Rocktopus [https://i.imgur.com/BbRUcGX.jpeg]

You already know how we woke up.

I walked out of the house, leaving the pet to gorge himself. I was greeted by a warm, sunny day and a light breeze swaying lazily through the treetops. I could hear the blacksmith working, dogs barking unhappily, and people talking not far away. The village was living its life.

- They must be discussing the fight between Lyon and me. Now they’ll say I’m a loser. I couldn’t answer my assailant.

The unpleasant impressions of the evening’s incident rushed into my consciousness in a wide wave. In order not to fall into despair, I had to do something. Should I challenge the fool to a duel or beat him to a pulp? Or turn him into a frog? Turn him into a spider?

The wind continued to rustle in the crowns of the dry deer trees. For a moment, I thought I heard voices. Slow male and female voices. Those voices didn't belong to humans. I was one hundred percent sure of that.

Oceania told me she was opening me up to great possibilities. If only she had made a list of what those opportunities included. So I’d know which direction to take.

I set off toward Elfric’s house, nervous for the upcoming meeting. The evening spent with Ulia had kept me on my toes. If Ulya had not been the chief's daughter if she and I had not gone swimming, if the...That’s a lot of ifs.

Elfric, a wise and honorable man, has always stood guard over our well-being, but I turn to him today not because of concern for the safety of the village.

-Hero, - Elfric greeted me, his voice calm but with a note of curiosity in it. - What can I do for you?

I took a nervous gulp of saliva, gathering my wits before I began my petition as if I were standing not before a human, but before a roctopus on whose decision my life depended.

- I need your help, — my words sounded weak in comparison to my inner seething sea of emotions. - I want to go on a scouting trip outside the village to test my assumptions. The sword I thought derelict had returned to its master. I could use some sort of weapon.

- Nothing special I can offer you. All the weapons you see here we make ourselves. Only the swords are brought to us by traders. I can give you something from my stock, but I must warn you not to use it against any of my fellow villagers, — Elfric paused for a moment.

- You mean Lyon?! - I made a surprised face. - If I wanted to answer the offender, I would have done it long ago. By the way, the request for weapons was the first on my list. And the second request is for the helpers I need to accompany me. I would be grateful for the two companions.

Elfric watched me with an unwavering expression, his eyes seemed perceptive, as if he had read my thoughts. -

- I understand, — he nodded, approving my request. - But I have a condition. I will choose your companions myself.

My heart thumped harder at the thought of who might be chosen for this mission.

- Who would you choose? - My voice sounded uncertain as I waited for an answer. I thought he was going to say Ulia. She’s certainly someone I wouldn’t turn down.

Elfric smiled, and I saw a hint of hidden wisdom in his eyes. But behind the hidden wisdom in the leader’s eyes lurked guile.

- I have decided that on this journey you would benefit from being accompanied by Lyon and his younger brother Yurik, — his words sounded like a fateful verdict, forcing me to make a decision I could not dispute. - I’d been young once, too, fighting with my friends. Fought with them. The easiest way to reconcile is to work together. You go on a scouting mission, danger brings people together. I don’t think you’re going on a long journey, but I hope that when you return you’ll be inseparable friends.

Mixed feelings filled me at the thought of being accompanied by Lyon and Yurik. Maybe I should back out before it was too late. However, I realized that this decision of Elfric’s was no accident, and I must accept it as an integral part of my journey. After all, I was not being accepted as an ordinary young man, but as a wizard’s apprentice. Young, but already wise and balanced enough to be an adept of Oceania.

As Elfric spoke of his decision to invite Lyon and Yurik to join me on the journey, I suddenly thought of something else. Of my desired companion, the chieftain’s daughter, Ulia.

The evening we spent bathing last night was full of tender moments and bonding. Ulia attracted me with her attractiveness and grace, her smile was like a ray of sunshine penetrating through the darkness of my thoughts. I felt that our companionship had opened the door to something more, to the possibility of being close, not only during our adventures outside the village but also during our ordinary lives.

