Silence predominated the building, tension slowly building up as the obviously prominent figure sharply scrutinize Tyler. Things continued in similar fashion for at least a few more minutes when the figure finally decided that he got all the information he could from simply observing and decided speak.

“Who are you and what were you doing in our territory?”, the voice was deep and echo-y, as if it came from deep down his stomach, similarly to the roar of a true tiger. His tone and gaze definitely didn’t strike Tyler as light-hearted and humorous.

A couple of options for answers instantly started jumping around his mind. The guy was definitely a no-bullshit-type of person, perhaps in this situation honesty was for the best. Unfortunately, his circumastes were quite.. Peculiar, being completely honest might not play to his advantage. On the other hand completely lying was out of the equation as well. A feeling of wariness from deep down his gut, told him that this man would most probably detect his obvious and hastily-crafted lie, which wouldn’t end well with him.

In the end Tyler decided to pick the safest option that he could think of in this fraction of a second that he for an answer. He would neither outright lie to them, however, he would leave most of the truth unsaid. In a strange stroke of luck, or maybe the twisted humour of the universe.. Or this system, his answer would be one of the things that he hated the most. A complete cliche.

“Am.. I don’t really know. I do not recall anything else, except suddenly waking up on a valley, surrounded on all sides by forests”, Tyler did try to sound as sure, confident and relaxed as he could, in the end he kind of melted under the unwavering stare and had a small stutter at the start of his sentence. Answering with a deceit, even though it was not a lie, because he did actually suffer amnesia one time already, was still really risky.

Hopefully this little blunder didn’t cost his life.

Another minute of silence followed as the beastman continued staring at him, unblinking. The pressure was slowly piling up on Tyler, his shoulders became heavy and cold sweat formed on his back.

With a long sigh the tigerman’s voice came, now a tiny bit softer, exhausted even “A lucky man, I cannot seem to detect any dishonesty in your answer and posture. However, we are neither dumb nor naive enough to let you be.”

His fingers tapped the throne-like structure a couple of times and a second sigh came “We are not bloodthirsty murderers either. We have a code to follow, The codex of the Everchanging Forest’s hunters, that our ancestors left us.

You are to be kept in custody until Melisa, our only shaman, returns from her mission. Whereas my skill to detect some lies is mostly intuitive and instinctual, which means it can be bypassed by the more skilled people, she can use shaman magic to verify what you’re saying.”

Tyler could immediately feel the weight come off of his shoulders and unconsciously released a breath he didn’t even know he had held.

“If you did lie to us though… well, you’d curse the fact that you were not killed on the spot, when the hunters first encountered you”, the tone was chillingly cold and the glow in the tiger’s gaze shifted to something more sinister. Tyler felt millions of tiny chills crawl all over his body, his tongue tightening, his lungs contracting and refusing to inhale air.

The pressure was so heavy and thick that he almost lost blacked out when it all stopped. Like a weird remembrance of a past event, it simply vanished as if it was never there.

“Well, enough of that. I go by the name of Ruxos, I am part of the Council of Four and currently the one in charge of the settlement. As well as the leader of the hunter/warriors. And what you just experienced was my Aura or Battle intent if you will. Now, mind telling me your name?”

“Thank you for your understanding. My name is Tyler.”, trying to be as polite as he could, even though he still had trouble talking from the ghostly remains that the Aura left on his psyche, Tyler answered as articulated tone as possible.

Maybe not the best first encounter with one if this world’s alien civilizations, but if this shaman woman can really verify that he is not lying it can turn out for better.

“Excellent. Well, Tyler, hopefully you were not lying to me, it’s the first time I’ve seen one of your kind and it’d be a pity to lose you so quickly.”, the man rumbled with joyful tone, yet Tyler couldn’t shake of the sinister feeling those words gave him. Hopefully this shaman lady really, really knew what she’s doing.

“Take our guest to one of the empty houses and put two guards outside at all time.”

And just like that he, still tied up to the pole, was lifted in the air yet again and carried away to his new abode. No second thoughts were given to the changing surroundings as Tyler’s mind was preoccupied and still trying to process some of the new information that he gained.

