The pain is the first thing you notice.  It feels as though someone's poured an entire vat of hot coffee over your entire body.  Somehow, you get the sense that you've been asleep a lot longer than normal. You open your eyes to find yourself laying in a patch of grass, staring up at a clear, starry sky, interrupted by the branches of nearby trees.  You don't move for a moment. How did you get outside? You don't remember going to sleep out here... as a matter of fact, you don't remember going to sleep at all. Or anything else, as a matter of fact.


The pain is fading fast, so you sit up and take a look around, pulse racing. The shadowy forms of trees surround you, the sounds of the night bombarding your senses.  It occurs to you that you're hyperventilating. Is this what it feels like to have a heart attack? No this is a panic attack of some kind. Instinctively, you find yourself focusing on a single blade of grass in the field.  With shaking hands, you pluck it from the dirt and study it, taking note of its shape, the feel of it in your hand, the nearly indistinguishable pattern of little veins running through it. Mindfulness. That's supposed to help with Panic attacks.  Somehow, you remember that. But you can't remember where you learned it.  


Slowly but surely, your breathing normalizes.  You wipe the snot from your nose and the tears from your eyes as your body stops convulsing.  For the first time since you woke up, you notice the cool night breeze. You're going to be fine.  If you just keep your wits, you'll find a way out of this eventually. You take a quick inventory of everything you can remember.  Random bits of knowledge surface in your head, facts about whales, mathematical formulas, the steps to changing a tire. But no memories of the people, or events, or books that taught you those things.


As you contemplate these things, you notice a few items laying in the grass around you.  Namely, a small backpack and an odd metal disk, with a glowing screen on one side. You pick up the disk first and examine it.  "Insufficient power," flashes across its face over and over in red.  Something about it tugs at something in your memory, but you can't quite put your finger on what.  Confused, you slip it into your pocket and turn to the bag. You unzip it to find a lighter, a knife, a sleeping bag, a pillow, and... a whole mountain of Cheez-Its and Mountain Dew?  Just what kind of person are you? Still, it's better than nothing, so you slip it over your shoulders.


As you try (and fail), to take your bearings from the waning crescent moon, (not that it really matters, it's not like you know where you came from), you become aware of a strange noise in the distance.  You stop and listen. Is that yelling? Wait, yelling is a human noise, right? So, where there's yelling, there's humans. Before you can even finish processing that thought, your feet are carrying you towards the source of the noise.  You didn't know you could run this fast on pavement, much less over the uneven turf of the forest, but then, maybe you're a famous football player or something and just don't remember it.  


The yelling grows louder as you draw nearer.  A dim light shines in the distance, growing brighter.  You slow down a little, these shouts don't sound like happy ones.


"Stop struggling or it'll only hurt more!" a gravelly voice says.


"Help! Stop! Let me go!"  An extremely high pitched voice this time.


You've slowed to a tip-toe now.  Whatever this is, you're not sure you want to be a part of it.  Still you creep closer until you can just make out the figures involved between the trees.  They look small from here, no bigger than children, but then, it's a little hard to tell from this distance.  It looks like they might be wearing some kind of cloaks, green ones, if your eyes don't deceive you.  


"Gag her before she draws someone to us!"  Says the gravel tongued shadow to two others holding down a third, "Get her in the bag and tie it tight.  The last thing we need is another escape."


Your palms are soaked with sweat.  You should do something, anything, to help, but whoever these people are, they certainly don't sound like the kind of folks you'd like to mess with...

You watch from afar. Better to stay safe than risk your life for a stranger.

You stay where you are and listen.


"Please!" cries the high pitched voice, "I just wanna go home!  Let me go home!"


"We're giving you a new home."  Says the gruff voiced one (probably the leader), "A better home!  Don't you want to help make your old home better?"


"No!  I want my papa!"


"My word!"  The leader explodes,  "She's a child! How hard is it to get a child into a bag?"


The screams become muffled now, and a new voice says


"We're not incompetent, you shriveled prune!  See? We've already got her in.  If you'd use your rotten husk of a brain for one second you'd stop yelling and see that."


"Under the old order, a comment like that would get you executed."


"So what?  We're out to put an end to the old order, not-"


"Would you shut up?  You want someone to hear us?  You're worse than the little girl!"


"All I'm saying is, you won't do anything about it.  You know it's wrong, I know it's wrong, so stop making stupid hollow threats!"