Thoughts that I wouldn’t mind having Ulia as a companion on this journey tormented my soul. But at the same time, I felt indecision and fear.

Fear of the consequences and the disappointment if my feelings were not echoed by the chief’s daughter. Would Elfric’s attitude towards me then change?

I wanted to be related to Elfric through marriage to his daughter, but even the thought of it seemed too bold and dangerous. I trembled at the thought of even insinuating it in discussion with the chief, dreading that my words could trigger displeasure or even letdown. I agreed to all his terms to avoid disappointing my future relative. The agreement to the chief’s proposal came as a relief to me and as a test.

- It won’t be a big deal, — I thought as I watched the chief go into the next room. - Let these fools come with me. During the journey, I’ll make up for last night’s insult.

While I pondered the details of our journey, Elfric brought a bronze sword from the next room. My weapon.

- Here is your companion, hero, — Elfric held it out to me with a solemn expression. - May it serve you faith and righteousness in your future exploits.

- Why do you call me a hero? Have I done something remarkable?

- Many people in my village have not done in a lifetime what you have done in just a few days. What else should I call you if not a hero? In my eyes, in the eyes of my wife and daughter, you’re a genuine hero. Here, take it!

I accepted the sword, feeling the weight of its importance and the responsibility that rested on my shoulders. The bronze blade glinted in the sunlight, and I felt a stirring within me I had never felt before.

Elfric looked at me as if he saw in my gaze something more than a desire for adventure.

- I believe in your strength and wisdom, Oris, and remember that the entire village stands behind you, ready to support you in all your endeavors.

There’s a reason the village chose this man as their leader. Just a few words and here I am, ready to fight for him, to accomplish new feats.

I nodded in acknowledgment, feeling grateful for the trust and support given to me. Elfric’s gaze was full of confidence and hope, and I promised him I would not let him down.

Outside, they were already waiting for me. Lyon and Jurik, are two brothers. The older brother and the younger. Hot as volcanic lava. Frowning like storm clouds. Silent as rocks.

Jurik was the first to speak:

- Why do you need us?

- I’m going on a reconnaissance mission. I need companions.

- And what are we going to do?

- Kill all the enemies, as Lyon did.

My abuser looked at me sullenly but remained silent. I realized that the apologies from my companions and the clarification of relations with the young men were still ahead of us.

Fluffy joined our company. He climbed up on my shoulder with his usual movements and grasped the collar of my shirt with his small hand.

We walked silently outside the village, deep into the dry forest. The footsteps were quiet, and the tension between us was thick, like the anticipation of a thunderstorm in the air. My pet twirled his furry head desperately, trying to pick up signs of danger.

Lyon and Yurik walked beside me, but the interaction between us was silent and tense. They were angry with me because they had fallen into my submission and now had to follow me around like chickens following their mother. I was angry at them for being slow to apologize for their ridiculous actions. Having recently quarreled, we still bore the marks of conflict. But the instigator of the quarrel, Lyon, showed no signs of remorse. His arrogant expression didn’t disappear. He sighed loudly and grunted defiantly, wanting to show that he was obviously superfluous in this group.

We walked in silence as if each of us was immersed in his own thoughts and doubts. At some point, the boys were a few steps ahead of me, as if they knew the end point of our journey. I looked at them and remembered how I had recently saved Lyon from death when he was in trouble. My inner dialog was filled with mixed feelings-irritation, frustration, and a desire to tell him what I thought.

As we followed Lyon and Jurik deeper into the forest, I felt the atmosphere around us change.

- Don’t you feel anything? - I asked Tush. The little beast shook his head negatively. Still, the feeling of inner uneasiness did not leave me. We continued our way through the dry forest, under a screen of thick branches and dead leaves that rustled beneath our feet.

The first stop we made was near the entrance to the mine where the combustible stone was being mined.

