Chapter 23

The walk to Mappleharrow went faster than I expected and ended at around noon, just when the heat was at its worst. This town was a bit smaller than Ironmarch, and not nearly as busy. The first place I went was the Inn. It was a mixture of a tavern and Inn called Maw's kiss. A room with no breakfast was only 2 copper a night, and they didn't charge extra for the key. It was the nicest inn in the entire town, only because it was the only inn in the entire town. The thing was built in a large U-shape with the stable in the center, which caused the smell to waft into all the rooms with open windows. On the bright side, the rooms were large and clean, and the tavern food smelled great.

I left my things in my room and stuffed the knife I had under the pillow. I didn’t want to be caught by surprise at night and sleeping with a weapon made me feel safer. Next, I went to check out the town. There were 3 towns that sat in this area between the Ironspine mountains, and the World Maw, which was a uniquely circular mountain range with 2 towering peaks tucked away in the center of hundreds or maybe thousands of mountains around them. It was about 50 miles across in most places, but it had an outcropping in the south-east, that made it over 100 miles long from its north-west point to its south-east one. For me, this also made it the perfect distance away from all 3 lords in Auravale. While the closest one was actually under 50 miles to the south-west, that outcrop made the trip at least 5 days. Even longer than the nearly 4 days it took me to get here from Crown spire. Of the 3 towns in this valley, Mapleharrow was the largest. Despite that, I was a little disappointed. It didn't seem very active or prospering.

I assumed that because the World Maw had so many dungeons, there would be adventurers in every town around the mountain range. Yet I hadn't seen a single one yet. Not at the inn, tavern, or around town. The people here didn't seem very content either. Most of them had tired, gloomy, or angry expressions as they walked the streets. Aside from the people here, the town itself even seemed a bit rundown. The wood fortifications were rotting and broken in places, some of the wood buildings were falling apart, there were carts laying all over the roads missing large portions, the market was almost empty, and shops were closed even though it was still midday.

I spotted a notice board near the church and ran over, half expecting it to be empty, crushing my hopes, but to my surprise it was overflowing with requests and notices covering every inch, including the logs that held it up. I scanned through them looking for anything I could do, while also taking care to read the notices about events in the area.

"Unknown and dangerous monster still active in the woods to the west. Do not be outside the town after nightfall." Signed, Mayor Kenney.

"Goats slaughtered on a farm north of Mapleharrow. The guards do nothing. Next it will be the people. Where are the adventurers!?"

"Fish wanted. 5 copper a fish. Must not be rotted. See me at the stall 4 in the market most days, 1 hour after sunup to 1 hour before sundown." Signed, Kendal.

"Urgent! Lumber desperately needed for repairs, upkeep, and fires. If you have lumber, ration it. If you have lumber to sell, I will buy it at a premium." Signed, Mayor Kenney.

"Attention! All visitors and residents of Mapleharrow! A dangerous creature has wandered away from the dungeon to the south-west and now resides in the forest near the town. As the guards are not equipped for such a thing, I have submitted an official request to the Adventurers' association, and I am waiting for a response. In the meantime, please stay out of the forest." Signed, Mayor Kenney.

"Fire wood needed. Nights are getting colder. Anything will do, so long as it isn't wet. I live 2 doors east of the smithy. No coin, but I can trade." Signed, old man Stevenson.

"Urgent! There has been another dead lumberjack, marking the 5th. Please, stop going into the forest until the problem is dealt with! I understand your frustration, but if it starts seeing people as a reliable source of food, it will stay in the area. Ration wood, pull apart unused wagons, travel further away, do whatever else you can." Signed, Mayor Kenney.

"Calling all able-bodied villagers! If we band together, we can take down that monster in the woods. I heard it killed adventures and escaped. If that's the case, then it is most likely injured! With enough people, we can save our town! I will be in front of the church every day recruiting people. When there are enough of us, we will save ourselves!" Signed Mapleharrow's hero.

"Ritual magic study. Some supplies available, but bring some of your own as well, please. Every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday west of the mill." Signed, Aspiring mage, Kazuo.

"My daughter is obsessed with becoming a knight. Are there any sword instructors in our town, or maybe a neighboring one? If so, kindly write the address here. I will check daily. PS. If my daughter has attacked your son, I apologize." Signed, master blacksmith, rookie father.