The leader laughs, a cold, empty laugh.  "I'll be the judge of what's right and what's wrong, thank you very much.  Not everything about the old order has to go.  Don't throw the slush out with the water, as they say.  Now pick up that bag and start walking.  We've taken too long already."


With that, the muffled screams of the child fade into the distance as the light grows further away.  Soon, all you can hear is the pounding of your heart, returning slowly to normal.  It's a good thing you didn't get tangled up in that mess.  No telling what would've happened if they'd seen you.  Still, the sounds of that girl screaming still ring in your ears.  Something tells you they might linger still for a little while longer.


Soon as you're sure the danger's passed, you walk a little closer to the scene of the crime, or whatever it was you just saw.  To your surprise, there's a path not too far from there.  The kidnapers must've been waiting in the bushes or something, and jumped out to grab the girl as she passed.  With no other options at hand, you start down the path in the opposite direction from the kidnapers.  It's lined with stones, with a few oddly-shaped bricks set in the ground here and there, as if, a long time ago, it was paved.  


The trees are thinning out now, and soon you can see the night sky in all it's glory.  You come to the edge of a hill and stop.  Down the slope in front of you, lights are visible.  A village rests at the bottom of the hill, still sleeping in the light of the stars.  What's more, from your vantage point you can just see the beginnings of the sunrise peeking up from behind the mountains in the distance.  The path has given way to a rough set of stairs carved into the hillside.  They are smaller than most stairs you've seen, like they were carved especially for children.  Still, it's better than picking your way down the slope and probably slipping a few times along the way.  


You reach the bottom of the hill in record time and find yourself still a mile or so away from the village.  Looks like the path continues into it, so you keep following it.  As you walk, you pass by a strange plant, just taller than you are.  It grows on a thin, blue stalk, straight up, until it droops over at the top, opening into a strange, orange bulb.  The bulb glows in the dawn, lighting the whole path beneath your feet.  Just a few moments later, you pass by another on the opposite side of the path.  The entire trail leading up to the village is lined with these plants, lighting the way like streetlights on an old city road.

The village

It soon becomes apparent that you are closer to the village than you thought.  Is it just you, or are those buildings smaller than they seemed from afar?  You come to the edge of the village to find that the smallest of the houses are about your height.  Everything is half the size it should be, from the road through town to the stones that pave it.  What's more, everything is made of the strangest materials, the likes of which you've never seen.  (At least, not that you can remember).  The only thing you've seen that looks remotely like this is Paper-Mache, but this must be sturdier than that, otherwise these houses would've fallen down ages ago as soon as the wind decided to pick up.


As you draw nearer to the center of town, you begin to feel that unsettling feeling of being watched.  It's been present for quite some time now, growing stronger as the sun continued to light up more of the sky.  Are those eyes you see, poking out between the shuttered windows of the houses?  Why is nobody out and about yet, it may be early, but even still-


"What in the name of the water-pit are you?"  A voice from behind snaps you out of your thoughts. 


You turn, knocking your elbow on the corner of the houses nearby.  Grimacing from the pain, you see before you a strange creature, almost human, yet not quite.  Its head comes up only to your waist, and it's skin has the same Paper-Mache quality as the walls of the buildings beside you.  The ears are the strangest part, sticking straight up into the air.  It's a wonder something so small can hold them up like that for so long.  The creature holds something like a spear, made of wood, pointed straight at you.  


"Do you speak, you big brute?"  The creature asks, "What are you, why have you come here, waking us all up in the night?"


"The sun's out," you reply, "People get up when the sun is out, don't they?"


"Do you like getting up at the crack of dawn?  Some of us sleep in and that's besides the point.  What the heck are you, and why are you here?"


"What am I?"  You ask, your irritation growing with each word this creature says, "What are you?  What is this place?  I've never seen anything like you."


Other creatures, like this one before you, peak their heads out from doorways and windows, drawn out by the commotion at hand.


"I am Merk, head of the watchmen of Arrorn."  Says the creature, "This village and it's people are under my protection.  If you have come to do harm, consider this my warning.  State your purpose or leave this place, lest I am forced to raise my spear and drive you out myself!"


"I haven't done anything!"  You protest, "Why are you threatening me?  Don't I have... rights or something?"  That thing may be small, but the stick it's holding still looks pretty sharp.


