Grim Truths

The gentle rays of dawn peeked through the trees, revealing a man and a raven scurrying through the undergrowth.

"Where are we going?" Val asked.

"North, I've been tasked with bringing you to my lord." The raven replied.

Val stopped. "Who is this lord? What does he want with me and why should I not run off now?" he asked with suspicion in his eyes.

"Hmph, ingrate. Had he not sent me to assist and retrieve you, I imagine you'd be dinner for a small army of goblins. We must continue, we are not even halfway there. You will meet the lord yourself, regardless." The raven perched on a tree branch, answering his questions with obvious contempt.

"Assist me? All you've done is threaten me into following you on this wild journey through the woods."

"Hmm? What's the ingrate saying now? Were it not for me leading goblins on a chase through the forest for three nights, you would never have woken up from your nap."

Val paused, his brows knitted together, registering what he had just heard.

"Hold on... What do you mean 3 nights?"

The raven squinted slightly, realizing Val was more ignorant of the situation than he realized. "You were unconscious for several days, completely unresponsive to my attempts to wake you." He explained.

Pondering this news for a moment, some of what he had seen became more plausible. The city did not look like it had just been destroyed, but it was not old ruins either.

"What about these goblins? What are they and why are they here?" Val asked. The most dangerous part of his situation was these aberrations.

"Savage creatures with primitive intelligence, but ravenous appetites. Individually they are not dangerous, but they breed quickly, they are opportunistic by nature, and have no sense of morals. As to why they are here, that is not for me to explain. If you wish for answers regarding this, and the destruction you saw, you will need to get them from my lord." The raven explained.

"What about you?" Val asked. The goblins could be an actual threat, but the fact really threatening Val's sanity was a large raven capable of human conversation.

"What *about* me?" Val was sure by his tone that the raven was rolling his eyes at him.

"A. How can you talk? And B. Do you have a name? Lastly, C. What is your goal here?" Val questioned.

Running thin on patience, the raven puffed up, quickly explaining. "Endless questions, I do have a name, but it's wasted on the likes of yourself. Now, I can understand if you're simply shocked at the idea one such as myself, but really... I'm quite certain I explained my task of retrieving you and bringing you safely to my lord."

"You haven't explained why, though."

"Hmph." The raven squinted and paused for a moment before explaining. "For your survival. You neither understand nor are properly equipped for the threats you and your kind face. My lord is interested in correcting that, why he has an interest in you specifically, ask him yourself."

"What threats? Those goblins? Humanity has conquered the world, we've even landed on the moon. Even hundreds of years ago with medieval technology, people could take care of them." Val retorted.

The raven discarded all pretense, taking a grave tone. "Boy, the world you know is not the world it is now, and there will be far more grim truths to face than goblins."

He turned his small head to the south, as if looking at something in the distance despite the dense woodland. "We have wasted too much time, we must continue, now." The raven took off from his perch, prompting Val to follow, despite his obvious lack of enthusiasm.

*Looks like I'll have to meet this lord if I'm gonna get the answers I need.* Val mulled over the raven's words as he jogged along.

*Something worse than goblins? How much worse exactly? They threaten all of humanity? Did they cause the destruction in the bay?* The answers to Val's questions only left more unanswered questions.

"Hey, bird, if what you've told me is true, we're running away from the goblins, but what about these 'worse threats' you speak of? Will we run into them here?" Val asked.

"Not likely. Once we reach my lord, the only things that would dare approach are far more powerful than you can imagine. If such a threat appeared, think of how you'd like to spend your time in the afterlife." The raven explained.

"Fantastic, I have some ideas for hobbies I might take up when I'm dead, would you like to hear them?" Val sarcastically asked.

"No." The raven responded curtly.

"You sure? I think I've recently grown a fondness for taxidermy." Val said with a smirk.

Jogging through thick undergrowth, Val marveled at the vibrancy of the surrounding forest. It was almost winter, yet the trees and vegetation seemed as full of life as they could be. The air had a pleasant, clean feel to it, leaving Val refreshed and invigorated. It was strange though, he should feel more exhausted, especially with his penchant for cigarettes and previous injuries, yet he felt relatively fine. At his current pace, he imagined he could continue for several hours without a break.

"Hey, bird, how much longer?" Val recalled it was only supposed to be a trip of 3 or 4 hours and by the position of the sun he reckoned it must have been at least 2.

"A quarter of the journey remains." The raven curtly replied.

"So we still have ways to go, I'll keep this pace but answer my questions."

"I've no obligation to answer your questions."

Val came up with a proposal he suspected the raven might be interested in. "Fine, you don't care about me, that's clear enough. You do however care about completing your task, so how about you answer my questions and I'll quicken my pace."

Thinking for a moment, the raven compromised, and started to fly for longer periods, settling on further branches between each burst of flight.

"Very well, you will ask, I will answer, only if it is not questions meant for my lord, and... provided you can keep up with me." The raven called back.

Shifting almost to a running speed, Val caught up and began questioning the bird.

"Other humans like myself, are they nearby? Where has everyone gone to?"

"Those that survived fled east, further inland, evacuating away from the coast. Where exactly, you might have a better idea than I."