The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

- Why did you bring us here? - Lyon asked grudgingly. It was the first time he had raised his voice during the whole journey.

- If I knew why? - I replied to my assailant, and the solution appeared by itself as if it were a wise clue from someone else. I investigated yesterday’s journey through the underground corridors, but only from the outside. Our route yesterday started at a coal mine. A wide underground corridor led us towards the village.

Lyon and Yurik followed me, not understanding why I was walking in circles. Why I put my hands on the trunks of trees, staring into the empty sky.

- Oceania, hear me, — I appealed to my mentor, to my invisible and powerful sorceress. - Help me understand what these voices are saying. Help me see what is beneath the ground!

If Oceania is not a dream but is real, then they must hear my mental cry. There should be thunder, crooked lightning bolts should split the sky.

None of this happened. I heard a man’s voice. He was asking an invisible interlocutor,

- What are these creatures doing here? Have they come to kill us?

- Calm down, don’t be nervous. The creatures have no weapons to kill us. They’re just walking around.

Those voices couldn’t have been Lyon’s or Yurick’s. Fluffy had a baby voice, and he couldn’t speak with a rough note.

- Touche, - I asked the animal. - Who’s talking to us now? Rocktopus?

The pet raised a small hand instead of an answer. He thought the speaker might be somewhere above our heads. I raised my head. But I saw nothing but blue sky and branches of dry trees.

- They’re not dry! - Touche said, — They’re alive.

I understood what he was saying. The forest seemed dead; in fact, it was dead, as our trees do in winter. No leaves, no shoots. Bare, dry branches.

- Why don’t you blossom? Why aren’t you producing fresh shoots? - I asked, staring at the old tree in front of me. It wasn’t even a tree. It was a rotten tall stump with a huge abandoned hole in the trunk.

- We tremble in fear, - the decaying tree whispered. The mere thought of the dragon’s wrath sends shivers down our spines. He promised that if he saw even one green leaf on our branches, he would burn the entire forest. The dragon promised that he would not spare even the young saplings.

- I don’t see why he would want green leaves. -I asked, realizing that my mission was becoming more and more complicated. The trees need help, too.

- When we get dressed, — said, his bassy voice belonging to a mighty, branchy giant, — the dragon stops seeing what’s going on in the forest, under our shade. Without leaves, without fresh shoots, we are dying. It won’t be long before we’re a dried-up forest. Can you help us? We’ll thank you.

I didn’t even think about the answer. Not because of the gratitude promised by the trees. I’d still have to fight the dragon and declare war on it. Defeating the evil creature will bring joy to more than just the trees.

- I will do my best to rid you of the flying monster. Bear with me as long as you can. I have other things to do now. You, in turn, must help me. Your roots grow deep into the earth, nourishing you with their juices. They keep you from falling over in the wind and, if I’m correct, know what’s beneath you. I do not have the opportunity to look deep into the earth, but I would like to know what voids lie in this area, I would like to know where and at what depth the tongues of combustible stone lie.

My companions grinned at me. They took me for a madman talking to the void. But I, guided by the clues of the trees, continued my journey. First I returned to the wide corridor. There was hardly any coal in this place, so the miners had extended the mining. The rocktopus didn’t show up in this place either. A perfectly safe place for humans. The corridor stretched for dozens of meters, passing into a small underground hall. At this point, the corridor is divided into three, less wide but longer ones. Checking the right tunnel, leading straight to the village, I remembered that Lyon’s sword was in this place. By the way, how had he lost it? How did the roctopuses manage to capture the “brave warrior?”

With the help of the trees, I found the first corridor belonging to the worms. Through this tunnel, they penetrated under the village and attacked the humans. The trees told me that the burrows were now empty, and the villagers were not threatened.

