The autumn wind blows cold, bringing chill into the heavy air hanging over Carmul. The disappearance of a man was quickly noticed in the village and it brought worry to everyone’s mind and an air of gloom to the village.

  “What d’ya think happened to your husband?” someone asked Alise.

  She knew no more than what the village head had told everyone else. Razh was last seen drinking with some of his friends at the alehouse before leaving for the herbalist’s place that night and never came back.

  For this, she felt the slightest tinge of guilt for not knowing more about her own husband. But what showed on her face was more for the fact that her heart felt a hint of happiness knowing she’d never see her husband again.

  Seeing this, another woman working around Alise and the one who asked the person brought her fist down to interject. “Hey! What d’ya think yer askin’ her?”

  “Ow! Why?!”

  “Be a little more sensitive will ya?” The woman said as she brought her fist closer to the other person’s face in a gesture to shut them up. “Don’t mind her, Alise.”

  Alise smiled in response. Though she does feel bad for not being able to help, she really would rather not talk about her husband. It fills her with a turmoil of complicated feelings every time she hears about him now.

  But then again, it's basically impossible to cut off talks of an incident this big in such a village where talking amongst each other—or rather, gossip, is a prime entertainment. Around her, she can pick up talks of her husband slipping out in whispers.

  “Don’t worry. We’ll find him still.” Said a man approaching Alise and the others. “Him and everyone else.” He added confidently, flashing a smile to assure them.

  After Razh’s disappearance was noted by a farmer who worked with him, a search party was quickly formed to look for him in the forest. Some men got together and went into the forest a few days back, but they too were never heard from again.

  For this to happen during harvest—a crucial time for the village had everyone not only worried, but flustered. From the village’s productivity point of view, the loss of capable hands during such a busy time was quite a significant blow.

  But even though the fear is heavy in everyone’s heart, life has to go on in their village. With winter quickly approaching, the villagers have to start stocking up on food to last the cold season.

  Fortunately, the harvest went well and Carmul is able to store a hefty yield from their crops. But unfortunately, those crops alone won’t be enough. A large sum of what they stored will have to be given to their lord as tax, so the villagers need to stock up on something else.

  “Here.” Said the man that reassured Alise and the other women as he extended his hand to give them what he had in his hand. “This one too, if you will.”

  Waterfowls migrating towards the southern region during this time of year always make a stop to rest at the river near Carmul. During this period, the men are out in the river setting traps and hunting the waterfowls, while the women are helping to process the captured game.

  The hunter had brought them yet another one they’ve caught, but everyone there already has something they’re working on. Everyone except one—the youngest amongst those working this year.

  Alise takes the duck given to her and gives it to her son sitting beside her. “Will you help me, Gale?”

  The small boy takes the duck from his mother and starts staring at it. Just recently he tried to help by bringing an animal that he found inside the forest back for his parents and was harshly punished for it. Even now, he still couldn’t quite tell what it was he did wrong, but surely it should be fine if his mother is the one asking for it.

  “My. What a reliable helper we have this year.” Said the man.

  There is no way such a small child could do a good job helping. Though since they’re only plucking the duck’s feathers off the body, he can’t possibly mess it up too badly. Considering that it’d just sit until a pair of hands open up, it’s not a bad idea to ask the small boy for help.

  Following what his mother is doing, Gale dips the duck into a pot of warm water and proceeds to pluck the feathers off the duck one by one. By the time Alise had finished plucking the feathers off a couple ducks, he was barely done plucking the feathers on the duck’s breast. Not to mention the result of his work is also noticeably worse than his mother’s, with patches of down and stubborn quills still left on the skin.

  Once Alise finished going through a few more ducks, he finally completed plucking the feather out of the entirety of the single duck that was given to him. Seeing this, his mother beamed proudly at the boy, patting his head, and telling him of the good job he’s done.

  There was still little work to be done to thoroughly clean the few patches of quill still embedded on the duck, but for a work done by a four year old, it was well deserving of praise.

  The other mothers around them that were working on their own ducks caught on and joined in praising the boy for what he’s accomplished. At his age, their own children knew nothing but to play, so the praises coming from them were admittedly much exaggerated.

  It’s a little bit of joy to help their terrified hearts go through the uncertain days.

  But it seems such joy is not allowed for them.

  Closer towards the river where the waterfowl hunt is going on, panicked cries suddenly sounded in contrast to the cheerful cheers around Gale. Soon after, the hunter who handed Gale the duck he worked on came running towards them.

  “Get away from the river! Run back to the village!” He flusteredly told the woman gathered there.

  “Wh-What’s going on?” Someone asked, the worry thick in their voice.

  “Just go!” He barked, even more flusteredly, not wanting to explain the situation. With a rush, he grabs Alise and Gale by their arms and stands them up before quickly pushing them back into the forest.

  Seeing this, the other women then started collecting the few ducks they had cleaned but were quickly rushed by the men. “Leave it, just go!” The man said.

