The Forest

Twenty.

"I can explain to you why they are here." Court told Thorin as he came up to the cart and looked through the lumber and feed.

"We can deal with the humans later and your bleeding heart for them." Thorin retorted.

"What is it about then if it's not the human I brought back?" Court asked.

"Three of my guards came back, two of them is going to be down for a few weeks. They just chased off a fucking minotaur." Thorin turned on with a look I hadn't expected to see on him.

Fear and uneasiness.

"A minotaur? You're sure that's what it was?" Court asked.

"I can smell it all around the border of where we came from and the wounds my guard has belongs to a minotaur. They never come this far out of the forest. They rarely even pressed the borders in the village." 

Court let out a deep sigh. "It left right?" Court asked.

"Yes, they chased it off. But two of them were injured and one of them is badly injured. I'm pretty sure the only reason he's alive is because Lucia is good with needles. It tore him open Court." 

"Alright increase the size of the patrol units, five and up per unit sent out. Minotaurs are nasty, but they don't like fighting lots of us at once." Court told him.

Thorin nodded.

"Minotaur?" I asked.

"It's a beast from the forest. Half man, half bull, there is all sorts of legends about them. This forest has its own variety of them. They are more bull than ones you'd find elsewhere." Court answered.

"They exist out in the world?" I asked.

"They are very rare to come across but yes. They're typically solitary, maybe three of them at once if you're unlucky. They're known for inner fighting." Court answered.

"Why don't you tell your human mate what else they are known for." Thorin spoke.

Court let out a deep breath.

"What is he talking about?" I asked.

"Well, when the occasional human escaped the village, we weren't the ones who killed them. We typically tried to scare them back we only killed them if they attacked us. It's what's in the forest that killed them, and minotaur's were well known for it."

"The entire story Court, she deserves to know at least what's out there." Thorin reminded him.

"Goddamn it Thorin I'm not trying to terrify her." Court turned towards Thorin.

"I want to know Court." I told him. I grabbed onto his sleeve for emphasis.

Another sigh escaped Court's lips. "They were the last thing you'd want to encounter. There aren't a lot of female minotaur's' if any. I'm sure you can see where I'm going with this. They didn't always kill humans but sometimes the humans would wish they did with what happened to them."

He didn't need to outright say it for me to understand what he meant.

"Oh."

Court wrapped an arm around me pulling me close to him.

"There is something I need to tell you Thorin." Court said.

"Is it about the humans you brought back?" Thorin asked.

"Sort of. It's why I brought them back besides the whole bleeding-heart thing." 

I lightly pinched Court making him stand up straighter.