Melissa Smith is the youngest member of the Smith family and the proud daughter and first child of The Anomaly. She was six months old and already as tall as her father.
Most of the time she sleeps inside burrows or fallen trees during the day and hunts and plays with her father at night.
Today her papa came to play later than usual and Mr. Box wasn't around and so she decided to ask him about it. She came to learn that if she asks in a cute way then her papa will give her anything she wants! When she asked him for a dress he went towards a flower and then made her a beautiful purple dress out of the petals of the Melos flower(A flower with soft purple petals that only blooms during the night).
The dress even has a hole for her tails!
She grew up to be as tall as her father and so instead of sleeping inside tree's she started sleeping underwater, she can even get a midnight snack by catching fish with her tongue!
Melissa slowly rose up from her favorite river and then started sneaking up on her father, making use of her Sneaking skills in order to catch him off-guard. She balanced her body on the tips of her fingers and toes while using her tails to keep herself steady and to swing off the Vintu tree's.
Once she got within 100 feet(Around 30 meters) of her father she started slowly sneaking up on him, moving silently, and once she was right above him...She pounced!
She opened her mouth wide enough to swallow a chicken whole, but just as she was about to bite her father's head off, Neiro simply stepped back slightly and then caught her by the ankle. Her dress remained in place even as she remained upside down, as if it were unaffected by gravity.
-"You forgot to hide your shadow Melissa, while Melos' light is faint, it is still there and so you could be easily spotted if your prey is observant."
-"Papa not fair! You promised to not use the eyes on the back of your head!"
The eyes on the back of Neiro's head slowly closed and then disappeared completely as he slowly let go of Melissa, letting her land on her feet by using her tails to reorient herself.
-"I did no such thing, you were simply sloppy."
The Anomaly's daughter started pouting by crossing her arms as her 'lips' did not have the ability to move. But just as she was about to talk about it not being fair she suddenly remembered something that she was really excited to show her father.
-"Wait Papa I just remembered! Look at what I can do now!"
Melissa then slightly opened up her maw and then let her tongue come out, and once it was fully out the tiny 'legs' on her tongue started extending until they completely covered the 'top' of her head, making it seem as if she now has a full head of black hair.
"What do you think? I learned how to do this while I was trying to catch fish and wanted to catch a lot of them at the same time! I also got better on standing up just like you!"
Indeed, Melissa now was much more proficient at standing on her hind legs, and coupled with her 'hair' and her dress, she could now pass off a normal 1 year old girl. So long as someone did not look at her hands, feet, face and skin of course.
-"That's my girl! You are the smartest child in the world! As a reward, and since your first birthday is coming up, do you have anything you want? I could make you some shoes that you can use to mask your footsteps."
Neiro had a proud smile on his face while he petted Melissa on her snout.
-"I want a playmate! I heard you talking with Mr. Box that you are going to be busy and so I want to have someone I can play with!"
-"Dear I can simply make time if you want to continue playing, why I even know a Windu that will soon die of old age that we can hunt together."
(Windu's are similar to deer but have green fur and brown antlers, with claws that are good at digging which they use to dig up the ground and hide themselves in holes for the night, camouflaging themselves)
Indeed, 'playing' for this pair of father and daughter constitutes of hunting the various animals of GreenWood forest or Neiro teaching her a few things while using his mother's fragmented memories, of course, before he removed them from his mind.
-"But I want to play with someone more durable! Whenever I play with the squirrels or the Windu they die too fast! Plus all of the Letos' and younger Windu just play dead once they see me and that takes all of the fun from it!"
(A Letos is a wolf that hunts by charging with the horns on their heads. You can spot the territory of a pack of Letos' by looking at the marks on the trees they use for whittling down they horns)
Neiro let out a small, exhausted sigh and then looked at his daughter with a sad look. Just a few months ago she was so small and now she's already tired of playing with her old man(that is 1 day older than her).
-"Very well, if you really don't want to play with your father anymore then I will find you a playmate, but if you break them then you won't get a new one until your next birthday."
Melissa then let out a small excited squeal and hugged her father tightly, thanking him repeatedly.
