‘How long has it been?’ Celsus thought. He didn’t get enough free time to think about it. ‘ maybe two or three months now I think.’ He’s been training for the most part within these months.

Celsus decided to look's at his right palm and is reminded of the symbol that was forcefully given to him. it's been causing a lot of problems for him. It looks like it was burnt into his hand with a branding iron. Fortunately or unfortunately he wasn’t awake when it happened so he doesn’t know who did this to him or how it was placed upon him.

“Maybe I’ll find a way to get rid of it one of these days,” Celsus told himself, something that he’s been doing a lot ever since he got it.

He started to hear the chains on the portcullis beginning to move and decided to get ready. He doesn't know what would be on the other side waiting for him.

—

I begin to feel what I believe to be dried grass beneath me and my throat also beginning to get dry. I opened my eyes to reveal a burning sun above me. deciding to squint I noticed that my reading glasses are on the ground in front of me so I picked them up, then tried to get up to which I did so successfully if you call stumbling around a success.

Once I balanced myself I cleaned off the lenses with my jacket sleeve. I put them on to look around and was met with a grove coming from all around me. My mind begins to race to try to figure out how long I’ve been here, who did this and do any of my friends and family know.

While that’s happening my hand starts to search through and blue Jeans pockets looking for my phone to which I am rewarded with a set of car keys after which I immediately took off my backpack and rummaged through it and found my MP3 player that needed charging and an empty packet of chips, a few textbooks on history and chemistry.

‘Now that was something I not looking forward to’ history and chemistry are the classes that I hated the most, I would gladly procrastinate in them.

So I’m in the middle of nowhere, “dying” of thirst, missing a lot of my stuff, having no way to contact anyone outside this forest, no idea on how I got here, and with little to none outdoors survival knowledge.

‘I’ll need to look for a Stream to follow or a mountain just something to use as a marker’ I figured. I looked for anything noteworthy within my area around me, to which I spotted a dirt path. ‘It’s better than nothing’ I thought at least I had something to work with.

I began my exploration following the path. ‘This is gonna be along journey’ I told myself already mentally preparing for it.

—

‘Wait there's something up ahead’. When I carried on following the path l noticed a busted up wooden sign that splinted the path into two, unfortunately, the words on it were either too damaged to read or it was a different language entirety but there was one word on it I recognized ‘imperium’ it sounded familiar but I just couldn’t remember what it means. So I went right which was where this imperium pointed to. ‘At least I know there will be something this way.’

I soon noticed that the sun has started to lower behind a mountain “crap I’m gonna need to find someone soon” I blurred out. I didn't want to be court out here in the dead of night by a predator so I chose to speed up my pace.

Then along this path I started to see a faint light in the distance, it was kinda hard to see with all the trees in the way. ’maybe my luck is about to turn around’ I hoped happily to myself

Upon arriving at the place the first thing I saw was an almost extinguished campfire. ‘Someone has to be nearby if this was here.’ I started thinking that I might be able to make it back home within a few hours. ‘Maybe they are still near enough to me that I can try to call out for them or I can spend another hour walking the same path. I weighed my options trying to think which one is the best.

‘Fuck it I can try to call them out but if they don’t show up I’ll just carry on like normal’ and so I did just that. “Hello is anyone out there! I could use a helping hand!” I tried to shout with my dehydrated throat, I waited briefly to see if I’ll get a response.

I didn’t hear anything other than birds flapping their wing from my yell. ‘what a waste of energy that was’ I felt stupid thinking that maybe someone is nearby and that my effort for trying is fruitless.

I then heard a gush of wind from something landing behind me I immediately turned around and was greeted with what appeared to be five creatures that are quadrupeds with an eagle-like head, back legs of a lion, and a set of wings, all of them being the same size just slightly over half my height. Then I remembered to see one of these things in fantasy story’s I think they are called gryphons but I’m pretty sure they should be much bigger than this.

I stood still not knowing what to do and hoping they would magically disappear but that is just false hopeful thinking. One of them appeared to be wearing leather armour mixed with some kind of bronze armour while the others had just leather. The one with bronze armour began to talk to me “prohibere vel nobis alioquin interficiemus te,”

Whatever came out of their beak I had no idea how to decipher it and so I begin to slowly walk backwards, having no interest in what may happen here.