Firstly and most importantly, the word shaman is closely tied with magic, the very thought was almost enough to make Tyler jump in excitement, that was if he was not currently tied up.

Even though he saw the mystical way these hunters/warriors moved about, definitely using some kind of fantasy-like ability or skill, the very notion of actual magic was way too overpowering. It seemed to really be an RPG-like fantasy world. In this case a rather complicated decision was soon to be dropped on Tyler’s shoulders. If it is like he suspects, he would most likely have to choose to be a warrior, mage or hopefully something in between. Never had Tyler any doubt that if he could incorporate a warrior’s abilities with a mage’s he would miss the chance.But then again, if he had to choose one of them, being a mage was definitely the choice that comes to mind.

After thinking a bit longer about it, he finally decided that currently there is too much lack off information about both, or how they work. Either way, his adventurous side was ecstatic about the future to come.

While all this mess was happening inside of his head, the hunters had already carried him to the front door of his new temporary abode. A small house, identical to all others around it. The vines used to tie him up were then cut and he was pushed inside the small house.

The inside was definitely not something to get excited about. Especially you are someone who has gotten accustomed to live in the luxury of 21 century Earth.

A simple wooden bed with some leather and fur as blankets and padding on one side, a small table with 3 chairs around it on the opposite side and a cooking area with a small empty bookshelf right in front. There were two windows that light shined through, one to the wall on his left and the other to the wall on his right.

Two words came to mind when looking at the shallow inside - scarce and simple. But judging by the structure of the village, the weapons, the clothing - this world definitely reeked of medieval times on Earth, just coupled with fantasy. Truly a cliche.

Slowly Tyler got his body to the bed and sat down. The events of the day finally catching up on him, making him feel extremely mentally and physically exhausted. Especially now that the adrenaline has run out and his body was low on fuel. Tyler mentally scolded himself for not asking for some food, he got too caught up with everything that went down, his mind completely shut off any such insignificant thoughts at the time. Even though that he understood that he basically still had the status of a prisoner, the rumbling of his stomach and the pain of hunger that started assaulting him crushed any dignity he had left.

Just as he was about to stand up and shamelessly ask the guards, that are most likely stationed at the entrance, for some food the door of the house opened and a girl walked in. She was wearing non-armour looking clothing, the same as the other townsfolk - a patched up robe made from a combination of cloth, big leaves and fur. She was not overly beautiful, but definitely not ugly either. Perhaps a bit over average. A round face, normal-sized nose and almond-ish shaped brown eyes that looked at him warily. She seemed to be in her mid teens and Tyler was positive that she did not trust him.

Tyler simple watched her move and nothing more. He did not even stare, nor did he make any sharp movements. He had a several reasons for his actions. First, the girl was carrying a tray that seemed to have food on it, it would not be in his advantage to scare the girl further and risk her either dropping the food or leaving without giving it to him. Then there was the strange concept that a young girl, that was obviously frightened, would be left to deliver food to some stranger that was just taken captive not even an hour ago.

This was definitely a test, he was most likely being observed, they were trying to gauge his intentions and one wrong move would probably cost him his life.

Thus Tyler continued acting like a statue and smiling at the nervous girl as she put the tray with food on the table. Then she quickly glanced at him, he simply nodded in her direction. She was visibly surprised by that her face lost some of the nervousness that it previously packed, her muscles slowly relaxing. She returned the nod and quickly left the house.

Sighting slightly, Tyler ordered his exhausted body to make its way to the tray. That was a close call. At least now he knows that they DEFINITELY do not trust him, a mental note was made to keep an eye for more such tests.

Slumping down on the chair, he started eating the delivered food. It was some kind of a broth, a bit spicy, but overall the feeling in his mouth screamed deliciousness. Next to the bowl of broth was a wooden cup filled with a red-ish liquid. Upon degustation Tyler’s eyes widened a bit, it basically had the taste of strawberry and cherry mixed together.

In no time whatsoever both the cup and bowl were empty. Feeling empty and content with himself, Tyler pushed all the worries and questions that were swirling about in his mindspace and simply let himself to be taken by the currents of drowsiness to the sweet and worry-free land of dreams.