Trap ( Book ) Content . Trap by Anonymous I saw the gold , and I took it . A different man might not have , I know that , and from time to time , I think back on the hour when I saw the gold and took it . You see , I was hungry . Isn ' t it ironic . I don ' t remember much else about that night but the gold and the hunger . I don ' t remember the name of the tavern , or even the village , but I believe it was somewhere in southern Vvardenfell . I can ' t really be certain . For some time , I sat dumbly in my chair , my mind occupied with nothing but the pain in my stomach . If you ' ve never been truly hungry from days of no food , you can ' t know what it ' s like . You can ' t concentrate on anything . It wasn ' t until a figure to my left got up from the table to get a drink and left a stack of gold marks behind that I snapped to awareness . From this moment on , my memory is crystalline . My eyes to the gold . My eyes to the stranger ' s back , walking calmly toward the barmaid . My hand to the gold . The gold in my pocket . I ' m up from the table , and out the door . For just a moment , I look back . The stranger has turned to look my way . He wears a hood , but I can feel his eyes meet mine . I swear , I can scent a smile . Out into the street , and behind some barrels I crouched down , waiting for my pursuer . One benefit of a lifetime running from guards , I know how to disappear . For nearly an hour , I waited there , suffering even more from hunger . You see , I was awake now and I had the means to buy myself a feast . This knowledge tortured me . When I finally got to my feet , I very nearly fainted . I had only enough energy to walk to the other edge of the village to a run - down tavern before collapsing at a table . I think I must have fallen unconscious for a moment before I heard the barmaid ' s voice . “ Can I get you something to eat , sera ? ” I gorged myself on roasts and pies and huge frothing mugs of greef . As the fog of near fatal starvation began to lift , I looked up from my plate to see a gold - masked stranger looking at me , his vizard glowing by the blinding light of the moon through the window . He wore black leather armor and was a different physique and size from the man I had burgled , but I could tell he knew . I paid for my meal quickly and left . I skirted the edge of the village , through a tiled central courtyard surrounded by the squalid peasant ' s cottages . There was not a light shining from any window or door . No one was on the streets . I could find no place to hide , so I took the road out of town , heading for the wilderness . Hunger had pushed me on in the days before , but now I felt what I imagined to be the whip of guilt . Or perhaps , even then , it was fear . I fell twice , rushing down the dark path , unused to the slopes and pebbled texture . The sounds of animal life , which I had numbed to , were suddenly very loud in my ears . And there was something else out there in the night , something chasing me . On the side of the road , there was a low wall , and I scrambled over it and hid . I knew enough about concealment to pick a spot where the bulwark sunk slightly so even if someone saw the outline of my figure , he would assume it to be part of the wall . It wasn ' t long before I heard the sound of running footsteps from more than one person pass me by and then stop . There was a moment of whispered conversation , and one of the people ran back on the path toward the village . Then , silence . After a few more minutes , I peered out from behind the wall . A female figure in a dun gown , wimple , and veil stood in the road . On the other end of the road , blocking the way back to town , was a knight , coated in dark mail . I could see neither of their faces . For a moment , I froze , unsure whether either or both had seen me . “ Run , ” said the woman in a dead voice . The hill behind me was too steep , so I leapt over the wall and across the road in two bounds . Into the night forest I ran , the maddening jingle of the accursed gold in my pocket . I knew I was making so much noise my pursuers could not help but hear me , but now I cared more for putting distance between us than in stealth . Clouds of ash filtered through the moonlight , but I still knew it was too bright to hide . I ran and ran until I felt all my blood pumping in my head and heart , begging me to stop . I was at the edge of the wood , on the other side of a shallow stream from a vast , crumbling house encircled by a rail fence . Behind me , running footfall in the broken , dusty earth . To the south , downstream , a distinct sodden splashing of someone moving nearer . There was no choice . I half jumped and half fell into the mud and dragged myself up the bank on the other side . I rolled under the fence and ran through the open field toward the house . Jerking my head around , I saw seven shadowy figures by the fence posts . The cloaked man I had robbed . The man in the gold mask . The veiled woman . The dark knight . Three others too who had pursued me , but I had never seen . And I thought I was the stealthy one . The moon was entirely hidden in a swarm of ash . Only the stars offered their meager illumination as I reached the open door of the ruin . I slammed and bolted the door behind me , but I knew there could be no protection for very long . As I looked about the ravaged interior of broken furniture , I searched for someone to hide . A corner , a niche where if I stayed very still , no one would see me . A splintered table lying against the wall looked perfect for my purposes . I crawled under it , and jumped when something moved and I heard a frightened old man ' s voice . “ Who ' s there ? ” “ It ' s all right , ” I whispered . “ I ' m not one of them . ” His puckered , gnarled hand reached out from the shadow and gripped my arm . Instantly , I felt sleep fall upon me , resist it as I might . The old man ' s horrible face , the face of the hungry dead , emerged as the moon came out and shone through the broken window . His talon still gripping me , I fell back , smelling his death surround me . The table was thrown back . There stood the seven hunters and a dozen more . No , hunters they weren ' t . They were harriers who had chased me out of every hiding place , expertly pushing me to the lair of the real predator . He was weak with age , the old man was , not as good at the chase as once he was . A blunt , killing machine . “ Please , ” I said . It was all I could muster . Having enjoyed the sport I offered , he granted me mercy , of sorts . I was not bled dry . I was not cursed by being made one of them , the Berne . I was kept with others , most of us mad with fear , to be aged and tasted at the vampires ' whim . We are called cattle . I lost all hope months ago of ever leaving the dank cellar where they keep us . Even if this note finds its way to the outside world , I cannot give enough information about my whereabouts to be rescued , even if some champion were able to defeat the bloodsuckers . I only write this to keep my own sanity , and to warn others . There is something worse than being hungry . Being food .