The sun can be seen getting eaten by the horizon. Its bloody red is slowly seeping into the blue sky and turning it into a painting of its own murder. Moon can be seen witnessing this spectacle from the other side of the boundless sky, from behind the veil of white clouds.

The forest beneath -sprawling to unknown lengths- bustles with life and mockery. Monstrous trees shield the forest ground with shade; life flourishes everywhere. When looked from above, a town can be seen bordering the forests western edges; whilst, a shallow pond inhibits the area nearing a cropped clearing in the east. A dark cave whose wet stone floor glistens in the sunlight, sits right on the path between these two destinations. Stalactites grow from its roof like obnoxious pustules- ready to snap at any moment.

The cave nears dangerously close to the town, explaining the bold human settlement in its vicinity. The reason for their presence remains hidden, however. A minor shanty area made of hawkers and small stalls, a few single floor taverns made of wooden logs, and a military barrack create an oval ring around the cave. Familiarly, armored humans stand at the cave entrance. Clerks in pointed orange hats, donning a brown overcoat can be seen wandering near the parties, checking for proper documentation.

Men and women roam freely here. Most stands vigilant, for petty thieves were aplenty in the area, others -those in groups- are making healthy conversations; none is scared. One, however, is different from everyone else. While others are vigilant, he is confident.

Golden hair, wet and waxed, combed straight back; sly hairless face and foxy eyes of deep blue; he wears a spotless white shirt, a size or two bigger, which flutters like a blanket when he walks, brown trousers from which hangs a white scabbard embroiled with glistening gems; and on his feet are black, iron pinned boots. 

“Are you really coming with us, Roy?” says a woman in late twenties donning an old and washed out grey robe and a pointed hat on her head.
“Of course,” Roy said. “It is my duty as a man to protect a damsel such as you. A mage you might be, but it hurts my heart to see you walk into danger with no real men to hold your hand.” The armored woman beside them -the third person in their small party- grunted, while the girl blushed.

“Okay.” The girl said.
“Margaret, he’s not-” The warrior was saying, but sighed upon seeing Margaret’s eyes. The damn girl was in love. It was understandable. Roy had a quite some reputation in the women circle. Although he wasn’t known for his loyalty and was a lot skinnier than the others, women liked him for his size. It was rumored that he was a messiah in bed. And in these backwater parts of the kingdom, between other hard and scarred faces, his sharp features looked even more contrasting, giving him an edge to his competition. 

“Look, who finally decided to show his face around this mud pen of ours,” A fourth voice distracted the group. Roy shivered upon hearing the sneaky, amused tone of the voice.

He glanced at Margate and gave her a deep kiss which made silenced the newcomer then without looking back he made a run for it.

“Wh- Catch the fool. Go!” The loud voice echoed and five men -all brawny and thuggish- ran passed the two girls after Roy. The sudden commotion, though an everyday occurrence, still gathered everyone’s attention.

“What did he do this time?”
“Probably owned a few marks.”
“Last time he was dragged behind horses for not paying his brothel debt.”
“I heard he was forced to work at the same brothel for a month to pay back his debt.”
“Lucky bastard!”

Said by different people, the words told the tale of a single person. Roy had a history of being chased. The reasons changed with the days but the result never did.

“Bah! He’ll be caught and strung up this time.”
“I bet 5 marks he’ll escape.”
“15 marks, he’ll be caught in the next ten minutes.” 

A clerk came forward holding his bald head high and hat high. “Anyone who wants to bet, come to me.”

During this bustle, a bat silently flew out from the cave, bringing a rush of cold mental formulation with it. Nobody saw it. Its body cast a long shadow on the ground. It clicked its tongue to get a sonic picture of its surroundings. The sound of which went similarly unheard and got stubbed under the various noises already present. The number of humans scared it. The sudden presence of light stunned it.

The bat was Creep. He was finally out of the dungeon.

Flapping his wings, he flew up, toward the roof, to hide behind one of the stalactites like he had done inside the dungeon, but no matter how high he flew, he found no ceiling. The result of one quick echolocation showed him an endless world with no ceilings.  The human's cave. It was boundless.

Creep knew it was something the humans called the sky. The sky was blue. Creep didn’t know what it meant to be blue. He hadn’t seen colors. But this was not the only thing he now understood.

He now knew about everything which had once left him strained, confused, and wandering. The meaning of the word dungeon, his home, he understood. The language used by the humans, he knew. The meaning of everything which he had experienced in the dungeon -the voices, the noises, the stats, the skills, he knew them all.

He understood that discovery leads to an increase in his wisdom, which was a confirmed log of his past actions. Strength was needed to hurt the humans and agility to flee from them. He knew he was slow and weak and had the constitution of a dying rat. But he had his own strengths. He understood his intelligence. Once, he had taken it for granted, but now he was grateful.

His knowledge was a gift from the elder- A parting gift for teaching it the sword.

But with the number of things he understood, there were also those he didn’t. What made him different from the others of his kind? Who was the mysterious entity that had gifted him the skill? And the biggest question of all, why was he? What was his purpose?

He looked back at the cave once and remembered the promise he had given. I will return. He thought and busted away from the humans and toward the forest, toward a new life of peril, a different future. To unravel the meaning of his existence this was his first step.