"The forest is generous beyond reason. It feeds all who enter… eventually."
— A Lost Hiker
The moment the Orphans charged, every instinct I possessed screamed in warning.
The barriers would not hold.
I cast defensive domes around every member of our party almost instinctively — translucent layers of arcane force blooming around us like fragile glass bubbles.
And not a moment too soon.
The Orphans slammed into the shields with horrifying force. The impacts rang through the air like the sharp cracking of bone. Dozens of tiny bodies collided at once, their malformed limbs bending at unnatural angles before snapping back into place with wet, sickening crunches. Some clawed frantically at the barriers with root-like fingers, while others pressed their crude masks flat against the surface, staring inward with unblinking, hollow intensity.
Then they began to crawl.
Not like children.
Like insects.
They skittered across the domes on all fours, upside down, sideways — some even twisting their torsos fully backward while their heads remained locked toward us in grotesque fascination.
"Save us…" "Save us…" "SaveusSaveusSaveus…"
Their whispers overlapped into a sickening, overlapping chorus that drilled into the mind.
One of them slowly opened its mask.
Teeth lined the inside.
Not human teeth.
Too many.
Rows upon rows packed together like needles.
It dragged a long, blackened tongue across the barrier. I felt residue drain from the shield instantly. Another began biting. Then another. Each scrape of teeth against the arcane surface drained more power. Tiny black veins spread across the domes wherever their mouths touched.
I grit my teeth and reinforced the spells with focused will.
Beside me, Belinda raised both hands. Arcane circles flared brightly around her wrists.
"I'll strengthen the barriers!" she whispered urgently.
Golden light surged across our shields, hardening them. The spreading cracks slowed.
"Thank you, Miss Belinda," I murmured.
Another heavy impact shook the dome.
Then a new message appeared before my eyes.
Orphans of the ForestMission: Slay 0/400
Four hundred?!
I stared at the number in quiet disbelief.
Belinda began chanting, her voice trembling at first but growing steadier as residue gathered violently around her palms.
"Bring forth the hearth and burn away the filth of the world. Scorch their souls so they may know your radiance."
A sphere of fire condensed between her hands before she hurled it forward.
The fireball tore through the darkness and detonated against the horde.
For one brilliant moment, the forest was illuminated.
Dozens of masked children hung from branches above us.
Watching.
Waiting.
Smiling.
Then the flames consumed them.
The nearest Orphans ignited instantly. Their raincoats melted into black sludge as fire spread hungrily from body to body. Burning creatures stumbled into nearby groups, clinging desperately as the inferno expanded.
And through it all—
They laughed.
Not screams.
Not cries of pain.
Laughter.
High-pitched. Breathless. Genuine amusement.
One burning Orphan collapsed onto another, setting both ablaze. The second creature rolled on the ground — not to extinguish the flames, but as if throwing a childish tantrum while laughing hysterically.
Another clapped.
Another pointed excitedly.
Several simply sat in the fire and watched us with tilted heads.
Then the survivors went completely still.
Every remaining Orphan turned toward the burning pile of their dying kin.
Silence returned.
The flames crackled softly.
One of the burning creatures crawled slowly toward the others, its melted mask hanging from exposed flesh. It reached out trembling fingers toward a nearby Orphan.
The moment contact was made—
Both ignited.
And the dying creature laughed even louder.
The others watched with fascination.
Not fear.
Not sorrow.
Pure entertainment.
As though this was the greatest game they had ever witnessed.
The kill counter rose rapidly.
Orphans of the ForestSlain: 50/400
Though it felt far longer, only seconds had passed.
Then the fire began to die.
And the silence returned with it.
The surviving Orphans slowly looked back at us.
Several tilted their heads.
Too far.
One neck twisted fully around with a loud crack while the body remained motionless.
Then they charged again.
Belinda released another fire spell instantly.
At the same time, I infused our barriers with flame enchantments.
The moment the creatures touched the shields, they ignited.
New messages flooded my vision.
Weakness Discovered:Orphans of the Forest
Fire deals significantly increased damage.
Burning Orphans explode upon death.
Fire spreads rapidly between nearby targets.
Yet the creatures continued attacking anyway.
Some slammed themselves against the barriers repeatedly, even while burning alive. Others clawed at one another in desperate excitement to reach the flames first.
