The room is large with rough stone walls. I find myself on a spacious four poster bed made of some dark wood like cherry or mahogany in the center of the room. I'm under a pile of warm but course wool blankets and slightly musty smelling furs. Across the room is a stone fireplace but no fire burns in it. Two long tapestries are hanging on either side of the fireplace. They are faded but seem to portray some kind of hunting scene. As I climb out of bed for a closer look my bare feet make contact with a bitterly cold floor. I shiver.
The forest before me appears to be very old. The trees are ancient, gnarly and covered in grey spanish moss. It's full of sounds. As I peer into the darkness I can hear the sounds of small things scurrying through the undergrowth but I see nothing but endless twisted trees. Despite the foreboding look of the forest, if feels peaceful and is strangely beautiful.
A path suddenly catches my eye. It is narrow and barely visible. I don't think I would have noticed it had not a shaft of sunlight broken through the shadowy branches and illuminated it. A couple of trees on the side of the trail have patches of bark rubbed off to expose the smooth pale flesh of the tree underneath. It occurs to me that those might be caused by deer rubbing the velvet off their antlers in the fall. Could this be a deer path and not man made?
The trail comes to an abrupt end at a small pool. It's strangely clear but the water appears to be greenish in color. It is almost eerily quiet. The only sound being the steady musical sound of a small creek feeding into the pool. Even the forest noises I had because accustomed to seemed to cease as I got nearer the water's edge. I climb onto one of the large mossy rocks surrounding the pool and look into the water. Several large orange and black fish dart about, occasionally surfacing to swallow an unfortunate spider or insect on the surface. It looks deep.
I navigate the rocky edge of the pool without too much difficulty. To my surprise I find evidence of a human presence on the other side, where the path continued. A small tin cup lay half buried in the soft mud near the water. It's owner must have passed this way some time ago. There is a hole rusted clear through the bottom.
A little further down the trail I find a key. Like the cup it appears to have been lying there for a long time. I think it's brass. I pick it up and turn it around slowly in my hand, brushing off the dirt and examining it closely. It looks like it could open a door or maybe a chest.