"Anyone else notice an increase of bandits on the roads? They disappear the day the guards are set to come through. Better than goblins or mawhogs, but the guards need to change their patrol if the riffraff is taking advantage of it. If the guards see this, do your jobs!" Signed, taxpayer.

There were dozens more, and they painted a detailed enough picture of the town and its people's current state. Basically, this place was in the dumps because of a monster in the woods, which prevented them from getting wood in a town that focused on lumber. It was also generally making people anxious. No information about what it was either, but I assumed it was more dangerous than a mawhog. It was difficult to tell when some of these were posted, but It looked like the one about there being dead lumberjacks was weathered badly. Had it been a while since the monster had shown up?

People needed wood, though, and I needed money. Easy. I can do that fire wood request while I look around for wood I can chop down. The monster might have already moved on, and if it hadn't, I would keep an eye and an ear out for it.

The woods were a bit intimidating. They were at a slight incline starting from the outskirts of the town, and headed towards the mountain range that towered above them in the distance. The odd hills made it impossible to see very far within. I could easily see how even a larger monster might sneak up on someone, and I was starting to second guess my decision. What other options did I have for work? Sword instructor? I did beat my last one. Jokes aside, though, I had never taught anyone and I don't think I would be good at it. Fishing was an option. It would be calming. I saw the river near the town when I entered, but I still needed money to buy fishing supplies. Among the other quests there was one to deal with mawhogs, another for goblins, and one for bandits. I didn't really feel like dealing with mawhogs again for a while if I could help it, and bandits made me uncomfortable. I hadn't really thought about it much, but I had killed someone. Lawrence was one of the people I hated the most, but shouldn't I feel something about it? I really didn't feel anything other than satisfaction when I remembered it, and I certainly didn't regret it. Was this another way I was realizing I had been changed, or was this how I had always been and never known because I had never killed anyone before? I didn't like these thoughts, so I pushed them aside. No bandits.

Goblins I think I could mentally and physically handle, but I had no information on them at all. Not just their location, but their numbers, tactics, and weapons. For now, I was stuck hunting wood. I started walking into the forest, scanning the ground for any loose sticks and keeping my eyes open for any small, thin trees I could cut down another time. For now, I was staying on the outskirts. Anything I could get that was safe.

...

Hours had passed. I had seen scratches on trees that reminded me of something a bear might do, but no other evidence of a monster. Aside from that, the ground was picked clean. Probably by the citizens of the town who had the same idea. Most low branches had already been cut, and it was next to impossible to find any tree that wouldn't take me days to chop down. The paths in here made no sense to me, as they constantly crossed with other trails and looped in on themselves. Roots stuck up through the ground everywhere making it hard to traverse, and worst of all, the constant hills were exhausting. I was either always climbing, walking around them, or tripping over roots on my descent. This area in particular was all pine trees, which I knew made horrible firewood from my experience as a kid of throwing them into a fire while camping and getting yelled at for it.

I sat back against a tree to catch my breath and get my bearings and regretted not grabbed some food and water, but I never expected to be in here for this long. The people of this village must have started doing this to the trees long before the monster showed up. The sun was starting to get low. Hours of searching, and I had 2 sticks, each about 3 feet long. As tired, sore, and dejected as I was, though, I was still grateful to be here. Maybe it was lonely, but I wasn't a burden to anyone but myself. Other than the annoying terrain, the forest was pretty nice. The birds chirping, the wind through the trees, ... the sound of running water?

I got up and climbed the rest of the way to the top of the hill. There was a clearing with a waterfall at the far end. I hadn't even realized it, but I had gone all the way to the start of the mountains. A river ran from the bottom of the water fall, curved around the clearing to the left, and disappeared down into the woods that way. Was this the same one I had seen in the town? If so, it must weave through the hills and curve back at some point. This place was beautiful. Ankle height grass, trees on all sides, the mountain on the other side of the river, the waterfall coming off the mountain. Amazing.

I ran up to the river at the base of the water fall. The cool mist felt great on my skin. The water itself was down a few feet below me, but I was able to lay on the grass and reach down with my hands to drink. There were fish too! I stood back up and looked around. If I had a spear or something, maybe-

Someone was watching me from the treeline.