The weather mocked my mood. It was a beautiful day. The sky was clear, and the weather was crisp and cool. Giant puffy clouds plod along the sky as I trudged through the outskirts of town. The trees were beautiful and vibrant, orange and red. The leaves shook slowly as the wind blew through them. A few songs came through my head that quickly thrust out again. Today was not the day for dancing and singing. No. It was about fighting today.

  I finally made it to the largest tree for miles. Ten men couldn't put their hands around this tree. The roots would pop up randomly around town until it was a running joke that a carriage couldn’t make it half an afternoon without being jostled by nature, not that there was a carriage in town. I would tell my childhood friend Zara that this was the giant of Tristvale. Oftentimes I would climb it and I'd look out over the horizon and dream about a day I would be free. I would be free of this town and fighting monsters just like my uncle. I dreamed of marrying Zara and living in the Capitol. I sighed. Today was not the day for dreams. Today was the day for fighting.

  One of my only friends, Stoney, was already waiting for me there. Though he was only a half a year older than me, he was already half a hand taller. Muscles strained through his tight fitting shirt in a way that made all the girls in town swoon over him. He dressed in all black, thinking it made him look mystique and mysterious. Even his jet black hair was carefully cultured in a way that half covered one eye. I doubt that we ever would have been friends except for the fact that he too dreamed of fighting.

  His dream was one on one duels and riding a horse into battle. I thought it was kind of cliche honestly. Every little boy dreamed of being a knight and joining the Lightmane but not many wanted to travel to the Rift. Now killing monsters, that was cool. Nevertheless, Stoney was the person who had decided to hunt Rift spawn today, and I owed it to him for getting me out of the house and chores.

  “Do you have it?” Normally, he was gruff and pretended to be manly, but now all I could see was the boyish joy in his eyes.

  “Of course.” I slowly drew the sword out of my jacket and unwrapped the leather. Out here, the silver and gold glittered in all its glory.

  “It must be worth a fortune! The adventures it had. I can’t wait to see the blood of a Rift spawn coat it from tip to hilt.”

  Stoney moved closer and unconsciously brought his hands closer to the blade.

  “No, no, no. I wield my father’s sword. You can find your own weapon.”

  Stoney self consciously slapped my shoulder and brought his hands back to his waist. He lifted a large hammer off his belt. It must have weighed as much as a small animal itself.

  “You’re a funny man. Don’t worry, I came prepared. Let’s get to it.”

  In mutual agreement, we struck out from the tree and started walking into the forest. We were willing to go as deep as we needed to in order to find a Rift spawn. And though it would be a surprise when we finally did, this was a surprise I was fully prepared for.

  Quite quickly, I found a deer path that cut across our own path, and we followed it. I assumed Rift spawn would be similar to many ordinary animals in the forest. They must have to eat. They must want to travel with as much ease as possible. A deer trail was just as good as anywhere else to start our journey to find one. And at the very least, it would provide a faster route deeper into the forest and closer to the Rift.

  “So, have you made a sword yet?” I asked. Deep inside, I couldn’t help but notice I was a bit jealous of Stoney. He trained for an exciting job. Sure, he made stakes, horseshoes, and pots and pans, but the reality was one day he would be making swords and helmets. Depending on how good he became, he might even fill orders for the Claw.

  Stoney smiled secretly. “Maybe…”

  I stopped us both in our tracks and quickly turned on him. “Stoney! No holding out on me. How many of them have you made? Who ordered them? Wait, can you make one for me? We would never have to borrow my father’s sword again!”

  Stoney chuckled and shook his head. “Believe me, though it is exciting, it's way more work than you would think. I haven’t made one on my own yet but there is so much demand now, my father has been teaching me to craft one. And we’re almost done! And when I’ve completed my first sword, I’ll be rubbing it in your face all day. We’ve already gotten more orders this year than last year, and we still have nearly a quarter of the year left.”

  His voice dropped to a whisper. “My father has doubled the price of repairing armor. We can barely keep up with the regular orders. I tell you, people are going a bit crazy.” I couldn’t help but notice his smile. He really liked what he did. Both money in the pocket and experience crafting weapons of war were vital in being successful in the Lightmane. If people were coming to Tristvale for orders, smiths were truly in high demand.

  Nobody spends silver to sharpen their blades in times of peace. I had heard the tinker grumble about the roads growing in danger just last month. When the red cloaks were deep in their cups, they often thanked the dead gods they hadn’t been assigned to the sand dunes and the sand hill elites that dwelled there.

  “I’m happy for you. You’ll be able to join the Lightmane in no time at all with your experience! I only know how to run a farm: feed the livestock and repair the fence. There’s nobody in the world better than me at counting livestock. It’s frustrating. Nobody cares about Tristvale! When was the last time we had a magestone tester come through? Four years? We must be approaching the max length of time according to the…”

  My eyes finally caught something off, and my thoughts trailed off into oblivion. There was a large broken sapling that lay strewn across the ground. Something large and dense must have come here. Something that didn’t care about where it walked. If this was a spawn, and it was near, we would find it.

  This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

  Sweat dripped from my brow, and I nervously brushed it away. I took my jacket off and wrapped it around my waist before I soaked myself. The woods seemed denser, and more menacing here. Though leaves had already started falling from trees, I could barely see the sun. My feet were sore. We must have been walking for hours. And finally, I realized I didn’t recognize where we were. But if we had to turn around, we could follow the deer path back easily.

  A sudden crunch, like the cracking of bones, erupted through the air and a flock of jet black ravens took to the sky from a nearby tree. I spun around, my heart in my chest.

