《The Unknown Halfling》


 Chapter 0 (Prologue)

    The night in the forest was unusually frigid. The cloudless sky and the clear view of the stars added to the fact it was mid April made it look a lot warmer than the actual temperature.


    On that night, a figure, clothed in complete black, moved swiftly and stealthily. If one strained their eyes hard they might have seen them under the starlight, but since this was a forest, no one was around.


    The figure, wearing a large cloak, noticeably too big, suddenly stopped after coming to an open field. The field was clearly unkempt, as the grass was up to one''s waist and there was water up to the ankles pooled in random places. In the middle of the field was a flat house, only one story high, but it covered an extremely large area.


    The figure walked closer and looked at the sign above the black iron gate that surrounded the house. Seeing the words written on the sign, the figured muttered weakly, ¡°we are here, Sam.¡± If anyone heard the voice, they would be surprised to hear that the figure¡¯s voice was that of a woman¡¯s. Especially since she was travelling the forest at night alone, as there were many dangerous creatures out hunting at night.This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.


    The woman was shaking badly. She removed a bundle from under her large coat, and a cute sleeping face appeared on the side. It was a baby boy no more than a year old. As the woman held him close she whispered in his ear, ¡°live strong, my son! I will be watching from the stars...¡± The woman then kissed his forehead and as she was laying him down right outside the black gate the baby opened its eyes. The woman gazed into her sons eyes for three seconds before she turned away and ran, crying as she went.


    When she could run no more she collapsed, still in the forest, where she lay still, conscious, but unmoving. She shuddered when she remembered his unnatural eyes.The right eye was a crisp blue, clearly calming and serene. The other left eye was an unnatural blood red, seemingly evil and chaotic.

 Chapter 1

    Chapter 1


    The clouds dissipated, uncovering a bright sun, immediately brightening the outside. The shining rays of golden light landed through the light blue curtains and onto a sleeping child¡¯s face. The sleeping boy lay on his stomach sprawled out and covering the whole bed, the left half of his face buried in his pillow. His left arm disappeared under the pillow, while the right one went off the side of the bed, barely reaching the floor.


    The sun illuminated the boy¡¯s features, his face could be mistaken for a girl. With the baby-like face and his light brown hair long enough to reach his shoulders, he opened his right eye when the light of the sun woke him from his slumber. He rolled over to face the ceiling and rubbed the sleep from his eyes. He sat up, yawning, and stretched his arms behind his back.


    Once awake, he got up from his bed and walked over to his closet. He opened his closet and looked in a mirror on the back of the door. Sighing to himself he muttered, ¡®no matter how many times I see myself, I hate it.¡¯


    He was referring to his left eye, which was covered by an ugly grey eyepatch, the only thing ¡°ugly¡± about him. He was unable to take it off, as it was sealed on him with high magic. He was told that he had an extremely unfortunate accident when he was 2 months old and there was ¡°nothing but a hole¡± that people would make fun of.


    ¡°Sam!¡± a clear shout rang from a couple rooms away interrupting his thoughts, ¡°Lunch is ready!¡±


    ¡°Coming mother!¡± He replied, sighing as he gave one last look, and quickly changed his clothes for the day.


    Sam came out of his room to a hallway and turned left towards the stairs. He ran down the stairs and turned into the living room. He immediately saw his younger sister sneaking around on the other side of the couch and ¡°hiding¡± from him. As per usual, he pretended not to see her and continues on through the room. He almost reached the kitchen when she jumped at him, tackling him from behind.Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.


    ¡°Morning bro! How are you?¡± She exclaimed, and, without waiting for a reply, continued to go sit down as if nothing had happened.


    ¡°Lydia, can you please stop that¡­ it hurts!¡± groaned Sam, getting up while rubbing his back.


    ¡°Huh? I don¡¯t know what you¡¯re talking about..?¡± she replied, looking away and starting to whistle.


    Lydia wasn¡¯t his real sister, but they acted like family because they all lived in an orphanage and grew up together. Sam and Lydia were the both there the longest out of every child. Sam was around a year older and was soon celebrating his 16th ¡°birthday¡±. The orphanage did not know Sam¡¯s exact birthday, so they went with the day he arrived there, which was April 13th.


