Rodent was still taken aback by what he heard. The breeze rustled his blond and gray hair. Soon, he snapped out of it, turning to the area's exit. The world was waiting for him.

  "Of all the things to call me."

  He went to leave.

  "Oh, that's right." Rodent turned back, scanning the ground. "That old man's cane. I better not leave it." His eyes looked at the strange and ancient blocks that formed the pond and some of the ground around it. There, the cane laid—changed.

  "What the."

  Rodent blinked, approaching, and picked up the pole on the ground—which was composed of the same material. It was heavy and light, long but also felt odd but perfect in his hand.

  Rodent breathed through his mouth, his face fully scrunched, looking around for the cane… never having seen this pole when he arrived. Focusing on it again, he set his second hand upon it—and the thing grew slightly to its perfect length for him.

  Its weight was perfectly balanced in his hands.

  "W-What…"

  It was strong, feeling like it could not be broken, smooth as he swung it around. Rodent chuckled while still being confused. His head shook. "T-That cane. I need to find that can—"

  Just then, the thing shrunk, becoming the cane it was before, held in one hand again. Rodent gazed at it intensely, smiling, unable to believe it. "N-No way…"

  Rodent tapped the thing against the grass, where it felt normal again, though when he touched the material of the pond—it started to transform again. Rodent's smile only grew. "I see. That's pretty cool." He nodded. "Good thing you didn't do that while she was around—she'd break you and kill me."

  Rodent twirled the cane like a twirling stick until feeling a pulse and a vibration within it. He stopped. "W-Wait. Can you… feel all this? Are you conscious?"

  Another beat vibrated against his palm.

  "Huh." Rodent couldn't stop smiling. "Today just gets more and more interesting. You have a name?"

  Two light vibrations.

  "H-Heh. W-Well. We gotta call you something." Rodent cocked his head, thinking. "Hmm. H-How about Sorn? Little test run—trial run?"

  One beat, a single vibration, that Rodent fully understood, that he effortlessly converted into words. It was a pleasant vibration—like a cat's purring.

  "Could you do this on Earth?" Rodent asked. "Or only here?"

  Sorn buzzed in an interrupted pattern.

  "I see. Guess the old man never needed you to be anything more." His head shook. "Doesn't matter. We gotta get you back to him."

  A happier buzz.

  "Some 'old man' he was." Rodent gazed outward. "To be honest with you… I doubt I'll make it far in this world." Rodent pressed the cane against the ground, seeing if Sorn would protest. It did not. "But… if I perish close to where someone can find me… at least then maybe they can help you out."

  Another buzz, not as happy, not liking Rodent's death.

  "It happens," Rodent said. “Hey… don’t suppose… you could become a sword or something?"

  Dismayed buzzing.

  "Can only become what you copy, huh?"

  Positive buzzing… with slight guilt.

  "Don't worry. Wouldn't be fun if you had everything unlocked at the start." Rodent rested on the cane. "Heh. Y'know, before this, I refused to ever use a cane."

  He began forward. "Guess there's something special about you."

  Sorn vibrated hopefully as the two left the pond.

  They descended one of the two curved paths leading to the land below. Ancient bricks made a square around a patch of trees, grass, and bushes as if to protect it from the rest of the world. It was a cozy spot.

  "I wonder what this place even was," Rodent asked aloud. He stood at a distance to sketch the scene—a hint of the pond's pillar seen above it. People from other worlds passing through."

  For whatever reason, something took over Rodent's hand, drawing massive but elegant creatures. Rodent knew not what he was creating but was being clued in detail after detail.

  Then there was something like a deer, one as large as an elephant, with great horns that were frosted close to their tips. Their eyes were vacant, white. A casual ball of the same energy hovered between their horns.

  That energy reminded Rodent of winter.

  If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.

  "H-Huh." Rodent breathed through his mouth, heart racing. "G-Guess… I'm still making stuff up." His head shook. "Oh, well." He titled the piece 'The Pond and the Plotted Forest.'

  Finished, he pocketed the notebook, turning to the exit—the twin, towering rock walls. Beyond were open fields of wild grass and varying hills. Nothing but distance could be seen.

  Rodent's heart was beating quickly.

  His hand was placed over it.

  "H-Heh." He tried to calm his breathing. "My dream has finally come true… and I'm almost afraid to enter it."

  Sorn vibrated encouragingly in his hand.

  Rodent blinked.

  "That's right." He smiled. "The story can't continue if I stay here."

  Holding his cane tighter than he needed to…

  …Rodent embarked into the new world of Eroza.

  It was a long walk over the hills.

  Rodent walked without a thought in his head. Nothing but hills and fields surrounded him. He knew not when there would be an end—when there would be a change in scenery.

