Slowly, I continued to take a few more steps ahead, as I walked deeper on through the silent woods.

I think that I mentioned this before, but there were some small ferns and shrubs growing on the floor of the forest, along with a few broken tree branches which were scattered here and there. Still, there weren’t that many ferns or branches, and on the whole, the forest ground was relatively clear, with a lot of open dirt that you could step onto.

That made it pretty easy for me to make my way forward quietly, without making much of any noise. So I tried to take a lot of care with each of my steps, as I did my best not to be too loud, or to alert anyone to my presence.

For the next few minutes, I walked like that in near silence, keeping my ears alert for danger.

At the same time, as I made my way through the woods, I couldn't help but soak in the huge, majestic, and beautiful trees that were rising up from all around me.

At first, being alone out here had been really frightening, and it had been hard to really appreciate the place that I had arrived in. But now that I had stopped worrying about what to do, and just started to move forwards, I was beginning to feel a lot more relaxed, and a lot better about my current situation.

For the last three years, I had been in one of the worst prisons in my country. During that time, I had almost forgotten about what it felt like to walk for more than about a minute in a single direction, or to be surrounded by something other than harsh, gray concrete.

So to be out here in nature like this all by myself, and to be able to simply walk where I wished to walk, and to enjoy the cool forest air to my heart’s content…

It was deeply refreshing, really. And it provided me with a kind of sense of contentment that helped to set my heart at ease right then, at least a little.

I still didn’t know what was happening exactly, or where I would go to next. But all the same, I was glad that I was free - for now, at least.

And so, I just let my mind start to draw some strength from those more cheerful, and pleasing thoughts, as I continued to try to make my way out through the forest, and towards the world beyond.

The whole time that I had been walking though, I still hadn’t encountered a single living being.

And I had just about managed to convince myself that I might really be able to make it out of here without any trouble when, suddenly, from just a little ways in front of where I was standing, I heard what sounded like a faint, and gentle whimpering.

Then, I stopped, crouched down, and listened.

After a few seconds, I heard the sound again… except now, it was much more clear. It sounded like an animal was in pain, and it sounded like it was crying out for help, and pleading for assistance.

I couldn’t really make out what sort of animal it was. But, from the timid and gentle quality to its voice, it didn’t seem like it was in any sort of a position to hurt me.

And so slowly, and very carefully, I took a few steps forward, and began to investigate.

I was more than a little afraid, of course.

But at the same time, just judging from its voice, I didn’t think that I was in all that much danger… and I was more than a little curious about what sort of creatures called this world their home. Plus, honestly, I found it kind of painful to hear its cries right then - and I wanted to try to do a bit to help the creature out, if I could.

A few steps closer still, and I could hear the sound of the whimpering much more clearly.

It sounded kind of canine, I thought. And there seemed to be almost like a kind of glowing light or something coming from just ahead.

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Then, I carefully made my way up a little further...

… and then, I just froze at what I saw.

In front of me was a small, silver, furry animal, with four paws, a long snout, and a body just a little bit larger than a small dog’s.

The animal would have almost been able to pass for a miniature wolf, actually…

... except for the fact that there were bright, golden runes glowing across the fur along its sides, and a swirl of vibrant, blue magical energy dancing above its scalp like a crown of flames.

The creature was so beautiful that I just froze there for several seconds in a state of awe and wonder.

Then, the wolf noticed me out of the corner of its eye, and turned its head to face me.

Bright, emerald green eyes lit up on the little wolf’s face, as it howled softly to me for mercy, and for aid.

At once, I took a few steps closer, and looked down. The creature seemed to have gotten its leg caught in a small trap, and it was struggling to break free. But its movements were only causing the spikes of the trap to dig further into its legs, which then caused it to whimper and to struggle even more, as it tried to get out from its cage.

As I approached to examine the trap, the creature began to howl a little more aggressively, and to bare its fangs. But it didn’t seem to really want to fight… and after a few more moments of snarling and of growling, it quieted down again, and simply pawed at the earth below with its front legs, as it lowered its head to the ground.

Probably if I had been a bit more rational, I would have hesitated right then. After all, this creature was clearly magical, and I didn’t really know what it might be capable of, or what it could do. For all that I knew, it might be extremely powerful, and it might just decide to blast me into pieces with a single, explosive burst of raw magical force.

But, well… on the other hand…

The small wolf looked back up at me once more with its stunningly green eyes, as it whimpered gently, and pawed along the ground.

Then, without really thinking at all about what I was doing, I slowly reached my hand forward, and pulled apart the trap that was holding the creature’s leg.

As my hand approached, the wolf snarled at me, and I could see the energy around its head beginning to sharpen and to intensify.

But then, the creature stopped, clearly very much surprised.

The pain in its leg had suddenly vanished.

It tried to free its leg once more, only to find that it could now easily lift its little paw up, and place it down at a safe distance from the trap.

The creature took a few steps forward, with more than a little trepidation, and curiosity.

Then, it really took in what had just happened: it was free!

After that, the creature bolted ahead, ran around a few times in a circle, then leapt up into the air. After it had landed, it spun back around, stopped, looked at me, then ran towards me at full speed. Before I could really react, it was licking its tongue along my leg, and yipping happily.

At once, I knelt down, and started to scratch the little wolf behind the ears.

“Shh, shh, quiet there, fella,” I whispered, with a smile. “It’s okay... it’s okay. You’re alright now.”

The creature continued to yip happily, as it danced around.

It reminded me a lot of a stray dog that I had taken care of back when I had been living in a tent out in the woods, and seeing it out here really helped to calm my nerves down considerably, and to make me feel a lot better. I had started to think about whether it might be a good idea to walk with the creature on my journey through the forest at least for a little while, when the lwolf suddenly fell silent, spun around, and ran off. It seemed to be running very quickly, and something about its movements seemed tense, and on edge.

And then, I heard what sounded like large metal boots crunching their way through a path of broken twigs and branches.

The sound seemed to be coming from only a little ways behind me.

My blood ran cold, and it felt like my heart had stopped beating altogether.

I turned my head around as quietly as I possibly could, and looked behind me.

There in the distance were two armored figures, moving slowly towards me.

The first was holding a sword and shield.

The second was holding an enormous club, covered with long, jutting spikes.

And each of them were at least two meters tall, with thick, sturdy muscles, and enormous bodies.

I wanted to scream out for help. But of course, I knew that that would be a mistake.

I didn’t know what those men wanted of course. It was possible that they were friendly, and that they didn’t mean me any harm. But the way that they moved, and their whole demeanor… every part of it chilled me to the bone. It reminded me way, way too much of the way that the guards had carried themselves back at my old prison… and that comparison only made me even more tense, and even more afraid.

Panic washed over me at first.

But then, it receded once again.

Afterwards, I became focused, and alert.

I didn’t know what I was going to do.

I didn’t know how I was going to get out of this.

But I just let my instincts take over, as I focused everything that I had on making it out of this alive.

Because, right then, I wasn’t ready to leave this new world just yet… or to die without discovering why I had been brought here – and just what sort of secrets this place still held in store.