Chương 4: Chapter 3- Monsters from the Dark

Luckily the canopy was both thick and low enough that he was able to lose himself quickly in the foliage, ascending a few dozen feet before feeling that he might have enough cover between him and the cave. Eli settled none too soon as he heard a low clicking growl softly echo out of the mouth of the cave. Elias slowly flattened himself against the far side of the trunk and tried to peer through the foliage as discreetly as he could, hoping to catch a glimpse of whatever was dwelling inside.

There were a couple soft shuffling sounds, a snort, then another, then slowly a clawed, gnarled dark olive green hand reached out of the opening. What followed next was some sort of hairless monkey or creature that Eli had never heard of, a short hairless humanoid approximately three and half feet tall with clawed hands and feet, short pointed ears, a face like a scowling pug, and mottled dark forest green skin covering dense muscles that blended in with the darkness it emerged from.

As it raised its hand and squinted its beady, recessed pitch black pupil-less eyes in the sunlight Eli's mind raced as adrenaline poured into his veins and gooseflesh spread over his skin. It must be some kind of primate I have never heard of? Or maybe some undiscovered tribe with dwarfism, severe mutations, and terrible hygiene that has been hidden around underground like some kind of mole people? Because otherwise that is a goddamn goblin straight out of some fantasy game, and those sure as shit are not real.

The creature stood upright before crouching down and examining the ground around the opening and letting out a short guttural barking sound towards the opening as another of its kind crawled out and stood up beside it. Eli grimaced again, realizing that where there were two there are probably quite a few more given the size of the trail inside the tunnel. They seem to be social creatures, if somewhat primitive. The first one grunted quietly to the other while pointing at the disturbed soil.

They both looked forwards and slowly started scanning the nearby brush as Eli cursed under his breath and tried to minimize his profile. Elias tried to breathe as slowly and gently as he could, watching the creatures fan out and begin searching through the brush as he debated with himself whether it is worth staying put or legging it. The canopy provided some cover behind its broad leaves, and with how thick the tree cover was he could travel from limb to limb.

He wouldn't be completely covered though and might have to descend to the ground at some point, and he would definitely be spotted if he had to cross the wrong angle. As he came to the decision that maybe running was the better option, the second creature froze below him, slowly tensing its muscles before launching into a bush with ear splitting screech. A pained squeal rang out as a lone boar came dashing out, with the creature latched to its back with its claws, blood pouring from the puncture wounds.

As the wild pig smashed from trunk to trunk in a panic, the other creature streaked into the panicked animal with astonishing speed, sinking its claws into the boar's hide and burying its teeth into the animal's neck with a wet, guttural snarl. The boar was not a huge specimen, maybe only a couple feet at the shoulder, and struggled under the weight of the two creatures laying into it with wild blows.

For not being very graceful the creature's strikes had a shocking amount of power behind the blows, and the boar was quickly bleeding from a dozen slashes, limping from where its hind quarters had been torn to ribbons by bunny kicks from where the first creature latched to its spine. As the animal began to slowly weaken from blood loss, one of the creatures grabbed a rock and with a shriek of cruel glee, smashed the boar on the head repeatedly.

In a fit of rage the monster repeatedly wailed on the animal, not stopping when the skull cracked and the boar went limp, but continuing its assault until all that was left was a pulpy mass flecked with bits of protruding bone. Elias recoiled from the display of brutal savagery as creatures threw their bloodied claws in the air and began hooting and cavorting like a pair of excited gibbons that just found an endless supply of bananas.

The unexpected excitement of the pair created a nauseating counterpoint to the previous wanton bloodlust and brutality of the fight, the amount of satisfaction the creatures displayed in inflicting pain and torment caused Eli's stomach to churn. Well I'm sure as shit glad I didn't run, he thought to himself, those things are horrifying. I guess the savagery fits what I know from fiction, but aren't goblins supposed to be weak, slow and stupid? The kind of threat a well trained child could easily fend off?

I need to make sure I don't fall back on any assumptions from fiction since those things can definitely catch me and rip my face off in a second like some kind of deranged chimpanzee. They look less like the green toddlers described in fantasy books and more like mutated shaved chimps honestly… I need to get some distance and arm myself if I can. Wandering around this place empty handed is startling to look like a death sentence.

After a couple minutes the creatures calmed down and started dragging the boar to their cave, thankfully they seemed to think the boar was the one who disturbed the gravel from what Elias could tell. As they disappeared inside leaving a swathe of bloody viscera trailing behind them, Eli hunkered down to wait, straining his hearing for any more sounds from inside. After waiting for a short while in leaden silence, slowly the normal sounds Eli associated with a forest began to return.

Quiet birdsongs drifted from the trees and the droning buzzing of insects resumed like a song slowly fading in on the radio. Eli took his cue from the local wildlife and decided to get some distance while he could. Any creature living in a cave like that had to be nocturnal and he decided that he needed to get as far away as he could before darkness fell. Dropping down out of the tree, Eli creeped away through the forest trying to be as silent as he could.

The last thing he needed was an up close encounter with the terrible twins back there. Ding This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. Shit. Eli picked up the pace, worried that they were not as far as they seemed, especially since he heard that weird metallic ring once again after they left. Strangely, he didn't see them wearing any clothes. Must have been the boar's tusks hitting something metallic as they dragged it inside.

