It was the deep throaty voice of a man.
"I have gotten tired of waiting.... I know nothing of whim, but I will make an exception."
Both Siege and Sir Eric shivered.
"Give me four of your group and I shall leave."
Siege's heart stilled and Sir Eric's grip on his sword tightened further.
Unknown to Siege, the fae cannot lie.
However, Sir Eric knew this fact and felt somewhat relieved in his heart. He knew he had no chance of surviving if he fought this thing. Though, it cannot enter the barrier, if it stayed then they would not be able to leave and eventually die anyway.
Furthermore, he recognized this creature.
It was the lord of the forest, Oberon. An elder fae that has ruled these woods since ancient times.
Deep down Sir Eric was frustrated. In this whole expansive forest, this beast had managed to stumble upon them.
However, Siege did not trust the creature's words at all. Why would it compromise with them? It made no sense to him.
Some of the men began to wake up from Oberon's oppressive voice.
They didn't even scream, just whimpered in fright.
Sir Eric turned to face the group and hesitated, but then his eyes hardened.
Eyeing the group, he figured it would be best to get rid of men at the furthest ends of the age range.
Now all the men were awake and glaring at Sir Eric with hatred, but none of them took action against him.
"Will the oldest and the youngest step forward?"
Though it sounded like a question, his voice was a command.
No one moved.
The creature, Oberon, began to circle the barrier, occasionally disappearing behind the trees like a ghost.
"We have no choice! Either four of us die or we all die!" Sir Eric roared with a crazed look.
"Either you step out your selves or I! Will! Make! You!"
Still, no one moved.
Siege tried to make himself fade into the background as he observed everyone's reactions.
"This...this is not right Sir Eric. What's to say the beast won't come back for more after he leaves! This is no solution at all!"
It was Edwin, the kind young man. He spoke with fear, but righteous indignation.
Sir Eric's eyes wavered, and Siege gave Edwin an appreciative look.
"What choice do we have! To stay here and starve! At least we'll have a chance to escape!"
It was Gallan's voice, cutting through the air with venom.
Oberon continued to watch them with interest.
Another man joined in, supporting Gallan's opinion, and soon the group was divided into two.
Half wanted to sacrifice and the others wanted to seek another solution.
The darkness of the night covering the group only made their argument sound much sinister.
Sir Eric raised his voice.
"The fae cannot lie! If we do as it says we will live!"
This seemed to convince some of the opposing men as they stopped their confrontation.
Soon only Edwin, Ludwig, a man named Durim, and Siege remained in opposition.
"Are you stupid? Just because they cannot lie doesn't mean that they can't manipulate the truth!"
Ludwig called out in desperation, he was the oldest in the group.
Tensions only grew further, and Siege realized that he had to do something or he would likely be one of the men sent out.
Siege had not wanted to sacrifice anyone, not because he particularly cared much about the group, but because he felt odd about the situation.
He turned to face the forest and spoke with a little fear.
"Fae, how long have you been waiting?"
The men glared angrily at Siege, but the creature was compelled to answer by its nature.
"About half a days time, human."
Siege finally figured out what was bothering him.
They had set up the barrier as soon as the sun set, and it was still very dark outside and deep into the night. So the creature couldn't have started waiting when they set up the barrier. If it had, then it would be daytime now.
It must have noticed them almost as soon as they entered the forest. So why hadn't it attacked them?
Siege began to try and explain his doubts to the group.
"If the fae isn't lying then there's no---"
Siege was abruptly cut off.
"Give me that young human and the rest of you can leave the forest."
It was the voice of Oberon, and he was staring directly at Siege with a mysterious smile on his wolfish face.
Siege froze and was filled with regret.
The entire group looked at him and some of them took a step forward. Siege began to panic.
"You all need to listen to me! There's something the creature isn't telling us! It must not be able to come for us in the day! Think! Why did it wait till now!"
The group began to hesitate, looking back and forth between the creature and Siege.
"Very smart human! You're right, I cannot come out in the day without paying a price. However..."
Oberon's towering frame was now directly in-front of the barrier, looking down at Siege with slight appreciation.
"If I so choose, it is a price I can bare."
The gazes of the group became even more pressuring on Siege, as be tried to back away from them until he had his back to the barrier.
Siege regretted it so much. He should have never opened his mouth.
His fear began to turn to anger.
'Should I just open the barrier and have them all die with me?'
Edwin stepped forward and then turned to look at the group.
"If we do this, we would become monsters worse than this beast..."
Siege could have kissed him right then and there.
"Would you rather be a dead human or a living beast?" Gallan opposed.
Siege had never wanted someone to die so badly in his life. He would kill this man. He would make sure of it.
Oberon interjected with amusement and a fiendish smile.
"Little one! Since you have brought about such entertainment I will help you this one time. Give me your arm and I will assure you all safe passage through Mortar."
'Damn it! Damn it! Fuck!....Is there nothing more I can do....'
Siege couldn't think of anyway to avoid the situation anymore.
Gritting his teeth and looking at the rest of the group with malicious spite, Siege approach the part of the barrier where Oberon was.
Many of the group hung their heads in shame, even Sir Eric and Gallan.
Only Edwin looked Siege in the eyes and with sorrow said the words, thank you.
Staring at Oberon's four glowing yellow eyes, Siege's teeth clenched even tighter as if he sought to break them.
Slowly, Siege extended his left arm past the barrier.
First his fingertips passed the line, then his whole hand, and finally his entire arm.
Oberon looked absolutely delighted as we watched this and witnessed Siege squeeze his eyes shut in anticipation of the pain.
Crunch!
Siege's arm vanished.
Pain was all Siege could feel. It was an agony that he had never experienced before.
He clutched his open wound and fell on the ground rolling and screaming as tears escaped his eyes.
He couldn't breathe. He couldn't think. He just wanted the pain to stop.
The group watched on in horror and shock.
Oberon's smiled a malicious smile, displaying his blood stained teeth, before slowly leaving, fading into the dark forest.
Sir Eric used his sword to cut his satchel and managed to fashion a tourniquet around Siege's wound as he squirmed and cried on the group.
Eventually, Siege passed out from the pain and exhaustion, but no one else returned to sleep.
They sat quietly through the night.