We explored a few more corridors with the pet. We found a place impenetrable to roctopuses because of a solid slab of stone. And on the surface, the same dry forest was still growing. The trees, like a relay race, passed the news to each other that I had promised to help them and that they should help us. It was something about the exchange of information between the plants and us humans. In this world where every creature struggles to survive, we find allies in the most unpredictable place.

In half a day of scouting, I knew how many badger dens there were in the forest, how many supplies squirrels had, and where magpies hid their prey nuts. My trophy was a bow that someone had lost. A weak substitute for my shotgun.

More and more often, the trees informed me of worms crawling deep in the earth. Together we found an underground cavity in which I could see glowing lava. It was strange to me to hear that the trees were not afraid of the underground flames. They explained that their root systems do not reach such depths, so there was no cause for concern. These experiences taught me that even in the darkest and most dangerous corners of the world, we can find the most unexpected allies. The trees helped me establish that roctopuses live in a place isolated from humans.

Before red-hot lava, they had unlimited freedom, able to move in any direction. Trouble came, from the direction they least expected. From cracks in the rocky ground, lava and poured out. Underground fire drove the worms into uninhabited areas until they stumbled upon a coal deposit. The burning stone turned out to be poisonous, the roctopuses could not eat it, it burned the skin of the subterranean inhabitants. Besides the coal deposits, the worms met some unpleasant neighbors underground - humans.

I didn’t know what to do. The solution lay on the surface, though it was unlikely to please Elfric. I was thinking of opening a new coal mine, somewhere else. Away from the village. Abandoning the old mine would keep people safe, and stop the roctopus attacks.

And yet, with all the information I had, I couldn’t understand why the Roktopus were attacking people. Coal mining by humans did not prevent the worms from settling and did not threaten them in any way. That's how it seemed to me, at first glance. And yet, the Roktopus did desperate things. Maybe some unknown force compelled the subterranean inhabitants to commit the crime.

I had to wonder:

- What is the reason for the aggressive behavior of the underground dwellers?

Meanwhile, the trees whispered. Or was it the wind that moved the branches of the forest giants?

- Trouble! Trouble! One creature is threatening another creature, — the fluffy one translated the incomprehensible phrase to me.

- And what was I supposed to understand from all this? Squirrels take away the badger’s supplies? Magpies attacking squirrels?

Fluffy, having left my shoulder, rushed off somewhere. Calling with his hand to follow him. As soon as I heard one creature hurting another creature, my heart raced. Somehow the roctopuses, having escaped to the surface of the earth, had attacked the humans again.

Trusting my faithful companion, the fluffy one, together with Lyon and Yurik, we set off in the direction shown. Lyon walked beside me as if the events of last night had faded into oblivion, as if we had already explained and forgiven each other. Maybe that’s what he thought. I felt a mixed feeling in my heart. He was an abuser, but I couldn’t waste time now knowing that someone needed help. In his eyes, I could see the desire for revenge, but I decided this wasn’t the time for personal strife.

We made our way out onto the forest path, and suddenly an unpleasant scene unfolded before us. A group of brigands, enjoying their easy victory, were robbing a defenseless merchant. Four men against one. Had the merchant been a middle-aged man, tall and strong there would have been less offense for him.

We saw an elderly man, gray-haired and hunched over. His look and appearance expressed desperation. He was not expecting help; the place was a wilderness, with not a soul around except the chittering restless magpies. He was not so much afraid for the goods as for his life. He wished the bandits would show mercy and let him go.

The brigands on the contrary were triumphant. They had not even expected to have such rich booty in their hands.

We, hiding behind the trees, watched what was happening. Indignation and determination filled me as I realized I had to do something. Even though we were one man short, it was no big deal. There were rumors around the village, even before Lyon went missing, that he was a good swordsman.

- “We’ll see,” - I said in my mind to my assailant. - how good a swordsman you are. And I’ll learn new techniques if you have any.

Lyon glanced restlessly in my direction, his sword still in its sheath.

The bandits seemed confident and triumphant. They expected no resistance, and that only increased their sense of superiority.