I rented a horse at a modest price from the stable and traced my route, my equipment in my purse. I had brought with me some rare ingredients to make new potions, as well as a new dagger that I had forged for myself.

A dagger on either side of my belt, I headed towards the forest to start my journey. My horse was very ordinary and could support another person in the back. After some 600 meters in a clearing, I entered the forest. The trees growing there covered with their leaves every inch of the sun, leaving me in the darkness. It was not necessary to make a mistake of branch or you could land in a pit or a hunter's trap. The wildlife was flourishing and there were many sounds of wild animals. Taking my time, I saw some wild boars that I killed with my fireballs to recover the skin. I was going to make scrolls out of them.

Then, at the sign code level, I met a man. At his frame I would say that he is an agent of the state.

"What are you looking for?"

"I gather testimonies on an investigation my good sir

"Would you have any time for me?"

"Of course, what do you want to know?"

"Let me tell you, for nearly two weeks now, men have been disappearing in this forest and no one knows where these men are going. However, three days ago, a man was found, completely emptied of all vitality. It should be noted that this forest covers some 40% of the southern territory which makes it difficult to search

'He was stammering words in unknown language, we are actively looking for a translator who can help us

"Do you have any language skills?"

It was fair to say that learning a language was very complicated in that it was necessary to assimilate arcane formulas that were already not easy.

Some language could amplify certain spell still needed to master it.

"I regret but not my brave, I only practice my native language"

"It's a shame, too, could you refer to the agency of the next city if you encounter any anomalies, we will of course be indebted to you".

"I accept without worries, good luck in your quest"

And I continued my way on horseback, remembering the words of the agent. These disappearances could be the work of humans as well as animals, it was necessary to remain careful in the face of any irregularity in nature. The next town was 30 km away and it was a major city.

The labyrinthine passages of the forest were beginning to lose me, I had crossed the road and turned back and the sign seemed to have changed. I thought I was tired. I had been in this gigantic forest for five hours and I kept getting lost.

This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.

Then I found a small tower that seemed uninhabited from here. Giant trees surrounded this tower which looked small by their side but which proved relatively large once closer. I entered the garden, which was littered with alchemical ingredients. From the belladonna, from the Marive, from the nuncios, I decided to gather some. Suddenly my sight became blurred, I became heavy and tired and then the last thing I saw before I fainted was a fluorescent green gas that embalmed the ground.

I woke up in a dark room. A candle was hanging from a metal bar door. It looked more like a dungeon once my eyes got used to the darkness. Then I looked to the right and a bright white smile stared at me in the darkness. I was petrified with surprise. A glassy yellow eye opened, followed by a red eye injected with blood. The individual or rather the thing that looked at me had a pumpkin-shaped head and some gray hair on the skull.

"Awake my boy? I hope Denis is taking good care of you?"

Who was he talking about, there was nobody else in the room. Then my eyes slid to the left of my bed. There was a boar's head on a pillow staring at me with his glassy eyes.

"Oh yes, Denis!" cried the pumpkin-headed man in a shrill cry. He seemed completely insane.

"What are you gonna do with me?"

"Oh come on, you know that. You are sick, you must be treated and you will stay here for your treatment," replied the man, smiling.

Then I fell asleep again, as if struck by sleep. I got up the next day, I knew it in the sun drawing a shadow on the barred window of my room. I was still tied to the bed. Like a bird in its cage, I remained under the fangs of the wolf. Who was this mysterious man? What did he mean by treatment? Was he going to torture me?

Then a yellowish gas crept through the bars of the front door. Soon the gas spread throughout the room. And I had a dream. I was on a boat with my brother, everything happened like flashes of glass. A winged beast attacked our boat followed by a marine creature. I relived that moment once again and everything happened as I remembered it. The scene repeated itself and I saw once again my brother being carried away by creatures as I shouted at his address. And the scene repeated itself again, like a film that we kept going up. I felt the pain increase every time I watched it. This lasted for a time that seemed infinite to me. I had gone through the pain of losing him, the hatred of my inability to help him and then the pain of losing him again. When I woke up, my body trembled like a leaf and my eyes vibrated with the emotions I had just experienced.

I was now in a kind of dining room. Heads of all kinds were on every place on the table. They seemed freshly cut. The visions of horror did not stop. The man whose eyes deeply disturbed me looked at me with a dark look, as if he were looking at a piece of meat or a corpse. Was I still dreaming? My hands were not tied. In a burst of courage I created a ball of fire with my right hand, at the moment I was going to project it, the man took my arm and folded it in an unlikely angle which made me scream with pain. He had moved from the back of the table to me in the blink of an eye. I had not seen him get up.

"Look, my dear, you will offend our guests! You must smile after what you have experienced. This is the first step towards your liberation."

He was going to set me free? I relaxed in spite of my arm pain that I held with my valid hand.

"What have you done to me? I've seen my past over and over again as a nightmare that will never end."

"That's what I'm saying! Your psychological liberation!

"I will help you to destroy the barriers of your mind that limit you, you must bear it or you will not live to experience it," he said smiling again.