The creature pauses, lowering it's spear just a touch.  "I don't know what you mean by 'rights,'" it says, "But you raise an important point.  I apologize for threatening you, it's just that I've never seen anything quite like you in all my seventy-four years of life in this village."


"I'm a human... I think," You say, still feeling a little annoyed, "And in all my... well, I'm not sure how many years of existence, I've never seen anything quite like you either.  I think."


"I am what is known as an Oalkwardner."  Says the creature, (Merk, as he called himself), "As are all others like me.  This village-"


A high pitched whistle cuts through the air, cutting Merk off mid sentence.  He seems to jump a little when he hears it, his stance becoming more rigid, more alert.  


"The alarm!"  He says, raising his spear once more,  "I'm sorry, but duty calls!"  He leaps towards you and you flinch.  Is he going to attack you after all?  But no, he soars over your head and lands behind you, taking off as soon as his feet touch the ground.


"Wait!"  You call.  The idea of being left alone in this strange village terrifies you.  Who knows?  The next person you talk to might attack you for real.  You run after Merk, ducking through the too narrow streets, nearly flattening a few unsuspecting Oalkwardners.  Even with your longer legs, Merk is faster than you, slowly drawing farther and farther away.  


"Please!"  You cry once more, "I don't even know where I am!"  


Merk slows a little and looks over his shoulder.  "If you want to stay with me, then do so!"  He calls back, "But I must warn you, I have work to do.  I may not be of much use to you."


"That's... fine..."  You pant,  "Just... slow down... a little."


"We're almost there, human!  I cannot slow my pace, there may not be much time!"


You can hardly begin to imagine what he means by that in your current state, (you're not going to be able to run much longer with this pain in your side), but he's clearly not slowing down.  Maybe it's the fear of being left behind, but somehow you find the strength to keep up the pace.  The road grows wider with each twist and turn, until it gives way to a dilapidated plaza with a strange tower in the middle.  Atop it is what looks to be a horn of some kind, with an Oalkwardner blowing into it.  This is where the high pitched noise came from earlier.  


Most of the people milling about the square ignore the horn, as if this is some kind of daily occurrence.  Merk slows at the base of the tower, stopping in front of an Oalkwardner in something resembling a dress, it's ears drooping.  You catch up just in time to hear the ensuing conversation.


"Fila?"  Merk asks, "Why have you sounded the alarm?  What's wrong?"


"Its Pila," Says Fila, "She's dis-" the Oalkwardner notices you for the first time, "What in the world is that?"


Her ears stick straight in the air and she leaps backwards, trembling.  Merk turns and sees you standing there.  


"This is human.  It's friendly, don't worry."  He turns to you and says, "And this is Fila, my wife."


"Why is everyone so afraid of me?"  You ask, "I haven't done anything wrong."


"I'm sorry... hue-mon."  Her ears begin to droop once again, "I'm just worried, that's all.  Our daughter,"  She gestures to Merk and herself, "is missing.  She went to play with her friends yesterday evening.  I meant to stay up waiting for her, but I was so tired that I just couldn't stay awake.  And when I woke up, she still hadn't come back."


Merk's eyes grow wider, and he grips his spear tighter.  "What do you mean, she hasn't come back."  


"I mean, she isn't here, Merk!  She might've disappeared like all those other-"


"No!,"  he says,  "I'm sure she's fine.  She probably just got lost.  We'll find her."


A chill runs down your spine.  You'd forgotten about the kidnapping you saw in the forest after Merk confronted you.  You were too worried about staying alive to think about someone else's troubles.  But now the memory returns in full force, the fear it brings creeping through every fiber of your being.  


"I'm not so sure about that..."  You say, voice trembling a little.  


Merk turns to you.  "What do you mean?  Did you have something to do with it?"  He picks up his spear, gripping it tight.


"No!  But I think I might have seen what happened."  And you go on to explain the strange events which you saw when you first awoke.  When you finish, Merk covers his face with his hands.


"I've dealt with this sort of thing for years," he chokes, "But it's always been someone else's kid.  Someone else's heartache..."  He looks up at you.  "This is the fourth kid to disappear in the last month.  If these people that took... that took my daughter, took the others too..."  He stops and covers his face again.


"Then," Fila says, "If we find her, we find them all.  Hue-mon.  Please, will you help us?  Take us to where you saw her, tell us which way they went.  Then, maybe, we can find her.  Her, and everyone else."

You say "Of course I'll help!"

