Fred nodded and snickered, shaking his head. "Ah yea, lil' Angelica. Used to babysit!" Fred seemed awfully nostalgic, but Oz's plans to travel after her was conflicting, to say the least. Fred's smile vanished when Oz asked for his assistance to cross through the forest. "I could, I could.. But that's one hell of a dangerous journey you'd be makin' there, Oz. There's all sorts o' things past the thickness, M'boy. Things that aint so ehm.. Normal."

"Well. Seems I'm not so normal anymore.." Oswald said with a hint of confusion. "Fred. I'm not worried about this journey through the unmarked forest." He looked him straight in the eyes. "Only thing that has me worried is the madman Zel who's chasing Angelica. This man killed Josh!" Oz let it sink in. Judging from how he felt last night he shouldn't even be able to stand here but he was. He had a mysterious power, no idea what it was or what it did. Oz knew at this point, without error, that he couldn't beat Zel. He tried not to think about it but it was there nonetheless. All he had was the hope he could get stronger during the chase. Time was of the essence.

"Does the forest scare you?" Oz asked.

Fred tilted his head at the prospect of Oz's abnormality, but shrugged it off. His friend was in a pickle, and although Fred had shed the bindings of his town long ago, he wasn't about to leave Oz to fend for himself without whatever help he could offer.

"Huh?" Fred grunted, "Scare me? Of course not, I live here after all! If you know where you are, and what you're bound to be eatin', it aint so bad, s'long as you evade the eh.. More sinister patrons of the woods... If you're so resolute on passin' through these here thickets, I'd rather guide your myself, Oz."

Eatin'. The word stuck out like ivy on an oak tree. Fred may have been eating just about anything to survive here. Certainly didn't look like food was that hard to come by though.

"Alright. I'm very grateful." Oz started moving with Fred. "So, uh. What are these patrons of the woods you mention?"

Fred frowned and began leading Oz through the thick trees ahead, "Patrons, they're like fairies I s'pose. But they aint sparkly like them sprites in the novels, I'll tell ya. They're vicious, and they seem awfully fond of flesh. Easy to scare off though, with a lil' ole fire!" Fred chuckled and continued forward, looking back every few seconds to make sure Oz was close behind. "Say, what's this about you bein' abnormal, eh?"

Oz wanted to be able to give the man a clear answer. He remained silent as Fred kept looking back at him waiting for the answer. "Apologies Fred but I can't give you a real response to that question. All I know is that our 'friend' Zel spent more time beating the everliving tar out of me than anyone else and what happens? I take a nap, eat some pie and feel better than ever while my coworkers get barely touched and become bed-ridden for it. Then there was the blue light..." Oswald trailed off with the thought.

"Blue light?" Fred closed one eye and pushed a troublesome gathering of plant life out of their path, "Aint that a curious conundrum.. Maybe yer just gifted! Ya always did of a sorta.. Aptitude about ya, even as a young lad. I'd be pretty forced to say ya weren't special, m'boy!" Fred stopped and looked around cautiously. "This Zel fella sounds awfully dangerous though, dangerous enough for yeh to go riskin' your hide in these woods like a fool! Can't be that his presence has made this 'ere plant factory a little less frightening then it oughta be, eh? Or are ye just sweet on Lil' Angie?" Fred paused and thought back to Josh. The news of his death didn't strike him as sorely as it ought have at first, but it was slowly beginning to ware in.

"Dangerous? That's almost an understatement. By the end of that fight he had me beaten into submission. I was on the ground writhing in pain he inflicted with some sickening green power. Just thinking about it brings the numb aching back." Oswald realized how fatal the encounter could have been if Zel hadn't seen the light. "Somewhere out there I think that lunatic is hoping I learn what makes me 'special' just so he can show me how much more he can kick my ass."

"I do have a soft spot for Angie but my sense of right is driving me now. Angie needs saving. No one else is on her path except me and Zel." Oswald's face gains a sullen expression. "And Zel has the lead.."

