The door to the tavern slammed open giving a crack of noise as it hit the wall. Magnus jerked out of his slumber and immediately was on edge. After a second realizing nothing was wrong he calmed his nerves and heard the man who opened the door begin frantically yelling.
"Windsor is gone!" he stammered out between breaths.
Everyone was silent as they looked at him -- most wondering if he was just completely drunk or crazy. However the attire of the town watch gave him a decent amount of credibility with the locals. Geoff began to pry for more details.
"What do you mean gone, lad?" Geoff calmly said to the man. He didn't want this rumor to get out of control when nobody knew nothing of what was going on. His gaze shifted to the corner of the room where Magnus was, but the hood covering his face gave no detail to if he was even awake, let alone listening.
"Everyone out right now! The captain wants all men heading over there now!" The man yells.
*Incredible explaining*, Magnus thinks to himself. The rest of the men in the tavern think similarly. They go back to talking and drinking as the man who was yelling stumbles out of the door, visibly upset that nobody was listening to him.
Magnus decided he's stayed long enough. Finishing the rest of his liquid courage, his mind is made up and enough time has been wasted. Slipping out the back door, he confirms his timeline, matching the moon up in the sky to around midnight. Walking around the side of the tavern he reaches up grabbing his sword bag from its resting spot above a section of the gutter.
Confirming its contents he begins his stride back out of the town, back the way he came. As he walks back towards Windsor, he can see the smoke coming from the remains of the buildings miles away, rising to the level of the blue moon in the sky. Halfway in between the towns he once again looks at the foothills. His gaze finds the tracks gouging the road, but mixed with the tracks of carriages and horses they would be almost impossible to notice. That was the only hint of what had come down the road hours earlier.
He turns off the road and begins walking through the field to the west. He eventually identifies the marks the creature that attacked his hometown made in the field. Like the road they are gouge marks, but sporadic and not uniform at all.
Now that the creature's scent has been caught Magnus tears the cloak from his shoulders, drops his sword bag, clips a dagger to his waist, and holds a shoddy blade in his hands. It was tinted slightly red from the old rust that used to cover it. The best Magnus could get a hold of where the towns were few and far between. His full body visible in the moonlight, with lean muscles running down his arm and sculpted shoulders outlining his figure. Those who knew him in the past would not recognize him now - and he knew it. He felt blood begin to flow through his veins as it delivered adrenaline. His heart started pounding in his chest slowly at first then faster as he controlled his breathing methodically.
Magnus took off at a sprint through the field and in the night he clearly saw the tracks outlined by the moon - upturned dirt in what was otherwise an untouched field of wheat. He ran for full speed for minutes on end. His shadow from the moon skimming over the wheat at a pace most would find incredible. As he ran, the hills he grew up around began to ominously look over him, taking on a different feel than what he knew as a kid. The hair on his arms began to slightly stand and he felt a shiver trace down his spine.
He slowed his pace and approached the tree line. He could see branches well over 10 fathoms high broken and torn. He paused unconsciously and the cursed under his breath because of his hesitation. Whether he wanted to admit it or not he was walking towards death and blood. He steadied his nerves. The last of his silhouette being lost among the first few trees.
In the darkness caused by the tree cover an owl hooted to his left. Slowly and silently he walked, his footsteps muffled by his padded leather boots. He was glad they were old and worn now more than ever. A twig snapped to his rear and he stopped in his tracks - As anyone experienced in the wild at night would. His ears more valuable than his eyes for the time being. 30 seconds passed without a sound and he began his trek again.
As he walked more memories began trying to surface in his mind. *Everyone you knew is probably dead you know* he blocked it out. Memories of his family flashed before his eyes. *You didn't even stay to help*
"Shut up." he whispered to himself. He long ago stopped feeling guilt for anyone in his old town.
In fact deep inside his consciousness he was glad he was unshackled - in a way. A smirk began to form from his lips and the memories began to fade. A now seemingly uncaring he stepped forward and began to stride in between the trees. Branches tossed out of the way by his feet moving forward the forest began to seem filled with noise - sounds of him walking bouncing from tree to tree.
He could hear to his right and left whatever was lurking in the darkness before begin to move with him. By the sounds he was not worried about it being the monstrosity that has attacked his town.
With a sharp turn he began running towards the creature to his right. As he got closer the outline of a spider became visible. The largest he'd ever seen, or probably anyone he ever knew had seen either. The creature not expecting a charge straight on, stood frozen for half a second, which was all that Magnus needed. His rusty sword slashed straight down on top of the spider leaving a large gash. With a screech the spider began to quickly back away and run. Based on the sounds behind magnus the one previously to his left got the message as well. Magnus let them go as he had bigger prey to catch. Sheathing the dagger that was in his off hand he began to stride forward again, sword still in his right lest any other creature mistake who was predator and prey.
After following the broken branches above and below for more miles into the foothills he stopped in front of a pond. Taking handfuls of water he drank from the waterfall splashing into the opposite end from where he arrived. The cool water quenched his thirst. As his hands left his mouth they paused halfway down. His heartbeat spiked as it increased twofold in a matter of seconds. He had just noticed the outline of the pond, creating an incredibly long shape. Being 50 fathoms long while only 5 wide (1 fathom known as about 2 feet/.6 meters in his home town), the edges matching each other symmetrically. The depth was only half a fathom or so deep. And all this had just clicked in his head.
And a few minutes too late. The surrounding area reverberated with a boom. And the center line down the pond opened causing the water to jump the edges of the symmetrical pond. Magnus had already made a leap behind the nearest tree. Within seconds the pond was completely drained and silence had filled the forest in the hills again, save the remaining drips reaching down into wherever was below the now empty pond.
Magnus's heartbeat was still racing. Normally very careful, this contraption just a few feet beneath his own had gone completely unnoticed. He cursed himself and the mistake, noting this lapse in judgement in an environment as dangerous as this.
Minutes passed with no sound. Yet Magnus was not convinced he was alone anymore. There was a reason the pond had split open - and he intended to find it out.
In no rush to lose his life, 10 more minutes pass with no event. He soundlessly gets up peering around to see if anything has changed since his dive behind the tree.
Instead of moving towards the new pit in the ground his head turned upward to the canopy. He sized up a few tree and looked at the extending branches and saw one reaching over the pit. He slowly made his way over to it, easily climbing the branches thanks to his years of training.
He made his way almost 15 fathoms high, and began pulling himself across one of the branches reaching over the pit. His vision slowly began to get an angle on the pit. He saw stairs begin the descent down, still dripping water down the flights that zigzagged all the way along the 50 fathoms length. He couldn't even see the bottom of the zag that extended even further down. Nothing else was seen, meaning the monster that attacked his town wasn't in the close vicinity at the very least.
He dropped from the tree branch a few stories high, then as his feet dampened the start of the impact he rolled to slow the rest of it. Now standing next to the staircase he dropped down to the first step only a few feet below. He listened as closely as he could while he descended into the darkness.