Morning came early to the port city of Greencoast as lazy sunlight poured into Davis's room. The aroma of breakfast being cooked downstairs in his mother's tavern rose him from a dream he struggled to recall.
Donning his tunic and trousers, the young lad of ten summers raced below to feast with the few travelers in the common room. Since Greencoast was a port city, their establishment usually had a handful of visitors taking temporary residence, having either recently arrived on a ship or soon to leave on one.
Fresh bacon and warmed bread baked the day before were on the center table for all to enjoy as Ella cooked eggs over the stovetop with a practiced hand.
"Good morning, sleepy head."
"Morning." Davis replied as he sat at the table and took a platter of food. His unkept bushy brown hair and uncouth attack on breakfast raised a judging eyebrow from his mother.
"Don't get too comfortable,” Ella said as she, slid two cooked eggs onto his platter. “We're running low on wood, and I'm anticipating more visitors. You'll need to head to the forest and find some more for the oven this evening or chop us something."
The few guests at their tavern darted their eyes back and forth between Ella and Davis, silently watching the exchange. An older woman smiled with a motherly understanding while the other two men looked on expectantly, searching for a father figure to emerge. Ella and Davis had an agreement not to discuss what happened to his father with customers at the tavern, but sometimes the lack of a male presence at the inn was more than just a curiosity for some, though few were brave enough to bring it up in conversation.
"No problem, how much do we need?"
"Half a cord for now."
"Half a cord!? That'll take me all morning to gather."
"And then some. I'll have lunch ready when you're done."
"But I was going to head to the pier to do some fishing with Drez."
"Who is probably busy himself cleaning off all the recently docked ships. You two can play together later this evening once you're both finished."
Davis couldn't help but pout slightly until his mother gave him a knowing and expectant look.
"No problem. I'll get it done." Davis agreed, remembering he needed to be more responsible like his mother told him.
"Good. And remember: don't wander too far into the woods. Stay near the edge of the village," Ella reminded him.
"I'll be fine mom, I swear." Davis replied, waving off her concern as he put on his leather jacket near the door just before grabbing the ax propped up in the corner along with a rolled-up blanket of leather held together by two sets of straps.
Closing the door to the concerned eyes of his mother, Davis strode out with a belly full of bread, eggs, and bacon. It didn't take long for him to reach the edge of the village, where the trees grew taller and denser. Having grown up with stories of the feral elves of the woods, creatures keen on attacking and eating trespassers who strayed into forests they should know better to avoid, Davis always got goosebumps leaving the perimeter of Greencoast despite no one having ever reported an elf anywhere near the village.
Walking the outer perimeter, Davis knew it was going to be slim pickings. He wasn't strong enough to bring down a larger tree, and regardless, felling them this close to the village risked damaging someone's house or farm if he wasn't cautious.
As the edge of town receded further behind him, it took a few minutes before Davis finally found scraps of wood that could be properly gathered and used for the stove. Davis removed the rolled-up piece of leather from his back and laid it out on the ground and began stacking the wood on the sheet.
Momentarily lost in his work, Davis idly dreamed of the fishing he and Drez would do later, eager to see what they could catch at the pier. Some in the village found his friendship with the orphaned water goblin strange, but then again, the village frequently saw much stranger visitors on a regular basis. So Davis didn't let himself be bothered with the opinions of others. The town sheriff thought well enough of Drez, and his mom liked him, which were the only opinions in town that really mattered to Davis.
A snapped branch in the distance broke the boy's daydreaming. He snapped his gaze up, looking sharply through the bushes and trees for anything out of the ordinary. Sweat dripped down his temples as he looked around frantically, his imagination running wild with horrific visions of elves snapping vicious jaws at him as he fled through the woods.
His heart skipped a beat as the bushes rustled again, then a soft, fluffy rabbit emerged, its nose twitching rapidly, making Davis feel foolish and paranoid as he remembered the woods were full of real creatures and not his worst nightmares.
Suddenly, the rabbit squeaked in pain as a rotting, clawed hand grabbed it violently, talons digging into the furred flesh of the creature. Blood splashed everywhere as the furry animal squealed before going limp, its innards falling through the grasping fingers.
Davis's mouth fell open in silent terror at the site of the terrifying creature. Rotting flesh hung loosely from its yellowed bones, as it emerged from behind a row of bushes, others like it following behind. Empty eye sockets turned in his direction as he muffled a scream. The monsters, five in number, lurched towards Davis with more speed than he expected, and the boy took off running in a panic, cursing himself for wandering too far into the woods as his mother had warned him about.
Instinct overrode his caution, pumping his legs faster. In his frantic pace, Davis kept glancing behind to see if the creatures were catching up to him, which caused him to miss the gnarled, raised root blocking his path. His foot caught on the obstruction, and he tumbled to the ground twisting his ankle painfully in the process.
