Diaman's DnD Diary

Chapter 2: The Old Man And My Research

While travelling I stumbled upon a small village in the East, next to a deep DEEP forest. A forest very old, ancient even, famous for various unique species of both flora and fauna.

Throughout my self-studies of shamanry, I'd found several mentios of this forest and its supposed close connection to Spirits, though in literature that wasn't related to shamans, you could read about these "spirits" in this very forest as of the "undead" protecting the woodland.

I was primarily interested in investigating these mentions because of my own theories about the connection between a soul of a living being when it dies and the Spirits.

My curiosity got the better of me and so I ventured forth, into the deep woods, despite the villagers' warnings that this year, there had been 7 strange disappearences of young men in the forest.

That day I got very absorbed in interacting with the wild life and exploring the peculiar parts of the subtropical ecosystem and its high rocks and natural rocky towns. The terrain wasn't easy but I didn't have troubles for the most part until I found myself up on a steep rock with a very narrow path ahead. It was definitely a mistake to risk it but the path looked safe enough.

Nevertheless, it wasn't.

I'm not sure EXACTLY what happened but I slipped on a sand rock and fell down, hitting every bone in my body at least twice while heading for my ultimate doom.

I hit the bottom of a pit and felt a gross and squishy feeling underneath me... I couldn't move much but yes... I was able to identify maybe 4 dead bodies around me, the upmost one still very fresh, stinky and horrifying... I cried out and passed out almost immediately. I'm not sure if from the pain of my broken bones or the shock of actual dead bodies saving my life and bits of those now covering all of my clothes and skin...

...........................................

In a state of utter confusion I woke up in a bed I didn't recognize, my upper body patched up in bandages, my left arm elevated and hanged on a bandage with two sticks attached to my forearm, my other extremities felt a bit foreign but to my surprise, I wasn't in pain.

I sat up slightly and looked around myself. It was a small, cosy looking room with a big window on my right side, but the view was mostly blocked by huge old trees outside the house. According to the amount of light, it was either a later afternoon or morning but the shades were rather warm and so I was inclined to believe it was the last of the afternoon light.

I looked around the interior of the room. The house itself was probably big, this was a second or third floor afterall, and by no means was this a wooden house so I would guess a mansion but in the middle of the forest...? I've never heard of anyone living in these parts... aside from the village. The room itself was small but well stocked on bookshelves with tons of books in various languages. It was too tiny for a guest room, but too fancy for a room of a mere servant. So maybe a book-worm butler lives here...?

I reached towards the bedside table and looked inside with curiosity. There was nothing, no personal belongings. So maybe no one lives in this room now? I spotted my clothes on a chair next to my bed. They were tattered but clean and next to them, there was also a fresh change of clothes I didn't recognize but guessed, I was supposed to wear these.

Changing into the clothes took me about half an hour with my left arm disabled and I also noticed huge bruises all along my body, a leftover from the fall. It was a miracle, my legs seemed to have survived the fall without a fracture.

After a short rest when I finished changing (it took out almost all of my energy), I decided to go find out what was going on. And also to find the rest of my belongings, namely my research notes, drawings of peculiar wild-life species and fauna I didn't know, 2 books about this forest and 1 trashy romance novel about a wizzard and a dragon hunteress, and all the other stuff I took with me on the road, including Arind's stone without which I was quite powerless, since it served as my totem for calling out my Spirit Bear.