-"Yaaaay! Thank you papa, thank you so much! I promise that I will take good care of them!"
After a quick hug and some assurances from Melissa that she doesn't hate her father and was instead simply worried that she is taking up too much of his time, Neiro started searching for an appropriate play mate for his adorable daughter, he looked towards the east, where the capital was, and saw a group of people walking towards GreenWood village.
It was a group of traveling mercenaries that were commissioned to bring some Vintu wood to a carpenter that needed it urgently, and with a permit approved by the noble lord in charge of GreenWood village, they were coming to chop a few trees and then bring them with a carriage that they rented.
Among this group of mercenaries there was a young woman, around her early twenties, that was wearing a suit of leather armor. She was the healer of the group but she had a very obnoxious personality and poor healing skills, but because she was the cheapest option available, she was chosen to accompany the other three mercenaries.
While it was a bit rude to pry into other people's minds, Neiro decided to make an exception since this was a request from his daughter.
-'Disowned and sent to a monastery by her family for trying to elope with a young knight serving under her father...managed to escape the monastery but did not manage to finish her education as a healer and so her skills are mediocre at best...is easily irritated by others not listening to her due to a life of growing up as a pampered noble lady...the other three mercenaries will think that she simply ran away with the advanced payment she was given... That is good enough I suppose.'
"Alright Melissa, your new playmate will come tomorrow evening. She has light brown hair, blue eyes, wears leather armor and her name is Mirelle. Make sure to take her when the others aren't paying attention by luring in a few wolves to them, she will be at the back of the group."
Melissa had a bit of a hard time memorizing all of the steps necessary to get her new playmate but she managed to get it all. After giving her father another hug and waving him goodbye she went to hide near the entrance to the forest, waiting excitedly for Mirelle to arrive.
[•••••••••The evening of the next day••••••••]
The suns slowly set while the Sunset Trio (And Mirelle) were preparing to enter GreenWood forest. In the morning they arrived at the village, gave their greetings to Lord Daniel GreenWood, talked with the villagers a bit and ate together with one of villagers, after paying them a few copper pieces in exchange for the food and some info about what kind of dangers they should expect.
The Sunset Trio was comprised of Vladimir, a tall, dark haired and fair skinned human from the northern parts of the empire and the group's 'rogue'. Alexander, a tall dwarf (Around 5'2/150 cm) with a sharp nose and a long beard that had mud, stone fragments of metal shavings in it, was the leader and scout of the group. And finally, Bianca, a dark skinned human woman in her mid thirties that was the 'Warrior'.
Alexander was currently examining the soil of the forest by tasting a bit of it.
-"hm, there's an adequate amount of TorchStone and BloodMud. The Vintu here also look nice and green with no yellowing but a bit too young. Let's go deeper in and chop a few of them down, I think 50 should be enough."
(TorchStone is Magnesium while BloodMud is Phosphorus, both of them needing to be present in order for soil to be good for growing plants alongside Nitrogen and Calcium)
Both Bianca and Vladimir agreed with their leader and were about to go deeper in but before they could get their wagon ready, Mirelle started complaining.
-"If the soil is good here then why don't we just chop the ones here? I don't want to go deeper inside that forest, we might get attacked by Letos'!"
She had spent most of her time in the capital trying not to get found by her father's men and healing minor wounds or ailments, managing to gain around 300 copper coins a day.
'I cannot live on just 300 copper coins a day! My cheapest dress is 100x more expensive than that! But I don't want to risk my life just to get 10 silver coins for this stupid request!'
She also felt extreme danger coming from the forest and felt as if she were being watched. She did not know if this was simply paranoia from going into an unknown and possibly dangerous place or if something really is watching her every move, waiting for her to slip up.
(To give an example, the average salary of a commoner is around 500 copper coins, or 5 silver coins. Copper and Silver coins are colloquially known as 'Coppers' and 'Silvers'. 1 copper coin is equivalent to a dollar bill, with a loaf of high quality commoner bread costs around 3 copper coins.
