I heard a loud crash from outside the building and my neck snapped towards the door.

Someone’s here. I thought, summoning my bow, and walking steadily towards the door.

Panda followed at my heels as I nocked an arrow and stepped deliberately into the doorway. I checked up and down the street but there was nothing there.

The village looked just as deserted as it had before.

“Look kid, there’s a broken barrel over there.” Panda said pointing towards the remains of a wooden water barrel.

It was barely a few feet away from our position. Whoever broke it must have been watching us. If I wanted to find out who they were I’d have to take a chance.

“Show yourself. We won’t hurt you.” I announced loudly, stepping out into the street and unequipping my bow.

I moved my hands out to the side, showing my palms in the least threatening pose I could think of. This also served a second purpose.

If someone attacked I could easily summon both daggers and enter melee with little effort on my part. Of course, archery was what I was best at, but I didn’t feel comfortable enough to leave myself entirely defenceless.

I waited a few moments as Panda clung to the door frame, watching from relative safety.

I heard a few light footsteps and turned towards an alleyway between two houses opposite the meeting hall we’d just been in.

What looked like a child, took a nervous step out of the shadows towards me.

She looked terrified, moreover, she was a creature I’d never seen before.

She was small in stature, wearing a brown garment that almost looked like a kimono. Her hair was wild and forest green, it seemed to defy gravity as it floated ominously around her. Her skin was the colour, and seemingly the texture, of bark.

I focused on her and a notification popped up.

You have discovered a new race:

Dryad

The Dryad are a peaceful, minority race. They are often found in remote forest locations, which makes sense since they’re basically just evolved trees.

You know those huge oak trees you’d see back on Earth that are hundreds of years old? Well, once a tree reaches its thousandth year it often transforms into a Dryad.

When caring for your Dryad please remember to water it and give it lots of sunlight.

Also, these guys are technically vegan since they mostly feed through photosynthesis. However, unlike the vegans of your world, they won’t mention it at every opportunity.

If you hear them say I am Groot, run.

A Dryad. I think I’ve heard of them before in fantasy books. It’s not a race I’m super familiar with though they sound pretty harmless. I thought, pushing my hood back and revealing my face.

I barely even registered the Marvel reference. I must have been growing used to the system’s quirky personality.

I must have looked like a monk with the slight stubble I had growing on my head. Either that or a neo-Nazi, God I hoped the people of this world didn’t have them. It’s definitely not the vibe I was going for.

“Hi, my name is Kaleb and I’m an adventurer.” I said softly, crouching down in an attempt to seem less intimidating.

“You look like you’re trying to get a cat to come to you.” Panda snickered, finally coming out from his hiding place behind the door. “Try making a puss-puss sound.”

“Will you knock it off.” I said irritably.

“You’re the one acting like she’s some lost pet. She’s a dryad, they’re pretty fucking intelligent.”

“Watch your language!” I admonished. “She’s only a child.

“Yeah, because a few naughty words are so bad when she lives in a world with killer monsters. Grow up Kaleb.”

I heard a jingling sound that kind of reminded me of laughter and we stopped bickering to turn back to the dryad child.

She smiled and opened her mouth as if she was giggling, but the sound was more like little bells jingling in the wind.

This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

She began walking towards us, still with an air of timidity, but much less frightened than before.

“You’re funny mister.” She said in a voice that somehow also sounded like bells jingling in the wind.

“Sorry about that, my friend here really knows how to pick his moments.” I sighed, returning her smile. “His name is Panda.”

“I am Treena.” She replied to Panda’s immediate and raucous laughter.

“She’s a dryad and she’s got the word tree in her name. I can’t breathe.” He said through gasps of air as he clutched his stomach.

“Your name is literally your species. Do you really have any room to talk?” I replied, shooting him a stern glance.

Treena laughed again with the sound of tiny, tinkling bells.

“Shall we talk inside?” I asked her softly.

She nodded and made an “mm” sound, then she walked past me towards the meeting hall and Panda and I followed.

Inside the hall I took a seat on a bench opposite her. She sat with childish abandon, leaning back on her hands, and kicking her little legs as she looked at me through big round eyes.

“Treena, can you tell us a little bit about this place? We were sent here because the big stone walls suddenly appeared. We were asked to investigate.”

I purposely neglected to tell her that the Adventure Society thought it was a cultist stronghold and we were supposed to kill everyone we found.

“The wall came with the cloud castle which took my mummy and daddy.” She replied.

“How did the castle take them?” I asked softly.

“The elder went into the castle and then there was this big light and everyone disappeared.”

So a strange castle and old fort walls appeared suddenly and as soon as someone went to have a look inside a light spread out and they all disappeared.

Yup, sounds like something magical alright. Not sure a guy with no mana is the best guy for the job. I thought, sighing internally.