Elias's pulse slowed as he finally gained some distance from the cave where those creatures came from, and he got a chance to take a look around for a way to get a better lay of the land. Noticing that the downward slope of the land was fairly consistent after a few minutes of travel, Eli walked as perpendicular to the slope as he could to maintain his elevation before deciding to head up the slope to see if he could find a better vantage point to orient himself.

The forest he found himself in didn't appear to be one he recognized, while he could see quite a few plants that could be reasonably close to some that he knew, they were all slightly off. The tree he had hid himself in could be a maple but the leaves were too big, the underbrush was unfamiliar, and as he looked downslope the trees started to get much larger, the size of a giant sequoia if it was a deciduous tree covered in brachiating leaves instead of pine needles.

I love the outdoors and have travelled extensively through the backcountry of my homeland, and yet I have never seen anything that looks like this place. I've never even heard of anything similar outside of the deepest sections of the amazon. The forest is definitely old growth though, as the thick canopies reduce the light level enough to choke out most of the underbrush, which gives my feet a bit of a break making it a bit easier to walk barefoot.

Eli took in sight of the deep forest, marveling at untouched and untamed beauty with a wild almost primeval splendor that was rare to see and only found in the deepest parts of nature preserves or far from the cities of mankind. The soft breeze filled with the rich scents of fertile earth and verdant plant life washed over Elias like a soothing balm to his frayed nerves after the recent encounter.

Eli spotted a clearing near a rise in the terrain up above, and he climbed up to find a gap in the trees leading to a cliff face. Eli reminded himself of the previous danger on the approach and surveyed his surroundings for any sign of life before stepping forward and taking in the vista before him, his breath hitching on a gasp in his throat at the majestic view.

A breathtaking forest spread below Eli in a dense patchwork of green that flowed outward to the horizon in a sea of vibrant emerald green swaying in the breeze. To his left, upslope from his current location, was the beginning of a towering mountain range. Eli found himself somewhere in the foothills which lead up to the peaks above, and as he craned his neck to the sky as the mountaintops rose sharply upwards, gazing upwards to the most imposing heights he had ever seen.

The dagger sharp, snow bound peaks must have thrust miles into the sky. They have to be maybe a dozen miles tall if not more, while I've never been to the Himalaya's I have been to the Rocky mountains and this range makes them look like some kids' backyard bike ramp. The forest stretching from these foothills was primarily composed of leafy deciduous trees with a smattering of pines, an odd mix given the climate.

The trees were in a variety of hues and varied in height from 30 feet along the slopes to an average canopy height of 150 to 200 feet, broken by the occasional behemoth deep within the endless forest to his right, breaking through the sea of leaves, easily twice the average of even that staggering height of the already towering canopy. It appeared to be a temperate rainforest, albeit one with plant growth dwarfing anything Eli has ever heard of.

Maybe the Himalayas have some massive forest nearby that I've never heard of? But if that's the case how did I get to the other side of the planet? No, I'm pretty sure I'm not on Earth anymore, if goblins were a thing I definitely would have heard about it. Also my highschool biology classes may not have been world class, but I'm pretty sure they would have included trees the size of skyscrapers if they existed.

"It's time to come up with a plan, wandering around isn't going to get me anywhere. Ok survival one-o-one, let's start with the rule of threes", Elias muttered to himself. This was one of the foundational rules taught in most survival courses: the average person can survive three minutes without air, three hours without shelter in hazardous weather, three days without water, and three weeks without food.

"Well we're fine on air, small blessings I guess" Eli chuckled under his breath, looking to the sky that looked mostly clear with a small scattering of wispy clouds in the distance. Honestly, it was suspiciously clear of rain clouds given the amount of plant growth before him, but Eli found himself definitely grateful for any good luck in his favor at this point.

"Shelter can probably wait until I find a water source." Without seeing any break in the trees below him he couldn't be sure of any water sources, but given the dense cover, the forest could hide any number of small water features. Examining the mountains a few miles in the distance Eli could just barely make out mist rising near a break in the trees at the edge of what his vision could parse out. If I'm lucky I'm betting that is a waterfall heading down into the forest, hidden between the lower foothills.

Eli's excitement rose further as he could see a faint ribbon of blue winding just past this point where the mist was emanating from away from him into the distance, and by straining his eyes at the limits of vision, he imagined he could see what may be a break in the forest or a clearing in the far distance. However he didn't feel certain what he was seeing was true.

On a normal day Eli would love nothing more than to hike through such a gorgeous forest, but barefoot in the wild with unknown and ferocious beasts crawling in the dark? No thanks, while I'm more than happy to venture into the unknown I need to at least get some footwear and whatever weapons I can throw together first, and where there is water you usually find people especially if there is some open space and resources nearby.

As Eli strained to parse the minute details in the distance, he felt what was almost like a slight give in the muscles near his eyes, almost like a popping joint or a stopped nose suddenly breathing free, and the distant view suddenly resolved in a burst of clarity and focus that he was not expecting. What the fuck was that? Elias shook his head and rubbed his eyes trying to clear away the odd sensation.

Squinting into the distance it was almost as if his vision had become clearer, with what he could almost swear was telescopic effect. I'm in luck though, it looks like the river runs into a grassy plain far in the distance. Ding A soft chime rang in his ears again as he eased back from straining his vision and Eli whirled around dropping down into a crouch while eyeing the trees behind him.

Elias held his breath while easing down into the brush as gently as he could, looking for any movement of another one of those creatures sneaking up behind him. There's that sound again, did one of those creepy goblin monkeys follow me?