Crouched discreetly in the tree line a few meters away, hidden from the moonlight, the two stared at a building made of neatly lain red bricks. Surrounding it was a beautifully tended garden home to various flowers. Decently large windows faced towards them with a faint orange glow that danced on the inside. The house itself was built in the middle of another forest clearing adjacent to a large crystalline lake.

Smoke poured out from the chimney in slow consistent pillars of black smoke that carried the scent of a mouth-watering stew made of rich flavorful meats and fresh vegetables. Champ’s stomach rumbled at the thought of eating a fresh meal. Simon let out a stifled chuckle-

“Aw, cmon Simon don't laugh!” Champ said in an embarrassed whisper.

“You can't tell me that doesn’t smell insanely good!”

“Aye yes, young sir it does smell enticing, maybe a little too enticing” Simon replied with a smile.

Simon raised a finger pointing toward the smoke-

“Why would there be so much smoke from just cooking a simple stew? There's also no winds tonight so why does the smoke carry the way it does?” He posed this hushed question to Champ but Champ just stared bewildered at him

“I don't know Simon maybe they like to make loads of stew and save some for the rest of the week! Or–” Champ's eyes narrowed “Maybe they make some for some traveling seekers around these parts, were right next to the border! There’s bound to be some outposts! Also maybe it is only windy up there and not down here…or something” Champ whispered hurriedly, he knew he didn't have a good explanation for why the smoke was being carried off the way it was, but felt confident in his reassurance of why there was a lot of smoke, to begin with.

Simon exhaled and tousled Champ's already messy black hair.

“Now look Champ what I’m saying is it's all too convenient, you must practice precaution when dealing with the unknown, I'm going to move over to the side here and try to peer through my spyglass through their window. Stay here and wait for my return okay?”

Champ nodded silently and watched as Simon slowly disappeared into the shadows out of sight. Champ picked at some blades of grass and found a few small wildflowers lying around. He crawled over to them and weaved a small flower crown like his mother had taught him a few years ago, the silence wore at his patience and comfort-

This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

“It's been at least 10 minutes where could he have gone? How long does it take to just look into a home?” His hands froze- “Wait what if he got found out? I have to do something!- No he is just being safe and triple-checking or whatever.” Champ thought to himself

Champ fearing for the worst sat up to a squat and inched his way toward the home. He remained low to the ground as best he could, his thighs burned from the awkward position. He looked where every step would land making sure to not crush something that would make a loud noise. As he inched closer to the side of the house, his hunger grew due to the smell of the smoke and the details of the house became more obvious to him.

The red bricks looked like they were in almost pristine condition, the thatched roof was tucked neatly, not a stray strand to be found. The foliage itself seemed to be more vibrant to Champ's surprise, the flowers in the garden were so intense in color that he couldn't help but find himself staring. More importantly, he found a window that wasn't blocked by any curtains or blinds. He snuck further towards the window and peered inside slowly.

Inside he saw someone's home, not some scary murder trap that Simon warned about and led him to believe, not some battle-hardened hunter's bachelor pad, but a home, a neatly kept and tidied away living room to be precise. There was furniture for lounging next to the fireplace and a rather large area for dining with nice wooden chairs. Various herbs were hung and dried near other windows. There were warm candles placed intentionally around to give the area a feeling of comfort and coziness.

Champ peered in for no more than thirty seconds at a time then dipped down below the window sill out of sight just in case the homeowner would come into sight. Thankfully for Champ, they were nowhere to be seen.

“Place seems fine I gotta find Simon, where is this guy?” Champ thought

Champ saw something that shuffled in the corner of the room just out of sight. He craned his neck to try and see but was unsuccessful. Tightness tensed in Champ’s chest once more. With a more hurried pace, he walked around the side of the house to a window that would give him a better view of the awkward tensed shuffling he had just seen. The window he finally arrived at was open and he could see what was happening,

Simon towered over someone on the floor with a large blade in hand, they looked to be a woman with long flowing black hair, and fair sepia skin. Their eyes were wide, their lips quivered. To Champ, they looked helpless.

“What is happening Simon?” Champ hollered towards Simon

Simon raised the blade ready to plunge it deep into the defenseless individual.

“STOP SIMON WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING DONT-” Champ shouted as he vaulted through the window. He ran in towards Simon picking up a mug from the neatly set table ready to smash it across Simon’s head. Ready to do anything to stop what looked like a senseless killing.

At blistering speeds, something pierced Simons's back just before he stabbed the defenseless homeowner, it was a small dagger. Champ stumbled over his momentum and whipped his head around to see where the blade came from. Standing just outside the window he had just come through, Champ saw illuminated by lantern light, Simon, wide-eyed pale, and shaking,

“Champ…oh no…,” Simon said.