He was running. The dark forest. The sparse rays of moonlight through the gaps in the leaves. The rustling of leaves, the snaps of fallen branches on the mossy ground and the eerie shrills filling the air. They were slowly getting fainter. He could barely hear them anymore over the blood hammering at his temples.

His feet hurt. Small cuts from thorny bushes and low hanging branches were on arms and cheeks. His lungs burned and his ragged breaths were getting shorter. The adrenaline and the fresh memory of what was on his tail were keeping him running. He barely registered his surroundings, everything that wasn't directly in front of his eyes seeming like a blur.

Slowly, the holes in the forest roof widened. With each stride, his path lit up more. He became more aware of all the details that were hidden in the shadows of the night. He focused only on running as fast as he could, but in the back of his mind he saw more clearly the forest. The moss was turning to grass and the more room was growing between each tree. He caught a sight that gave him a second wind and he sped up ever so slightly. In the distance, a hill devoid of trees, illuminated by the moon.

He chased that sight until, so suddenly he almost jumped and fell, the forest ended. His sight cleared as if waking up from a bad and he looked around almost uncomprehending for a moment as he kept running past the scant few trees ahead of him. He took a few more steps, stumbling as if sapped from all energy now that the adrenaline was gone, cursed in a raspy voice and fell like a stone. He laid there, catching his breath for what seemed like hours, keeping a worried eye on the forest edge as his body cooled down.

When he felt he could finally walk, he got back up, wincing as he put weight on his aching legs. He looked back at the forest behind him, raised his middle finger at it, and headed off towards the hill he had seen. He finally took in the scenery. He couldn't see ahead yet, the hill filling his view. To his left, a gentle slope rose up to a gigantic mountain range towering over the forest. To his right, what seemed like endless flatlands covered in strange... blue grass? He looked up towards the sky and saw a pale blue moon, perfectly round and surrounded by countless stars he couldn't recognize. He lowered his gaze towards the grasslands on his left and noticed strange green lights in the distance flying around that he would've mistaken for fireflies if not for the way they swarmed towards the ground like they were hunting.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

He hastened his step, now looking around a little more nevously. When he finally reached the top of the hill his heart started beating faster. A farm. A lone two story house with a lit up window and smoke escaping from its chimney, about a kilometer away in the middle of fields of what looked like wheat. He started running down the hill.

As he got closer, he reached a small gravel path going through the fields and the horizon disappeared behind the tall stalks around him. After a few minutes he arrived on the doorstep and started knocking. No answer. He knocked harder and called out for help. After a few minutes of silence he tried the handle and the door just swung open. He called out again and, receiving no replies again he hesitantly went into the house and closed the door behind him. The room was heated up by a lit fireplace. Around the hearth were two armchairs and some kind of brown fur on the ground between them. All stress drained from him, an overwhelming feeling of relief and safety washing over him. He found himself barely standing and staggered towards the fireplace. He just laid down on the fur and immediately fell into a deep sleep.

The last thing he remembered were six words, burning in a strange way in his head. They weren't his thoughts yet were oddly clear despite his thoughts being muddied by exhaustion, as if etched in his mind.

[Conditions met: Apprentice Alchemist Class acquired]