Prologue 0.2
Bringing along the small bags you all had carried with you on the bus, it was easy to see that the forest was not as ominous as you once perceived it to be. The lion you had just encountered was…odd. But he wasn’t threatening. The whole design was intended for that, you were sure. He teetered along on the path ahead of you, one foot in front of the other taking some effort.
The feeling of being out of place in the forest seemed to grow though. Chatter and low murmurs from the group were the only thing that could be heard as you all walked along….until Utsushi-raion began to speak up, stopping momentarily in front of the group. He scratches the back of his head again before letting out a small chuckle.
“O-Oh, forgive a silly old lion, I have forgotten to begin talking about the founding and legends of Hinomachi, oof.” He looks a bit embarrassed, but recovers quickly, beginning their walk again, but at a slower pace.
“The town of Hinomachi first began as a trading post before the beginning of the Edo Period. The mountain just off in the distance,” They point east, but it clear that you wouldn’t be able to see it just now due to all the…trees. “Many used to carve into the mountain-side and smuggle or hide imports that were deemed contraband and/or illegal by the government.”
Utsushi-raion continues to drone on, but you begin to feel the air around you shift. The once hot and muggy atmosphere you experienced around the entrance of the forest turned…chilling. For this time of year it seemed really out of place, and was enough to warrant a question as to why it was getting colder.
The lion gave a small clap and jump. “Oh my, how could I have forgotten! We are all currently walking though the Four Seasons Forest, an attraction that is deemed an anomaly by scientists and weather experts alike. The forest is said to experience all four seasons at random intervals.” Looking around, you could clearly see the different patches of forest looking to be in the middle of autumn. The cold patch you were standing in currently was up for debate, seeing how fog was beginning to roll in.
“It’s a nice place to walk through if you’re up for such a task. But be mindful of the changing conditions.” The lion laughs, walking once more further into the forest.
The unsettling feeling grows with the thickening of the fog.