Freddie cringed at the thought of a man who could take Oz down. "Hoo-boy. Sounds like yer inflicting one hell of a quest upon yerself.. All this speak of green and blue auras, sounds magical in nature if ya ask me. But I aint no expert on the stuff!" Fred mused. He continued to lead Oz through the thickness of the forest. Although the path they took was flooded with tall grass, and bushes, the trees at either side of them were packed so closely together that it made it damned near impossible to travel further left or right. "Yer headin' towards a world that even I don't fully understand, Ozzy. But if ya think that it's the right path to be takin, it may be a good idea to take it in stride. If this Zel character's really as apt as you say he is, you aint' gonna outrun him. And Findin' Angie, what's that gonna accomplish if this whack-job's still on the loose?" Freddie thought it over himself. He didn't quite get any of it, Oz's determination, Zel's evil doings, or Angie's retreat. He was a simple man with simple values, but all that time out in the forest didn't make him an idiot.

What would it accomplish? Oz felt a little speechless to that question. He considered what would happen if he actually achieved his goal and reached Angelica before Zel. Zel would just get annoyed, see he had not made any progress with his ability to fight and likely kill the exhausted protector. Fred was right he needed a wiser way to follow. Hoping Angie could remain safe until he was ready would have to do, otherwise both of them would die and no one would be able to stop Zel's murderous sprees.

"You're right. Even if I had the godsend of actually getting to Angie before Zel, he would eventually catch us. I don't think his mercy stretches far so that would be the end of it and Zel would just keep going." Oz turned to look Fred in the eye. "You sound like you have something more reasonable in mind. I'd appreciate any advice I could get."

"Hah! I aint exactly a guru, but if there's anything I know about magic, it's where to take your questions!" Freddie assured Oz, "Er, well, not exactly. I mean, I know a guy, or knew a guy, once, but I aint got no idea where he is, or what he looks like anymore! Haha.. It was at least 11 years ago..." The trees surrounding them began to rustle as they traveled forward. Fred looked around cautiously. "He was a mage, or somethin', spouted all kinds of nonsense when he first met me. Said he was headed for some altar beyond these 'ere forest. His name was.. Ehm.. Setsu? or Saizuro? Somu..bu.. I can't remember for the life o' me!" The rustling began to intensify, but Fred didn't pay much mind to it. "If yer lookin' to get stronger, or anything like that, I'd say find yourself a mentor like him!" Freddie didn't really know where to send Oz off to. At the southern edge of the forest, his knowledge on the landscape ended, and the great unknown truly begun.

"Might wanna keep your wits about you, by the by. We might have company soon."

A mentor of magic, that would certainly be helpful. Oz could really use the company of someone that could answer his questions in full. As the rustling intensified he peered around looking for any sign of visible movement. There was no way he was going to let himself be eaten by sprites before. Oz had a mission to accomplish after all!

Fred had been in these parts for a long time, surely he knew what to do in this situation. "If this means trouble I pray you have a way out of it and you better not say 'run'.."

"Ha.." Fred shifted nervously for a moment before grabbing Oz's arm and pulling him away frantically, "Sorry to dissapoint!" He shouted, sprinting off with Oz in tow as quickly as he could manage. Although he was a thin man, Fred had surprisingly abnormal agility, but his strength left much to be desired. He could barely manage to uproot Oz if he wasn't willing to follow, let alone tear him across the entire forest.

A flurry of small red humanoid creatures with pointed tails crawled out of the thickets like spidermonkies, hissing wildly and bearing their sharpened, gnarled fangs. Their eyes were black as soot, and revealed killing intent. However, despite their tiny body frames, no larger than a child, they did not travel in groups. A quick scan would reveal only 5 of the small creatures, but at the rate at which they began moving, it became clear that outrunning them, or outmaneuvering them, would be difficult. How the hell did Fred survive so long out here on his own?

Oz got the hint. He picked up his feet and sprinted right after Fred, who no longer needed to try dragging him. Freddie certainly betrayed his age with how fast the man ran. Between huffed breaths Oz shouted a question. "So.. *Phew!* how long before they give up!?"

Sparing a glance back he saw the little devilish sprites whisking around behind them. They certainly had speed but they were small. Oz unfortunately hadn't packed any real weapons aside from the tiny hatchet he had for survival should such a thing be necessary. He didn't have any positive feelings toward weapons. There was a reason for it too.

Fred shrugged while running and continued deeper into the forest. "They likely won't! But if we can split em up, they might not be so dangerous- I usually don't get caught out by this many! They're weak, on their own!" Fred wheezed. It was true, the little creatures might have had weapon-like bodies, they were small and frail. One good strike might end up disabling one, if not outright killing it. "Either that, or we reach the edge of the forest! They aint too keen on leaving the shade.."