Trying to get back on his feet, Davis screamed in pain, realizing his foot was too injured to walk on, let alone run. Crawling as fast as he could, he watched in horror as the creatures gained on him, their claws soon to be on his flesh. He could only think of his mother and how she'd be upset at him for not following her guidance. Tears ran down his face, his thoughts of how alone his mother would be, running the tavern by herself.
Just as the first of the hungry undead reached him, a figure burst through the trees and into their path. A large cat with shiny black fur growled viciously at the undead, giving them pause for the first time.
Adjusting for the new threat, the zombies lunged for the black leopard instead, their claws swiping through the air, brushing across its fur, causing sparks to brightly fly.
Davis shielded his eyes, shocked at the animal now guarding him from the ravenous creatures bent on eating him. The cat wasn't much larger than Davis himself, but it was all muscle, claws, and teeth. At first its fur seemed merely shiny, but Davis saw the sun reflecting off its coat, as if it were made of some kind of metal rather than fur.
This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it
"Ark Nar Lor!" A voice shouted from behind Davis.
Suddenly, a sticky substance appeared from nowhere and struck the legs of the undead, just as they moved forward at the same time. Their limbs became glued together, and they toppled and fell, smearing the glue between them even further. It soon became impossible for them to stand up, let alone pursue Davis or anyone else. Looking behind him, Davis saw a tall, lean figure dressed in a fancy dark blue tailcoat with gold accents. Underneath the coat was a neat and clean white dress shirt buttoned high on the man’s neck, with a thin tie dangling down, held to the shirt with a silver pin. His skin was a blueish gray, and his dark blue hair and goatee were neatly trimmed.
"Are you injured, lad?"
Davis looked up, still dumbfounded at how things had unfolded in less than a minute.
"Have you gone deaf as well? Are you injured!?"
"M...my ankle sir, It's sprained."
"I see. Well, allow us a minute or two and we'll deal with these and then we can better address your wounds."
"Us?" Davis asked, still confused.
"Onyx and I. See, she's already got one of them dealt with." The man said as the metallic cat leapt at one of the undead, ripping it apart easily as if it were a toy.
Two of the undead remained and both lunged at the man, their claws reaching out for his flesh.
"Tor Rin Far!" The man spoke while waving a hand in the air as the creatures closed the distance.
Suddenly, they disappeared, as if falling into the ground. Davis leaned up, trying to see what had happened to them. He couldn't see much from his position on the ground, but a large circular pit had appeared from where he had just crawled, and he heard their bone shattering fall to the ground at the bottom of the pit.
"That should keep them under control for a few minutes, and Onyx will deal with the two who are sealed together, so we've got some time to look at that ankle now." The man said in an accent unknown to Davis.
Kneeling near the boy, he held out his hand. Davis looked at it then back at the stranger, his eyes still wide in shock and fear.
"I'm assuming your human village still keeps the common greeting. I mean you no harm. I am Ezekiel Graystone. What's your name?"
"D... Davis, sir."
"Good, we're getting somewhere. Do you have a family name?"
"Larner...sir."
"Davis, you don't have to call me sir after every answer." Ezekiel grinned and said as he reached into his coat and withdrew a medical kit. Davis's eyes went wide, not understanding where the kit came from as it was much larger than could easily fit in a jacket pocket.
"Where...?"
"Dimensional pockets. So much easier than carrying a backpack, and makes for lighter travel," Ezekiel explained as he took off Davis's boot and began wrapping the young man's ankle in a bandage.
Davis found it hard to concentrate on what Ezekiel was doing as the sounds of Onyx rending the creature apart made him flinch at every growl or snarl.
"Don't worry about her. She won't harm you."
"Her...her fur. It's shiny," Davis muttered, wincing as his ankle was being tightly wrapped to the point where he could no longer move it.
"Noticed that, did you? I'm sure once she's done she'll let you pet her, but you should be careful. Her fur, claws, even her teeth are of a metal not normally found on this plane of existence."
"Plane?" Davis asked, confused.
"It's...a long story, best explained with some tea and breakfast. Are you from a local village? I was heading towards a port town called Greencoast."
"That's my home. My mother runs the Firefly Tavern there."
"Excellent. Then perhaps she'll have a room available for me?" Ezekiel stood, checking Davis's foot while extending a hand to help the boy off the ground. Taking the stranger's offer of assistance, Davis stood up and groaned at the pain, but found he could actually walk on it now, though slowly and with care.
Onyx had finished with the two glued undead on the ground and proceeded to walk up to the pit only to leap into it, the sounds of flesh and bone being torn apart resuming.
"How far to Greencoast?"
