PvP Dungeon Hunter

A Night In The Forest

 Akuji’s eyes went left to right as he struggled to keep up. Canta kept walking forward deeper into the forest, her basket over her arm. The light was fading and she stumbled over the rocks, shrubbery and uneven earth. He was expecting danger to come from anywhere and he wasn’t sure about how he would do in a situation like that. Not knowing his own level was a big disadvantage and he had no weapons to speak of.

“Hey, wait up,” Akuji said to her as he struggled to keep up.

She paid him no heed until he reached her and grabbed her arm causing her to stop. It was only then that he realized the tears that had been backed up in her eyes. Unable to hold them back they fell upon the ground.

The sight caused Akuji to pause for a moment. His eyes instead drifted around the forest as she sat under the tree and cried in silence.

“Are you okay?” he finally asked, breaking the silence.

Her hands swayed wildly in the air.“No, it’s not my fault!” Her hands hit the tree. “I didn’t do anything wrong. I can’t believe despite what I say no one would believe me. Now I don’t have anywhere to go, you might as well leave me before I curse you too.”

“I am not sure about any of that, but from what I saw it just seemed to be completely unfair. This seer and your punishment don’t seem right at all. They didn’t even listen to me.”

“Since the seer came the elder never listens to anything, anymore, especially from me and everyone just goes along with it like fools.”

“That doesn’t make sense. Canta you told me not to go past the border and I went anyway because of the items that kept disappearing. If anything they should be annoyed with me, but I don’t belong to the village.”

She gave me that puzzled look again before her head went back down to the ground in defeat.

“Your parents don’t seem to be that bad either. I don’t think they want you to die here. So get up and let’s work together for you to live. If not for your parents then do it for the lives that have been lost. Don’t you want to be an adventurer?”

She nodded slowly. “Why are you so certain? I have never been outside the village boundaries before and you don’t even remember your past.”

“I might not remember who I am but if you give up before you start, then you’re destined to fail. Don’t give up!”

She chuckled for a moment through her dried tears.

“What?”

“That was something my brother would say, but yes, you’re right.”

She produced a flute in her hand.

“I don’t think that playing that would be a great idea now.”

She gripped it tightly as she got up. “Sorry it helps me calm down.”

Akuji’s eyes looked up at the drifting light. “We need to find someplace to sleep and some place where we can get water.”

“We can use the trees, they are a few of them when I was young my brother and I use to sleep under the burrows of the trees. In the dark it might give us some protection. We started looking around at the trees that we could use to rest by.”

“What type of monsters can we expect to find here?”

“Monsters? Wolves, that’s the only thing I know off from hearing the villagers talk, but I don’t know anything further.”

“What do you have on you?”

“Water and small amounts of food, maybe a day’s worth or two if we take our time with it. What about you?”

Akuji thought for a moment, “Not too sure on what is there.”

“Okay, hey look.” She pointed towards a strange looking tree. “This is where we would sleep.”

We got closer to it and realized that we both could fit underneath, however, it would be a tight squeeze.

To him it looked uncomfortable, but it was better than any alternative that crossed his mind without being killed in their sleep at night.

Akuji and Canta sat there in silence for a while. How to pull up the inventory? He wondered. He started waving his hand in the air, flicking left to right then up and down. He pretended to press the air, but felt nothing in his hands.

“Visualise it, think about it and it will form.”

“Visualise the inventory?”Akuji asked.

“Huh?” Canta responded.

Akuji closed his eyes and thought about the inventory and opened it. In his mind he saw it as the contents of a bag that lay before him. Everything that he had taken was there the Motherwort, the items Canta’s father had given them and  strange, peculiar items he had never seen before, a white cape, golden armour and a sword. He reached forth in his mind to grab the content. First, he grabbed the Motherwort and felt something in the same hand, he had touched it within his mind. He looked to take the armour too, but each time he reached forward to touch it, it slipped from his hand and fell back down into the bag.

He opened his eyes and within his left hand was the Motherwort.

“You told me you didn’t find any of it,” Canta said.

“I had found it, but it kept disappearing so I assumed that I didn’t have it.” He said smiling and turning towards her. “Now I know how to access the inventory and I think that I was a hero or something like that. In my inventory I have an armour, a sword and a helmet.”

Canta looked at him, her face was in disbelief.

“When I figure out how to get it, everything should work out.”

“Akuji, you keep saying weird things and I don’t understand what you mean.”

“I…” he paused as his eyes looked around.

The birds had stopped chirping and instead took off from their location cawking in the sky. The light faded as darkness crept in and deeper shadows fell. It was almost like the forest itself was changing, twisting and the trees smiling at them.

Akuji fidgeted with his hands as he found himself drawing closer to the burrow. The dark, he was afraid of it, but he didn’t understand why. He was almost inside the burrow before he felt something touch him. He turned to see Canta was holding his hand.

Without waiting for him to speak she hummed a low pitched song to him, his hand relaxed and his body stopped as he listened to the sound. It was almost like it was doing something to him, but he wasn’t sure what, all he knew was this sense of calm. He was sure he had heard this song somewhere before.

#

Danger!

Danger!

His eyes opened as he looked left, then right, his heart beat rapidly in his chest. On his arm, he felt the weight of Canta as she shifted slightly. He was barely able to make her out.

 Thudump.

 Thudump.

 Everything was dark.

 A speck of moonlight shone down in between the trees so thin it painted an eerie sight in his mind. They were loud creaking noises as the insects sung their songs.

A loud bestial growl brought the melody of the forest to a halt. It made the hairs on his neck stand.Where was it coming from?

