King Elk Forest Tinker Tailor, Soldier Sailor

He snorted with a quick chortle and once again fell silent. His father's attempt at humor brought a brief smile to Giancarlo's face -- however, it was brief in span and the lighthearted quip felt out of place. Attention returning back to the ruined forest, the Don shook his head defeatedly. It seemed he was now left with two choices: either lead his family back home to Saltlick Basin or continue forward -- each option, Giancarlo felt he was leading his family to certain death. Either way, he would not succumb to fear and doom the Ferretti's further.

"We can't turn back now," he said, decision to push forward being resolute. "If we keep heading north, I'm sure things will get better." It was a pipe dream and there was no true way to gauge the scale of the destruction without passing though. Giancarlo could only hope that this barren forest was an isolated incident and not a harbinger of things to come.

He pushed forward, drawing away from his father's side, and rounded the side of a particularly large tree that had been stripped of all greenery. The Don looked up and squinted so he could see all the way up to the peak. Nothing remained. "What do you suppose can do this sort of thing?" He asked. This sort of destruction was something Giancarlo had never seen. Whatever force decended on the forest remained a mystery to him.