There Gwen crouched, her back plastered against the solid rock wall behind her, as if the very act of pressing against it would let her sink into the stone as though it were molasses. She was petrified at the horrid creature inching forward through the cave towards her. She wanted to scream in terror, but her body would not allow even the tiniest whimper to escape her mouth. Every instinct told her to sit still and hope that the creature did not notice her. With every slow step, the monster drew slightly closer to Gwen's hiding place. It was now close enough for Gwen to clearly make out the form of the abomination.
It resembled the Komodo dragons Gwen had seen during a trip to the zoo, only this one was more than twice the size of those. The creature's body was held about four feet off the ground by its four powerful legs which ended in five toes each sporting a six-inch curved claw. Unlike the Komodo dragons from the zoo, however, this creature was covered in thick black scales and had two onyx horns jutting from the back of its head. Its mouth was also unlike those of the zoo lizards as this monster had sharp, triangular teeth jutting from the side of its mouth somewhat reminiscent of a crocodile. This creature was nothing like anything Gwen had ever seen; if anything, it looked most possibly like a dragon from legends, but more primeval.
That's it! Gwen thought, This is all just a dream. There is no way that I could really be here. That thing can't possibly exist. If I close my eyes, when I open them, I will wake up.
Gwen clenched her eyes shut and imagined herself in her room, lying in the safety of her bed. She kept her eyes firmly closed for ten agonizingly long seconds. It was not until she heard a rush of air waft against her. The acrid smell of rotting flesh and things long dead forced Gwen's eyes open once again as tears welled in her eyes. Gwen discovered to her horror that the smell was, in fact, the creature's rancid breath. It was by far the worst thing Gwen had ever smelled, the stench made her head spin and all she could think of was retching right there.
Gwen's singular wish was to escape the stench, but her fear froze her firmly in her place. Gwen realized that this was no dream, this nightmare she was experiencing was real, as was the monster that was drawing ever nearer to her.
About a meter away from Gwen's position the scaled beast paused in its tracks for a moment. To her terror, the creature's foot-long, forked tongue shot out of its mouth and tasted the air. The creature then continued forward sensing the air with its tongue moving its head side to side as it went along. It's following my scent! It's going to find me! The thoughts raced through Gwen's head blocking out all else, while her terror grew with her every breath.
Just as the creature was about to shove its muzzle into Gwen's hiding place a shout from the cave entrance caused the creature to whip around. It turned at lightning speed, the tip of its tail whipping by and just barely missing Gwen's face and raced toward the cave mouth. After the creature had advanced far enough, Gwen stuck her head tentatively out of her hiding spot. The scene appearing before her eyes was quite surprising. There, standing in the cave entrance was the silhouette of a man with a shield and drawn sword. The scaled beast was advancing on the figure who retreated from the cave entrance into the center of the clearing just outside the cave mouth.
The scaled beast, hissing angrily, burst forth from the cave and lunged at the man, its mouth wide, prepared to bite him in half with its massive jaws and dagger-like teeth. The man, whom Gwen realized was actually wearing a full suit of plate armour like the knights of medieval Europe, deftly dodged the creature's attack, rolling out of the way, and immediately returned to his feet, turning once again to face the creature head-on. Realizing the failure of its first strike, the creature raised its left front limb and slashed its claws at its combatant letting out a deep, crocodilian, rumbling growl. This assault, however, the knight did not dodge, instead he raised his shield at an angle and deflected the creature's powerful strike, using his shield to redirect the momentum of the powerful strike rather than absorb it. Raising his sword, the knight swung down at the limb he had just deflected with his shield. This blow, however, merely scraped across the creature's hard scales.
Gwen watched the man fight with the scaled beast for a few more blows, wondering how anyone could be as insane as to fight such a monster. Then, recognizing her chance, Gwen ran for the front of the cave, believing her escape was assured with the monster's attention focused firmly on trying to kill the knight. Exiting the cave, her heart racing, Gwen skirted the edge of the clearing keeping her back against the face of the cliff.
"Girl, what on Earth are you doing here?!" the knight shouted, having noticed Gwen making her way around the clearing. "This is the cave of a Lesser. Get to the forest's edge over there and wait for us to finish here." The knight pointed with his shield toward a small gap in the underbrush between two large oak trees.
Gwen ran across the length of the clearing, giving the fight a wide berth. Upon reaching the spot indicated by the knight, Gwen stepped behind the large oak to her right and half collapsed, half sat down with her back against the trunk, bringing her knees up against her chest, wrapping her arms around her legs. After cowering behind the tree for a few minutes, curiosity won out over fear, and she made up her mind to see how the young knight was doing against the monster.
