Chapter 47: Whisper Beyond the Forest
The morning sun peeked through the trees as Caelen stood outside his house, stretching. The village was waking up slowly. Smoke curled from the blacksmith hut, and birds chirped above.
Caelen looked at the dwarves and elves sitting near the fire pit, sipping tea and eating leftover stew. He joined them and asked, "What's outside the Forgotten Forest? Any of you ever been out there?"
Borin rubbed his beard. "No idea. I've lived in the mountains my whole life. Never stepped outside this cursed forest."
Dorgrim nodded. "Same here. Was too busy hammerin' to go sightseein'."
Elira stirred her tea. "We came from the north part, but... we've never left the forest either. None of us really know what's out there."
Caelen frowned. "So no one's seen the outside?"
Laen shook his head. "No. And to be honest... it's dangerous. The deeper you go, the more monsters you find."
"Not just monsters," Fen added. "The goblins and orcs... they're not fighting each other anymore. We've heard rumors. They're teaming up. Trying to make one big nation."
"Like a goblin-orc alliance?" Caelen raised an eyebrow.
"Exactly," Elira said. "And they don't like elves, humans, or dwarves."
Caelen looked down at the grass, then opened his status menu quietly.