The path that lead through the woods was still empty when Ambrose started down it but now, as he foraged through the thick brush, he could just make out people making their way out of the city.

  The woods were cool, much cooler than the sweaty streets he had come from and the smells were much more pleasant. As soon as he had left the path and entered the thick foliage, he felt the clean air purifying the coal smog from his lungs and clearing his mind. He took a deep breath and sighed. His head was still throbbing from spell fatigue and though he had found some blackberries that he had wolfed down, they hadn't been enough to relieve it.

  The forest that surrounded Bramptonburg was protected by laws of both men and magic, meaning that it was forbidden to hunt, farm, or harvest there, though some foraging seemed to be tolerated, at least by the magic.

  He walked to the river and filled the old water skin he had found a few years ago. As he drank, the water felt clean and fresh, and as it washed down his throat, he felt a bit of the pressure in his head wash away with it.

  He sat on the bank, drinking the rest of it and deciding to take the opportunity to clean himself. The sounds of the woods filled his ears and calmed him to his core. Despite the hunger and the pain and the uncertainty, in this moment, he was happy.

  I can see why the gods would want to keep this place safe. He thought to himself.

  The entire length of the road that stretched through the forest was bare, it wasn’t even paved, only a dirt path that had been worn from constant travel. There wasn't an inn or rest stop along the entire stretch of it until you left the forest, about a day's walk away from where he currently was and he had walked for a while before he left the path to start foraging.

  Ambrose stood and stripped naked in the river, rubbing himself down with water he poured from the skin. He watched as hundreds of small fish swam past his feet, the urge to grab one almost tempting enough to override his common sense.

  The forest was abundant with life but like everything else here, trying to take it for yourself was a poor decision for one to make. He filled the water skin again and placed his hand on it. Using as little magic as he could, he warmed it until it was producing the smallest amount of steam. He poured it over his head and tried to get as much of the grease and grime out of his hair as possible. It felt good for a moment but he had to stop and sit down in the water when he attempted to whip his hair over his head and the dizziness overtook him.

  Stop doing magic on an empty stomach you idiot. He thought.

  He made his way back to the bank and sat, breathing deeply while he dried off. Once he had, he got dressed and summoned his resolve to carry on.

  He continued his search, hoping that he would be able to find a full bush of berries, or some wild carrots but the only luck he seemed to have was when he lifted a rotten log and found some mushrooms that he assumed where safe, an assumption he guessed was correct due to his lack of hallucinations, or death.

  Ambrose leaned against a tree and put his head in his hands, the hopelessness of his situation beginning to defeat him. The sun would be starting to set soon, and the hope of a good meal was all but gone. If I head back now, I could probably be in the city by midnight. He thought.

  As he wallowed, in the silence of the forest he suddenly noticed a noise that caught his senses more than the others around him. His surroundings where anything but silent, the sounds of rustling leaves and bushed being animated by the wind all around him but something about this noise caused him to feel… distressed? He stood and looked around for the source. While he couldn’t see it in his immediate vicinity, he thought he could tell its direction. He started making his way through the trees, following the soft high pitch whining. Climbing over a fallen log he suddenly felt the familiar tinge of magic. He might have missed it if he hadn’t been already looking around with more the his usual attention but he had felt that static like buzz a thousand time when he had walked past doors that had been sealed in the city.

  If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.

  The noise was close, coming now clearly from below him. He bent low, trying to tense against the pressure in his head and dug around in the tall grass. As he parted a particularly large tuft he found the source of his distraction. On the ground, with its right back leg caught up to its hip in a sharp toothed trap, was a rabbit; its fur so blond that Ambrose would almost have called it gold.

  As is caught sight of him, the small creatures squealing quickened and its effort to struggle to escape quickened.

  "Shh little one." He said softly as he approached it.

  He stroked its fur in an attempt to calm it as he examined the trap, confused at the sight of it. There was hundreds of tales about the fate that would befall you if you tried to poach from the forest around Bramptonburg. All of them telling of some grim punishment you would be struck down with. He didn't know which were true and which were fairytale but he did know one thing.

  This should not have even worked here?

  He lifted the side of it carefully and saw intricately carved runes along its edge, which only confused him more. He ran his fingers over them, they were much more complex than ones he had seen before but he did recognise one section.

  "I have seen a rune like this on doors that are meant to be hidden." He said to the rabbit. "But the rest are beyond me."

  He looked down at the poor thing. From how mangled its leg was it must have been there for a while struggling against its restraints.

  It probably won't survive. He thought.

  As terrible as it made him feel he did weigh up if, considering he didn't set the trap, if benefiting from it might skirt around the forest's protections.

  I do like rabbit.

  His common sense and conscience quickly quashed that line of thought when he noticed something he hadn't before. Looking at its inflated stomach and the small movements under its skin, it appeared to be pregnant.

  Ambrose sighed. Small children and cute animals, all of my weaknesses are being exploited today.

  "Ok, let's try to get you out of this."

  After a few moments of work, he managed to get the trap open and the rabbit free. It actually wasn't too hard with a rather obvious release latch once he spotted it. It tried to run once it was released but it couldn't get far with its wound. He carefully picked up the injured animal and examined its injury. Looking at the state of it, if it was just left as is, he was sure it would get infected and even if it managed to give birth first, the young would be helpless without their mother. He took out his water skin and poured some water on the wound, the little rabbit squealing in pain as his did.

  "I'm sorry it hurts, but I promise that I am trying to help." He said softly

  He took a deep breath and placed his hand over the wound.

  It's only a rabbit, its only small, it should be fine.

  He focused the little energy he had into the form of healing and pushed it to his palm. His hand softly glowed and the rabbit began to wriggle slightly less. Ambrose watched as the exposed flesh of his patient slowly began to knit back together, he tried to use this indication of progress as motivation to ignore the growing thumping in his head. He was just watching the last parts of the cuts close when the darkness suddenly rushed in from the sides of his vision. He fell to his knees and it took all his will not to drop the animal.

  He breathed heavily fighting to remain conscious. Once he finally managed to quell the dizziness enough to see clearly, he looked at the state of the rabbit. The wound was still an angry red but he had managed to close it enough that he couldn’t see any fresh blood seeping from it. He slowly placed the animal on the ground and released it. It bolted away as soon as it could but then stopped a short distance from him and using its nose and mouth seemed to examine its wound.

  "See, you're all… all better." Ambrose said between breaths.

  He looked around at the forest. "You're lucky, you have… all of this beautiful place… to call home, a place… a place where you… belong.

  He then fell forward on to the earth and passed out.