As it turns out my new “friends” didn’t like that and start to pull out weapons. The one with bronze armour pulled a short sword, one on his left has a spear, another had some kind of wooden club and the last two appear to be both holding a net between the two of them.

Seeing that I don’t stand a snowball's chance in hell that I’ll be winning this and so I thought it’ll be a good time to run and I did just that.

As I to turn and running I heard all of them starting to flap their wings I tried my best to swerve through the trees to try to lose them but I could feel my legs starting to give out from the walking and now I have to run from these gryphons.

While running I overheard some of them talking ‘Great now some of them are talking to each other while they try to hunt me down I’ll need to lost them fast.’ I figured

While on the run I noticed a cave in the distance ‘maybe they won’t follow me if I get into it or maybe I can hide in there so I can rest for a bit it’s a gamble but if I keep going I’m gonna get killed anyways’ it was decided that I’ll run for it.

One of the Griffins tried swooping at me but I moved out of the way just in a nick of time, then another tried doing the same so I started to slow down and waited for them, once they got close enough I took a swing at them but I missed, this shocked the Griffin and they started to fly back. ‘I doubt any of them will be trying anything again soon, so mission failed successfully’

But with my current luck of things, a net landed on me sending me into a tumble to the ground. As I try to get back up I’m greeted with the same two gryphons that dropped the net on me. They both grabbed it with their talons trying to keep me from escaping. I started to panic which was shown by how desperate I was trying to dragging the net off me. Seeing as this wasn’t working, I then just kicked one of the Griffins off me and the other one tried their hardest to pin me down on their own which I quickly overpowered them and broke free.

As I got up and started sprinting again the other three Griffins landed in front of me. The cave was just ahead of me I needed to get past them no matter what.

I carried on with my charge and rammed myself against their line which was reckless of me but it worked, I can only guess that they didn’t expect me to just slam my entire body toward them and so I carried on sprinting toward the cave.

When I arrived at the cave hopefully they Won’t follow me into here, I’ll need to rest for a bit if I want to stand a chance.

Once I’m in and far away enough from the entrance I stopped and tried to catch some air I turned to look if they’ll follow and they didn’t they just stopped at the front of it and started to talk to one another.

the cave was pretty big but I stopped about halfway into it I think. Hopefully, if they do try to look for me they might just walk past, Just to make sure they couldn’t find me I went behind a stalagmite and began to relax.

Then a spike of pain came to form my right arm, I looked to it seen that my jackets right sleeve was ripped up and that they gave me a nasty gash on my arm. I started to think about how I got this ‘probably when I rammed myself into them, I could of just avoid this if I was careful’ I berated myself now knowing my mistake I started to roll up my sleeve to apply pressure against it and hoped that it doesn’t get an infection.

‘At this point, the sun should be lowered enough so the light won’t reach the cave if it wasn’t then the trees should be more than enough to make sure it doesn’t get in.’ I told myself trying to calm down a little.

“I’m somewhat safe,” I said out loud while my mouth is drier than it’s ever been but there nothing I can do about it so I try to rest.

—

I was abruptly wakened ‘damn I must have fallen asleep’ I told myself then I started to pick up on a smell *sniff *sniff ‘why do I smell smoke?’ I question. I look over the stalagmite to see what’s going on to get hit by a cloud of smoke that shouldn’t be there. I looked for its source and noticed a light coming from the cave entrance but it was hard to see with all the smoke in the way.

‘When did they start a fire!’ I almost screeched out “Those fuckers are trying to force me out and not knowing how long it’s been doesn’t help at all” I started to cough out.

crap there isn’t anything I can do other than get out and be killed by them or die in here slowly.’ I thought to myself ‘there isn’t anything I can do but if I’m gonna die might as well go down taking one of them.’

I started to hear something coming from the depths of the cave and so I hid back behind the stalagmite.

When I heard its giant steps move pasted me I took a peek over my cover and see a giant Lizard wall passed me. When it reached the entrance I heard it roared at the intruder trying to fill its domain with smoke.

‘This is a perfect chance for me to run they will be to busy on that lizard to care about me’ So I did just that I made a run for it out of the cave taking a right from the entrance, I sprinted for it and hoping that none of them seen me.

Author's Note

this is my first story and I don’t plan for it to be long.

Please tell me anyway for me to improve or please point out spelling mistake.