Chapter 3 Arkshems on Attack

"Mister Herin, the village chief called to us. He said that there is an important thing that should be discussed." A man holding firewood called for Koren's father who is also cutting firewood. "I will be sure to come to the village hall. Thank you for telling me." The other two shake hands and Herin immediately walks inside their house to inform his wife of his sudden schedule. "Dear, the village head sent someone to tell me that we are going to have a meeting. I will be out for a while okay?"

"Huh? If the village head called you then that means it is important right? So there is no need to tell me about it and just go." She replied while cooking their breakfast. "But make sure to return immediately okay? Or the food will go cold." She said as her husband waves his hand goodbye and went to the village hall.

"Thank you all for coming here everyone. This is a bit sudden but there is something important that I want to tell everyone here. Arkshem are spotted near our village and they seemed to have reach the forest." The village head announced. Herin froze the moment he heard that from the village head and starts to sweat and ask him to repeat what he just said. "Can you repeat that village head?" they all look at him with worry. "I said that there are Arkshems spotted near our village. What is it Herin? Is something wrong? Why are you sweating so much? Are you sick?" all the household leaders look at him but then Herin decided to leave the hall in hurry.

"Sorry village head but I need to leave for now! Koren must be in danger!" he screamed that alarmed the rest of them. "Follow Herin! Go grab some weapons and be on the way! Tell the others to lock themselves in their houses." The village head ordered and the husbands went on their way as the village head said.

"What is it this time? I hope no harm will come to us this time." The village head says to himself as he run towards his house to get weapons when all of the sudden a shadow passed by him. "That is-!"

"I'm sure the Arkshems are here somewhere." A young lady with a spear says to herself while looking down on the forest. "I passed by the village but it doesn't seem like it was attacked just now." With the wind supporting her feet, she stands beside the clouds while scanning the entire forest for abnormalities that is the Arkshems. "Where could they have gone to?" she thinks to herself and proceeds to another spot for a better view of the forest.

"Koren! Koren! Koren! Koren! Where are you?" Herin yelled as soon as he steps foot inside the forest without a single weapon to defend himself against any wild animal attacks which is the least of his worry since the life of his son is at stake. "Please be safe!" he prays as he run towards the center of the forest not knowing that his son is at the river bank where he always plays.

"Thanks my deer friend. You know what herb to give me for my scratch. You really are a great friend." Koren said while patting the deer's head. "After this we are going to play tag okay? Just give me a minute and patch this wound up." Koren gently pound the herb and use it as ointment for the scratch that he got from playing around without knowing the danger of the Arkshems that happened to enter the forest.

"Now that is done. I think we are ready to play." He said cheerfully but then the reaction of the deer and other animals around him gave it away. "What is it?" he asked but the animals could not really answer back to him and just ran away, the deer tried to even pull his sleeve but he is too heavy for the young dear. Koren is still unaware of what made the animals behave that way and just then when he is about to turn around, he felt it.

The feeling before something ominous behind him made his skin tingle in fear and fright that he no longer needs to turn back to see what is behind him. "What is this?" even when all the animals run away, the young deer still pulls his sleeve, and that is when Koren realize what the animals and the deer was doing. "They were telling me to run all along." He said to himself and without a single delay, Koren, with all his might carried the deer with his tiny arms and flee from the scene without looking back.

HUFF! HUFF! HUFF! HUFF! HUFF! HUFF! HUFF!

"What is it? What is it that is coming after us?" Koren has no time to look back since he knows that death only awaits him if he dares to take a single glance behind him. "Don't tell me- Arkshems!" his guess is right. Dark and large beings with no distinguishing features are chasing down Koren who is doing all that he can to fit into small gaps to lose them but they are agile and fast enough to make their way off the gaps and catch on behind Koren.

"This is bad! If I don't do something they are going to die-!" Koren looks at the deer that is just as frightened as he is. "I have to do something." He said to himself and just up ahead, he sees a fallen tree and there is a hole in the middle, big enough for him to hide from the Arkshems.

TAK! TAK! TAK! TAK! TAK! TAK! TAK!

Koren slides through the mossy branch and carefully hid the deer inside the hole but he forgot to look up ahead of him and clashed with another branch of the tree, sending him rolling on the ground with a few injuries and scratches all over his body. "At least I manage to hide the little deer." He said to himself without having the strength to lift himself from the ground.

KRRRRR! KRRRT! KRRRTTTTT!

The two ominous figures stand before him as if they are curious as to what he is, Koren move his eyes to where the deer is and smiles when he saw that the deer actually got hidden perfectly from their sights. "Huff! Huff! Huff! Huff! I did not get to play a lot." He muttered to himself as he close his eye then a cold breeze hits his forehead that made him look up and saw a young lady holding a spear.