Laughter echoed in the deepest part of the forest. The
children had been warned not to come here. It was dangerous. Not because
of the wolves that roved the darkness. Not even because of the snakes that
often grew to be four times as long as the tallest men. The heart of the
forest was dangerous because of the Unnamed Temple, where something evil
was sealed. None of the warriors and adventurers who had traveled to the
heart had ever come back. Legend claimed that whatever was sealed up in
that black temple devoured souls, leaving the body an empty shell that the
various scavengers fed on. The children had been warned not to come here.
It was dangerous.
They came anyway.
The deep shadows of the forest made it best for playing at war games, hide-and-seek, and keep away. They never knew that something watched as they played, nor that it was grinning evilly.
Then it made it's move.
When the children came home their parents didn't notice that they were acting a little odd. Monosyllabic responses to prying questions about where they had been, how their clothes had gotten dirty, and, for Heaven's sake, would you clean your room only made their parents think they were tired. The vacant stares and jerky movement was completely overlooked.
After all, they did what they were told, right?
The only man who noticed their change was a visiting warrior. That night he went into the dark heart of the forest.
He never came back.
They came anyway.
The deep shadows of the forest made it best for playing at war games, hide-and-seek, and keep away. They never knew that something watched as they played, nor that it was grinning evilly.
Then it made it's move.
When the children came home their parents didn't notice that they were acting a little odd. Monosyllabic responses to prying questions about where they had been, how their clothes had gotten dirty, and, for Heaven's sake, would you clean your room only made their parents think they were tired. The vacant stares and jerky movement was completely overlooked.
After all, they did what they were told, right?
The only man who noticed their change was a visiting warrior. That night he went into the dark heart of the forest.
He never came back.