  “By the dead gods Stoney! Can you make any less noise than a hundred pound bow? We’re trying to hunt our prey, not the other way around. I wouldn’t be surprised if every animal for miles knew where we were.”

  His frown deepened as his eyes locked onto mine, filled with hurt. “I am walking quietly. What are you talking about?”

  “Just don't find every single twig to step on.”

  “You just have to lead me to places with less twigs. It's not my fault that I weigh more than you, that I'm stronger than you, and that I’m better looking.”

  I glared at him. It was true, but he didn’t have to say it so frankly.

  We took a quick break and ate some food. I quickly dug into my block of cheese, a few slices of bread and an apple. While I was eating, I kept my eyes up, never resting them for too long on a single tree. My father’s sword lay right next to my foot. Something felt off about these woods and for the first time after coming out, I started thinking it was a bad idea for Stoney and I to try and find a Rift spawn. Untold stories about knights never returning haunted the back of my mind. After such a long morning without rest, the food should have tasted heavenly but it was ash in my throat. I took a swig of water to wash it down before setting out once again with Stoney. If we couldn't find anything shortly, we would have to turn back soon. We had no other choice really.

  “Do you suppose something is watching us?” Stoney asked blithely.

  I inwardly groaned. I never knew if Stoney was being serious or joking with me.

  “No Stoney. Nothing is watching us this deep in the forest. Why would you even suppose something like that?”

  “Oh, that makes sense. Since I saw a pair of eyes I thought something might be tracking us, but I guess you’re right. That would not make sense.”

  I turned around and stopped myself from reaching up, grabbing Stoney’s shoulders, and shaking him. I had sensed something ever since we had stopped for lunch, but it wasn’t anything I could put into words. A tiny piece of my focus had dwelt on it, thought about, and turned it over in my head the whole time though. Prey didn’t watch humans hike in the woods. Predators did. My hand clutched at the hilt of my father’s sword.

  “Where?”

  Stoney pointed to the side of the woods. I squinted and stared deep in the forest as my hand clutched the hilt harder.

  “I don’t see anything. Did it move?” Thankfully, my voice didn’t crack.

  “No. It was there and then it wasn’t. At least, I thought it was there.”

  “Was it, or was it not there? Are you trying to joke with me? Because this is not funny.”

  “No, no, no. I could have sworn I saw something.”

  Frustrated, I tore my eyes away from the side of the trail. “You can be a real idiot sometimes Stoney. If you’re bored to the point that you are making things up, I think it is time to head back.”

  But he wasn’t listening to me. He was still looking to the side of the trail. I tapped him with the bottom of my scabbard.

  “Hello? Stoney? I’m serious here.”

  He pointed. “See, I was right. Look at it.”

  My head had never moved faster in my life. My heart nearly burst as I felt adrenaline pump into my blood. I couldn’t hear a thing as time seemed to crawl to a stop. My eyes burned as drops of saltwater flicked into it. From the edge of my vision, I saw a flash of brown jump right in front of me, and I fell to my butt as I processed what I saw.

  My father’s sword lay scattered on the path. I hadn’t even realized I had dropped it. Stoney still hadn’t moved. My breath came in short scattered gasps as my brain slowly came to terms with my surroundings.

  “A deer,” I whispered. Then I laughed. I had gotten so worked up over something so innocent. My arms felt like frozen stones once the sense of relief hit me, but I scrambled on my feet and grabbed the sword again.

  “What an adventure.”

  Stoney blinked. “I’m no expert, but I think we should run.”

  One, two, five, more and more deer began to run from the direction of the first one and fled. Their eyes were wide and crazed and their sides heaved in and out. Foam dripped from their mouths. They looked like they could drop at any moment. I looked out at the vast emptiness from where they were running. I looked at the fallen leaves and the massive round trees. I looked at a silent forest. I wish I could say I pulled my sword out and rallied. I wish I could say I faced my fears of this nameless enemy and called its bluff.

  “Yeah. That’s probably a good idea.” Stoney and I in unison turned and ran after the deer.

  Pine needles prickled my face and tree branches whipped my torso. Spider webs covered my face. We ran blindly, not knowing where and when we would stop. For all we knew, there was nothing behind us. By some miracle, I pulled out in front of Stoney and saw an opening in the trees. It was a road.

  “We’re almost there!” I screamed. “Just a bit more!” I willed my legs to run a bit faster. Now that we were closer, I could even see a horse. There was a chance we encountered Sam the trader coming into town. We could fetch a ride back, and he would tell me all the stories of the outside world I hadn’t heard for a week. Or there could be a new batch of red cloaks, ready to whet their blade on something that could bleed. Even a fellow farmer would be helpful.

  But when I ran out into the road, it wasn't Sam there or the red cloaks. There were no friendly farmers. Eight men armed with an assortment of pikes, clubs, swords, and scythes surrounded a wagon loaded to the top with massive bundles of supplies. I think I could even see a chair poking out of the wagon. Stretching out in the distance, I could even see a few more wagons pulled by horses and oxen coming in our direction.

  And as I stood there, catching my breath after sprinting all this way and I looked at this wagon that could put any tinker to shame, I failed to notice that the guards were very unhappy with me being there.

  I swallowed and felt something drip down my throat. It must be blood, a part of my brain told me after I noticed the spear tip at my throat. One of the guards, dressed in a motley collection of browns, greens, and grays, was at the other end of the spear.

  “Should I kill him?” he asked somebody behind him.

  I hate surprises.