When one was lost in the forest, the most optimal thing to do was to stop.
The moment a person realized they had lost their sense of direction, continuing to move only made things worse.
It widened the distance from the original path and erased whatever traces were left behind.
Lancel didn't move for a moment, leaning his back against a tree. Panic only distorted judgment, and in a place like this, where visibility was already compromised, losing clarity meant digging himself deeper into the problem.
Once that was done, the next step was to assess.
Backtracking was always the safest option, but only if the path behind still existed.
Unfortunately, that option wasn't available for him.
In any case, when dealing with fog, the rules changed since direction became unreliable and depth perception became blurred.
Even sound could mislead and echo from the wrong angles, giving false impressions of distance.
