"Well?" one of the men demanded. "Are you coming with us or not?"
"I'm going," I replied.
"Good," the man said. "Now come on."
He turned and headed deeper into the woods. I followed after him. We traveled for another hour before reaching a place where the forest opened up into a wide valley. A large river ran through the center of it, winding its way between steep cliffs. The ground was covered in grasses and bushes.
"This is our new home," the man said. "It's nice and quiet here. No one will bother us."
"How many of you are there?" I asked.
"Twenty-five," the man answered. "Most of them are from the camp. I found them here. They're a tough bunch. They'll be fine. You should see them. They're good fighters."
"So why did you bring me?" I asked. "I mean, I'm glad you brought me, but why?"
"You're strong," the man said. "And you're fast. And you're smart. You can think for yourself. You've got potential. So I figured you'd be worth helping."
"I don't understand," I said. "What do you want from me?"
"I need you to keep an eye on things while I'm gone," the man said. "Keep everyone calm. Make sure nobody gets too crazy."
"But I don't know anything about leading a tribe," I protested.
"That's okay," the man said. "I'm sure you'll pick it up quickly. It's not hard. Just act like you know what you're doing."
"Okay," I said.
"And if anyone gives you trouble, just tell them to go fuck themselves. That always works."
"Sure."
"Good. Now let's get moving."
We continued down the path until we reached the river. There, the man stopped and motioned for me to follow him. He climbed onto a flat rock and jumped into the water. I hesitated, then did the same. The cold shock of the water sent shivers up my spine. I pulled myself up onto the bank. My feet sank into the soft mud. I felt the wetness seep through my shoes.
The man splashed his way across the river and climbed up the other side. I followed him. Once on the other side, he sat down and started to pull off his boots.
"Wait!" I exclaimed. "What are you doing?"
"Getting comfortable," the man replied. "We've got a long trip ahead of us."
"You're leaving now?" I asked.
"Yep," the man said. "We're taking your boat."
***
I stared at the man dumbfounded.
"My boat?" I asked.
"Yeah," the man said. "You know, the thing you came in on. We found it washed up on shore a couple days ago. It's not great, but it'll work."
"But how? Where did you find it?"
"In the woods," the man said. "Along with all these other things."
He pointed to a pile of bones. They looked old and worn. The skull of one of them was cracked open, revealing a cavity filled with rotted flesh.
"And this," the man added, pointing to a wooden staff. "We found it buried in the dirt near the boat. It's weird, isn't it?"
"Yes," I agreed. "Very weird."
"I guess we were lucky," the man said. "There aren't many boats around here. I thought it might have belonged to one of the tribes that live along the coast. But it doesn't look like any of them ever passed this way."
"I don't understand," I said. "Why would someone leave a boat here? Why would they bury it in the ground?"
"Maybe they didn't want it anymore," the man said. "Or maybe they wanted to hide it from the rest of the world."
"They must have known we'd find it eventually," I said. "Why else would they bury it?"
"I don't know," the man admitted. "But it doesn't matter. We'll take it with us and use it to travel faster."
"It looks broken," I said.
"That's because it is broken," the man said. "I can fix it."
"Fix it?" I asked. "How?"
"I can make it stronger," the man said. "I can add more power to it. It'll be better than new."
"But what if it breaks again?" I asked.
"Then I'll just repair it," the man said. "It won't be the first time."
I stood there staring at the man. I had no idea what to say. I wasn't even sure what to think.
"Well?" the man asked. "Are you coming or not?"
"Where are we going?" I asked.
"To the village," the man replied. "We're going to get some supplies. Then we're heading north."
"North?" I repeated. "Why?"
"Because that's where the orcs are," the man said. "That's where the strongest monsters are. And that's where we're headed."
"Monsters?" I asked. "Like the ones that attacked us back in the forest?"
"Yeah," the man said. "Those guys. And others."
"Others?" I asked.
"Lots of others," the man said. "The monsters out in the world are much worse than those that live in the forest. They're much bigger and stronger. Much meaner too. If you see one, you should run."
"Why?" I asked.
"Because they'll kill you," the man said. "They'll rip you apart. And they'll do it very slowly."
"That's horrible," I said.
"Yeah," the man said. "But that's the world. That's how it works. You have to accept it. Otherwise you're never going to survive."
"Survive?" I asked. "But why would anyone want to survive? Wouldn't it be better to go somewhere else?"
"No," the man said. "You have to stay alive. Because only then will you get to experience life. Only then will you get to see the beauty of the world."
"Beauty?" I asked. "What do you mean by 'beauty'?"
"Everything," the man said. "Everything has a beauty. Even the ugliest creature. Even the most disgusting thing. Everything has a beauty. It's all part of God's plan."
"God?" I asked.
"Yes," the man said. "God created everything. He made the world and the creatures in it. And he gave them their place in the world. To be here. To have meaning. And to help each other."
"Help each other?" I asked.
"Yes," the man said. "That's what the elves, the orcs, the goblins, the fairies and the Beastmen do. They're all here to help each other. They all live together. They work together. And they all try to do the best they can for everyone."
"So you're saying that we should join forces with the orcs?" I asked.
"No," the man said. "Not at all. I'm saying that we shouldn't be enemies with them. I'm saying that we should try to help each other. I'm saying that we should try to do the best we can for ourselves and for our families. I'm saying that we should try to help each other succeed. The strong helping the weak. That's what God wants."
"And that's why you need to go north?" I asked.
"That's right," the man said. "That's why we have to go north. So that we can find the strongest monsters and beat them."
"Beat them?" I asked.
"Of course," the man said. "Don't you know anything? There's no such thing as an orc that can't be beaten. That's the whole point. We're going to beat the orcs. Then we're going to beat the other monsters. Then we're going to come back and destroy the elves. Then we're going to take over this entire world."
"Take over the world?" I asked. "What do you mean?"
"Just what I said," the man said. "We're going to take over the world. We're going to rule it. All of us. And we're going to make it a paradise. A beautiful, peaceful place where everyone can enjoy themselves. Where everyone is happy and free. And everyone gets what they deserve."
"You're insane," I said.
"Maybe," the man said. "But that doesn't matter. What matters is that we're going to win. And when we do, the world will be ours."
"Ours?" I asked. "Whose?"
"Yours," the man said. "Mine. My family's. Yours. Everyone's."
"I don't understand," I said. "How can anyone possibly rule the world? How can anyone possibly conquer the world? There's so many of you. So many different kinds of people. There's no way that any one of you could ever defeat the other races. You'd be slaughtered."
"No," the man said. "There's nothing wrong with slaughtering the weaker ones. They're not meant to survive. They're just there to die. And the stronger ones will always prevail. We've got the numbers on our side. And we've got the magic. And we've got the strength. We've been training since we were little. And we've learned to use the magic. And we're all really good at fighting too. We're the best warriors in the world. And we'll keep getting better. And the elves will get weaker. And the orcs will get stronger. And the goblins will grow more powerful. And the fairies will learn how to control their magic. And the Beastmen will start to think like us. And then we'll win. We'll take over the world."
"And then what?" I asked. "What happens after you take over the world?"
"Then we'll change the world," the man said. "We'll make it into the perfect place. A place where everyone can be safe. A place where everyone can be happy. A place where everyone gets what they deserve."
"But what if some people don't want to change?" I asked. "What if they don't want to live in your perfect world?"
"They can either accept the new order or they can be crushed," the man said. "Either way, they won't stand a chance against us."
"So you're just going to kill everyone who doesn't agree with you?"