The War Of Gemstone: Owl & Flower
CHAPTER 1 Ch.03 Spooky Story in the Forest

Rumors and gossip continue, as if there is no end to come out of the mouths of citizens. Either they fabricate everything or based on someone's experience. Residents discuss what is in the haunted forest. Many think that there is a place where various kinds of dangerous monsters live, or where spirits wail. Many people think that legendary creatures such as dragons, fire salamanders or winged horses live there.

The conditions of the dense and vast forest are very suitable for the habitat of wild animals, there could be extinct creatures that have been rediscovered or new species that have never been found.

Villagers then increasingly wild-minded and creative, they assume the forest in addition to inhabited by dragons, they are also evil demons who catch unwary humans and take them into a hot hell or they eat humans alive, and their bones are made into their accessories. Others added, besides the devil there are also angels with black wings that fall from heaven and live in the forest, looking for sinners to be thrown to God so that the angel can return to heaven.

It's absurd and ridiculous. But, in fact, such a conspiracy is much liked by the citizens. In addition to the stories that poured out of their imaginative minds, there was a famous story that had been told for generations from the village and spread to the city. The story of the horse and his master.

At night, a villager was busy cleaning his horse stable. When he was done, he came out and wanted to close the door.

A horse in his black and white complexion that had originally fallen asleep quietly suddenly woke up agitated and neighed. The horse circled around and repeatedly kicked the wall of his stall made of wood. The horse is trying to get out. His master came and tried to calm his horse, feeling unsuccessful, he took the whip and then whipped his horse several times to calm down.

Not that the horse obeyed his will, the horse even lunged and pushed him. The horse came out and ran towards the forest. The master chased after him, he followed the footprints of his horse and arrived at the outermost part of the forest. The master stopped and was shocked when he saw a black silhouette appear in the darkness of the forest at night. With trembling legs, he tried to aim the lantern he was carrying slowly at the silhouette. Not yet had time to see clearly, immediately the employer found himself instantly unconscious.

The next morning, the master woke up, he vividly remembered what happened last night. But, he did not find his horse and even the footprints that the horse left behind just disappeared. The master thought of trying to get into the forest and take his horse back, but when he recalled the silhouette, he still felt fear and made his whole body shudder. He decided to go back to his house and leave his horse swallowed by the darkness of the forest.

The lumberjacks of the village also have their own version of a horror story. Usually the loggers choose to cut wood in the forest not far from the village wood factory. They would not trouble themselves to choose to cut down in the distant Owl Forest, let alone the transportation of the village was still a little. So the residents built their woodworks in the forest closer to the village.

In addition, the loggers have faith in the forest spirits that guard the Owl Forest. They already know that the ban in circulation is not to touch or enter the Owl Forest, not to preserve the forest or prevent the animals from becoming extinct, he said, but so that the spirit of the forest does not run amok and attack the citizens. The loggers were also grateful to have a forest close to their village and safer.

One day one of the village's loggers wanted to cut down a tree in the Owl Forest. According to him, because the forest is untouched by humans, making the trees there grow with strong stems and smooth texture so that the wood is of high quality. He did not care about the prohibition not to enter the forest. He also ignored orders and advice from his friends. His friends were reluctant to chase the logger, leaving him to kapok and get his own reward.

While wiping away the sweat dripping on his chin, he looked around. He realized the forest was too quiet for the size of the vast and rarely touched forest. He did not see any deer roaming, rabbits jumping around, even insects buzzing at the head. Without thinking about anything strange, the logger continued his work, cutting the tree trunk even smaller. When he was done, he tied the cut logs into one.

When he placed the piece of wood on his shoulder, he felt that someone was staring at him from the darkness. A sharp gaze even seemed to pierce the body of the woodcutter. His mind started to go everywhere, he even prepared his axe for the worst situation. He decided to bring the tied logs and refused to cut more and further in.

The atmosphere of the forest suddenly made him shudder, he grew increasingly wary of the slightest sound. A feeling of uneasiness and unease ruled his body. He accelerated his path and made it out of the forest. The wind blew fiercely from within the forest and hit the logger until his bones felt a piercing cold. The woodcutter did not expect the day to change the night when he left the forest, he began to run fast while carrying a pile of wood on his left shoulder and an axe in his right hand. His breathing grew heavier as if he was running on the top of a mountain. The feller also felt cramps tormenting his muscles.

Finally the lumberjack arrived at the village, at that time the village looked deserted because it was night. He passed by the village guards who were patrolling. When the guard said hello, the logger did not touch him and went straight to his house. He rested himself on the chair and tried to regulate his breathing. After he experienced the bad event, he kept thinking positively and considered the incident was his excessive anxiety to make him hallucinate. Then the woodcutter put some of the wood he had cut into the fireplace. A unique fragrant aroma emerged from the burning wood, making the woodcutter sleepy. He fell asleep and planned to show off the wood he had cut to his friends the next day. That's when the real horror comes.

A pair of hands with black nails appeared and strangled the neck of the slumbering woodcutter. The woodcutter was surprised and thrashed, trying to remove his neck from the grip, but his efforts were in vain. The man was too sleepy and too tired to let go of himself. When she almost lost her consciousness due to breathing difficulties, she woke up.

It was morning, but the dream he felt was so real that he felt pain with the grip of his hand on his neck. The frightened woodcutter felt that his dream was an omen, a threat because he had disturbed the spirit of the forest. He rushed to get the wood even though some had been destroyed by the fire into charcoal. Tied his piles of wood with rope and put the wood that had become charcoal into the jar. The logger then went out in a hurry.

On the way, he met his friend. Just like before, the logger ignored him. His friend who had noticed when he saw the pale logger's face, could only smile to see him suffer. When the woodcutter reached the forest, he put the cut wood and spread charcoal on the ground where he had cut down the previous tree. He knelt down and apologized, promising not to repeat it again and then ran away and heard the sound of friction from the tree branch.

However, it was all just a fairy tale that could have been made to frighten, no one could confirm its authenticity. There are no written documents that can be used as evidence. It could be the original story but they are not experiencing mystical things but things that can be explained with common sense. It is precisely the fear of things that do not exist that even project them into reality.

There is also a story about a village girl who is looking for the fountain of immortality in the forest. Perhaps of all the stories, this one story is the one that most people claim to witness, because this story has been experienced directly by villagers in the past. Despite that, there are still many people who still do not believe it as an original story.