He gripped Canta tightly as she was still sleeping. Then another followed behind it lower than the first and then came a howl that shudder his senses. Within the moonlight he saw a single deer hopping through it fading into the dark.

He felt movement on his left arm as he realized the noise had woken Canta. He placed his other hand on her mouth without looking. Akuji was afraid she might give them away as the wolves darted passed their position in pursuit of the deer.

They made loud noises one after another, as they passed through the light. There were so many of them. If any of the wolves had noticed Akuji and Canta there was no way that they would be able to run away from these numbers.

Each one that passed had a name and a different rank. The colours were different as well.

~~~~Level 1 young wolf~~~

~~~~Level 2 wolf scout~~~~

~~~~~Level 3 wolf~~~~~~

The higher the level the colour was different green for one yellow for two and red for three. Then it came again that howl that brought him chills as a wolf bigger than the others came into view even in the moonlight it’s fur was jet black.

One skull was above the bar and the level held a question mark. Its mere presence made Akuji feel uneasy as it came to a halt, Canta shivered on his arm and her breath was pronounced. Its head slightly turned back as the others moved on. Revealing to Akuji  the scars that were inked deep into its face before giving one last growl as it followed along.

Run!

Run!

He turned his face to Canta and muttered. “We have to run from here.”

She whispered, “What do you mean, we are safe---.”

Akuji tugged her out not waiting for debate. They crawled there way from under the burrow. Akuji’s back ached as he came to his feet and the wind touched his face. It was dark everywhere he turned. Why did his mind tell him to run? He turned back to see Canta standing up and gripping her basket tightly. He didn’t know why, but every second he stood here he felt unsafe as if his instincts were telling him something was watching him.

 He held her hand and ran in the opposite direction of where the wolves came. They stumbled through the forest heading in no one particular direction. Akuji was lost and Canta struggled to keep up with him until she forced away his hand.

“Stop!” she shouted.

It was not Akuji, however, that responded. A wolf came from the direction they had just been. It unleashed a loud growl as it made its presence known.

Akuji turned to see it.

~~~~Level 1 young wolf~~~~

50/70HP was the bar under it.

There were many question marks around a new area that was marked known weaknesses and resistances. There was dried blood on its grey fur and around its mouth. It bared its teeth at them and it slowly approached. It hesitated, as it avoided putting to much weight on its left paw. It kept it lifted in the air as it continued to step forward.

He wondered for a moment if they could take it, if he could win in a fight against it. The thought, however, was wiped from his mind. The wolf had ways to attack them and they did not have any to defend themselves; further if he didn’t get away from here more would likely come. He slowly backed up with his eyes fixed upon the wolf. He placed himself between Canta and the wolf’s line of sight. He had his right hand up for her to stay back and with his other hand, he tried to project himself as bigger.

Sweat ran down his brow as he slowly and steadily took steps back, taking slight glances behind, but not enough to lose track of the wolf. He heard a shuffle behind him and then a song began to play.

It started as a hum and then slowly words follow. The wind was changing. Now a calming breeze as the moon peek its light again into the forest.

Canta?

We bring you no harm. Oh, wolf of the forest.

We bring you no harm. Oh, wolf of the forest.

Our differences are but tears in the river,

Carrying our scars and holding our hearts

Under the moonlight we lay bare

Under the moonlight we are as one.

The wolf’s expression changed his teeth no longer bore its sadistic grin. His aggressive stance faded and he wagged his tail in response. Akuji, however, did not believe and still held firm, even as it approached with its head bowed.

“It’s okay Akuji.”

~~~ Friendly young wolf~~~

“How did you?”

“I have always been able to calm people down from singing, that’s why the villagers didn’t like me or being around their children. My voice reminds them of magic which they hate.”

Akuji relaxed his stance as Canta passed him and rubbed the wolf’s head. It rolled itself over as she inspected its paw.

“Will it turn hostile again? Is it like a temporary spell?”

You must keep running more are coming.

“I am not 100% sure, it’s the first time I ever used it on something that was trying to attack me. But on the birds and other animals it tends to wear off in a few hours.”

“A few hours!? We have to go and leave him here.”

“But where exactly are we going?”

Akuji grabbed her hand and ran again, deeper through the forest. The trees seem scarier than the ones before no longer smiling at them, their faces bore hatred and spite almost happy to see them being lost. The slightest noise that Akuji heard startled him until he saw light from what looked like a camp. It was followed by an awful smell that lingered in the air.

Was it coming from the camp? It had to be fire, but who exactly was it?

They approached the camp slowly and cautiously shifted between crawling and hunching over behind trees, Akuji heard something behind them.

“He followed us,” Canta whispered.

Akuji turned to find the wolf mirroring their own efforts to move stealthily. He held his mouth from almost shouting to chase it away. He took a deep breath and nodded to Canta in the dark. From the outline of her face, shaking back, he knew she understood. They approached the camp and the outline of what appeared to be a tent became more visible, but no one sat by the fire.

Was someone sleeping inside? Akuji wondered what to do next, he didn’t want to spook someone and have them attack him, nor did he want to call for help and find himself in the grips of a potential enemy. He stuck his head out slightly from the shrubbery to gaze into the tent. An unfamiliar deep male voice caught his attention.

“This doesn’t seem like a midnight honeymoon.”

His head turned back to the voice and found Canta, lying slumped in this mysterious man’s arms that he was unable to make out. The wolf lay upon the ground.

How did he… when did he sneak up on us? Akuji thought he had heard nothing.

“Two children and a wolf mind telling me why you’re sneaking to my camp?”

Akuji looked at the bar above his head. In the shadow outline it had 2 skulls and several?????.

That was the last thing he saw before his body collapsed to the floor.