The young knight was still holding his own against the giant lizard, the Lesser as he had called it, but he was beginning to be pushed back toward the forest edge of the clearing, towards a point about a meter away from the twin oaks where Gwen was hiding. As he was pushed further and further back by the Lesser it became apparent to Gwen that the knight would be unable to defeat the monster alone.
At that moment, a shout came from the area of the forest directly behind the knight, "Tristan, duck!"
Gwen saw something zip out from the tree line, a blur of motion flying at the Lesser. The crossbow bolt, as Gwen now saw it was, flew directly into the center of the Lesser's eye, piercing the socket and gouging it out, causing the creature to halt its attack. The creature opened its mouth wide and released a blood-curdling screech of agony that sent a bolt of icy lightning down Gwen's spine. In its moment of distraction, the knight swung his sword, chopping off the very tip of the Lesser's forked tongue.
Missing an eye and the tip of its tongue now severed, the Lesser spun around with a whip of its tail and ran back into its cave. Gwen watched as the last of its giant body disappeared into the darkness.
After watching the cave mouth for a few seconds to ensure the Lesser was not going to reemerge, the knight lifted his visor, turned around, and walked toward Gwen. He smiled when he noticed her face peering around the trunk of the large oak. Upon closer inspection, Gwen saw that the knight was indeed young, likely only a year or two older than herself. She also noted that the armor he was wearing did not fit perfectly and looked as if it had been made for someone a few inches taller than him.
Taking the few final steps towards her, the knight, whose name was Tristan, stopped and smiled at Gwen. He appeared as if he were about to say something when they were interrupted by a voice behind Gwen.
"Next time you decide we should fight a Lesser by ourselves, make sure you bring a weapon that can at least scratch the thing." Gwen turned to see a second boy, slightly younger than the knight, step out from the underbrush from the direction which the arrow which injured the Lesser had come. The boy, wearing some kind of thick layered garment, had a longbow and quiver slung over his back and carried a heavy-looking crossbow in his right hand. "And you, girl," the boy exclaimed turning his full attention to Gwen, "What, on Earth, were you thinking going inside a Lesser's lair?! Do you have a death wish?"
Gwen stood motionless; her feet cemented to the ground as the shock of her near-death experience set in. The adrenalin starting to fade, all the emotions that had been kept dormant during her harrowing escape flooded forth from Gwen. A wave of panic, confusion, and disbelief collided with her like a runaway train, and she let it all out in a barrage of questions.
"What the Hell is going on here?! Where am I?! What the Hell is happening?! What was that thing?! Who are you two and why are you dressed like it's the Middle Ages?!" Gwen ended her flurry of questions with a gulp of air, out of breath from shouting.
The two boys made eye contact with one another, expressing the fact that they had no idea how to respond to Gwen's outburst. The younger boy with the crossbow was the first to regain composure and answer Gwen's questions. "Calm down Miss, we mean you no ill will, it seems you're not from around here. My name is Gabriel and that is my older brother Tristan. We were out surveying this area to identify whether it is safe for merchants to travel as well as to check on the extent of the hunting territory of the Lesser. As for where you are, we are in the Stonespear Forest just north of the small town of Stoneroost in the kingdom of New Roanoke. As for the way we are dressed, wearing gambeson and armour is essential for those wishing to trek through any wilderness. Your garments are more of a mystery to us," Gabriel commented pointing first at Gwen's grey sneakers and then at the zipper on her hoodie. "I've never seen or heard of garments like those you are wearing. From where do you come, miss...?"
"Oh, sorry for gushing all that out at you. My name is Gwen Todd but just call me Gwen. I'm from New York."
"In the United States," Gwen added, noticing the lack of recognition on the boys' faces.
Tristan glanced at Gwen with mild surprise before turning to Gabriel, "I've never heard of such a place. Do you think she could be a new Displaced?"
"With her confusion, odd garments, and random appearance out of that Lesser's cave, it is a strong possibility," Gabriel responded.
"Um, excuse me. What are you two talking about? What do you mean that I could be displaced?" Gwen was slightly annoyed that they were discussing her without her input and that she had no idea about what they were talking.
"My apologies, we did not mean any offense by excluding you," Gabriel responded. "Displaced is a term used to describe individuals, creatures, or objects that have arrived in our world from other worlds. It is shortened from the full term, World-Displaced. World-Displaced individuals aren't exceptionally rare, and the phenomenon has been happening forever. There are whole kingdoms descended from Displaced peoples. Even the kingdom of New Roanoke is said to have been founded by some of the very first Displaced humans, and that they named the capital, New Roanoke, after the place from which they originated, at least according to the legends. Now let us start heading back to Stoneroost so we arrive before nightfall. It is a two-hour journey. We can explain more on the way."
