Past the village outskirts on the plains that extended far into the distance, golden grass covered its surface like a shining sea of riches.
Occasional bugs came from between the patches, soon crushed under the heavy leather boot.
Where was it? Don't tell me it's gone already...
Looking closely over the plains, stood Zephyr with his eyes peeled open, like two tiny mirrors, looking for something that might have already been caught inside his trap.
His brows furrowed after a while. It was clear that the plains were empty of any life; this was what made it so weird.
Walking over to an empty spot where a symbol was drawn, he brushed his fingers against it.
"This is unexpected."
A nervous smile spread across his pale face, his body went up like a spring, his eyes darted from left to right as if expecting something to attack him at any moment.
The surroundings were quieter than ever, too quiet for him. Almost like everything held its breath in, trying not to anger whoever hid on the plains.
- Rustle
With a nimble spin, Zephyr's body snapped backwards, not wasting any time; his sword flew at the bushes that were over twenty meters away from him.
An animal roar escaped from the direction, deflecting the sword at one of the tree barks.
He stood there with his hand out; the animals' screams disappeared with it deeper into the forest, which he dared not enter.
Dammit, not again!
Dejectedly kicking the ground, he strolled to the stuck sword. Its edge appeared chipped as if it weren't an animal but a stone that was hit.
He didn't mind, though; it was expected that his trap would fail sooner or later. The beasts aren't so mindless as someone might have thought, having their own ways to trick him into becoming their meal.
Thanks to the book his master left him, he found out the ways to hunt and lay ambushes, albeit clumsily.
There was no source of food in the village, the ground wasn't good enough to handle any type of crops, having numerous cracks, and no water, with the exception of rain.
He resorted to three ways of gathering food that were taught to him.
First, which he hadn't tried yet, was to get a job and buy his own food; however, he didn't plan to leave his hometown, and there was nothing to sell here from the start, so the option was thrown out.
Commonly used by him was laying traps which caught small animals like rabbits and maybe foxes if he got lucky. The forest that surrounded his village was a perfect place for any kind of animal to live in, so it wasn't a problem to just wait and watch how they walked to him on their own.
But the last trap which he used most of his last supplies, was broken in just one night by something he didn't expect to encounter.
A mountain lion coming all the way down here? Though it's weird, I'm not complaining.
Mountain lion.
It was a predator that he hoped to never encounter in these parts. Fate seemed to play tricks on him, showing just how unpredictable mother nature was.
His village didn't have a name; it couldn't earn the right to have one.
But its location was of high importance once.
Right under the mountain, which functioned as the border between west and south, the cliffs could be seen fairly easily from the second floor of his house, which the tall pine trees tried to cover.
People of all occupations, like bards, merchants, or even knights, made their way through the village.
What made the border special wasn't the village, but rather it was the forest that surrounded it from all sides like a sturdy wall.
The beasts that inhabited it were like guardians, attacking anyone who came close to the village but not daring to enter its premises.
It was still a mystery why, after being destroyed, the beasts didn't dare to enter the village even for a moment. But Zephyr couldn't care less since smaller animals had no problem with that.
I hoped I wouldn't have to do this.
His palm ran across his face, trying to come up with any other way to lure animals was a chore, and he knew that he had already wasted everything he had for this last trap.
"Whatever.." Muttering to himself, he went back to the village.
Its empty streets stood still, like fragments of the past he cherished the most. They seemed to come to life as his memories painted them with the scenes from before.
Its streets are filled with running children who play pretend and gather others' attention. The fruit stalls filled with the most exotic food stood at every corner of the street where all the houses stood. Broken aged wood was in it's place, mold covering the entirety of it's surface.
The clean stone houses, which were the pride of our village, were like towering pillars, circling around a cracked fountain which lost it's function ages ago.
"This should work."
His voice was the only sound that the village was bestowed with, in the middle of the fountain, hang a long leather belt with two pieces of leather armor folded next to it.
The equipment fit him as if it was a part of him, perfectly fitting his body with no room for discomfort or distractions. The leather chestplate wasn't heavy, making his movements easier and safer than wearing regular clothes.
A belt was strapped on his waist, holding various tools for hunting and tinkering with artifacts.
His pants felt a little tight, though, making him remember just how fast his rate of growth was after learning from the book.
I guess I need to visit him soon. But it shouldn't hinder me much.
Gazing at the dark mountain clouds, the sun was briefly peeking from behind, hanging right above his head.
There wasn't much time left for him to hunt, and he didn't plan on staying in that dreadful forest, not again.
With quick steps, he rushed to the forest where the mountain lion had been before.