Page 1/3 The Monster of Carmine Forest (1) "I've never seen anything more gruesome in the whole world. I'll never forget it." The hunter before me shook his head. He used to be part of the Resistance, but now he's retired and working as a hunter. He ate some of the Terror Bird leg I gave him and opened up his pack. "Has it already been ten years...? It was back when that rotten Reville Lupius invaded our town." The tale of how the people of Laslan rose up to resist Reville Lupius, the man who tried to conquer Solisium, is a matter of great pride in this region. If he was going to tell me the same old story again, I thought I might as well stop at one beer, but the hunter raised his eyebrows and gave me a weighty look. There's a place called Carmine Forest in the northeast part of Laslan. It used to be home to the orcs of the Kalturan clan. Unlike the Fonos clan of the south, which is openly hostile toward humans, the Kalturan clan maintained a friendly relationship with us. However, one day the orcs were attacked by the Arkeum Legion and driven out of the Carmine Forest. After the Kalturan orcs were driven out, the Resistance tried to occupy the Carmine Forest, but a terrifying monster called Morokai had claimed it for his own. Those who first witnessed the uncanny being claimed he was as big as an ogre, as ugly as an orc, and smelled like a zombie. What's even worse was that his heart wasn't inside his body, but dangled from a staff that he carried around at all times. If I had been the commander who received the report, I would have thought the soldiers were delusional and told them to get back to work. Captain DaVinci, their leader at the time, was much wiser than me. The Resistance of Laslan made sure Carmine Forest became a restricted area so that no civilian could enter. Page 2/3 The Monster of Carmine Forest (2) One day, the Arkeum Legion invaded Laslan in a massive ambush. The Resistance did their best to defend Laslan, and the Arkeum Legion was driven north of the Ruins of Turayne. Right when they were about to claim victory, one of the farmers said their child had gone missing. The child and his friends got lost and ran away into Carmine Forest. Although they were jeopardizing countless people's lives for the sake of a few, Captain DaVinci and his subordinates bravely took up arms and ventured into Carmine Forest. After surveilling the area, they rescued the three children, who were caught in Morokai's nest. But what truly shocked the Resistance was what they saw inside. "There must have been over a thousand spiders, and they were all covered in cobwebs. And don't even mention the eggs. There were eggs everywhere. They filled the entirety of that massive cave." I thought he must be exaggerating, but one of the Resistance soldiers sitting next to us only nodded with a serious face. This was a famous story among Laslan's Resistance forces. After rescuing the children, DaVinci ordered the soldiers to burn everything in the cave, and the spider nest was destroyed. But the story doesn't end there. The Resistance solders said they heard a terrifying scream, like nothing they'd ever heard before. Someone, or something, was shrieking, "My babies! My babies!" "Who else could it have been? It had to be Morokai. That horrific monster was taking care of those spiders!" Page 3/3 The Monster of Carmine Forest (3) It was an unbelievable story, all around. Carmine Forest became a restricted area once again. Although no one tried to enter the woods, I simply couldn't resist my curiosity. I went to the Watch and begged them to let me see if I could catch a glimpse of Morokai. After continuous pestering, they finally allowed me to borrow one of their spyglasses so that I could observe Morokai from afar. What shocked me most was the fact that all the rumors I'd heard were completely true. Not a single thing was exaggerated. Even as I write these words, I fear I'll see that monster in my nightmares tonight. There were giant spider legs on his back. Upon closer inspection, those legs turned out to belong to two massive spiders that Morokai was carrying. As he walked around the forest, he petted the spiders' legs with a decrepit and rotting hand. And, yes, its other hand tightly gripped a staff holding its awful, beating heart. After witnessing this gruesome sight, I threw the spyglass away and vomited up my breakfast. I debated whether or not to write about this disgusting and vile sight. However, my goal is to record everything about every creature that exists without omission, so I made the difficult decision to describe my experience. If there are any ignorant adventurers who dare to venture into Carmine Forest, I truly hope that they'll see these records and reconsider.
