Darrak sighed as he looked toward the eerie looking forest near his home. They called it the Darkwood forest, aptly named for all those that ventured within were either never seen from again or came back delirious, telling fantastical stories of beasts and other nonsense. Nobody ever believed them yet at the same time all those that valued their life and sanity stayed well away, all those except Darrak.
Darrak was an average looking man with dark hair and dark eyes, he wasn't overly tall but was definitely muscular in build because of his profession. He was a wood cutter, not necessarily a good one but he was willing to do what it took to keep food on the table for his daughter. His wife vanished many years earlier without explanation, she merely told him one afternoon that she was going to the market to collect food for dinner and never returned. Many of his friends told him she had either run off with another man or was dead, Darrak knew the first was not true for he knew she loved him and their daughter too much which led him to believe that it was most likely the latter.
Since she had gone Darrak was left to care for his daughter by himself, this unfortunately meant that he had to pay a child career for his daughter to be cared for during the day so that he could work and pay for all the necessities. Unfortunately in recent times the trees in the normal forest he worked in had become more and more scarce. Several other woodcutters desperate to continue getting paid were even cutting the small trees, but Darrak couldn't bring himself to do so, even though he knew that he needed the money it just didn't seem right.
The situation of course meant that Darrak could no longer afford to live in the centre of the village and had to move himself and his daughter to the edge of Darkwood forest. Lucky for him, his daughter was now old enough to go to school which was significantly cheaper than day care, unfortunately because supplies in the village were almost depleted the cost of living had risen significantly.
He looked down at his favourite axe, well used yet well looked after. He kept the blade sharp, spending at least an hour each day resharpening it. The hilt wrapped in patterned leather that his wife had made for him many years ago when they first met, it still pained him to look upon one of the very few things left behind. When she first made it for him he was reluctant to use it, thinking that the other wood cutters would laugh at him for using such a pretty looking axe, but as usual the look she gave him was enough to make him suck it up.
He was regretted not being more grateful for such a beautiful gift for now the memories with the axe intertwined with the memories of his wife and it gave him solace knowing that a part of her was always with him.
The path into the forest was unused and over grown, it took him several hours to make his way deep enough in to see trees large enough. Unlike the usual forest he cut in he could already sense a strangeness about this one, for one it seemed a lot darker even though there was plenty of light streaming through the tree tops, the smell for flowers, plants and trees seemed a lot stronger, but the strangest thing for him were the sounds. He flinched every now and again at a rustle in the bushes, it's not as if he wasn't used to such things but the rustle was much larger than that of a small woodland creature and it felt as if he was being watched or even followed.
Darrack looked around at the trees and spotted a nice, healthy Darkwood tree standing by the edge of a small stream. He inspected it thoroughly for any signs of rot or other problems and found none. He set up his equipment for logging and prepared to cut, just before his swing landed he heard a feminine voice call out to him.
"Hey! What do you think you are doing?" she asked. Darrack turned toward the voice and saw a woman standing only a few meters away from him. Her closeness startled him because he was certain there was nobody else around when he started. He studied her closer trying to adjust to the strangeness of her appearance, she was young but not so young that he couldn't see her womanly curves, her hair was an odd shade of light green similar to grass in the plains, her eyes were leaf green and even her skin was a light shade of green, she was wearing clothes only barely covering her breasts and lower regions and they seemed to be made of moss and twigs. As odd as she looked she seemed to blend into the forest quite comfortably.
"Hello? I'm talking to you buddy!" She said angrily obviously noting the way he was staring. "I'm sorry, I'm just a little confused, I didn't think anybody else would be here. Who are you? Do you live here?" Darrak asked.
"I'm the one asking questions Mister. What are you doing with that thing of yours?" She pointed to the axe in his hand.
"I'm sorry. I'm from the village at the border of the forest, as you can see I'm a wood cutter and need to cut some trees for wood. I'm sorry if I offended you in any way" He explained.
"Village dweller ah? Think you can come in here with your big tool and do whatever you want?" She emphasised the word come and looked at the front of his pants when saying big tool. Her behaviour was a little unexpected, Darrack was sure she was angry but it was almost as if she was flirting with him as well.
"Look I'm sorry, but as far as I know this forest doesn't belong to anyone and there has been no protection placed anywhere in the area. Perhaps you can direct me to an area where I can start logging." He tried reasoning with her. This conversation however was quickly becoming tiresome, he needed to work and not for greed but so he could provide for himself and his daughter. He started to pack his tools and equipment up when she did not answer him right away. She stared at him as he worked, her expression was not of anger but instead something else, something unexpected. It looked as if she was eyeing him up for a meal, she looked hungry.