  The grass was untouched. No prints or impressions save his own. There were no birds. Nothing in the sky that was a darker blue. Had he not met Sila, Rodent would have wondered if anything else lived on this planet.

  But soon, there was a change.

  Not a good one.

  It was gray and dull on the horizon, composing most of it and becoming more of it as Rodent approached. Soon, the colour became the shape of dried and dead trees with branches as sharp as knives.

  The ground looked equally terrible, much able to be seen in the woods… but the woods were so large that only more of it could be seen. Rodent wasn't getting a good feeling from it.

  More so when he came before the woods, seeing it sprawled from side to side. There was nowhere else to go—unless he was prepared to go a great distance again.

  Rodent could only stare at the barrier to the dying and dead place.

  "Any sane person would turn around, wouldn't they?"

  His cane buzzed affirmatively.

  "Could be anything in there." Rodent gazed into the vacant woods without end. "Monsters. Creatures. Wicked souls." He shrugged. "Probably cursed, too."

  The cane shivered.

  "And it all probably leads to somewhere worse, too, where it's too late to escape."

  Another approved shiver.

  "But turning around would be such a pain." Rodent closed his eyes, breathing deeply. "Oh, well." He reopened his eyes, looking down at his friend. "Ready for a little trouble? I can always smack them with you."

  The cane would have whimpered… but steadied itself.

  They entered the woods.

  Farlor Woods.

  The air was cold.

  Rodent and Sorn passed from grass to dry and dead land. Large, decayed trees surrounded them. The sky could be seen between the remaining barren branches.

  The deeper they entered, the more distraught the woods were, fallen trunks covering the ground—hollowed with large holes. Stones and rocks of varying sizes populated the ground.

  There was no feeling in the woods. Nothing good or bad. It was dead; anything to it, gone. The colder breeze was harder to bear. The lack of remains of anything was frightening.

  "Just… how far away from life are we?" Rodent asked to hear his own voice. He walked straight and tried to keep that way over obstacles—not wanting to get lost.

  "This all feels like a dream," he spoke some more, deeper in the woods, unsure if he was even near its middle. The entrance was long gone behind them—unknown. "Like… it all might suddenly disappear. The old man sent me here." He exhaled, head shaking. "But I can't think why."

  Sorn vibrated in his hand, on and off in small, precise measurements, translated into words inside Rodent's mind. Sorn's speech was stuttered and shunted.

  But Rodent could understand it.

  "No. It's not that. It's just…" Rodent thought carefully, noticing the trees around him becoming fewer. The land was opening more.

  It felt wrong.

  "Sila said she's supposed to kill a hero, right? One that's supposed to come out of the pond?" Small breaking sounds came from the trees—so small the wind covered the noise. Cracks and tears formed in them. "I'm not a hero. Won't ever be one. So… why was I the one to come through?"

  Those cracks broadened, becoming larger, but remained under Rodent's radar.

  "I just… I hope my being here doesn't stop the real hero from showing up," Rodent said. "So… why send me? Something important is going to happen, right?"

  Sorn was quiet.

  "I nearly died getting here, and I'm sure to die further on ahead." Rodent shook his head, trying to shake these thoughts, knowing they had no value—but feeling like his coming here was wrong. "So, what can I do? Why am I here? What is the point of all this?"

  Wood tore, screeched, and cracked in the process of something dead becoming alive. It sounded from each of the few great trees surrounding Rodent. He spun, checking them all, seeing the lines and shapes breaking apart on each.

  "S-Sorn?" Rodent said, raising the cane. "Can you turn into a pole again?"

  The horrible breaking came from all the trees. Branches broke and collapsed onto the ground, some exploding open, others cracking slowly like an egg.

  "Oh, s-shit."

  Thin wooden tendrils slithered out from the cracks in the trees, testing and tasting the air—retracting at being seen. Rodent couldn't stop his heart from racing as the trees started to split and break apart further… as if opening themselves to further let what was inside escape.

  Rodent barely held himself together.

  Focus. Focus. You don't stand a chance if you're not prepared to fight.

  Sorn grew in his hands to become a pole, one he held with two hands, a weapon that at least felt strong…

  …but not one he used before.

  More tendrils shot out from the trees, latching onto the fallen branches and splintered wood and connecting to them—somehow drinking them. The trees became bigger and broader as if to better birth whatever was inside.

  On other trees, there were shapes of things, almost living things, that looked as though they were trying to become manifest.

  "Yeah." Rodent nodded. "I made the wrong call."

  Great things. Little things.

  They all tried to be born from the dead wood.

  And Rodent could only gulp.

  bet we've envisioned fight scenes to music.

  what you write down and what that causes you to do afterward.

  and be interested in what they're writing.