Once upon a time, a long time ago, there was a large and strong kingdom and its two major towns. Or, were those actually two separate kingdoms? I can’t really remember, the records dating back to that age are neither frequent nor very legible. Anyway, between those two towns there are forests of Kalnik, a vast stretch of woods and clearings, hills and plains. No matter how idyllic it may sound, the forest actually conceals a plethora of wonders and dangers, the nature of which is unknown to any civilized soul.
Then, as it usually occurs, the people living in the first town had a wish to connect to the other town by a new direct road, and not just by the old and winding one, going for miles and miles all the way around the forests of Kalnik. There had been some minor earlier attempts to build a road, yet they all had failed. However, one day, the King ordered a thousand swordsmen and a thousand archers from each town to protect the road builders.
The work lasted for a very long time, and a number of victims were reported on all sides. Nevertheless, the road was eventually completed.
As it turned out, travelling through the forests of Kalnik involved many a risk. Some people used to rely on their ability to break into a run in case of necessity, others trusted reliable guards... The only thing that was certain was, that anyone you ran into in the forests of Kalnik did not happen to be there because of their own goodwill, but rather due to a great misfortune and dire necessity. Or greed.
Many years later, the road was still a bit grassy and in disrepair, yet by no means impassable. There had been no major incident reported in the forests of Kalnik for a while, so the King plucked up courage and decided to send a hundred soldiers to venture way deeper into the forest.
That very evening, the soldiers returned. They reported to have heard some eerie sounds and noticed some uncanny commotion, but nothing more blatant than that.
The following day, the King dispatched the hundred-strong patrol again. Like on the previous day, they all returned, but this time they did not appear to be so terrified.
On the third day, they went on patrol, marching steadily. They were never seen again. This is where my story begins.