Each Empire has their own currencies with the face of the current rulers stamped on the coins, with one side being the king and the other, the queen.
For more info about the different currencies, their values, exchange rates and names, check the Auxiliary Chapter named 'Currencies')
Alexander let out a small sigh, something that he had started doing more and more ever since he hired Mirelle a few days ago. His usual go-to healer was already out on a different mission and his only affordable option was her.
He did not outright dislike her like Vladimir, he saw many young girls and boys like her before, but that does not mean that he has to coddle her.
-"Lord Daniel has explicitly forbidden us from chopping any Vintu younger than three years and the ones nearest to the village. While Vintu may grow fast that does not mean that we can just chop all we want. The Letos packs that live here do not hunt during the night because the Windu's are hard to spot so as long as we don't stray to close to their territories or make unnecessary noise, we'll be fine."
Mirelle wanted to continue complaining, more out of fear than unwillingness to work, but the Sunset Trio did not bother listening and instead headed further into the forest.
After waiting at the entrance for a minute or two, listening to the obnoxious songs of the bugs, she quickly started running towards the group before she could not see the torch lights attached to the wagon.
She did not want to be alone so late at night and she felt that strange gaze getting stronger as the trio went further ahead without her.
[••••••••••••••••After a few hours•••••••••••••]
The sound of an axe hitting the tough bark of a Vintu tree echoed around the forest along with the subdued grunts of a stocky dwarf that was not built for hard labor.
Vladimir was in charge of watching for any animals that might come near while Bianca was in charge of moving the wagon and depositing the felled tree's inside it. The uneven ground made her job particularly difficult as she had to make sure that the wagon did not tip over.
Mirelle was in charge of helping with muscle pain, relieving fatigue and healing any blister on the two's hands. She was already starting to feel a bit winded, with her mana standing at 100/200. Right as she was about to prepare for healing Alexander for what felt like the 100th time, Vladimir suddenly put his fist up, signalling for them to be silent and to cover their torches.
Mirelle was starting to feel cold sweat build up on her back and hands, while her breaths became rough. That gaze was back, it was back and more intense than ever before. She could feel her heart beat against her rib cage like a caged canary begging to be let out before it suffocates inside a mine.
A small group of Letos' were slowly approaching them and when Vladimir saw that they were coming directly at them and not simply passing by, he signaled for the torches to be uncovered and for them to enter the standard mercenary battle formation.
The 'Warrior' was to stand at the front while the leader would be alongside the 'Scout', telling what target should be shot at while the healer would remain at the back with the wagon and heal them when needed with either spells or potions.
There were only three Letos' and they seem a bit off. Their ears were flat against their heads, their tails were tucked between their legs and were letting out low whines, as if scared.
Another odd thing was that they made sure not to enter their territory and the Letos' did not seem starved at all, if anything they looked pretty healthy. Most of the time a Letos would try to attack one of the sentient species only if they are desperate.
-"What's the plan boss? This is very fishy...Is someone forcing them to attack us?"
Bianca was even starting to feel pity for the canines but she was still prepared to kill them if needed.
-"We haven't angered any tamer and the job was a private one so we didn't steal a possible job from a different mercenary company. I am not sure what is happening so prepare yourselves, be ready for a possible ambush."
Alexander stared at the scared Letos' that kept slowly approaching them, unsure if he should engage with them and risk being attacked by a third party or maintain his groups positions and let them charge at them, which was heavily discouraged when hunting a Letos.
Just as he was about to order Vladimir to send out a warning shot he suddenly heard Mirelle let out a scream from behind and when he tried to look back, the Letos' suddenly charged at them.
-"Damn it! Bianca don't try to block their charge! Evade and then stab them in the torso! Vladimir, try to see what happened to Mirelle, I'll help Bianca!"
The three Letos charged in fearlessly, with two of them charging at Bianca while the other one went straight for Vladimir, all of them snarling and trying to skewer them alive.
Bianca, while a bit embarrassed at having to dodge an attack instead of blocking it with her buckler, decided to heed her leader's words and side stepped, slamming her metal lined buckler into the skull of one Letos while her iron bastard sword went through the second one's torso, managing to go through the space between the ribs and puncturing its lung.