Miranda's fists ignited with blazing residue as she crushed an Orphan's skull against a tree trunk with brutal efficiency.
Bo formed a massive double-headed axe of condensed fire and cleaved through entire groups at once.
Belinda's spells painted the forest in roaring orange.
And I fired round after round from my rifle.
Each shot released a deafening CAW through the unnatural silence.
The noise sounded wrong here.
Like the forest itself hated it.
More Orphans emerged from the darkness.
Not cautiously.
Eagerly.
As though they wished to burn.
As though death itself were the ultimate reward.
The kill count climbed higher.
Some burning creatures leapt directly at us before detonating violently against the shields. The barriers trembled with every blast, residue draining faster and faster.
Yet even while aflame, they continued licking the barriers.
Feeding.
Smiling.
Then—
A screech echoed through the forest.
Every Orphan froze.
Even the burning ones stopped moving.
The sound came again.
Long.
Sharp.
Ancient.
The Orphans immediately turned toward the darkness beyond the trees.
And they began to cry.
Not fake crying.
Real, childish wailing.
Tantrums erupted everywhere as tiny bodies threw themselves onto the dirt. Several clawed at trees while others slammed their heads repeatedly against rocks.
Then the screech sounded once more.
And they obeyed.
The creatures retreated instantly into the forest depths, weeping as they vanished into the darkness.
Only a handful remained behind.
Watching us.
Blood-stained tears seeped from beneath their masks.
Nobody moved.
Then the masks began to change.
The smooth surfaces stretched slowly upward.
A smile formed.
Too wide.
Too deep.
The masks split open vertically, revealing rows of wet teeth and twitching tongues hidden beneath.
And somehow—
They still looked like they were smiling.
One raised a finger toward us.
Then whispered:
"Save us."
Mocking.
Playful.
Cruel.
And then they melted backwards into the darkness between the trees.
Gone.
The dungeon updated once more.
Orphans of the ForestMission CompleteSlain: 410/400
Silence returned.
Not peaceful silence.
Waiting in silence.
The bodies had already burned away into ash. Even the ash itself slowly sank into the soil, feeding the pale grass growing beneath our feet.
The moonlight brightened.
Guiding us forward.
None of us wished to continue.
But Miranda finally whispered:
"We move"
And so, we did.
As we walked deeper into the forest, distant laughter followed us through the trees.
The Orphans were still there.
Watching.
Sometimes we caught glimpses of masks between branches.
Sometimes small feet.
Sometimes nothing at all.
Several corpses lay along the path.
Orphans.
Motionless.
We destroyed every single one before passing.
None of us trusted the dead anymore.
Eventually, we reached a ravine.
The abyss stretched endlessly beneath us.
Moonlight touched only the upper surface before being swallowed whole by the darkness below.
Belinda picked up a small stone with shaking fingers and dropped it.
We listened.
And listened.
No sound ever came back.
Then the ground trembled.
Roots erupted from both ends of the ravine, twisting together into a bridge of pale wood and pulsing bark. The structure groaned like something alive.
Above us, Orphans laughed from the treetops.
Several fell during the shaking.
We killed them before crossing.
No hesitation.
No mercy.
The moment we entered the next section of forest, the smell hit us.
Blood.
Rot.
Wet flesh.
The trees were covered in bodies.
Some hung from branches like grotesque fruit.
Others had been threaded directly into the bark itself, roots bursting through ribcages and empty eye sockets.
Skeletons swayed gently despite the complete absence of wind.
One moved.
Just slightly.
The ground squelched beneath our feet.
Bone fragments littered the soil alongside strips of meat and clumps of hair.
Then we heard humming.
Soft.
Motherly.
A lullaby.
It drifted between the trees as though someone nearby was trying to soothe a child to sleep.
Then the laughter returned.
The Orphans watched us from above, drenched in blood.
Something slammed against my barrier.
I turned instantly.
A half-eaten deer corpse slowly slid down the shield's surface, leaving streaks of blood behind.
Above us—
An Orphan hung upside down from a branch.
Smiling.
Its body swayed gently.
Like a pendulum.
I raised my rifle and fired.
The bullet tore through its head and set it ablaze.
The corpse dropped into the mud, burning as nearby Orphans watched in silent amusement.