Into the Wild

You have been hunting all the day in the deep forest and now your last prey lies at your feet. Suddendly, you realize that the joy and the thrill of the hunt took you far away from the village. You can't recognize the place in which you are and... it's late. The sun left the sky to her sister the moon, the night covered the sky with its soft mantle of shiny stars. The forest, that with the blessing of the sunlight was such a beatiful place is now dark... In the cold air you hear the sounds of the creeping creatures of the night. You are lost. Sitting on a fallen log you are wondering what to do now when... a movement! A shadow emerges from behind a tree. You quickly get up and spin in that direction, your sword ready. "Greetings, traveller" - a calm voice. Controlling your panic, you answer: "Hail. Who goes there? And, what do you seek?". "Have no fear, friend. You are safe.". The figure lights a torch and in its light you can see a cloaked man smiling at you. He continues: "The night is cold, and the forest can be quite dangerous when the dark arises. Mayhaps you would enjoy a hot meal and a ale or two? Our camp is not far." While following the man in the forest you wonder who this man is and what him and his companions are doing in the deep forest...

the campfire

Thanks to the guild of The Gathering for the idea from which this novel is taken