Elsewhere in the forest, Cian clung to the trunk of a large tree, his body shaking as he struggled to remain silent. His arm was wrapped in a poorly tied strip of his cloak, blood seeping through and dripping onto the bark below. His breaths came quick and shallow, his chest heaving with the effort to keep still.
Creatures swarmed the forest floor below him. Twisted and grotesque goblins with glowing yellow eyes cut through the dark.
These bloated, misshapen bodies moved unnaturally, scraping their claws on the ground and drooling a black, oily substance, which lathered over jagged teeth. Sniffing at the air, they growled low, guttural sounds like hungry hunters who knew prey was nearby.
Cian pressed himself hard against the tree, he clenched his right arm against the wound on his bicep. He clenched his eyes shut, and whispered to himself, as though speaking the words aloud would somehow make them come true.
