Uncertain Future Ch. 03

The sun shone briskly on the cloudless sky. Standing on the watchtower, Lara breathed in the dry afternoon air mixed with the damp grassy smell of the field below. She rested her hands on the battlement and leaned forward to look around. The rotund watchtower was the only one in the fort. It and the rest of the fort situated atop of a mound and this location gave Lara a sweeping view of the surrounding. From where she was standing there was nothing but a sea of yellow grassland stretching to the north, south and west up to the horizon. Only some dirt roads that separated the monotony of the vivid amber with the dull color of brown dirt. The fort faced southwards, and out of the gate in that direction was the camp of the soldiers. Tents, wagons, fire camps, horses and the like scattered all over the place like a chessboard set up by an infant. A few hundred yards to the east was a forest; whenever the wind blew, the tall trees along the edge nodded and whispered with each other some ancient tales with the wind. The dark but soothing green of the woodland contrast greatly to the animated yellow all around. Quite a view up here.

Lara looked down. There's no way she could jump down to escape, and there were no long bed sheets tied end-to-end for her to use. She sighed and turned her gaze longingly towards the north. Somewhere beyond this grassland was Merinth, her home. Used to be, rather; there was probably nothing there but empty houses now. She had spent her entire, albeit short, life there. She knew so little about the world, having only been trained since a little girl to be a Verea's priestess for her village. There was no other life for her. And now, when that life was over, Lara missed it dearly. Where would she go? Where would fate send her next?

If only she could become a bird, she could sprout wings and soar through the air and escape from this prison. She could settle in another place, in a more peaceful land. Lara could build her nest with a loving husband by her side. She would look after the house, teach her children to read, tell them fairy tales about elves and goblins and other magical creatures. She would watch them play in the yard and get dirt all over their little bodies. At night, Lara would wash them, cook them a meal and put them to bed after a goodnight kiss. All simple things, forever unobtainable.

A ear-splitting scream tore through the calm afternoon silence and woke Lara up from her daydreaming. She dashed towards the source of the noise. It was from the camp area. She looked down from the tower and was shocked at the sight below her.

It was chaos. The camp was being attacked by a mob of...humanoid treemen? They were pouring out of the forest. The treemen were roughly a head taller than an average man, their bodies made of rugged brownish-grey tree barks dotted with patches of green moss. They walked in a clunky manner, like that of a badly crafted marionette, but the vicious swings of their blade-like arms can cut down anyone foolish enough to stand in their range. Lara could saw sap seeping from the cracks of their bodies whenever they moved. It looked like they were just moments before turned from living trees into these...things.

The sudden attack of the trees forced the soldiers into retreat. Those who closest to the gate were running inside whereas those farther out put up a brief fight. The soldiers hacked and slashed at the trees but their swords proved ineffective against thick bark.

This is bad. Why is this happening? These things weren't living creatures of the forest. Tree people had never set roots in these parts of the world. These treemen must had been conjured up by someone.

A sudden strong gush of wind and a loud thud of something hitting the stonework behind Lara prompted her to turn around. Standing on the battlements opposite to her was...a bird-woman! The creature was carrying something on its back, evidently by the leather strap on its chest.

Lara had heard of these bird-human hybrids, and this one looked more like 8 parts bird and only 2 parts human. It had the frame of a woman, and that's the only thing humanoid about the creature. Its head was almost like that of a hawk's with a black pointy beak making up the bulk of its face. A coat of radiant azure-and-gold feathers covered its body. In place of hands, there were two claws, its arms lined with thick layers of feather, forming the enormous pair of wings whose span could probably envelop Lara's entire body. Save for a strategically lain piece of garment, which lay between what must be the longest pair of legs Lara had ever seen, the bird-woman was naked entirely. But the strangeness of this creature didn't bother Lara as much as those two sharp-as-a-knife eyes above the beak, with brilliant canary yellow irises and the deepest, darkest onyx pupils she had ever laid eyes upon. And they were staring straight at her.

Lara didn't know if this creature was friendly or not. Unfortunately, she didn't need to wait to find out. A bone-chilling screech spewed forth from the creature's beak. It stood to full height, flapped its wings and plunged towards Lara. Lara felt the blood drained from her face as she stumbled backwards, over the battlements and down. Underneath there was only thin air to catch her fall. The last thing she saw was the silhouette of her attacker above her, spreading its magnificent wings with a strange purple halo behind it.

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Thanks for reading. The next chapters will hopefully be available once every 10 days. All comments and thoughts about the story are welcome.