Roots

I began to make my way back toward the dark and twisted woods, walking away from the horrid scene I could no longer stomach. The depths of the dead forest was intimidating in the dim shade that it cast, but to me, it felt far more inviting than the gory mess behind me. I took a few steps in the soft ash before the girl called out to me. 

"Going so soon? Well I shan't complain. I won't have to fight thee for these morsels." She paused. "Is thou headed for the old kingdom?" She asked, suddenly now curious of me.

I was caught off guard, surprised that she stopped her feeding to call out to me. I turned to her slightly and nodded, assuming she was talking about the gigantic shadow I had saw in the distance.

She kept her hooded gaze on me. "Hmm, then I shall warn thee. If thou happens across a dark knight wielding a large sickle, disturb him not. He delivereth something precious to us, and we'd hate for its arrival to be even a second late."

I look of worry shot across my face. What this girl mentioned sounded ominous, even threatening, like I would end up in grave danger if I so as pass him. She seemed to notice my change in expression and reassured me.

She chuckled before beginning to respond. "Worry not. He shalt do no harm unto thee if thou doest no harm unto him." She paused. "I do wonder, if it truly is a 'him'." She asked herself.

"Right, well thank you for that." I said awkwardly while hurrying as I began to face the woods.

"Bye bye now. Stay safe." The girl's voice fading as I entered the shade of the canopy.

My pace was fast and my breathing slightly heavy. I just wanted to get away from all of that. I had planned to search every house of that village for any supplies or more information, but I could not bring myself to do it now. I may have gotten more information, albeit somewhat vague, but at the cost of my insanity. Despite that strange family's decrepit presence, something about that whole atmosphere was far too unsettling for me to feel safe. I just wanted to get out of there, fearful that staying a second longer would lead to something I did not want to take part in.

I continued my walk, the disgusting sounds of their grotesque gorging fading out of my ears and mind. The dark twisting branches of burnt trees surrounded me once again. Within the thick of the woods, remnants of small buildings were scattered far apart, as if the village I had just left was extending its reach. Most of the structures within the forest were further gone that those I had previously saw, merely shadows of their former selves. Despite the couple more, somewhat intact houses I passed, I did not see another human being within the dark shade of these woods.

As I marched onward through the thin ash, I found myself in another clearing. Not a single building or piece of debris was present, simply a large, gray open field, this time full of large tree stumps. The clearing stretched out to about an acre. The grayish ground was littered with twisted stumps scattered randomly yet somewhat evenly spaced. I approached one, my encroaching distance revealing its details that were actually far removed from that of the trees I had been seeing around here. As I examined the stump, I noticed that despite their similarly dark hue, their surfaces were vastly different from those of the surrounding trees. The grains of bark from the burnt trees trailed straight up their trunks vertically, however the grains of these stumps twisted in a spiral formation. The top of the stump was very rigid, its spikes almost spiraling to a single peak. While a normal tree leaves a flat surface on its stump when cut, the top of this stump was far too jagged. It was like whatever was connected to it before had been torn off rather than cut. Its texture also seemed different, but it was difficult to tell just by looking. I did the only thing I could think to check, not knowing if it would put me in some unknown danger. I lightly pushed the tip of my boot into its surface, the boots leather pressing into the stump like soft skin. I recoiled, thinking that my foot could sink much further in if I kept applying pressure. From its texture alone, I almost thought it was alive, but the stump stayed inanimate. 

I did not know what to make of this. Though it had looked like the remnant of a tree from a distance, I was fairly certain now that whatever this was was not once a tree. I looked up from the stump I was examining to stretch my gaze across the entire clearing. There were a couple dozen of these odd stumps scattered throughout the glade of ash, their black hue polka dotting the gray land. It was then that I had noticed the lack of ash that covered the base of these stumps. The trees prior always had ash buildup between the crevices of their trunks, yet these stumps had barely any ash on them. Perhaps whatever they use to be had been made here recently, much more recent then anything else I have come by.

I thought for a moment about heading back to talk to that girl, her being my only source of answers right now. Who knows when I would come across another person, let alone one that would know what these things are? The girl had to know; this clearing was far too close to her village for it to be a coincidence. Then I remember the sound of their gnawing, the dragon's gaping chest, and the putrid smell. I did not have the heart to go back for answers, despite that being the one thing I need the most, as ignorant as I am. I could not stomach it, so I moved on, passing by the spiraling stumps, before entering the other side of the forest.