    ¡°Never mind¡­¡± Sam grumbled to himself. ¡°Let¡¯s just go eat.¡±


    As he was about to sit at the table, a voice was heard from the kitchen. ¡°Sam, can you go get your father and the others, please?¡±


    ¡°Ugh¡­ I thought it was Lydia¡¯s turn to do tha¡­¡± he started to grumble, before immediately shutting up when he saw the glare in his mother''s eyes. ¡°Yes, mother. I¡¯ll be right back¡±


    ¡°Great! Thanks! Your father said he would be in the woods, around the hills to the north of the lake.¡±


    ¡°Mom can I go?¡± Lydia started to plead.


    ¡°No Lydia¡­ I need to speak to you for a bit. So please wait here with me,¡± she softly replied.


    Disappointment clearly showing, Lydia let a unenthusiastic ¡°yes¡± before Sam started to walk away. As he was about to exit the house he heard his mother starting to say something extremely unnerving to his sister.


    ¡°Lydia no matter what happens, always stand by him. Ok? No matter what he does or what occurs, please do not abandon him. He needs¡­¡±


    At this point the door closed completely and he stood there a minute before starting his small journey. As he was walking, he thought about what he heard and pondered over what it could mean.


    Little did he know, there was someone¡­ or something¡­ that was following him in the shadows.

 Chapter 2

    Sam walked down the small path, kicking a small stone along the way.


    ¡°Whatever,¡± he muttered. ¡°I¡¯ll not think about what that meant right now. I gotta get moving.¡±


    Slightly picking up the pace, he accidentally kicked his rock into the grass field on the side. As he noticed it landed in a small patch of dirt, Sam was surprised. The patch was barely visible from the grass, but large enough to take notice


    ¡°Dirt?¡± he pondered, ¡°Animals don¡¯t usually come here, so why would there be a dirt spot¡­¡± For some reason, no animal, big or small, would voluntarily come anywhere near the house. They would all stay in the forest without stepping a foot, paw, claw, or whatever into the grassland. Sam didn¡¯t know why, and he never looked too deeply into it.


    As he knelt over to inspect, he felt like he detected something in an instant from behind him. As he whirled around, he saw nothing. Only the single dead tree along the path on the other side. It was the type of tree that would scare people at night if they looked at it. Its dead branches were hanging over half the road, and its rotting black trunk was covered in white fungus. It almost looked like it was trying to reach out to the road, ready to capture, no consume, an innocent traveler. It always gave Sam the creeps when he saw it.


    ¡°Was it just my imagination?¡± he murmured softly. ¡°Ugh! That tree always sends shivers down my spine. I should tell father to remove it.¡±If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.


    Forgetting about the fresh dirt patch, Sam continued down the path into the forest. A couple of minutes later, he stepped into the forest where a drastic change in the environment happened. There were now calls of birds up in the trees, squirrels and rabbits scratching on the ground, and signs of nature all around.


    Sam sighed as he continued, and soon came to the lake in the middle of the forested area. The road forked to either side, both paths completely encircling the lake together. The left path went by an abandoned fishing hut and boat dock, where exploring was fun when he was younger. The right path winded a little outside the forest, where a bunch of small mounds of earth and stone are located. It was a great place to find weird rocks and small animals.


    As he started along the right path, Sam felt something a little off about his surroundings, but brushed it out of his mind.


    He enjoyed the quiet and peaceful walk toward the hills.


    Upon arriving to the area his father was supposed to be at, Sam¡¯s sixth sense felt something more abnormal in the atmosphere. It was too quiet. No animals, no nature, no sound, nothing. Logically he should¡¯ve heard his father and the other children even before he arrived, but nothing greeted him but silence.


    After searching a bit around a few hills, he finally saw someone in the distance facing away from him. As he started running closer, he realized the figure belonged to his father.


    ¡°Father!¡± Sam yelled, trying to get his attention while running closer. ¡°Mother said break¡­.fast¡­¡±


    His voice trailed as he watched his father fall to his knees, and another smaller figure, clad in grey robes with a hood, appeared from the other side of his body. The figure had a terrifying smile on his face. As he raised his hand to his hooded face, a long tongue protruded from the mouth and licked the sticky red substance on his hand.


    ¡°Ahhh!¡± A hoarse voice came from the figure in grey. His body trembling in excitement and pleasure as he exclaimed ¡°That was delicious!¡±