He was floating down an easy flowing river without a care in the world. The water was cool, but not cold, and carried him aimlessly along with its gentle currents. Fish, further beneath the clear surface, would scatter as the shadow cast from his gliding body passed over them. Every once in a while a wide eyed turtle or confused water snake would slowly turn its head to follow the peculiar object slipping past. Various kinds of birds flew above in the even clearer sky, their feathered or scaled bodies either blending in with the blue vastness, or standing in stark contrast depending on their colors. Critters, some large, others small, and animals of varying size made their way through the forest taking little notice, or even none at all, of the boy silently traveling amongst them.

It was then, right after the boy had expelled a deep, and content, breath that everything changed. The once blue sky was now a deep and dark gray with even darker clouds dotting its ominous depths. No longer was he slipping safely down a gentle stream above harmless fish, but was now being thrown violently about by massive waves of an angry ocean, which when one realized the boy had never even seen the ocean before, was a pretty amazing feat. Beneath him were massive sea creatures with glowing eyes and unrealistically massive teeth, their long bodies circling his tiny form waiting to feast. As he struggled against currents he understood nothing about he began to slip beneath the surface, the water inching up his neck, followed by his cheeks, and then, finally, over his head.

He couldn’t breath and the world below the thrashing waves grew darker the further he sunk. Suddenly, from the inky black something rushed forward, long finger like legs extending to reveal a circular mouth. Behind it a long tail trashed from side to side propelling it forward and a second later it had latched onto the boys face. The finger like appendages latched onto his head as the tail slipped over the top of his head and out of view. His lips clamped shut as he felt them touch the rough texture of the creatures mouth and he began to struggle against its grip. Suddenly he was being pulled by the creature and he began to flail about trying to get away. It was too strong though and right before he was about to shed his mortal coil and slip off into the embrace of the Keepers the chaotic world disappeared.

He was inside a well lit, but steamy, room and it was hot. He was coughing, face down against the tiled floor, and a rough hand was slapping him on the back.

“Come on boy! That’s it, cough it all up.”

Smack, smack!

Later, after his wits had returned to him, Ethan would wonder had been the greater danger in this encounter; almost drowning in the hot spring or the beating he took from the one who pulled him out of the warm waters. However, back in the moment after almost another half a minute of coughing he managed to raise a shaking hand to signal it was ok to stop. While the skin covering his entire body was red, similar to a sunburn, the area between his shoulder blades was definitely more purple, more like a bruise. While the pounding stopped rough hands picked him with ease and he soon realized he was being carried away from the water’s edge...

Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

“That’s odd...” Ethan thought to himself.

The boy was suddenly taken over by confusion. He was definitely being carried, there was no question about that. He didn’t feel like he was back under the water or that this was a dream. So what was the problem? Well despite the clear sensation of being carried his face was only about two inches or so from the floor. By the Keeper’s the tiles in this place were clean! Less than a minute later all would be made clear. As the slapping of sturdy feet came to a stop he heard a door slide out of the way allowed cool air to wash over his body. While the air wasn’t chilled enough to cause steam to rise from the boy’s body goosebumps did suddenly appear all over his body and a shiver ran down his spine. He suddenly heard a voice he thought he recognized call out while he was set down against the shelving unit that held the clothes of everyone using the spring.

“Oi! Edwine! Bring some water, quick!”

“Mr....?” Ethan looked up as he asked, “.. Bimsley?”

Yep! Short hairy man with rough hands and a gruff voice, who thankfully had a towel around his waist, to the rescue! Ethan rested his head back against a basket and had another coughing fit while Bimsley watched with a concerned expression. Near the end of the most recent round of hacking a bewildered Edwine entered with a massive mug of water.

“Why Mr. Bimsley, what’s wro.....” Upon seeing the collapsed, blood red, and obviously weak boy Edwine immediately stopped talking and hurried over to offer the water. Ethan took it with a small, but appreciative, smile, though he had to use both shaking hands to maintain his grip. Bimsely also reached out and placed a thick finger beneath the the mug to help steady it, and also to help support it. He was able to get a few gulps of water down before he began coughing again, though this time the fit was shorter and weaker.

“Did he pass out Mr. Bimsley?”

“I think he fell asleep and slipped under.”

There was a pause.

“I just happened to be leaving, I wonder how long he had been under...”

Silence responded to Bimsley’s question, which was ok since it didn’t really need to be answered. It had been a concerned though more than an accusation, and the two males remained silent as Ethan managed to take a few more sips. A moment or two later he handed the mug back and returned his head to rest against the basket, his eyes clothed and his hands resting on the floor on either side of his hips.

“His color is looking a bit better.”

“Indeed, please get his towel and move him to the first private room to rest a bit. I’ll prepare some cool wraps and retrieve more water.”

“Gotcha!”

The two old males moved to assist a careless youngin’ who, while thankful, would later turn the same shade of red, though in embarrassment, after the entire series of events became clear to him. Poor kid.