Drums in the Deepwood

A great stirring could be heard in the far-away woods, those menacing lands where men were afraid to put their foot. Many had tried, but no one of them ever survived. The horns resounded ferocious and hunting among the dense vegetation.

It was lunchtime for the terrible inhabitants of the grove and there was a pang of hunger so strong to carry off flocks, the same flocks stolen from those whining small things that were called humans.

Those few courageous men who attempted to adventure in the forbidden forests stay as just stones beneath the bridge which divide the man's world from the beasts' realm, stones made with the crushed bones of those who failed, while on the other side warns the naïve passengers with its half-fallen structure and its mossy brick covered in the blood of those who never returned.

Well, Peikon Luola's skeleton was still intact, hanging in the first grotto that you could see from the right middle of the bridge, left there so that people could know what would happen to the foreign trespasser. What a character he was, with his stone revolver and his shaman hat, found in one of its foolish adventures. Since he saw a lot of the world he thought that he could uncover the myths of the folklore and demonstrate that they were only fables. The last time that the locals behind the scary trees checked, fables were not lethal. Their kind was.

The beastly people could not understand what their human counterparts wanted to know so badly of what broods under the deepening cloud murk. Weren't they happy with their so-called civilized world?

Did parents or grandparents stop telling their kids fable and tales about how scary the community of the outer woods were? That they eat human meat and clean their teeth with human bones? Why do they still try to pass the bridge and venture into this cursed place?

The moss-laden for the meal continued and so the shambling of the sturdy and crusty creatures as they approached the taverns where the food was served, and they were so very happy because that was the day of their favourite dish: gristle and bone, all turned to stone. Such a delicacy!

And with the "courage" of those stupid exponents of mankind that increased in the number of unlucky visits in the last few months after that that hanging idiot died and they wanted to avenge him, this dish became a staple on menus of the entire ogre society. Can you imagine the happiness of these fouls when it was communicated to them that the plate that was once considered rare now was a permanent dish on the menu of their favourite taverns?

But before they could enjoy the feast they had to please Gahanka the horrible, so ancient that neither his pupils could determine if he was a kobold or a wendigo. The second option was the most popular as a legend said that he was the first human to be turned into a beast, after eating human meat, and the only one who survived his actions.

He hated humans even when he was one of them cause they were never satisfied with what they had and with what they lived, but still they feared change, even if it could improve their conditions. He was happy when he finally died and gave up his human envelope to become the leader of the beasts.

When he was satisfied with his servants he would let them eat and their munching and the chewing of their mouths produced a sound that was known and acknowledged as the drums in the Deepwood. Will any other individual ever cross the bridge to face that crushing rhythm?

Inspire by Elyvilon and his Drums in the Deepwood hosted on In The Woods channel.

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