Cedric lifted his ear to the wind. It was too subtle, too far away, to make out anything specific. It just sounded like grumbling, whispers of dark forest secrets. He paused, listening closer, then looked down. He might be crazy, but it almost sounded like it was coming from beneath him…

It took a few minutes, but finally Cedric found it. A cave mouth. I knew it. The grumbling was somehow quieter here than it had been above. That meant the cave had to be pretty deep. Is this a smart idea? He didn't think so. With the things he'd seen already, spelunking through a deep, dark cave didn't seem like the most self-preserving option. But…what if? What if he turned away here and there really had been people? What then? He bit his gum. He had to do it. Just a glimpse.

The cave mouth was slick with this morning's rain; he'd had to backtrack the way he came to find the cave. Water trickled down the sides and deeper inside, making for a great slip and slide. Throwing aside his hesitation, he inched forward, sliding his feet against the wet stone to avoid slipping. What if part of the cave is flooded? He shook his head. It's just a quick look, he thought to himself. If it did flood, then he’d just turn around.

One foot in front of the next.

The cave grew darker the farther in he dove. So much so, that he couldn't tell where his next step was. It had been a straight shot so far; no off shoots or ups and downs. Cedric hoped it continued that way since he couldn't see a thing anymore.

Just when he was about to give up, the voices returned in bold. Yes, the grumbling was still there, but there was something new as well. Something snapping, like a dry twig, and then…slurping? Vegetarian people? Or maybe they ran out of food and had to resort to twigs. There couldn’t be a large amount of nutrition in a tree branch, he thought. Shortly after, a soft red began to illuminate the cave walls, growing stronger as he continued. The sounds had grown louder, more aggressive as he approached. And then, the smell...What is that? Charcoal? It almost smelled like what he remembered a backyard barbecue smelled like. Given the state of the world, they hadn't had one in a really long time. His mouth began to water. Maybe they'll let me have some…

And then he reached the point where the cave opened into a large cavern. Cedric leaned out trying to get a better view of the situation. His eyes gravitated to the fire, where he— oh my god… what— what is…? Eugh.

His mind turned back to the sound. The smell. The barbecue. It wasn't twigs…but bones. Sat around the fire, a few creatures were dining on the bones. They looked almost green in the lame light, and he couldn't be sure, but he swore there were horns sticking out from their foreheads. One of them reached behind itself, most likely for another bone, but as it swung it back into the light, Cedric realized it. They weren't eating just the bones; tendons, torn muscle, and skin drooped from it.

Placing each of its hands on the ends, it pulled down and together, the bone splintering in half. Blood splattered across its grinning face. It raised one of the halves to its mouth and slurped loudly. Cedric turned away and threw up silently against the cave wall, the blue contents running down and mixing with the cave water.

There were at least a half dozen of them sitting by the fire, each with their own pile of carcass parts. One of them spoke, a deep, guttural grunting, to another, and then laughed, bits of broken flesh shooting from its mouth.

Cedric focused on the gray square above its head and caught his breath. Of course. Why wouldn’t it be?

[Goblin: Lvl5]

Lvl 5? Being here was a death sentence. Another goblin tottered into the room from what must have been another tunnel on the far side. It wobbled as if drunk, and threw something onto the fire. The flames reacted with a flush, its tendrils creeping higher into the cave. Cedric nearly gasped. The malicious red hue illuminated another six or seven sitting on ridges in the cavern, talking to each other. That must have been what he'd heard from above.

He'd seen more than enough, his throat dry and palms sweaty. With one last breath of chilled cavern air, he slithered backwards. It wasn't until the warm light pressed on his neck that he stopped and rested his back against the rock beside the entrance.

His foot had started throbbing again, and he winced every few seconds whenever the waves of agony washed over his foot like sea foam on the beach. Limping along, he continued. He had to get out of here. God forbid one of them had to take a leak and saw him chilling there.

The next fifteen minutes were quiet, save for the birds, which he realized he hadn't seen a single of. The canopy was too tall, too far away to make out anything specific. It sounded pretty though, a massage to his battered mind. He sighed again.

Cedric reached out and rested his palm on another tree, giving his foot a second to relax. He hated to imagine how much worse it would have felt without his compression shirt. He shuddered, a cold sweat sliding down his back.