The first Letos let out a loud pained whimper before its horn broke off, with the buckler managing split open its skull while the second one tried to bite Bianca's ankle with the remaining time it had, only to get a kicked in the throat and stabbed again, with the blade this time hitting against one of its ribs.
The second Letos let out a blood filled cough and then went to sleep, never to wake up ever again.
While Bianca was charged at by the two berserk animals, Vladimir put away his bow and then started looking for Mirelle, grabbing a torch and sprinting into the dark forest with a dagger ready in his free hand.
Alexander started casting one of his Earth spells while the third Letos tried to stab Vladimir in the back with it's intimidating horn.
-"Oh great Spirits of Dirt and Stone
Hear your distant descendants desperate plea
I wish for a strong wall to protect me against the attacks of my foes
Great Earthen Wall!"
Alexander then pointed his palm at the place in front of the charging Letos and just as its horn was about to harm Vladimir, the earth beneath him started rumbling and then rose up, forming a 1 meter thick and 3 meter tall wall made out of hardened earth.
The wall rose up just as the Letos was above it, hitting it hard in the ribs, causing multiple minor fractures, at which the tall dwarf let out a small chuckle.
-"The greatest defense is also the greatest offense you mangy mutt!"
His mana reserves had taken a great hit, leaving him with only 50/300 but it was worth it for him. He felt a little woozy but before the remaining Letos could recover he swiftly dashed towards it and then crushed its throat by jumping down on it, using his weight to his advantage.
He then started catching his breath besides the suffocating canine, their labored breaths being the only thing that could be heard besides the light the burning torches and the sounds of Bianca preparing the corpses of the other two rampaging animals for harvesting.
-"You know I could use a hand right about now!"
-"Let me catch my breath at least! It isn't easy to run fast when you are as large as me."
Bianca let out an all too audible snort and then said:
-"I think you mean fat."
-"I'm not fat! I just have a large stomach!"
-"Yea a large stomach that you always fill like filling with Windu meat and cheap ale."
-"A full stomach is a happy stomach!"
The both of them then started chuckling before Alexander realized that he was still out of breath and started wheezing and gasping for air yet again.
[••••••••••••A few moments earlier•••••••••••]
Mirelle was starting to feel like she was hyperventilating. Her heart was beating against her chest like it wanted to desperately escape and her eyes were moving around, trying to find the thing that was staring at her with such intensity.
When the Letos' appeared she started trembling, she didn't want to be here, she wanted to be back at the inn, back in her bed where it was safe.
Her palms were incredibly sweaty and her hairs were standing on end and then she felt the gaze get incredibly intense, so intense that she could almost feel where it was coming from.
It was coming from...above her?
She slowly raised her head up. Melos was right above her, or was supposed to but she was currently gone. Instead of Melos she saw Melissa. And Melissa saw her as well.
Mirelle could not properly describe the creature that was staring at her. It had disfigured hands and feet that it was currently using to hang onto the Vintu tree's. It did not have a face but a large, gaping maw filled with needle-like teeth.
A long, black tongue slowly slid out of its mouth, with countless smaller tongues that were as thin as strings, slowly tasting the air and the smell of her fear. It gently moved as if it were savoring the taste, like a Sommelier appreciates the aroma of an expensive, meticulously made bottle of wine.
Then she saw the two large, unblinking eyes on its chest. Their pupils were greatly enlarged, making its eyes look like two pools of ink, she could feel it staring into her soul with crushing intensity.
It was around the size of a baby, and right after she noticed that, it had already jumped down at her.
She let out a loud, terrified scream but it did not deter the creature, it instead wrapped its two fleshy tails around her ankles and then started running deeper into the forest on all fours, dragging her through the uneven ground of the forest, with small protruding stones that previously just annoyed her as she stepped on them, now cutting her face, hands and feet while also deteriorating her armor.
She could barely see anything now that the torch light was gone, now all that she could hear was the wind whizzing past her, her grunts of pain and the giggling of a baby.
A baby that just found her new toy.