Maybe it's bravery, or maybe it's the guilt of having done nothing to help the girl in the first place, but you don't hesitate to say yes.


"Thank you so much!"  Merk says, "Come on, we'd better get going now.  Normally I'd get a team together to help with the search, but since I have you, I think we'll just go as a twosome.  The time it takes to round everyone up isn't worth it."


You leave the village and lead Merk back up the hill to where you saw the kidnapping.  His ears twitch nervously as you walk, and he talks incessantly.  


"I just don't know what I'll do if we don't get her back."  he says at one point,  "the thought of never seeing her again... hurts more than anything.  Why couldn't it have been me?  What do they want with children?"


You don't respond.  There's just nothing to say.  At this point you reach the staircase, and begin climbing up it.  In the light of the day, you're beginning to notice something strange about the trees.  It's been bugging you for a while now, come to think of it.  From what you can draw from your broken memory, these trees aren't like any back... well, wherever you came from.  The shapes of the leaves are different, so is the pattern of the bark.  It's like the entire forest is something out of a fantasy world.


As you draw near to the scene of the kidnapping, you slow down.


"It happened just up there,"  you point, "They went up the path that way once they were finished."


"We've gotta make sure we don't miss anything."  Merk says, "Thankfully, this path isn't as well traveled as it once was, or our search would be nigh impossible.  Keep an eye on the edges of the trail, let me know if you see any sort of clues."


"What am I looking for anyway?  If I see, say, a broken branch or something, how are we to know it wasn't broken by a deer or some other, innocent travelers?"


Merk sighs,  "I don't know, human, but right now it's all we have."


For the next couple of hours, you walk the trail, scanning the ground for something, anything that might help you.  But there's nothing.  Not so much as a blade of grass is out of place, (if, indeed, blades of grass can be considered out of place in a forest).  The sun is growing low in the sky now, soon it'll be too dark to search.  Your feet ache and your stomach rumbles, your stash of Cheez-Its isn't enough to satisfy your hunger completely.


Then, you see something that is a little out of place.  A few of the trees just off the path look as though they've had bites taken out of them by some big hungry monster.


"Merk?"  you say, "Do you see that?"


Merk jumps a little at the sound of your voice.  "What is it?"  he asks, excited,  "Did you find something?"


"I don't know,"  you say, pointing, "I'm not quite sure it's what we're looking for, but it's definitely something."


Merk takes one look at the markings on the trees and his eyes go wide.  He reaches over his shoulder and draws his spear.  


"What is it?"  You ask, your muscles tensing up in fear,  "What's wrong?"


"Those markings," Merk's voice trembles a little, "are from a beaver."


You stare at him for a moment.  Then, a chuckle escapes you lips.  


"What's so bad about a beaver?"  You laugh,  "Are you afraid one might drop a tree on you or something?"


"Beavers are no laughing matter,"  Merk snaps, "They're vicious killers!  If you'd heard a quarter of what I had about them, you'd be scared too, I guarantee."


"Do you want to turn back?"


"Heck no!  If I turn back, it means I don't get Pila back, and if I don't get Pila back..." he trails off, and is quiet for a moment. Then, he shakes his head.  "It doesn't matter, we're not stopping.  Beavers or no, we will keep going.  I don't think I could live with myself if we didn't."


"Whatever you say,"  you shrug,  "I'm not afraid of beavers, so I guess you'll just have to face your fear if we meet one."


"Let's try to make sure we don't meet one, alright?"


"Alright," you say, rolling your eyes.


You continue up the trail.  As it continues to get darker, the two of you go slower and slower, as it's harder to verify that there are, indeed, no clues in a given area.  The beaver markings are becoming more and more numerous the longer you walk, which does nothing to help Merk's nerves.  It's not exactly great for yours either, if you're honest with yourself.  You may not be afraid of beavers as you know them, but there's always that chance that "beaver" means something different in this place than what you know.  


"Do you think we should stop for the night?"  you ask, as the darkness grows too thick to properly see through, "So we don't miss anything in this darkness?"


Merk thinks for a moment, then sighs.  "I guess you have a point.  We'd best make camp here.  Hold on for a moment, I have to go... erm, relieve myself."


He heads a little ways off the path, and you sit down on a rock to wait for him.  Your feet need a rest, they've probably got blisters all over after all that hiking.  


"Human!"  Merk cries,  "Come look at this!"


