The snake returns just as I'm considering trying to use my wings to do push-ups. His return brings my thoughts to the village so close, and the food it might contain. My stomach cramps badly, sending reverberations through my exhausted body.

He gestures for me to follow him, and puts a clawed finger to his lips, an action I assume to convey silence. I nod and tap my own closed lips, hoping that I'm agreeing to what he's asking.

Seemingly satisfied, he turns away and quickly paces towards the source of the smells and sounds that I'm craving so much.

We wind through the trees a surprising distance. With no real wind through the forest, there must be no reason for smells to disperse as quickly as usual. Slowly, I can begin to discern sounds from each other. The general chatter of a community, albeit a far more whispery one. Occasionally a dull impact, most likely hammering, chopping, or some other basic tribalistic process.

I'm lead out into a large clearing, looking over another of the huge cracks in the ground. There are several dozen small round huts made of light brown wood, all with a V-shaped piece of black wood over the entrances.

The only deviation from this design is a taller, likely two-story hut, made of dozens of thin black wood poles woven and braided into a huge and surprisingly intricate design. In such a tribalistic society, I can identify it as the chief's hut.

I'm immediately curious to even see who or what is keeping a group alive in this forest, but from experience, I'd probably be attacked if I wasn't invited.

But to my surprise, it seems to be exactly where we're headed. The other snake people react pretty much as expected as we approach. Most shoot a lifelong glare my way, probably suspicious yet scared. Some openly stare, following my movements with widened eyes. Mostly, it's the smaller ones that I assume are children.

It gives me an opportunity to sate some of my own curiosity, to take a closer look at the people that live here. There is a slight difference in the genders here. Obviously male and female counterparts. The females have sleeker bodies, more narrow shoulders and less defined muscles. Like reptiles, they have no noticeable breasts, which admittedly looks odd on their humanoid torsos. Aside from that though, most of the villagers look identical to my untrained eye. If I were to spend time here, I'm sure I would find enough differences to distinguish the individual, but my icy reception makes me feel less than welcome.

My guide pushes open the leathery fabric covering the entrance to the chieftain's hut. I can only see darkness inside, the wood tight enough to block out the light. Gently, he pushes me inside, giving me a slight but reassuring nod. Then he lets the flap fall behind me and I'm left in hot darkness.

Immediately, I'm distrustful. I could have been handed a bowl or a leg of something and been happy. This only feels like a trap to nullify my senses in a place where reptilian eyes would thrive. I pull mana into both my palms, letting it pool there so I can fire off spells faster if or when I'm attacked.

(Disperse that mana, boy.)

A voice so old and assertive appears in my mind that I immediately lose focus on the mana, and drop the unrefined hold I have on it.

-28hp

"Ah!"

I shake my hands as it feels like fire is shooting through my bones all the way from my palms to my shoulders.

(Heh, let that be a lesson to you, boy. Don't start something you're not sure you can finish.)

While I'm not happy about being lectured about common sense by an entity I'm sure is a fraction of my own age, for it to be able to speak directly into my mind shows it must have a high mind stat, and could probably magic me off the face of the planet.

As if to show off the point, a single flame the size of my fist flares into life inches from my face. The heat is immediately uncomfortable and the purity of the light it gives off makes tears stream from my eyes that have only just adjusted to the dark.

Slowly, I can see more of the hut's interior. A basic staircase winds from my left up to a second floor made completely from the black wood. Several items are scattered around, some tools I recognise, some I don't.

But sitting in the centre of the hut cross-legged is an old looking snake-man, wrinkles disrupting the smooth scales of his long neck and head. Unlike the rest of the villagers, he is fully clothed in thin furs resembling a patchwork cloak.

The fire moves away from my face and settles higher up in the room, effectively illuminating it better than an electric bulb.

(Please, take a seat. I have a few questions to ask you.)

Hesitantly, I sit opposite him. The heat of the dark room and the fire combined with my own nervousness regarding the chief is making me sweat like crazy. I can't get comfortable at all.

(First, names. I am Syzslic, chief of this village, and ex-magus of the forest kings court.)

That explains a little, but also raises far more questions.

"I am..."

(Boy, please speak your mind. I cannot keep up with the languages of man.)

Is this better?

The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

(Your voice is fragmented, your mind in shambles, but I hear your voice.)

My name is Reuben.

(And what brings you to the deep woods, Reuben?)

I'm about to think of a good reason that might explain my presence here, but I'm interrupted by a particularly loud round of rumbling from my empty stomach.

(Hehehe, I can see you're not native to this area. Worry not. My grandson, Alys will return shortly with food.)

The one who found me is your grandson?

(He is, and he told me exactly what has happened to you both. It seems he and you owe each other somewhat.)

Yes, he saved my life. I was too weak to make the jump across the chasm.

(So your wings are just for show?)

I look at my wings, half folded awkwardly behind me while I'm sitting.

They are... weak. I'm weak. My body isn't strong enough to support itself properly.

(Yet you use shapeless magic at such a rate that shows your impressive mind. Not to mention your wings must have been borne of power.)

It's... complicated. I can't explain why my strength is the way it is.

The chief tilts his head in confusion, he seems more curious than ever, but his train of thought is thankfully interrupted by the door flap being thrown open and who I assume is Alys stepping in with a large tray carrying two bowls and two plates.