At this point, he’d grown so accustomed to the infinite grove, the greens and browns, slicing his vision wherever he looked, that as soon as he saw something different, his eyes snapped to look. Of course, this had all been automatic, so when he didn’t see anything but the normal color palette of the forest, he looked away, but then he realized it. A wall. Made of wood.

Cedric’s heart jumped as he limped faster.

Something dawned on him that made him slow down on the way over. This couldn't have been made by humans. It hadn't even been twenty four hours since he got here. Unless a large group of humans happened to spawn in the same location,it wouldn’t be possible. That meant that this had been made by some form of people indigenous to this world.

Are they friendly? What if they’re, like, barbarian people? Or cannibals?!

His throat went dry again.

As he approached, the wall grew taller; a palisade made of thick logs stabbed into the ground. Around it, a ditch had been dug and filled with more spiked logs. Well…they're certainly prepared, Cedric thought.

But, just because they're careful, doesn't mean they’re going to be friendly to outsiders. Actually, them being careful was a good reason in, and of itself, for him to be cautious.

He was in uncharted land. Who knew what else lied in wait out here. Or in there…

“Ummm. He— hello?” Cedric called out. He waited a minute, but after nothing happened, he tried again. “Hello? Is anybody in there?” He rose to his tippy toes to try and see any movement inside, but the logs were too tightly woven together.

Cedric realized he wasn't breathing. What if they're all already dead? With the demon raccoons, and rats, and God forbid goblins, he wouldn't be surprised. His mind drifted back to the cave, to the pile of bones, the tearing flesh, the slurping. He shuddered. No. There was no way to be sure.

Just then, a rock flew over the wooden wall, landing with a splattering thud on the wet dirt. Cedric flinched at first, but after realizing what it was, ran over. Attached to the rock was a note, carved directly onto a piece of bark and stuck with some sap. He wiped away the mud and grime. The writing was in English. That was what Cedric noticed first. He hadn't thought about it until now, but seeing it made him realize he had been expecting something different.

This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.

What your business?

Cedric eyed the note and scratched his head. Business? Would it even be considered business? He just needed some water, and food, if possible. So, he said just that.

“Uh. I just need some water if you have it!” he shouted over the wall. “I don't mean any harm. I’m lost,” he said, his voice trailing off. Another note flew over the wall, but Cedric caught it this time.

Okay. Guard meet you outside.

Do not approach.

The bold letters seemed a little dramatic…and convenient. If something seems too good to be true, it usually is. Another phrase used by his father. Should I comply? Or make a run for it? Well, unless he wanted to continue aimlessly wandering around the forest, he needed to talk to somebody. So, against his better judgment, he stood twenty meters or so from the door, and waited.

Suddenly, Cedric heard what sounded like a latch unhinging, and then watched as the door swung down like a drawbridge. Two large men wielded the ropes used to lower it from the inside. They were tall, probably over two meters each, with black and brown hair respectively. They would have been pretty intimidating, Cedric thought, if not for their ears. After the gate finally touched the ground, a third man, even taller than the first two, marched over it, the wood creaking under his weight. In his right hand, he wielded a halberd a meter and a half long, and in his left, another rock message. His demeanor screamed anything but friendly, and his halberd, gleaming in the sunlight, looked sharp enough to cleave a tree in half with the help of his bulging arms, but just as Cedric had noticed on the other two, something threw off the vibe. Bunny ears…? It was all Cedric could look at as the man approached.

The guard looked Cedric over, his eyes darting down and then back up. His expression soured, his lips curling down. What manner of creature is this? he thought to himself. He did not have the graying skin of the Siofruil, the shortness of the Fortix, not the height of the Gigan. He was not made of water as were the Influunti, nor of the forest like the Custos.

He looked to be unarmed and his level was…1? How would one of such a being have made it this far into the Siofruil’s forest, especially with an injury? The guard's eyebrow rose, but he continued forward nonetheless.

Cedric gulped as the man stood in front of him. Without speaking, the guard raised his hand to reveal the note. Cedric gingerly lifted it out of his hand and opened the message.

Do not resist. Follow man into village.

Do not speak.

Only I speak you.

You recognize when you see.

If understand, nod at man.

Cedric looked back up at the man—ears—and then back down at the note. Cedric had a feeling that his answer here would dramatically influence his immediate future. I could be dead or alive in there, or I could be dead or alive out here… He felt that all in all, his chances were probably higher inside the small fortress than out here. He looked back up again—ears—and nodded.

