Invinio Silviam Umbram

"Smoke is coming from that hole in the forest."

The Scout grasped the cold metallic handle in her left hand as she surveyed around her. The chill of the metal burned her fingers, unprotected by her gloves: Sturdy Leather with their finger tips crudely cut off, and strapped to her hands through rope.

The sun showed it was mid afternoon, when the monsters were most active. She tried to make out any signs of activity besides smoke, but the position of the sun made it difficult to see. She looked around at the lake of green forests surrounded by a vast ocean. Along the horizon were tall metallic towers piercing the forest like nails driven under the earth. She pulled her scarf closer over her mouth as the wind howled.

"I have to see, they could need help or I need to warn my village."

From the top of the spire she hangs from the top handle and adjusts her feet so that she is pushing against the pole. She jumps, grasping the edges of her heavy cloak. The bamboo supports in her green cloak unfurl and catch the wind as she glides closer to the clearing.

"Woah, gotcha!" She exclaims, as she steadies the craft.

She suspends the simple glider and pounces onto a branch about only a few thousand feet from the clearing. The spikes in her boots helping keep grip. She can hear the roars of them. She gulped.
"If the tower of the settler is here, then this clearing must be less than 2 miles from the village."

Quickly tying a rope, she descended quickly down the tall tree, to a branch about 50 feet down. Landing gracefully on the toes of her clawed boots, she spots another branch of similar height and runs to catch it, iron spikes in hand. For most the forest is a dizzying maze of trees, but when you have spent your life navigating them. The dirt, leaves, and trees offer their own signposts. She looked through the halls of firs and birches, to see the flickering orange glow of a distant bonfire.

"Survey, stop, then report."
She remembered the mantra her mother once taught, she pulled at the jumpsuit under her cloak. Still too big for her, she pulled up where her mother’s shoulder insignia once was, moving so it no longer sagged under the bands that kept her clothing strapped.

Her feet dance on the branches before jumping on another branch, then another. A platform of winding branches moving in the direction all other creatures were running from.

"I can use my fire torch if I have to."

With one hand she felt for the pocket concealed by the green cloak on her chest. The flare was ancient, irreplaceable, but there for her.

She thought to herself as her right hand reached for a specific pocket and her right reached for a particular hook. Quickly attaching a rope to a dart, she flung the iron dart against the tree 100 feet above her and swung over the large gap.

"I hope Silk-Stringer doesn't hate me for wasting all his rope."

A rogue thought came into the scout's mind as she scurried on top of a large broken birch trunk. She assured herself that it was needed. The rope could be replaced. The village could not.

"Great beasts only destroy part of the forest if they are angry, or mating, either way they are in large numbers and looking for food.”

Squatting down on the broken log nestled in the trunk of a tree she focused at the orange glow. The dark forest had a dark tunnel running through it of broken trunks, and leveled plants. Monsters for sure.

"I should listen to the ground, if there are really as many as it looks, I'll be able to hear them. To avoid wasting another spider silk she climbed down the branches before silently landing on a spot of grass not covered in leaves or sticks.

"Wahh" She screamed

Her heart almost left her body, as she saw the unmistakable shape of the gargantuan beasts shrouded by the shadow of the forest. Her instincts carried her back up the branches and she sat perfectly still, waiting. There was no response. She pulled her scarf off and placed a stone in it. The Sturdy measuring cord doubled as a sling. She adjusted the sling, in her right hand and began to swing the stone around. She struck the creature, just in case. It stirred. The adrenaline kicked in again as the creature's massive back pale and hair covered back fell over. A spear protruding from the top of its headless torso. The massive face of the creature, stretched across its chest and abdomen, looked at the forest with lifeless eyes. Dead.

The unmistakable moan of the creatures could be heard beyond the tunnel, the wail of a broken man meets the roar of a bear. The ranger clutches her sling and steels herself for moving, preparing to move forward.

"We have visitors! And they are fighting the monsters!" There was almost excitement in her whisper as spoke to herself.

Never in her life has she seen villagers apart from the occasional pirates or monsters. Neither was good news for her village.

“Pirates don't come this far inland though.” She dared to think. Dared to hope. Outsiders.

"But what if they are neither, perhaps they could help us, if I help them. Or at least prepare the village for them."

The ranger aired out the childhood hope in her mind before focusing on the task at hand. The way the tree branches vibrated there must be at least 10 of these monsters, a whole tribe. Not good.

"Ad tu sinistrum, Saccibuccis"
“Sic Sic Senex uxor me”

Their language was unintelligible. Alien, musical, authoritative, certainly not the harsh dialect of pirates.

She loads another ball in the sling and keeps it ready as she climbs using her feet and one free hand.

"Watch out behind you!" She calls out.

She sees the two men in metal armor, helmets, and red cloaks: one with spear and rope, the other with sword and torch, maneuvering around three headless monsters. Their grotesque snarling faces of the creatures are visible from this distance, covering their entire torso. She aimed her sling for their soft spot, the top of their chest where the creature's neck should be and fired. The Creature with a soft moan froze, then fell backwards.

"Haec, Barbara super ramo"
Spoke The armored figure in with the torch. Pointing at her.

Around the figures were several trees bent over, monsters lying dead from spear wounds and monsters hanging from the trees.

"Barbara, vini ad nos," The figure called again. She saw he gestured towards her. 
But she couldn't join them. It wasn't safe.

She finds another bough to climb and continues to circle the two figures as they fight the monsters. She finds another to pick off.

"How are they hanging monsters from trees?" She thought, looking at the creatures writhing around her.

She glances to find another creature heading towards the one with the rope, he throws his spear at the headless creature's back and is now pulling it back. But there is another behind him.

"Take that, you ugly!" She shouts, boasting now.
She hurls another stone at the creatures. Another one falls down. The figure turns then looks at her.

“Gratias tibi” she hears a call from one of the soldiers.
The Encampment around the trees is now loaded with creatures, but these burly headless monsters are so dull and witless they continue to stumble towards them. Repelled by the fire, attracted by the man.

"They are tricking them." She thought.
She hadn’t seen anything like it. These two men should be in certain death, yet it was they who seemed to be in control of the situaiton.

She moves around the branches in a circular path. Finding new vantage points to pick off the creatures. She has plenty of stones. Hopefully they will stop soon. As the figure with a torch moves closer to the edge of the forest she sees the sack of meat hanging next to a bent tree. A monster sees it too and is approaching the tree and the torched one.

""Look out!" she cries, readying her sling.

"Puella! Barbara! exspecte! Iam!” The Soldier cried with urgency. His spear pointing at her. 

The tree snaps, and pulls forward, the ranger sees the burly arms of the creature flailing closer to her. She screams and it hits the trunk of the tree. Her Tree. The very trunk of the tree shakes. She hears the crack. She panics. She finds what looks to be the closest tree, she jumps to it. She grabs the soft bough as tree behind her falls into the darkness.

She joins it.