I slipped away from the main area of the town, seeking a more private corner of Port Lenning. Some things needed verification before I proceed any further with this job, and I preferred privacy for this kind of work.
Finding a secluded spot between weathered buildings, I lifted my wrist and activated my holowatch. A translucent blue screen materialized before me, hovering in the air like a fragment of sky.
First priority: ensuring this town wasn't integral to the book's narrative. The last thing I needed was to accidentally derail the plot and destroy the very world i'm trying to save.
I queried "Port Lenning" in the database. The results appeared almost instantly:
[Port Lenning, a port city located in the Forgotten Plains]
[Does not appear in book]
Relief washed over me. This town existed outside of the story. I could operate here with relative freedom, at least within reasonable parameters.
Curiosity piqued, I searched for information about the Forgotten Plains themselves. While not strictly necessary for my mission, understanding my surroundings could prove advantageous.
[The Forgotten Plains: Home to few and abandoned by many hundreds of years ago
after the Divine Volcano erupted for the first time, making these lands largely
uninhabitable. Those who remain live lives of poverty and sorrow.]
I nodded to myself. The bleak landscape I'd observed from the volcano's summit made more sense now—a desolate region abandoned by most sensible inhabitants. With my curiosity momentarily satisfied, I deactivated the holowatch and tucked my arm back into my sleeve.
Time to get moving.
I marched out of the city, retracing my steps through the plains of stumped trees toward the verdant forest beyond. My earlier encounter with that... thing...still lingered in my mind, it caught me off guard. I wouldn't make the same mistake twice.
Before reaching the treeline, I pulled out the worn map I'd been given. The route looked straightforward enough, though it led deep into the forest. This would take longer than I'd hoped, but I had little choice.
I entered the forest with measured steps, all my enhanced senses alert and processing. Each footfall was deliberate and silent—the product of years of training. My breathing slowed to a controlled rhythm as I moved deeper through the dappled shadows.
The map indicated I still had considerable distance to cover. I pushed forward, maintaining vigilance with each step.
A rustle of leaves ahead broke the forest's silence. I instantly dove behind a broad tree trunk, pressing my back against the rough bark. Slowly, I peered around the edge, scanning for the source of the disturbance.
After a moment of tense observation, I spotted movement. A deer stepped delicately through the trees ahead, its hooves barely disturbing the forest floor.
I relaxed slightly, recognizing the creature from texts I'd studied during my time at the Citadel's farms. Deer were common across many book-worlds, typically harmless herbivores—prey, not predators.
I released the breath I'd been unconsciously holding and wiped beaded sweat from my brow. Looking again at the deer, I found myself appreciating its simple beauty. Unlike the other twisted creatures I'd encountered in this world, it appeared normal—even elegant. Its brown fur gleamed in the reddish sunlight filtering through the canopy as it lowered its head to graze on forest vegetation.
While admiring the creature, I noticed something moving in the undergrowth behind it. The shape was also familiar from my studies—a wolf, perhaps? But as it emerged further from concealment, I realized this was no ordinary wolf. This beast had two heads, and portions of its skeleton protruded through badly burned skin.
The mutated wolf stalked the deer with predatory focus, muscles coiled in preparation. I watched, fascinated despite myself, as the wolf launched from its hiding place. Its attack was blindingly fast—fangs bared, viscous drool trailing from both maws as it closed the distance before the deer could react.
The wolf's teeth sank deep into the deer's torso... and then everything changed.
The deer let out a roar that shook the trees—a sound no deer should ever make. Before my disbelieving eyes, its face... opened. The seemingly normal features peeled apart into a grotesque configuration resembling a four-petaled flower made of living flesh. The interior of this nightmare bloom was lined with rows of jagged teeth that immediately clamped onto the wolf.
With terrifying strength, the "deer" tore the predator away and flung it violently against a nearby tree. The wolf recovered quickly and prepared for another attack, but hesitated when it saw what it was truly facing.
The deer-thing now stood upright on its hind legs, its hideous facial aperture emitting another deafening roar. After a moment of frozen indecision, the two-headed wolf retreated, apparently recognizing it was outmatched.
The creature dropped back to all fours and pursued its former attacker into the forest, both monsters disappearing among the trees.
I remained frozen in place, eyes wide, jaw slack with shock.
"D-definitely not a deer," I whispered to the empty forest. "What the hell is wrong with this book?!"
I sagged against the tree, pulse racing. This place is insane, there isn't a single normal thing about this book.
Checking that both creatures were truly gone, I consulted my map again. My destination still lay ahead, through territory potentially filled with more of these disguised horrors.