"Uhhh...it took me about an hour to get here, but with my foot it could take us a while."
"Well walking too far on that leg could undo my medical work on it, so let's see if we can provide you some assistance."
Ezekiel started waving his hands in the air and muttering words foreign to Davis. Runes glowed on the ground, causing Davis to step back gingerly on his foot as something began to emerge from the ground beneath them.
Rustling its hair and neighing softly, a large horse stamped its hooves restlessly as it fully emerged from the summoning circle, affectionately nudging Ezekiel's outstretched hand in familiarity.
"Where...where did that come from!? Is it a nightmare from hell?" Davis half screamed.
"Don't be ridiculous, it's from the Far Realm, a plane full of animals and beasts with no humans or other creatures to muck up their beautiful landscapes. His name is Scout."
Davis looked at the horse, staring deeply in its eyes, seeing something more than what he normally saw in the gaze of an animal.
"Is it intelligent?"
"He, and yes, far more than most mortals to be honest." Ezekiel explained as he adjusted the saddle that arrived with Scout.
"Will...will he let me ride him?"
Ezekiel grinned as he reached into his jacket once more. His arm disappeared far more than Davis expected into the inner jacket pocket, as if digging around deeply for something, then withdrew holding a large green apple.
"Give him one of these and he'll be your best friend forever."
"An apple?" Davis asked, taking it from Ezekiel's outstretched hand.
"Yeah, Scout loves apples. The Far Realm, for all its amazing animals and vegetation, has one thing that doesn't grow there naturally but does grow in the mortal plane...apples."
Davis held the fruit up to the horse that towered above him. The animal reached down slowly and carefully took the apple out of the boy's hand, eating it swiftly once it was sure it wouldn't hurt Davis. Reaching up, he stroked the horse's fur, feeling its warmth and fur under his palm. The horse nuzzled Davis's hand and neighed appreciatively as it finished the apple.
"He's amazing."
"He is. Now let's get you up and moving. I believe..." Ezekiel trailed as he helped Davis up on Scout's saddle, taking care not to touch the injured ankle just as Onyx emerged from the pit, the creatures below no longer making any sounds. "...that Onyx is ready to join us as well." Ezekiel finished as the cat strode next to them.
The group started traveling back through the forest as Davis guided them through the journey, explaining how best to get back to the road to Greencoast.
Ezekiel led Scout by its bridle while Onyx followed behind them, checking their rear from time to time to make sure nothing tried to catch them off guard. While keeping his gaze forward, Ezekiel could feel Davis's eyes on him, the young lad obviously unused to seeing his kind before.
“Did your mother teach you proper manners?"
"I know common politeness, to title people appropriately, and bow when needed." Davis answered, still staring at Ezekiel uncomfortably.
"Apparently those lessons neglected what to do with your eyes when confronted with a non-human. I'm guessing your town doesn't get many visitors who aren't like the villagers."
Davis averted his gaze, embarrassed at being called out for his rudeness. He kept his eyes on the trail as he answered Ezekiel's questions.
"We do. Mostly orcs, goblins, or kobolds, though we'll occasionally get demon-tainted travelers. My best friend is a water goblin, his name is Drez."
Ezekiel arched an eyebrow at the use of 'demon-tainted' but kept to his questions for the moment.
"So, you get a lot of ships traveling to and from your village?"
"Yeah, we're the nearest port to Farwall, though you can reach the Citadel in a few days' ride as well. We make most of our money trading fish to the inland towns, and a lot of merchants or travelers spend a night coming or going, catching whatever merchant boat has docked at the port."
"I've heard. That all sounds excellent. Do you think your mother could accommodate Onyx and I for a few weeks, or a month at most? It sounds as if most of your visitors are very temporary, so I'm not sure if you're used to having more prolonged tenants. I have the coin to pay, of course." Ezekiel asked as they broached the edge of the town, buildings now within sight as the road turned proper.
"Yeah, we've got space available. I'm sure she'll even give you the room for free, what for saving me and all."
"I appreciate the offer, but I'm more than happy to pay for her hospitality."
"Nah, we tend to rent to demon-tainted for free anyways, just in case they're from the Church," Davis explained.
Raising his eyebrow again to the use of 'demon-tainted,' Ezekiel cleared his throat at the awkwardness of the situation.
"While that's awfully kind of your mother, I'm not actually demon-tainted."
"Of course you are, what with that dark blue skin and those black eyes." Davis corrected. "What the heck else could you be?"
"I'm a moon elf..." Ezekiel answered cautiously as he examined Davis's reaction.
The boy's eyes went wide in first shock then horror. He felt an urge to run despite his injured ankle and being on the back of Scout. Before he could guard his reaction, Davis screamed by pure instinct alone, "C..cannibal!?"