The forest where the elves and high elves lived was called the Great Pulha Woodlands in the outside world. Though to be precise, the elves only inhabited a small part deep inside it, which they called the Forest Depths.
The high elves lived in the center of the Woodlands, surrounded by the other elven settlements. With the power of the spirits, the elves had cast a barrier around the Forest Depths, keeping out monsters and other races. In other words, taking a single step outside of the barrier meant you were already in the outside world. That said...
“I didn’t think I’d be attacked by monsters the moment I stepped through. The outside world is a lot more stimulating than I thought...”
To my disbelief, the moment I left the barrier, I found myself surrounded by large canine monsters known as forest wolves. Was this stretch of the forest that dangerous, or was I just that unlucky? But even though I was outside the barrier, I was still deep in the forest. A single plaintive glance to the trees surrounding me was enough to earn their help. They immediately lifted their roots to keep the wolves at bay as I retreated into the treetops.
I’m safe for now, but I’ll have to deal with those wolves somehow.
As the wolves growled at me from the forest floor, I had to decide whether I’d kill them or not. Felling forest wolves wasn’t a particularly difficult task. I could take them down just by firing arrows from the safety of the trees. That said, the arrows I possessed were only sharpened wood, and so they might not be able to penetrate thick fur and hide. I would have to aim for their eyes. Luckily, the only form of entertainment in a high elf settlement was to practice hitting difficult targets with a bow, and I had done little else in my hundred-some-odd years there. A small or moving target wasn’t all that much of a challenge.
No, my concern was not whether I could kill the wolves but rather whether I should. Maybe there was no need to hesitate since they had attacked me first, but the idea of eating wolf wasn’t all that appetizing, and skinning them here seemed like more trouble than it was worth. And of course, carrying one of their enormous bodies with me was out of the question. I could take their teeth or claws, but with so many wolves, it would be more than I could carry. There might have been value in killing a couple of them, but any more than that would be senseless violence.
“Hmm...well, I guess it’s fine.”
For the moment, I decided to bring one or two down. If that was enough to send the rest running, I could collect some teeth and claws, bury the bodies, and be done with it. If they didn’t run, I could figure something else out then.
In quick succession, I nocked two arrows and let them fly. My target was a particularly large wolf in the pack. If it was the leader, taking it down had a good chance of scattering the others. The first arrow struck the wolf in the eye, causing it to yelp with pain and surprise. As it reeled backward, the second arrow found its home inside the wolf’s mouth.
“Good.” I felt a small sense of satisfaction as I watched both arrows hit their mark. It was good to have a skill you could be proud of, regardless of what it might be. Beyond what it could do for your self-confidence, under the right circumstances it could even save your life.
With their leader struck down, the other wolves were immediately put on edge. The moment I lifted my bow again, they scattered into the forest.
✦ ✦ ✦
I see...
It seemed these monsters were more intelligent than I had thought. I was glad I didn’t have to kill any more than that, but I would almost certainly encounter more in the future. I would need to be careful.
“Okay, that’s good. Thanks.” Patting the tree that had helped me and giving it a word of gratitude, I hopped off of the branch and landed back on the ground.
Pulling the stone knife out from my bag, I quickly acquired the teeth and claws from the expired wolf. A simple stone knife wasn’t enough to cut through the hide of a forest wolf, but with a bit of skill, I was able to extract the fangs and claws from the softer flesh surrounding them.
“Spirits of the wind.”
Putting the teeth and claws away in my ivy bag, I called out softly to the spirits around me, allowing me to invoke their powers. In response to my will, the spirits of the wind created two opposing vortices of air, grinding up the flesh and bones of the forest wolf.
In all honesty, it was a somewhat grotesque scene, but doing this allowed the earth to reclaim the nutrients in the wolf’s body faster, providing better nourishment to the trees. This was my way of repaying the trees for their help. Of course, it was really the spirits doing the work, but with no bodies or physical desires of their own, it was harder to return that favor. The best I could do was remember to be grateful.
“Now then...”
With the cleanup finished, I returned to the task at hand. My journey to a settlement outside the Great Pulha Woodlands would likely involve many more similar encounters. After all, I was still only a single step outside the barrier. I still had a long way to go.
That being said...
“The outside world really is stimulating, isn’t it?” A smile rose to my face. Even a chance encounter like this was fresh and exciting to someone like me who had spent so long living a peaceful life among the elves. Just thinking about how I’d use these fangs and claws had me feeling giddy.
The larger fangs could be carved into something like a shortsword or a long knife, and I could likely find some other crafts to make with the smaller ones. I would feel bad for the wolf if I failed and ruined the material it had provided for me, so it would probably be best to start by finding someone who could teach me to make knives and other small trinkets.
Either way, my first goal was to find another settlement. I wasn’t childish enough to skip through the forest as I left, but it wasn’t easy to suppress the urge as anticipation urged me onward.