Chris had just shouted at the mysterious woman.
She responds by raising the branch to hit him again. Chris notices this and quickly scoots backward. "Wait! Wait! You don't need to hit me again. I mean no harm. I was just a bit upset that you had hit me.", he pleaded to the woman.
The woman seems to hesitate for a moment. "Why should I believe a heathen who would camp in a sacred place?"
Chris tries to look as submissive as possible. "I didn't know that this was a holy place. Please forgive me. I only just showed up here and didn't know what to do. I haven't even had anything to drink since yesterday."
"Then where did you come from? Would you like me to believe that you are a failed mage who tried a teleportation spell?", the woman said in a harsh tone. She didn't seem to fully believe him, but at least she had loosened her grip on the branch.
Chris looked at her. The situation was overwhelming and he felt that tears were starting to form in his eyes, but he held them back. "Yes! Yes, something like that. I just appeared here. Would you please tell me where I am? And do you have some water? Please!", he pleaded.
"Hm, I find this a bit hard to believe. However, you don't seem strong enough to be dangerous. I will take you to my village.", the woman answers and takes out a waterskin. She hands it to him and he takes a few greedy gulps.
Before Chris can say anything she continues, "Something strange is happening here. The signs in the sky match an old prophecy that has foretold the coming of heroes from faraway places. You don't seem like a hero, but perhaps this is how your story begins."
Chris breathes out a long sigh and slowly starts getting up. He doesn't want to startle the woman who had just decided to help him.
The woman carefully examines Chris. He had looked so puny down on the ground, but he was actually strong-built and handsome. A young man who does not know his strength yet, she thought to herself.
"I'm Chris. May I ask your name?"
"My name is Lady Amelia of the Moon, but you can call me Lady Amelia."
Chris looks questioningly at Amelia. Is this an ordinary name in this world? he thought to himself.
"I am the High Priestess of the Goddess of the Night.", she says as if she had heard his thoughts.
Chris regains his composure and smile at Amelia. "It is nice to meet you, Lady Amelia."
Chris walks into his hut. "I will just grab my things, then we can go."
Amelia sees the axe Chris holds in his hand as he comes out of the shed. "What are you going to do with that primitive tool?"
Chris notices that Amelia's gaze is directed at his axe. "Don't worry, I'm a woodworker. Besides we may meet more women with branches that I need to protect myself against.", he said with a slight chuckle.
Amelia looks at him with a teasing smile, "Perhaps you should hide behind me instead, seeing how it went for you the last time."
Chris ignores her snide remark and focuses on her alluring smile instead. She really is stunning. Like out of a fairytale.
Chris walks over to the Shrine, "You said that this is a sacred place. What is this place? Oh, and why are there no animals in the Forest?"
"This is the Forest Shrine of the Goddess of the Night. It is an ancient place of power and worship. The forest around us is the Amber Forest.", Amelia answers.
She pauses briefly and then continues. "There are no animals close to the Shrine. That is part of its mysterious power. I do not know exactly why.
These days, I am the only one who still comes here. I am likely the only one who still knows of this shrine. We have a grand Temple dedicated to our Goddess near the Village, but for some reason, I feel closer to her here."
Chris listens intently to what Amelia is saying. He then states, "That explains why there are no trails here either."
Amelia gives Chris a look of amusement. "Oh, but there are. You just need to know how to summon them."
Amelia put her hands together as if to pray. "Oh, Goddess of the Night please guide us back to your temple."
Just as Amelia says her prayer, Chris can see the vegetation in the forest clear to form a path. Amelia smiles at Chris. "After you"
They start following the path into the forest. "My village lies to the South of here and the temple is just East of the Village. We will start by going to the temple.", Amelia says as they walk.
Chris looks back to the clearing he had thought would be his home for a while. Looking back at it now, it was a really beautiful place. The open field, with a perfect green lawn and the swaying spruce trees around it. The trees have an orange tone to them, unlike the green spruce, he is used to at home.
Now that he thought about it, the grass shouldn't be so short and perfect without anyone tending to it. "Uh, Lady Amelia, do you cut the grass in the clearing surrounding the Shrine?"
Amelia simply answers, "No, of course not. I am a High Priestess and a Lady. I would do no such thing. This place is kept in pristine shape by our Goddess."
Amelia looks back at Chris. "Your clothes are rather strange. I should give you a robe from the Temple when we get there. Otherwise, you would stick out too much in the Village."
Chris nods back at Amelia. "That sounds reasonable. My clothes are not from around here. Can I ask what the Village is like?"
"It is an ordinary village. There is a general merchant, a smithy, a lumber mill, and a few dozen houses. There are more houses farther out from the village center. The Village is famous for its high-quality lumber and the Temple of the Night Goddess. The village is known as the Amber Village."
Chris listens as Amelia tells him more about the Amber Village and its inhabitants. They walk for a while longer.
Suddenly Chris hears something rustle in the Forest. Then he sees a grey wolf jump out just a few meters ahead of them.
Chris feels panic rise up inside of him. It is like a huge dog with great and vicious fangs. He needs to be strong for Amelia, and for himself to survive. He takes out his knife with his left hand and readies the axe in his right.
The Wolf turns to Chris. It snarls and leaps forward. Chris quickly yells to Amelia, "Stay behind me. This is dangerous."
The Wolf bites down on Chris' right arm, its fangs go deep into the flesh. However, Chris reacts quickly and stabs the Wolf in the neck with the knife in his left hand.
Chris yells out in agony, but the Wolf is in even worse condition. It quickly slumps down onto the ground.
Chris sees the blood gush out from his arm and feels that the end is near. At least he is happy to have met Amelia and that he would die protecting someone. While protecting her, he thinks to himself. Doesn't this almost make him a hero? She had given him hope that he would somehow manage to survive. Maybe he would even make a friend, but all of that could never happen now as he lay bleeding out on the ground.