It was a warm spring afternoon as the Band was patrolling the woods around the village. The sun that was shining through the leaves felt nice as did the slightly warm breeze. Most of the spring was always wet and cloudy so this was a welcome bonus on their patrol.

They checked that rabbit traps they had set for caught prey and were delighted they had count 2 of the creatures.

Their attitude changed at the latest trap they came across. The trap had obviously been triggered but no sign of its captive, if a larger creature got a hold of it there would have been clear marks next to the trap.

“Lets spread out and look for clues or tracks” Matthew said as he eyed some tracks in the underbrush. “But be careful whatever took it might still be nearby”.

Jared and Nalia nodded to his words, and they set out to check the nearby bushes.

A pair of just visible tracks lead him through the underbrush and into a small ditch next to a bush. He followed the trail for a bit longer when he heard Nalia call them over.

As they got to her location they saw traces of blood and tufts of fur littered around the area.

The creature who got their rabbit seemed to have eaten it on the spot with the skin still attached. Clear tracks could be seen leading away from the site into a deeper and darker part of the forest away from the village. They departed if they should follow the tracks forward. But as any righteous Band of Adventurers they went ahead to face danger and adventure.

The tracks lead them not far through the forest. They arrived at the bottom of a cliff side. The side of the cliff was overgrown with vines and shrubbery. They followed the cliff side looking for where the creature had made it’s home.

No obvious monster den was found but Matthew had this nagging feeling is his mind. The place “felt” familiar but why? They had never explored this part of the forest before, still something nagged at him.

He tried to focus on this lingering feeling he even closed his eyes to make himself focus. And then a brief glimpse of a tree appeared in his mind. A small dark figure looked behind itself at a hole below a tree. Then he saw the creature look at the same cliff they were standing next to and bolt off into the forest.

Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

He felt like he got hit in the head by something and his senses snapped back to reality.

What happened just now? What did he see? How and why did he even see it? His head felt heavy and his chest was throbbing. He tried to shake those feelings and focused again on what he'd seen in his mind.

The creature had the cliff side on its left-hand so that meant it came from the opposite direction of where they were searching.

“I’ll have a look at the opposite side. Keep a look out for a hole near a tree” he said to his companions, which left them in a semi confused state.

As he circled back the other way he tried to call back the image in his mind but it was blurry. But then he spotted it, the tree in his mind. He drew his sword and moved closer to it, ready for if the small dark creature might still be around.

This was definitely the place they were looking for. He lowered himself into the hole beneath the trees roots and the inside was much bigger than you would expect from the outside. The opening was littered here and there with the bones from other small animals the creature had caught and eaten. It also had a very distinct smell, and then eh knew what had taken their rabbit, a kobold.

Nasty little creatures but not something they couldn’t handle in the open. But the problem was that they were looking for it in its lair. The space wasn’t cramped, but they’d be hard-pressed to fight in here. They could set an ambush outside, but they had to get home soon. While he looked around the hole he saw a passage behind a set of rocks leading deeper inside.

He left the hole under the tree and went to meet up with his companions. They all came back to the hole under the tree to decide their plan of action. They agreed to explore the passage leading deeper inside, but they’d need to make preparations for it. They’d need food, water and torches. And thus they left the hole in the ground and went back to the village.