He silently places the tray between us then places his mouth her the head of the chief and whispers briefly before the chief nods and Alys lets himself out again.

(Wonderful. Please, help yourself.)

He gestures to the tray and I take only a second to examine what it holds, too hungry to take any longer.

The bowl is full of a slightly greenish liquid, a thin soup it looks like, but the plate has several pieces of what I'm sure is a roasted monkey.

I dig In without any further hesitation. The meat is roasted well, and while it has a very strong gamey flavour on top of being a tough meat, its everything I didn't know I wanted since I woke up.

The liquid is surprisingly cool, I find, as I tip the bowl to my lips. It isn't as satisfying as the meat and has an overall flavour of... green, but it works wonders in making me more comfortable.

A trader.

(I'm sorry?)

Earlier, you asked what brought me here. I'm a trader. I was meant to be travelling across the sea when my boat was attacked and I wound up on the shore. Running into the woods was the only chance I had despite having no idea what lay inside.

(You possess abilities much greater than I would expect of a trader. Even the strongest I've encountered prefer to travel with guards rather than alone.)

Well, I'm far from normal.

(I can tell. It is a shame you cannot disclose your past. I imagine it would be a great matter of interest to me.)

I only shrug in response.

I do have three questions for you if you wouldn't mind answering them.

(Ask away boy, you've answered my own fairly.)

Ok. Firstly, what are you and your people doing in the middle of nowhere? You're civilised enough to build up something greater than this, surely.

(I wish more had such an open mind, but to many, we skaleans are seen as a threat. If we develop and gain the focus of a governmental power, we'll be eliminated. Besides, I'm old, I have no desires to start a war.)

Fair enough. Secondly, you mentioned the forest king. You were a magus in his court? Why haven't I seen any evidence of such a kingdom here?

Syzslic leans back slightly and closes his eyes, slowly tearing strips of meat from his plate.

(Time for a brief history lesson, it seems. Until recently, this whole forest was under the leadership of a greater drake who called himself the forest king. At first, there was no order. He killed anyone who questioned him and ate whoever and whatever he desired. But my descendants came to him with a proposition. Those that had observed the human kingdoms wanted to replicate the hierarchal system and presented with a king, they could. The drake agreed and slowly, the fauna of the forest came together under his rule. He was a fair king, and a just ruler.)

He smiles softly to himself, slowly chewing on a bone, as he talks fondly of his people's past. I am more than happy to relax and listen to him.

(Over hundreds of years, the kingdom grew until many many acres of forest was replaced by a castle of earth that the court magi had painstakingly formed. The kingdom flourished on its own land, hidden in an area that most other species would consider a death sentence. But one day, a rival Drake appeared. She must have been looking for the forest king, perhaps she heard of his exploits. She challenged him and the two fought. Even the full support of his court couldn't change the tide of their epic battle. It was all some of us could do to escape alive. As a magus, I managed to escape with my family and as many eggs as I could bring. So I started anew, raised my tribe using the lessons of leadership I learnt from my king.)

In my mind, I can pick up on the sorrow in his voice. These must be painful memories for him.

So what happened to the king and the rival?

(They killed each other. I returned to the ruins of the castle weeks later. Huge gouges out of the earth for miles around. All that remained of the castle was a still-smouldering crater. Both bodies lay slain in a violent embrace. We were the only survivors... along with the apes.)

Do you mean the monkeys that attacked Alys and me?

(Not exactly. The species that survived was called higher ape. They were almost human-like but retained certain monstrous features. Instead of surviving and thriving as we did, the dozen or so that escaped fell into madness and depression. They devolved so they might survive on more primal instinct than higher thought. It is a sad state of affairs. Sadder yet is that they are our only viable source of food.)

I've seen worse done after wars.

(You are young, but something about you makes me believe you.)

I'm sorry if I've bought up painful memories.

(Not at all, boy. It's necessary to remember ones past. Its the only way one can learn.)

I nod along, well versed in the lesson of learning from past mistakes. In my more recent lives, I often found myself diving into my memories more often than I did before. Why I can't say for sure. Perhaps I wanted to stop myself from forgetting. I would hate to forget.

(But you had one more question, I believe.)

I pause, momentarily forgetting what I was going to ask. I got so into the story that I've completely forgotten my final question.

It can wait. For now, though, I must relieve myself. I would like to talk more when I return though.

(Very well, but please take it far from the village, our senses are far more acute than yours.)

Of course.

I leave the hut, passing Alys just outside the door as he was about to enter. He raises a scaled arch above his eye, imitating raising an eyebrow.

I nod back, smiling softly in response to his silent question. I think that the meeting went well.

I walk away into the woods, looking for a place where I can squat and think for a few minutes while I relieve myself. To think that two creatures of such titanic power fought here fairly recently is astounding and I want to see what the remains of the castle are. I have a feeling that learning about this forests past will be a key factor in surviving it when I leave the skalean village.

"Ah shit, I was going to ask about the black wood."

Annoyed at myself for it taking so long to remember what had first drawn my attention about the whole village, I pick the closest tree to me that I think if far away enough from the village.

"Really hope I don't get ambushed with my trousers down. It would be the last thing I need today."

Best not to jinx it, huh.