The Study

He walked back towards Anika's house, seeing Bowie play with other kids and Richard walking towards the house too from the Inn.

Lucian rethought to himself about the situation. It's really odd.. Multiple people vanished in the woods and it's been going on for a decade. Anyone who leaves to search for the lost, doesn't come back. Missing for weeks and not seen. The thought of them being dead flowed into his mind, but wanted to see it to the end. 

After all, this is his reality now and something is majorly different. A lot different than the original game he had played over the years. The story, his story, however, is moving rather slow and quick.

He got to Anika's house where Richard had reached, grabbing his old axe.

"Spoke to Uldric, feel sorry for the guy. Not a lot of info either, nothing you definitely didn't know already."

"Thought as much. Let's go inside, we'll depart around 4pm when it's not that hot. Until then, I'd like to show ya something."

Lucian followed him inside the house and noticed that Anika wasn't inside.

"Where's Anika?"

"Ah she left to buy some things for meals and such, visit people and places. You know how women be."

The two continued through the house, into a locked room which Richard unlocked. It seemed like a study at first but it was Richard's room. Pieces of paper and books all around, and on the table something that looked much more 'advanced'.

It was words and drawings, illustrations of things and such.

"What is this?" Lucian asked looking and observing it

"It's the list of approximate people who have vanished, the date they vanished and under which circumstances they vanished. See, before you came along, I researched and asked around me self. Feel free to take a read at it or ask me to get the in short version."

More than 35 names were on the list, dating back up to the last 3 years.

"Uldric said this began 10 years ago, do you know why?"

"That I do not. Never have we recovered even a single body, but with you and I, it'll be different."

Names, dates, appearances... All of them are different statistics regarding the vanishings except for one key factor, one that links all of the lost ones together. Each and every one on the list has left to the woods whether it was alone or a group.

Could it be a coincidence or is there more to it...

"This isn't much to go off... I may be new to your wo- situation. To your situation. But this all seems very odd and has a lot of missing points." Lucian told Richard, continuing on to look at the papers.

"Ay, agreed. You look somewhat strong, so I'm sure we've got nothin' to worry about with me and you out there!" he'd laugh as he's slightly drunken up. "On a serious matter, I know.. I know. Even if it means findin' just their.. Their dead bodies.. It's better than not knowin'."

Lucian was silent and continued looking through the papers for something to help them yet nothing, even with what he knows.

"Anything suspicious, no matter how little detail it has, that caught your eye or ear about when they left to the woods?" the boy asked, using his hand to move the papers 

"Hm..." 

Richard began to think.

"Nothing." he was silent for a moment, observing Lucian go through the papers when something clicked in his head "Oh wait! I remember yeah! It's irrelevant and not that useful, but Aeliana's dog went with her and returned back around mornin'. Clear of blood and no terror in it's eyes or motions. It could be a coincidence but that's all I know."

He nodded, taking note of it but finding it truly unusual, especially for a 10 year old dog to not have much care for it's owner. Especially if the owner treats his dog well. 

This entire situation was unusual to say the least.

"You think about if it's a monster?"

"Nay. Though if there's a chance, then I have my trusty axe."

"What about me?"

Richard looked around the room mumbling "Anika promised you that sword, so until then..." he opened the chest in his room and took out the best, yet still a rusty piece of weapon that's an axe. "You'll have this!"

He handed it over to Lucian with a smile and he gladly accepted it, now having at least something to defend himself for the time being.

"There doesn't seem to be anything here, so what do we do until 4? What even is the hour right now?"

"It's 10 in the mornin'. Me personally? I'll take a nice long nap. You, well, you do what you want. Sleep, get drunk, hire a whore, whatever you wish my young friend." Richard said, laying onto the bed and closing his eyes.

"Got it." Lucian replied, going out of the room and noticing a painting on the wall after leaving out of it. He stepped back into the room and looked it, seeing younger Anika, holding a baby, two older looking figures, most likely their parents and Richard on the far right.

He didn't think much of it, so he left out of the room entirely and back into the room where he woke up. 

Approaching the bed, he felt tired and laid down, thinking to himself over and over how he must wake up at 4pm so he can depart.

Before laying into bed, he got on the ground and did 50 consecutive pushups, followed by 100 sit ups which was his usual and felt slightly easier.

He placed the rusty small axe onto the table and sat on the edge of the bed for a few minutes, simply thinking about how if this is truly real, there's a chance he dies. So does he go back to his world or does he permanently die. 

Despite being awake for a short while, only asking around questions, he stared at the ceiling for a few moments after laying down and quickly fell asleep.