The journey

Who to be special for?

The company had been wandering the woods for three days. At first, they tried to use their map at hand, but it did not match the sight at all. They realized that, whatever spell the cultist used had changed the entirety of the forest completely.

The man came up with a plan. He started to draw a map of their tracks as they went. It wasn't perfect, but it did prevent them from going in circles. No matter where they went, they could not find a way out. Be it a mysterious fog, an invisible barrier, or bushes as tall and as dense as the walls themselves, something was always blocking their path.

One obstacle, in particular, was incredibly strange to them. It was an unbelievably big spider web. No matter how hard they cut at it with a blade or a spear, it did not even flinch. It rendered fire useless as well. Not even a full-powered blow from Wolf's mace had any effect on it. And yet, the wanderer felt that behind it was a way out of there, but they needed to move on. By the third day, the traveler realized that the maze was just the beginning of the trap. The forest, more subtly, did what the maze could not. It wore them down. All of them were tired, enraged. Especially Wolf. He cried out in anger.

'Ah, for the love of all the gods! We have been walking here for an eternity, and we are nowhere closer to the exit than where we began! Maybe I should just cut down these fucking trees one by one!'

Scythian, while exhausted himself, tried to keep his co-guide calm.

'Please, calm down. Shouting and anger do not do us any good. We are all tired, but don't forget that we have a map in the making. Soon we will find our way out of here. Isn't that right, lad?' the old spearman turned to the young warrior.

'It is true,' started the man. 'We have a map. But I'm afraid it's already complete within these borders. See that tree over there?' He pointed at a tree with a twisted trunk. He had drawn it on the map as a landmark and even carved a big X on it to be sure. And sure enough, it was in the same place as before.

'That means that we have traveled the section affected by the foe's spell, and it is completely cut off from the rest of the forest. No way in, no way out. I still think that the spider web is our best bet right now. If we can find a way to—'

'But there is none!' the master of battle interrupted. 'We have already tried that! That way is completely blocked! If we had just pushed through that 'barrier' which only you think is there, we would be out of here already!'

The old fighter snapped at the veteran.

'The barrier is there! We tried our strongest, but its magic will not let us through. But maybe if you had tried harder at the mile-high bush, we could already be in a nice tavern by now!'

Wolf readied himself. For a moment, the man wondered, as often before, what would happen if his two companions fought? Who would win? He quickly dropped the idea.

'Enough!' he shouted. 'Look, fighting amongst ourselves will not solve anything. We need solutions, not further setbacks.'

'Oh, look at him, everyone. Isn't the pup the big leader now? Well, since you are so special, why don't you tell us how to get out?' snarled Wolf. Maybe he did it on purpose, maybe not. But he did press the wrong button. With that sentence, an old feeling crept back into his soul. Amplified. A feeling which he always tried to ignore. The wanderer grabbed the map and threw it at his guide and started to shout.

'BECAUSE I'M NOT SPECIAL! I never was! I was always this useless, mediocre guy who is not good for anything. I never meant anything anywhere nor was important to anyone. I do not matter. I know that! Why do you think I'm so pathetic that I need guides on my way? Sometimes I may seem capable or competent, but that's just dumb luck! I always wanted to matter, I always wanted to feel that I'm needed somewhere, that I belong to a place. That I am important, even for a little. But deep down? No matter where I am, no matter who I am with, I know that I am just not special. Why do you think that creature chose me as a prey?' the man pointed at the Hollow. It seemed a little taller now. Stronger even. It just stood there with a shocked and puzzled expression on its face. Like a child who does not understand what it did wrong. Scythian and Wolf just stared at the man. Speechless about the confession he just made. Even though they had been traveling together for a while now, they had little idea of how deep the man's problems and feelings were.