"You mentioned greater threats than goblins, can you give me any examples to watch out for?"

The raven did not immediately reply, seeming to be mulling over the question.

"Orcs, for example." The raven suggested.

"Orcs? Like green, bloodthirsty, hulking monsters bent on slaughtering humans and burning villages?" Val asked with an almost humorous tone, causing the raven to cast him a confused look.

"Hulking perhaps, but I've never seen a green orc, most have skin like copper. They are a fierce warrior race possessing greater innate strength than men. While they have gone to war with humans, they abide by a strict sense of honor, unlike goblins. They are also very territorial. Had you wandered into an orc encampment, I guarantee they would greet you with the edge of a blade rather than invite you to a meal. They possess as much intelligence as you humans do. I'm not sure what kind of orc you are imagining, but do not underestimate them." The raven clarified.

"Wait, how recently has there been a war between orcs and humans? I've learned a lot of history and there's no known records of orcs."

"Hmph, wrong history."

"What do you mean?"

"That question must wait for my lord."

"Ugh, well are there orcs nearby?"

"... Not in these woods, but I have not yet scouted the areas beyond."

Realizing he was no longer guiding the conversation to his questions, Val dropped the orc topic as he remembered something else on his mind, though he felt foolish asking about it.

"Hey, have you ever seen a uh... Stone, like hot coals, except it remains hot for hours without cooling?" Val asked.

The raven suddenly alighted on a branch and turned to face Val, a serious look in his eyes.

"That is not just any stone, where did you see it?"

Realizing the raven seemed very interested in his finding, Val smirked.

"Oh? Interested? What's it worth to--"

"This is not a game, boy. That stone, while not rare, rarely appears above ground, it is something of a power source to some. Even to goblins, while most of them are so stupid they will burn or kill themselves trying to eat it as a snack, if one of the more intelligent variety chances upon it... It's an item that can pave their way to becoming or overthrowing a chieftain. You may not run into them, but I imagine you would not like to see a unified goblin clan growing and raiding the surrounding areas. Where is that stone?" The raven questioned Val sternly.

"Uh... At the entrance to that park, further past my car, there's a torched lodge. I left it in the mud next to it." Val relented, imagining a horde of goblins sweeping through the country, preying on stranded survivors was a chilling notion.

The raven suddenly took off above the treetops. Val heard him cawing loudly. It seemed as if he was communicating to some other bird. A moment later the raven returned, and without saying another word, resumed his travel north.

Val started moving again, catching up to the raven.

"You're not going to retrieve it?" Val asked with some surprise.

"Another will in my stead, our goal is further."

The two traveled another hour in silence with only the sound of nature as accompaniment.

Soon after, they reached their destination. Val was again surprised, but with recent events his capacity for shock had yet to recover. A large, round clearing appeared amid the trees, encircled within was a modern enough looking campsite. There was a grill, with a few pots and pans stacked neatly nearby. There were a couple tents already pitched and ditch dug in the middle for a campfire. It appeared the camp had been in use for a couple days already.

There stood an elderly, bearded man with gray-white hair swept back but almost reaching his shoulders. He was of a large build, a real bear of a man. The sound of splitting logs resounded as the man wielded a hatchet, displaying unusual strength despite his apparent age. In a few moments, he had split several chunks of log, each with a single, practiced swing. He was dressed as if he were out hiking, wearing blue jeans, a pair of hiking boots, a brown parka and a matching beanie hat.

The raven immediately swooped down to perch on his left shoulder.

"Ah, Huginn, old friend, you've returned! I was growing worried after your sister left." The old man said in a joyous tone as he stroked the raven's head with an enormous hand, ruffling some feathers in the process.

Standing several meters away, his brows raised, Val observed with great amusement, the behavior of the raven who regarded him with such pride and disdain.

"My lord, I've brought the boy as you've requested." The raven named Huginn reported.

"Indeed, thank you. Rest now, you've been quite busy of late." The old man gently instructed.

As he turned to greet his guest, Val noticed the details about the man's face. Sunken, closed eyelids appeared where his right eye should be, but the left held a piercing blue gaze that unsettled Val as he met it. He felt a vastness, like an ocean in that eye, but it seemed to both meet his eyes and see through him at the same time. It shined with a clarity and vigor that belied the wrinkles and weathered complexion about his face.

"Come now, you've traveled a long way with neither wings nor steed. I mean you no harm, and you must be hungry." The old man invited Val over with a welcoming smile, extending a large, rough hand.

The time for other plans had passed. Accepting the invitation, Val walked over and extended his hand to greet the old man.

"Hello, my name is Val..." Val's voice trailed off as the old man shook his hand. It was neither the strength of his grip nor the roughness of his hand, but in his grip Val felt indescribably small. Released from the handshake a moment later, Val felt a cold sweat creeping down his back.

"Hmm? Valtyr isn't it? Son of Niels?" The old man asked.

Stunned and unable to register the question of why he knew his name already. Val responded uncertainly. "Uh, yes. Just Val is fine, you are lord..?"

The old man suddenly erupted with laughter that rung loudly in Val's ears and threatened to throw him to the ground. "Ahahaha! Lord? No, Huginn is a just a bit stiff. You can call me Karl."