"Follow us," Tristan said with some excitement, waving for Gwen to follow him, "our horses are just through these trees."
As the three pushed through the underbrush, Gwen stopped and looked in awe at the creature that stood before her, a large, beautiful, black horse. The horse was amazing, every part of it portrayed how muscular it was and fit exactly what Gwen imagined a warhorse would look like. Next to the warhorse stood a slightly smaller speckled mare.
Tristan walked up to the warhorse, untied its reigns from a branch, and stroked its nose. "Her name is Obsidian," Tristan commented, noticing the way Gwen was staring at the black horse.
"Do you know how to ride?" Gabriel asked, already storing his crossbow and longbow in the saddlebag of the speckled mare.
"No, I've never ridden a horse. It isn't an essential skill where I am from," Gwen replied sheepishly.
"If you've never ridden then you probably should ride with Gabriel on Gypsum, since he isn't wearing armour and so he should be easier to hold," Tristan said with a hint of disappointment in his voice.
Gabriel gracefully mounted the speckled mare that Tristan had called Gypsum and put out his hand to assist Gwen in getting onto the horse. Gwen graciously took Gabriel's hand as Tristan helped her balance as she climbed onto the horse. Tristan then mounted his own horse and asked Gabriel and Gwen if they were ready to go. They both nodded affirmatively.
As Gypsum began to move, the horse shifted under Gwen causing her to lose her balance. Panicking she wrapped her arms around Gabriel, clinging to him and pressing herself against his back in a desperate attempt not to fall to the ground and smash her head.
"Oh, I probably should have mentioned that you had ought to hold onto me, Miss Gwen," Gabriel said. Gwen had already begun to loosen her grip on him, growing more accustomed to the motion of the horse.
"Just Gwen is fine," she replied. "And who are you two brothers anyway? Is it common for boys your age to be out fighting monsters alone?"
"Fair enough, Gwen. As we have two hours before we arrive in town we might as well share stories, so if there is anything you wish to inquire of us or about this world now is a good time. Just be careful not to bite your tongue, that can happen when someone is speaking on horseback," Tristan said with a slight smile over his shoulder.
Gwen rolled her shoulders, mentally and physically preparing herself for the discomfort that would be this two-hour journey on horseback.
______________________________________________________________________________
"So, other than Lessers, what other monsters are there that I should be aware of that would enjoy nothing more than killing and eating me?" Gwen asked the boys with more than a hint of sarcasm.
"Apart from the Lesser, the creatures and beings that you should be wary of fall into one of three categories, deadly, dangerous, and potentially dangerous," Tristan started explaining, taking up a tone that one would use with a child, to Gwen's slight annoyance. She nevertheless remained silent, figuring that the people of this world were likely taught this information from a young age, so he must simply be doing it out of habit. "The deadly creatures are those that you want to avoid at all costs as you stand no chance against them unless you are a platoon of soldiers. These are Lessers; lindworms, wingless dragonoids with two legs and long tails; manticores, head of a man, body of a lion but twice as large and tail of a scorpion, they also sometimes have wings; and sphinxes. The latter two sometimes possess human level intelligence and are therefore capable of understanding tactics and sometimes can be reasoned with."
"I believe it is also important to mention that the Lesser we encountered today was only a juvenile," Gabriel interrupted. "They get much bigger."
"As I was saying when my brother interrupted," Tristan continued slightly annoyed, "the dangerous creatures are those that pose a threat to individuals but are unlikely to attack caravans or well-armed groups. These include dire wolves, terror birds, mountain lions, bears, and lions. The third class, the potentially dangerous creatures, include regular wolves, and large herbivores that can become dangerous if threatened such as giant deer, wisent, and forest elephants."
"Oh, and also venomous snakes," Tristan added as an afterthought.
The three continued their trek in silence for the following quarter hour after Tristan whispered to her that this part of the forest was mountain lion territory and was a zone of silence for anyone following this path.
Eventually, after what felt to Gwen like an eternity, the forest path began to widen out.
As the three came around a slight bend in the path Tristan pointed ahead of them. "We're almost back to town. Just ahead there is the main road."
Excited and relieved that the journey was nearing its end, Gwen tilted her body to the left, peering around Gabriel to see at what Tristan had pointed. In the distance she spotted a bridge and a stone wall with a wooden gate opening into the central path of what appeared to be a small village.