“Do you know anything else about the castle?”

She looked at me quizzically for a moment and touched her index finger to her lips.

“Um… I know how to open the door. I could take you if you want?”

I wasn’t sure that taking a child into a potentially dangerous magic castle that made people disappear was a responsible idea, but I didn’t have much else to go on.

“Ok, but you have to do everything I say once we’re there and if anything attacks us I want you to run straight back here and lock the door ok?”

It was the best compromise I could think of. I needed to get inside the castle but I didn’t want her to get hurt.

“Ok.” She said chirpily, hopping down from the bench and walking towards the door.

I got up and followed her, taking care to avoid stepping on the muddy footprints Panda and I had left.

She led us a few streets over and as we rounded a building it appeared.

A small stone castle, sitting in the middle of the village centre. It looked more like a single battlement tower than a castle per se. Its architecture definitely clashed with the rustic wooden hovels that made up the rest of the dryad village.

It was surrounded by a waterless moat. So basically a pit that surrounded the stone tower castle. There was a single rope bridge leading to it.

I looked up at the angry black cloud that hovered above the castle. I wondered what that was all about. I bet it had something to do with magic.

“Kaleb, this castle has a strange magic aura. It’s hard to explain but my mana senses are telling me that it’s not really here.” Panda said, tugging on my leg to get my attention.

Treena seemed much more at ease since our initial meeting. She ran across the rope bridge, flapping her arms without a care in the world.

“Please be careful” I shouted after her as we followed at a more considered and cautious pace.

The bridge creaked as we crossed it, it certainly felt real to me.

As we reached the other side I breathed out a sigh of relief. I’d looked over the side of the rope bridge as we crossed and the moat chasm seemed to drop into the very depths of hell itself.

I couldn’t even see the bottom. A fall like that would have been the end of me.

On the other side of the bridge we caught up to Treena who bounced up and down on the balls of her feet as she waited.

Behind her was a large wooden door with metal bolts around the frame, and no handle.

“So, how do we open it Treena?” I asked nicely.

“You have to give it the password, but it’s spoken in ancient orcish so you won’t be able to do it. I know the words though.” She practically sang towards the end of the sentence.

“Orcish? Ok, can you open it for us then.”

She nodded and opened her mouth. A horrid noise that sounded like a series of harsh pig squeals came out. It was a far cry from the sound of tiny bells.

I certainly didn’t expect to see a dryad perform black metal today. I thought as she screamed.

I had to cover my ears, it literally hurt to listen to the noise. It was so loud.

As she finished the door creaked for a moment before falling inwards with a loud, echoed crash. It fell like a drawbridge, definitely not how doors were usually designed to open.

The inside was pitch black. Luckily I had just the item to light the way. I summoned the Eternal Torch of Communist Supremacy out of my inventory and held it out in front of us.

The torch cut through the darkness like a blade, casting eerie shadows up and down the stone walls. The castle itself looked more like a museum though, as I stepped inside.

It was a circular room with a winding, stone spiral staircase skirting the wall. Around the base of the wall was a bunch of glass cases.

I moved towards the first one and brushed the dust away as it swirled in a cyclone, catching in a ray of light. Inside there was a collection of Spanish looking armour.

Namely, one of those helmets they wore in the 1600’s that curved funnily. It seemed pretty out of place in Celestia.

“What is all this stuff?” I muttered to myself as I moved from case to case finding more armour and some rusted old swords and a polearm.

“It’s from the war.” Treena answered darkly.

“What war?” I asked, turning towards her. Her childish attitude seemed to have vanished as she stared up at me with a thousand-yard stare. I got a sinking feeling at the sudden change in her demeanour.

“The war with the Orcs.” She replied solemnly. “It was a long time ago. That book can tell you more.” She pointed towards a podium in the middle of the room.

I looked towards it and saw a large black book, similar to the one in the village hall.

Unlike the weapons and armour, it looked brand new. There wasn’t a speck of dust on it.

“Kaleb, maybe take a minute before you open that. Its mana is off the charts.” Panda said shakily from beside me.

I barely heard him as I looked towards it, mesmerized. It felt like it was calling to me. I walked towards it slowly, unable to control my body as my mind felt fuzzy.

“Forgive me brave adventurer. I’ll be praying for your success.” Treena said gravely from somewhere behind me.

I barely registered her words. My mind was focused on the book. I’d never wanted anything else as much as I wanted to read that book.

My mind and body were overcome with an overwhelming desire as I closed in on it, dropping the torch to the ground.

I placed both hands on the book and heard it whisper to me. The words weren’t words as such, but I could tell. It wanted me to open it and I wanted nothing more than to obey.

Carefully I opened the first page and was blinded by an all-encompassing flash of light.