The man gave a gruff confirmation and turned around. Cedric followed. The gray square above the guard’s head made Cedric pause. [Lvl7].

Seven?! Aren't we scaling pretty fast here? The man noticed Cedric’s pause and clenched his weapon. Cedric noticed this as well, and gulped before falling back in line behind him.

It didn't take long for them to reach the bridge. A few more steps. Last chance, he thought, but before he came to a conclusion, the gates started rising up behind him, the two men working the ropes again. Cedric gulped. Please be nice. Please be nice. Please be n—

“Oh,” Cedric said before thinking. Everything looked…dilapidated. The village was peppered with a few dozen huts, but more than half of them were nearly falling apart. They all used mud for the walls and thatch across the top; to be expected given what they had at their disposal. But, ill attention had worn the mud, caving in around some areas and giving out entirely in others. The thatch looked no different, weathered by time and neglect. The rain yesterday must have sucked.

Cedric noticed that the people hovering at the corners of his vision didn't look much healthier than the huts: caved in stomachs, and prominent collar bones. They were mostly women. Besides the three men he’d seen at the front, everybody else seemed to be women. All ages, from children to the elderly looked onwards at Cedric. They’re eyes looked beaten, hungry, and scared. It reminded him of the videos he had to watch in school about refugee camps for civilians caught in wartime. He shuddered and looked onwards, trying not to meet anybody’s eyes.

It only took a few minutes, but eventually, they stood in front of a hut that seemed slightly larger than the rest. Though, it didn’t look to be in any better condition. The guard parted the cloth curtain and led them inside. The interior looked about as he’d expected; nearly dark even in the middle of the day, save for the hole in the roof; smelling of mildew and dirt, and dreary above all. An older woman, older than any he’d seen outside, sat hunched over on a small pillow. Her mouth drooped on the right side and her hair had gone silver. A cane leaned against the wall next to her, a ruby embedded in the top. She looked up and coughed.

“You are not enemy. Is correct?”

“What? Oh. Y—yes!”

“Hmm. How believe…How believe…” Her eyes pierced him like daggers. “What can you do prove?”

“Umm…”

"You do something for us, yes? Then, we guide you water.”

Cedric's eyes narrowed as he looked over the woman. Do something. He didn't particularly like the sound of that.

“Only if it's a possible request.”

She nodded slowly until a younger woman leaned over and whispered something in her ear.

"Yes. You fight creature in forest. Then, water, yes?”

A large gust of wind rattled through the hole in the roof, twisting around the room like it was alive. That seemed ominous.

Cedric pursed his lips. “Umm…maybe? What is it?”

“Bear,” she said, flatly.

Cedric flinched. If the raccoons and rats had become pure nightmare fuel, what would a bear be like? Two headed with horns and a demon tail? Cedric grimaced.

“Will I have any support?” he asked, eyeing the large guard beside him.

The old woman shook her head. “Tyken stay. Only soldier left.” The man looked away, his eyes resting at a random spot on the wall.

"What do you mean ‘last’? What happened to the rest?”

“Bear.”

“Oh…” he chuckled softly. “That's okay. I think I’m good. I'm sure I can figure out my own way. Well,” he said, clapping his hands, “ thank you for your hospitality. I'm just going to leave now, if that's okay.” He started walking backwards to the door.

All while he was talking, the apparent translator had her mouth against the elderly woman's ear. Her eyes watched Cedric closely, studying his movements. Once it appeared the translator was finished, the old woman lifted her hand in the air and swirled it once, clockwise. Immediately, Tyken, the halberd bearing guard twisted on his heels and left, the draped door fluttering slightly after him.

Just then, a different woman approached Cedric. She placed a plate on the ground in front of him. Cedric audibly gasped. Food! His mind went blank as he looked at the plate of meat and fruit. His hand automatically grabbed the piece of spitted meat. He didn't know where it came from, and neither did he care. Cedric lifted it to his lips and felt a slight heat rising from it; a sweetness rose to his nostrils as his mouth became suffused with saliva.

The woman leaned forward, her eyes transfixed on the boy as his teeth tore through the flesh of the huntfil. The fatty juices of the meat flowed from his chin. She laughed.

“I grateful you accepted offer.”

Cedric froze, the juice dripping from his chin turning to icicles.

“What?”