You groan and stand up.  Guess your feet aren't getting that much of a rest after all.  


"What were the kidnapers wearing?"  Merk asks when you reach him.


"It was hard to tell from so far away,"  You say, trying to remember, "It looked like they were wearing some kind of robes."


"What color were they?"  


"Green, I think, why do you ask?"


"Because I found this!"   Merk gestures towards a little thorn bush to his left.  Hanging from one of the branches is a small scrap of green fabric.  "I bet they went off this way!"  he says,  "We should see if we can follow their trail."


"Can you do that in the dark?"


Merk goes quiet for a moment.  "I... don't know."  he admits,  "Probably not as well as in daylight, we might lose the trail or something if we go now.  But they could get further away if we wait.  Oh, it's so much harder to think clearly about these things when it's your own daughter at stake... "


"We best wait till morning,"  You say, "We don't want to lose the trail in the dark and get ourselves lost.  We wouldn't be much help then would we?"


Merk doesn't say anything for a moment.  Then, he nods slowly.


"I guess it's the best we can do,"  he sighs,  "It just hurts to sit here, doing nothing."


"I get it,"  You say, "But think of it this way:  by waiting, we're maximizing our chances of finding her."


"Yeah, I know.  Let's get set up, I'm tired.  If we're going to get some sleep tonight, we'd better do it soon..."

The next morning...

You sleep like a rock.  It's been a very long day, that's for sure.  You've hardly stopped since waking up in the forest last night.  But of course, it doesn't last.  You awake to Merk staring down at you, poking your side with his foot.


"Wake up, human,"  he says, "It's time to go."  


You sit up, blinking back the sleep from your eyes.  The sun is just beginning to rise, but by all accounts, it's still pretty dark outside.


"Shouldn't we wait a little longer?"  You ask, "until it's lighter out?"


"By the time we pack up camp, the sun will have risen a little more."


You take one last longing look at your sleeping bag, then roll it up and start getting your stuff together.  In a half hour's time, you're on the trail again, Merk leading the way with his tracking skills.  


"What's the plan when we if we do find them?"  You ask.


"We don't know what we're walking into, so we'll have to improvise."


"Oh..."


For a while, the two of you walk in silence, Merk stopping every ten feet or so to check for new clues.  It seems people have traveled this way before, and relatively frequently.  There is a faint trail, if you really look for it, where other Oalkwardners have gone before.  


"These beaver markings are getting more and more frequent," Merk says after you've been on the trail an hour,  "I think we're headed right into the heart of their territory.  What on earth were they thinking, coming to a place like this?"


"Listen," you say, "I'll deal with any beavers that come our way.  All I need to do is wave my hands in the air and make a loud noise."


"You're either a lot stronger than you seem, or an arrogant fool if you think that."  


"It's a beaver!  What harm can it do?"


Merk doesn't respond.  Instead, he stops short, and you nearly trip over him.


"Why are we stopping?" you ask


Merk puts a finger to his lips and points down the path.  You look and see something big and hairy laying just to the side of the trail.  It's some sort of creature, about the size of a bear, and it isn't moving.  


"It's a beaver,"  Merk whispers,  "If you really know what you're doing, go deal with it!"


"That's no beaver,"  you whisper back,  "I'm not sure what that is, but it's not a-"


"Shut up and take a look, will you?"


"Fine!"


Quietly as you can, you walk closer, crouching behind trees at every opportunity.  But it never moves.  You're not even sure it's breathing.  Then, you notice the blood staining the ground around it.  Whatever this creature is, it's dead.  


"Merk, I think it's dead!"  you say.


"Are you sure?"


You walk right up to the creature and take a closer look.  It has a gaping hole in it's stomach, and multiple puncture wounds in various places.  Looking at it up close, it occurs to you that this thing really does bear an uncanny resemblance to a beaver, right down to the teeth and tail.  The only thing that's different is the size.


"Yeah,"  you call, "I'm pretty sure."  Just to prove it, you give it a good kick in the side. 


"My goodness,"  Merk says when he gets closer, "Never in all my days... Those look like spear wounds.  And that big hole in it's stomach looks too clean to have come from some kind of other animal."


"Are you saying an Oalkwardner did this?"  


"Possibly.  And a powerful one at that.  I certainly hope we never have to fight them, should we ever meet."


The two of you stare at the beaver corpse for a few minutes.  Finally, Merk breaks the silence.