  Around them, panic quickly ensues as everyone starts telling everyone to run away. It’s like they’re being herded away from the river.

  With all the tension in the air, Alise begins to panic and quickly grabs her son’s arm to lead him towards the direction of the village, following the others that went before them. That’s when she finally got an idea of what had gotten everyone so flustered.

  A loud bellow echoed from the river. It’s the terrifying roar of a beast that quickly sank everyone’s heart upon hearing it.

  When she turned to check, Alise’s eyes caught a green monstrous beast charging towards a group of men fleeing for their lives. The hulking creature surprisingly covered a lot of distance really quickly despite its massive body and the men running away were nowhere near fast enough to escape the monster. And with a single sweeping strike, they are all sent flying effortlessly.

  Of all the men blasted away by the monster, one just so happens to come flying towards the direction where Alise is. Her eyes immediately went wide the moment her eyes caught the body fast approaching, just before her vision suddenly spins just as she felt something run into her from the side. Someone who noticed the body flying towards her came running and tackled her to the ground, saving her in the process.

  The impact must have knocked some sense out of her and left her confused and shocked. But there’s no time to rest and she’s quickly rushed to get back on her feet and forced to snap out of it.

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  Now, with a renewed feeling of rush and panic, Alise picks her son up to hasten their pace, almost going into a full sprint towards their village.

  Behind her, there are still some brave men desperately fighting back against the monster. Their warcries could be heard along with their dying shrieks, masked slightly only by the sound of horrifying sounds their bodies make as they get slammed either into the ground or onto a tree.

  In no time at all, their numbers had dwindled considerably. With a rampaging orc sending some of them flying through the forest, fear overtakes most of them, and they were quick to change their mind about fighting back against the orc.

  Having seen the orc up close, the terrified men are scrambling for their lives much faster than Alise could hope to do with her child in her arms. And it only took a short while before the men overtook her and left her behind, leaving the monster hot on her trail.

  The woman who tackled her is still supporting Alise, pushing her from the back for them to pick up speed. But once it finally got to her head that she Alise won’t be outrunning the orc even with her support, she let the fear take over and she quickly made her way around the mother she’s supporting, leaving her behind.

  And now, Alise is left without any support or cover, with a green monster hot on her back, reaching its hand out to grab her. But just before it could, a volley of arrows pierced through the air and embedded themselves on the orc’s back.

  The pain momentarily stunned the orc and it let out a bellow—whether in pain or in anger was not clear, but the opening gave Alise the opportunity to create some distance from the monster behind her.

  And when she finally turned her head around to look back, she can see that the orc has diverted its attention towards a group of hunters that stayed behind. They were the ones that shot the volley of arrows now embedded on the orc’s back.

  The monster’s green skin is thick. Much thicker than the large games they often hunt in the forest. And since the bows they have right now are made for hunting waterfowls—small game, they were unable to deal much damage to the orc. Most of the arrows hadn’t even pierced the monster’s skin and just dropped to the ground on impact.

  While some are still stuck onto the orc’s back, leaving it looking like a badly balding green porcupine, it easily shrugs the arrows off its fat ladened body.

  With the hunters in its sight, the orc let out another loud bellow before charging towards its new game, leaving Alise and her son behind.

  The hunters scattered away from the raging orc, but they weren’t about to make their escape. Every one of them had all accepted their fate the moment they decided to pick up their bow for their loved ones. Still, they won’t be going down without a fight.

  Now that its prey are scattered everywhere, the orc committed to chasing down the closest one of many. While the one being chased is running with all his might, the others take their chance to draw an arrow and loose them towards the orc.

  Despite their weapon’s lack of strength, the hunters were still able to keep the orc’s attention strictly amongst themselves. Thanks to them, the villagers that hadn’t been crushed or thrown around by the orc all successfully made their way to the outskirts of the forest, back to their village.

  Carrying her son in her arms, Alise is the last one to exit the forest and the sight that she saw once she got out of the sea of trees is of everyone either crying or screaming at each other.

  Some of them had probably witnessed their loved ones—friends, family, or even neighbours brutally murdered. Even if they hadn’t, the scene of terror is enough to break anyone into a sobbing mess.

  Now, while everyone around her is catching their breath, Alise takes the chance to inspect her son. She put her son down on the ground, kneels in front of him and pats every inch of his body to make sure no harm had come to him.

  When she finished, the village head had found her way to the forest outskirts. She has already been briefed on the situation by the men who went to fetch her and began spitting out instructions to everyone as soon as she came into earshot.

  Everyone is to make their way towards the village square further inside the village. The wide clearing is commonly used as a place to hold festivals, but it is currently empty and it should be a good place for the panicked group of people to gather.

