The Forest's Guardian

Submission for the January Community Magazine ContestBased on the writing prompt: “Dead men tell the best tales.”

The Elder Forest is a dark and ancient place—a place where adventuring parties have discovered magical artifacts that made them richer than kings. A place where magical herbs grow, capable of curing any disease. But such rewards do not come without risk.

When adventurers who were thought lost—or worse—return home safely, they all share the same story: a story about a strange skeleton, made of moss and stone, who protected them and showed them the way out when all hope was lost.

What makes this story even stranger is that it has been repeated over countless centuries.