/Author's note

Here's Chapter 8.

Enjoy!

Chapter 8:

Alric rushed out of the cave, eager to see what awaited him on the surface.

For a couple of minutes Alric was blinded, having never seen sunlight before, but soon enough his naturally enhanced eyes adjusted.

What he saw caused him to stop and stare, speechless.

The cave let out about three quarters of the way up the side of a mountain, just above the tree-line.

Alric laughed to himself, realizing that he had actually passed the “surface” quite some time ago.

Higher up the mountainside the peak was covered in white snow.

Starting a little lower on the mountain and continuing outward from the base was an expansive pine forest.

The forest was so large that even from the height of the mountain Alric was unable to see a place where it ended, instead meeting up with other mountains many miles away.

What really caught Alric’s eye, however, was a line where there were no trees growing continuing from a nearby mountain pass and across the tree-filled valley.

In the middle of this line there was a mostly circular section where there were no trees growing.

From his vantage point Alric could not visually confirm what the voids were but he knew without a doubt that it was a village and a road.

“I really got lucky that there was a village this close to the cave.”

Alric, eager to meet the people who lived in this village set off toward the closest point of the road.

As he hiked down the mountain and approached the forest Alric realized that there was something different about the trees.

The trees were massive, some of the tallest reaching heights of approximately 500 feet.

The reason he did not notice earlier is because these trees were proportioned identical to regular pine trees.

The lowest branches of these trees were twenty feet off the ground.

As he walked through the gargantuan forest Alric heard the sounds of birds chirping and other sounds of life.

Alric was ecstatic, there were so many things around him that he had never seen, heard, or smelled before.

With all the stimulation Alric became more and more excited and by the time he made it to the road his curiosity was in full control.

That’s when he saw it.

A giant golden mushroom the size of a four year old child.

Right away he wandered over to it and began to inspect it from every angle.

He reached out his hand and just as he was about to touch it he heard a rush of air, felt an impact, and was knocked over.

He quickly jumped to his feet, expecting to fight at any moment.

He scanned his surroundings for any potential enemies.

When his eyes found what had knocked him over his hostility disappeared and quickly returned to curiosity.

It was a woman in her late thirties with lightly tanned skin.

She had shoulder length brunette hair and green eyes.

Her body is slightly plump, enough to tell that she was well off, but, she couldn't even be described as chubby.

But her most striking features were her large brown squirrel tail and squirrel ears.

He stood there staring intently as the woman got up and began to speak.

“Hey! Are you an idiot or something? Do you want to die?” said the unidentified squirrel woman.

It took Alric a few seconds to process what the woman had said because she had an accent.

However even once he understood all he was able to reply was, “Die?” in a tone of bewilderment.

“What hole did you crawl out of?” she replied. “That is the deadliest mushroom in this forest and you were just going to touch it!”

“Uhhhh...” Alric stuttered in reply, taken aback that here figure of speech was so close to the truth.

He soon regained his composure and followed up with, “I’m sorry, I’m not from around here so I didn’t know. Anyway, thank you for saving me.”

“It’s no problem.” She replied. “But be more careful, there are other dangerous things in this forest.”

“By the way, your accent is pretty weird. Where exactly are you from?” (Squirrel-Lady)

“Ummm.” (Alric)

“Oh that’s how it is. Sorry, just pretend I never asked.” (Squirrel-Lady)

“Thanks, By the way I’m Alric. Thank you again for saving my life.” (Alric)

“Oh gosh, I never introduced myself. I’m Catherine.” (Squirrel-Lady Catherine)

“Would it be fine if I asked you a question?” (Alric)

“Sure, shoot.” (Catherine)

“What do you know about the village down the road?” (Alric)

“Oh, Berrik. That’s actually where I am headed right now to sell my medicine.” (Catherine)

“Do you mind if I accompany you then? I don’t have any money on me but I have stuff to sell in town and I can pay you afterwards.” (Alric)

“Sure, but I’m running a little behind now so let’s hurry up and leave.” (Catherine)

Alric and Catherine set off down the road toward Berrik.

Catherine’s medicines were carried in a small wagon pulled by a donkey.

After they walked for a while Catherine asked, “You have been staring at my tail this entire time, is this your first time seeing a Beastman?”

“Beastman?” (Alric)

“So you have never even heard of us huh. You must have been really isolated. People who have animal traits, like me, are Beastmen. Our legends say that a long time ago our ancestors wished to be closer to nature and god granted them their wish, giving them animal spirits.” (Catherine)

“And you’re an elf right? You have those pointy ears and slim build. Although you have black hair and are a little taller than most elves. Ah, you must be a half elf!”

“Uh, yeah, something like that.” Alric replied, not wanting to give away his true nature just yet.

Interested in her work, Alric turned the conversation to the medicine she made.

The rest of the journey to Berrik passed uneventfully, filled with idle conversation.