  Having run all the way from the forest with her son in her hand, Alise had lost most of her strength. She had learned her lessons from a few days ago when she collapsed in the forest with her son in her arms so she had paced herself this time and was able to make the whole distance from the river to the village. Even then, her legs are now weak beneath her, just like most others around her.

  The village head notices her struggles and heads over to help. She slings Alise’s arm around her neck, and helps the mother on her feet. Once she has Alise’s weight on her, the two start making their way towards the village square with Alise’s son right by them.

  “Alise, your poor husband… I’m so sorry.” she whispered to the mother so that her words would not be caught by the child. “But you have to be strong now—for your son.” she added to encourage her.

  Alise pursed her lips and only gave a nod in response.

  Just as everyone started slowly making their way towards safety, a loud bellow suddenly sounded from the forest they just got out of. Those that had witnessed the orc killing everyone on sight paled and immediately panicked.

  As if they forgot how tired their legs are, they quickly scramble about running for their lives. But for some reason, behind Alise and the village head, Gale stayed.

  “Gale! Run!” Alise exclaimed to her son.

  Her son is usually obedient and always listens to whatever she says. But despite how she and the village head kept telling him to run away or follow them, he stayed still, some distance away from the edge of the forest.

  Her poor boy had stiffened from fear. Having witnessed grown men being thrown away by a hulking monster was terrifying enough for grown adults to break into tears and a child as young as her son must have it so much worse. Even then, she couldn’t possibly leave her son behind.

  Alise pushed the village head trying to drag her away to try and bring her son away from the forest. Just as she broke free from the village head, the orc came into sight.

  Its green body is now covered with trickling blood, marking some parts of its massive body with dark red lines. It's not much, but it must be the work of the men who fought back with their lives

  The village chief who also caught sight of the orc quickly paled at the giant mass of terror rushing towards them but was still able to push her body into action. She leaned in and grabbed Alise’s arm resolving to save at least the mother who she could reach, but Alise fought with all her might to reject her, still desperate to save her son.

  And there Gale stands, with a hulking monster before him with all intent on killing every man he can lay his hand on. While his mother is trying desperately to help him, he chose to ignore everything around him.

  His hair is fluttering about in the gentle breeze and he can hear the calm whispers of the wind, much unlike the panicked screams all around him. In his ears, other than his mother’s pleas, another voice is reaching out to him. A voice much clearer, and much more commanding.

  He raises both his hands, extending them towards the orc rushing towards him. Such is what the wind had told him to do.

  Behind him, his mother behind him is finally able to break free from the person trying to help her. The village head finally gives up trying to save any of them and is making a break for it to save herself.

  But when Alise is finally able to reach her son, unfortunately, The orc is already much too close. There’s no way she can escape the certain death coming for her and her son.

  So, accepting her fate, Alise closed her eyes and hugged her son as tight as she could and burrowed her face on her son’s back.

  At that moment, from behind the orc, a small creature wafts around to overtake the giant and reaches the mother and son a few steps before the orc could. It takes position in between Gale’s extended arms before turning around to face the orc and extending its own small arms towards the orc.

  Then, just as the orc starts swinging its massive fist on them, a wind blows—so strong that it lifts the huge mass of fat off its feet, and sends it flying backwards faster than it could ever run.

  In its flight back into the forest, the orc knocks down a few trees before landing on the ground, rolling backwards for a good few meters and stopping when its back finds another tree, knocking that one down too.

  A good few seconds passed before Alise realized that it was taking much too long for the orc to finish her and her son. When she opens her eyes, she sees the fairy in between her son’s arms. The small creature is holding the same position her son is, albeit whilst floating in the air, its wings, strangely, unflapping.

  Beyond the fairy is a bunch of felled trees in a line leading to the orc with its back towards a tree stump. It’s a curious sight.

  While it’s stunned, Alise can finally get a good look at the orc. It's a terrifying beast with thick fats covering the entirety of its body. Its dark green skin is muted by its background, serving as a rough camouflage inside the forest, if not for the trickles of blood running down its skin. But only on its face, a part of its skin is charred black surrounded by a hue of green slightly off from the rest of its body. It seems to be a recovering burn wound.

  The orc takes some time to recover before getting up and shrugging off the pieces of wood on its body that’s now been bruised and battered after being thrown about a hundred meters through the trees and rolling on the ground. Thick skinned as it is, the damage is still apparent. Especially so when it struggles to get back on its feet.

  When it finally does get back on its feet, it looks back on its prey turned foe—the small child that was supposed to be the most helpless out of everyone else.

  Humans are not completely powerless. The burn mark on its face was a strong tell of the fact. But compared to orcs, they should have been naught but prey to be hunted for sport and food. It knew how weak the smaller human should have been compared to itself.

  Having been blasted by a strong spirit art, the orc is now no longer hunting men for sport but has to take a fight against nature, should it continue its hunt.

  Knowing that it stands no chance of winning the fight, it lets out a snort and turns around to retreat back to where it came from—beyond the river.