"We should keep going, the trail continues this way."


Unnerved, you follow him.  Something about that corpse put you on edge.  Every random snap of a twig has you checking over your shoulder, searching for potential threats.  For another two hours, you walk in silence.  Neither of you dares say a word, in case whatever killed that beaver is somewhere lurking nearby.  The trees are growing thicker now, the beaver markings more numerous.  Then, Merk stops again.  


"Do you hear that?"  he whispers


You stop and listen.  


"What is it?"  you ask, not hearing anything,


"Shhh!"


For a few minutes, you're completely still.  Then, you hear it, ever so faintly in the distance.  The sound of voices.


"Let's go,"  says Merk, and takes off towards them on silent feet.


As quietly as you can, you follow behind him.  The voices grow louder as you get closer, and soon you can make out snippets of conversation.


"...Hold her still..."


"...better be quick..."


"...somebody help!"


The last voice is louder than the others, more clear.  Merk stand up straighter when he hears it.  


"That's my daughter,"  he says in a low voice,  "If they hurt her, I swear I'll..."


He doesn't finish the sentence, but instead speeds up even more.  You follow as closely behind as you can, worried that he might do something stupid.  Suddenly, the trees give way to a clearing, where a large group of Oalkwardners in green cloaks gather around something at the very center.  


"It's almost finished!"  one of them says,  "I'm applying the branch now, everyone back off!"


The group spreads out enough that you can just see what they were gathering around.  A small Oalkwardner is strapped to the ground, drenched in some kind of green substance.  


"Please stop!"  She cries, struggling against her bindings,  "I don't like this, let me go!"


The cloaked Oalkwardner ignores her and tosses something on top of her struggling form, then takes a few steps backwards as fast as he can.  The girl, Pila, begins to scream, and the earth begins to quake.


"NO!"  Merk cries, and runs into the clearing before you can do anything to stop him.  (How he manages to do so without tripping is beyond you).  All the cloaked Oalkwardners turn and look at him in shock as he runs towards them.  They draw their spears and get ready to fight, but instead of charging them, he leaps into the air, sailing over their heads, and lands right next to Pila.


But while all this is happening, Pila's skin begins to give off a faint blue glow, growing brighter every second.  By the time Merk reaches her side, she's too bright to look at.  


As Merk reaches out to touch her, a bolt of lightning flashes up from the ground, and the sound of thunder resonates throughout the forest.   A split second later and the light is gone.  A moment later, the earth stops it's quaking.  You turn and look at the place where Pila once was, and gasp.  All that's left of Merk are a few scraps of Paper-Mache skin and a pile of ashes.  As for Pila... what on earth is that?  A strange lump of wood lays in the middle of the clearing.  It takes you a few seconds to realize that it's an exact copy of Pila.  What the heck did they do to her anyway?


Presently, about half the Oalkwardners head over towards a contraption over on the other side of the clearing, (you can't quite make it out from here), while the rest mill about, chatting nervously among themselves about what Merk did.  If you're going to try anything, now might be the time to do it.  You might be able to save Pila and Merk's remains, at least...

You attempt to steal the remains of the fallen Oalkwardners

You may not get this chance again, so you'd better make the most of it.  You run into the clearing as fast as you can.  It only takes a moment for one of them to notice you and sound the alarm.  By the time you've reached Pila's side and scooped her up in your arms, every last one of them are charging towards you, spears drawn.  Without thinking, you run back the way you came, leaving Merk's remains behind.  (Not that there was much left to collect to begin with).  


Branches scrape your face as you run, but you don't stop.  The Oalkwardners aren't slowing down, so neither can you.  No telling what'll happen if they catch you.  It's a good thing you've got adrenaline, because otherwise the blisters on your feet alone would've stopped you in your tracks by now.  But it doesn't really matter.  They're gaining on you too quickly to escape.  Suddenly, the wooden lump in your arms shifts, and you're so startled, you drop it and proceed to trip over it, falling face first into the dirt.  As you're getting back to your feet, you see out of the corner of your eye, the wooden Pila getting to its feet.  Slowly, it turns towards you, staring at you with glowing yellow eyes.  Then, it leaps on top of you, and digs its claws into your chest.  You're too surprised to do anything about it.  By the time you've recovered from the shock, you're too delirious from the pain to care.  The last thing you see as the world fades away is the Oalkwardners running away in terror as the creature feasts on your flesh...