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Scout, the scout.
As Scout led his team deeper into the Forbidden Forest, his mind wandered back to the mission's inception. Initially, he had embarked on what he believed to be a routine inspection, a task assigned by a modest baron from the countryside. An usual, boring task with decent pay.
But the circumstances changed: just as he was preparing to delve into the forest, he was intercepted by nine heavily armed soldiers, accompanied by three mages. They brought unexpected news from the baron: the mission's objectives had been updated.
Now, amidst the dense foliage and shadowed paths of the forest, Scout couldn't help but feel the weight of this new responsibility.
No longer was he on a standard annual survey; he was now leading a critical investigation into the alarming increase of monster attacks on the villages bordering the forest. A task dangerous enough that the baron, usually stingy, deigned reasonable to send a whole platoon with him.
It was common knowledge that an increased monster activity is usually the first symptoms of an impending monster flood, a threat that could have devastating consequences for the barony and the kingdom at large.
The Forbidden Forest revealed its varied environmental strata as the scout and his escort ventured deeper.
In its outer ring, the struggle for survival was evident: trees bore the scars of harsh winters, greenery was sparse on the ground, and prey animals were few and far between.
As they delved further, the forest's vitality waned, giving way to desolation. The landscape was dominated by lifeless trees, particularly noticeable after two hours of travel, when the platoon entered the forest's core.
This area, blanketed in a perpetual frost and overrun by Thornwood trees, had been mapped in its majority by generations of explorers.
The scout's primary objective was the elf vanguard camp located in the core. He needed to gather information on the forest's condition and obtain reports about the current monster population.
The Forbidden Forest was notorious for housing specific monsters: grey wolves in the outer rings and, deeper within, giant wolf spiders, goblins, and harpies. However, this journey was marked by a troubling observation: an unusual increase in arachnid presence and a concerning absence of the forest's other inhabitants, a stark deviation from the previous year's reports.
This anomaly was alarming enough, but the mission demanded concrete evidence. Scout used his Light catcher artifact to capture images of the irregularities, gluing them alongside entries in the exploration log.
Tension grew among the guards; they hadn't encountered any elves, which was highly unusual. During their last visit, elves had intercepted them immediately upon entering the core. Even the trails leading to the elf camp were faint, suggesting they hadn't been used for some time. This lack of elf presence, coupled with the environmental changes, added a layer of unease.
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Upon reaching the elves' encampment, marked by its towering wooden walls, the scout called out for permission to enter, but was met with silence.
David, the oldest soldier and acquainted with a guard named Knorr, tried to provoke a response with a boisterous shout “ Knorr you lazy bastard, get the fuck out of your bed and come open the gates!”.
The eerie quiet that followed was soon shattered by Alice, one of the mages, who screamed in terror from the other side of the camp “D-David, the elves… I see two of them inside but they’re completely immobile, when I identified them, nothing returned. No mana signature either. Something is wrong”.
Paul, the second mage, nudged the gate open only to find it detached and falling to the ground. David quickly organized the group into a defensive formation: mages in the center, shielders at the front and rear, with the scout leading the way.
As they entered the camp, the signs of hasty a abandonment was evident. However, the most horrifying sight awaited them at the central watchtower: the two elves Alice had noticed.
The sight was so gruesome that Alice couldn't help but vomit. The elves' bodies were entwined in cobwebs, held upright by dark crystalline spider legs that pierced through their bodies, entering from the back and emerging through the head.
Their mummified remains, with faces frozen in terror, eyes, nails, and blood missing, suggested a gruesome death.
While three of the infantrymen solemnly undertook the task of providing a dignified burial for the fallen elves.
The rest of the group, including the mages, David, and the scout, moved towards the commander's tent.
The grim discoveries continued there: they found the desiccated remains of the elf lieutenant, reduced to a mere husk. The scene was chaotic, with documents strewn all around.
Amidst this disarray, the scout's attention was drawn to a scroll, clutched tightly in the lifeless arms of the elf lieutenant.
It seemed as if the elf had spent his last moments shielding this scroll, treating it as more important than his own life. The scout, with some difficulty, managed to pull the parchment out of the elf’s grasp and started reading its hastily written content.
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Report, Day 255, year 158 after deployment
Spider flood, weak to fire.
Arachne use ice and shadow magic. Must be the result of a dungeon breach.
10 of us stayed to delay while the rest retreats.
Magic communication was cut or intercepted.
Nest at Southeast of the forest’s heart, installed into a dungeon. Entrance is a one way.
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Once the scout shared the details of the report, they collectively decided on going back to the barony as quickly as they could.
Unbeknownst to them, their urgent departure did not go unnoticed. Hidden on top of trees, a group of small wolf spiders had been silently monitoring their movements, one scuttled back to its nest to relay everything.
As the team made their hasty retreat, a lone bleeding wolf spider stood in their way but was quickly turned into ash by a fireball.
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As dusk enveloped the forest and the group neared the livelier areas, they were suddenly ambushed by a multitude of giant wolf spiders. They were swiftly dealt with but still managed to inflict injuries on several members of the human group.
In its dying moments, the last spider let out a piercing screech, which was eerily echoed by countless others from the depths of the forest.
Before long, an overwhelming swarm of giant wolf spiders emerged, effectively encircling and confining the group within the desolate heart of the forest core. The spiders advanced methodically, using their sheer numbers to their advantage.
The fire mages among the group desperately tried to create a path through this living barrier, but as they expended their mana, the relentless tide of spiders seemed only to grow.
Recognizing the direness of their situation, David called for a tactical retreat. The platoon immediately reversed their direction, not towards the abandoned elven camp but deeper into the heart of the Forbidden Forest, since they feared that the camp had also a group of arachnids waiting for them.
Surprisingly, the spiders did not pursue them. They just stood their ground, as if ordered to do so.