Somewhere near the edge of a forest…

A young man with a bow and quiver across his back looked to the sky. He squinted. “That's bizarre,” he said after a moment.

“What’s bizarre?” a young boy beside him asked. The boy also had a bow and quiver. They were hunters.

“That bird, see it?” the man pointed to a very large bird flying in the distance. Too large. “That definitely isn’t a normal bird. Might be a monster. Too far away to shoot” the man explained to the boy, his son. He continued, “If we’re in the forest and you see that thing, let me know and take cover under a log or whatever you can”. He put his hand on the boy’s shoulder, who nodded.

The pair were about to go out and hunt, but now they needed to tell the village elder about this. A new monster in the forest was rare. Monster parts fetched a high price, to the right buyer, and the village could use some more coin after a poor harvest.

The two headed back towards the village. It was a small place, but to them it was home. They headed right to the largest building and knocked on the door.

“Elder, we must speak with the elder” the man said, and the door was opened by another man.

“Ah! Elmis, pleasure to see you. The elder should be able to talk right now, especially since judging by the tone of your voice something is wrong” the man noted, allowing them inside. “Not wrong, per say, but Kel and I saw something out of the ordinary. We had to come back immediately to share the word.”

Quickly, a meeting with the elder is called. They crowd around a table and an older man joins them. He sits down gingerly and smiles. “Kel, Elmis, what can I do for you both?” the older man asked.

“Elder, as we were about to leave to hunt, we saw a great bird in the sky. I believe it to be a monster” Elmis stated firmly. This brought a mixed reaction from the older man, who stroked his beard thoughtfully. Elmis continued, “We didn’t see any others like it, but we can’t rule out the possibility that they exist.”.

The elder nodded before speaking “A bird-like monster? What were its colorations, if you could see any” he asks, clearly interested.

Kel pipes up. “I could see them!” he states excitedly. “It was black, mostly! It had a white underbelly, and I think some red on top of its head but it was hard to tell.” He says, before quieting down. Elmis smiles and nods, “It is as my son says. It actually looked rather like a monstrous version of one of the birds native to the woods…” as he speaks, he begins to trail off, becoming silent. This silence fills the room, deafening - a realization dawning on him.

The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

“If it was in fact a monstrous version of a native species, then we have a bigger problem” the elder states. “Something happened, or is happening, within the forest that caused the creature to absorb excess mana. And it may not be the only creature affected.” he paused, “There is a chance that this was caused by a dungeon…” he added before continuing, “Or by some other event, potentially even one caused by people.”.

“A dungeon? This close? I would have noticed something.” Elmis says immediately. The elder counters, “You may not have. Even with your abilities, dungeon entrances can be difficult to spot. Some even take great care in hiding them.” he continued after a pause, “Also, if a dungeon does exist within or near the forest, there is no telling just how far away it is - since the monster you saw was a bird.”. The elder takes a breath. “We should run with the assumption that there is a dungeon somewhere in the woods. Until we find it, take great care while hunting. I will let the villagers know of this development.” the elder took another moment “Elmis. I trust in your ability. If you would like, you have my blessing to search for the dungeon's entrance - but not to enter it.” the elder finishes. He waves his hand “If you are careful, you should still be able to take Kel out hunting.”.

After some parting words, Elmis and Kel excuse themselves. Elmis’s thoughts racing.

It had been forever since he had seen a dungeon.

He wasn’t necessarily looking forward to seeing one again either.

He shakes his head, and gestures to his son. “Kel. Go home to your mother.” he says after a moment. His son nods, knowing there is no sense in arguing to come.

Elmis sets out from the village alone. He won’t risk his son’s safety - even a bit.

He would find a quarry, and then he would find the dungeon.

To Elmis, time always flew by on the hunt. Before he knew it, he had taken down two deer. These could feed the village for a day or two. He set about carrying them back to the village. He would spend the rest of the day, he decided, looking for the dungeon.

As intended, he spent the rest of the day looking. Alas, he found nothing. No signs of monster activity, or anything. Nothing within 5 whole miles of the village. Figures it would be further away. The question was how much further. He took a moment to think.

If it was close enough to find in a day, or even in a few, he probably would have noticed it already. Assuming the dungeon was further away than the bird was, that would mean the dungeon was at least 30 miles away from the village, probably more.

He sighed to himself as he walked back to the village, the sun setting in the distance.

He would find that dungeon, even if he needed help doing it.