nights. Despite our detour, I don't think it's much missing at the end of this forest of horrors" Dag said, trying to comfort the spirits of his comrades.

"We'll have stories to tell! It's not every day you meet giant bats, toads devouring people, colorful insects that extinguish the fire... the bards will sing our names all over Skjold!" replied Karl, ga.s.sed.

"Hahahah! yes, I think you're right, we're going to have a lot to tell. But the journey is still long... we don't know what other dangers lie ahead in the Kvete region" Dag continued.

"It should be rather uninhabited. The only towns are the villages along the coast. The rest of its lands are occupied by wheat plantations and other cereals" Reidar said, as he tried to remember all the information he was aware of.

"Well, we are headed to Tyven, which is in the north of the region. Perhaps our journey will be more comfortable when we arrive in an inhabited territory. I'm sick of being in this forest too, there's not a moment of peace in here!" continued Dag.

"Yes, I agree, Captain. Once we cross borders, we shouldn't have problems getting to Tyven" Reidar said.

Dag continued to make his way, riding in front of his companions, looking upwards for direction.

The Sun was high in the sky and in front of them, the forest still seemed boundless.

"We must get out of this place before it gets dark. That's our priority" Dag said, increasing the horse's speed.

"Dag! There seems to be a path there! Look!" said Karl, eagerly as he pointed to a segment of land not covered in trees.

"Yes, it coincides with the north. It should be the right direction" Dag said.

The three adventurers moved on the path indicated by Karl and continued in the same direction, at a sustained speed.

"When will you be able to infuse the seeds of the Crimson Tooth into the hawk blood?" asked Dag, curious.

"I certainly can't do that while we're on horseback. As I explained, it takes about 12 hours for the reaction to happen... and the vessel must remain in a dark, dry place. We need an indoor location" Karl replied.

Dag kept thinking, without answering.

He was eager to find out if Karl's method had any effect on him. But he had to wait, he couldn't risk a transfusion with a type of blood that could damage his body.

After a few hours of walking, the fossil trees in front of them began to thin out, the vegetation became less dense.

Continuing, the path also widened, taking the form of a real road and finally the exit of the forest was glimpsed.

"Hahahaha! I can't believe it! We made it!" shouted Karl enthusiastically, happy to finally be safe outside the forest.

Dag smiled, pandering to the joy of his companion.

"Congratulations, Captain. I could never have done better. In less than a day you took us out of this h.e.l.lish place" Reidar said, complimenting Dag.

"It was also a matter of luck. Despite the detour, we didn't stray far from the north. We went through a small region in two days of riding, I think it's average" he replied, humbly.

Reidar nodded his head, smiling.

When the fossil trees next to the path finally disappeared, the Sun had just set and the darkness of the night was coming.

"Whowoo! Go f.u.c.k yourself, G.o.dd.a.m.n forest! We'll never see each other again!" continued Karl.

In front of them, the path led to the top of a small hill, with soft and not steep slopes.

"Let's move on. This way" Dag said, without stopping for a moment.

Aslan began to walk more slowly and Dag stroked his neck.

"We did it, my friend. The worst is over... now we find a place to rest, all right?" he whispered in his ear.

The horse nibbled as if he had understood his rider's question.

When they reached the top of the hill, despite the darkness, they could see a landscape decidedly different from the previous one: a huge flat expanse stretched endlessly, with small hills like the one scattered around.

"I can't see the sea" Reidar said, squinting as he tried to see better in the distance.

"Reidar... we're tired. I think we need some more well-deserved rest. I'm sure it's going to be better in daylight" Dag said, drawing a sigh of relief.

There was a different, warmer and quieter air.

The forest was long gone behind them. Above it, a huge dense cloud covered the stone trees, giving a gloomy atmosphere to that already terrifying place of its own.

"I think that cloud always stays there, even though I can't explain why this physical phenomenon is happening" Dag said, inviting Karl to take notes on his book.

When they went down the hill, they found themselves in front of a very long straight path, which crossed cultivated fields.

"There's not even a shadow of a house nearby" Karl said, looking at the view in front of them.

"There are trees down there. We're going to camp there. We avoid sleeping on the fields, we may annoy some farmers" Dag said, continuing to ride along the trail.