The boys made their way to the forest, waving to the farmers on the fields near the village's outskirts as they walked. They walked for a while with William's end goal to tease and embarrass Sam as much as possible before they arrived. He enjoyed how easily Sam could become flustered. Once they were at the edge of the forest, William pulled out the blanket Sam had packed and laid it out on the ground for them to eat.

"Sam, I gotta say, these might be some of your best sandwiches yet!" William exclaimed as he happily munched on the food.

"Really? I didn't have the time to make them like I usually do. I was worried they would lack in flavor." Sam was picking at the contents of his sandwich, examining his work.

"Nope! All good here! You really don't miss it when it comes to cooking, that's for sure! Now, tell me why we had to come out to the forest again?" William said while swallowing the rest of his sandwich.

"It's a little bit further down, but first, let me ask. Do you remember a cabin being out this far in the woods? Not like a ruined one or anything. but from the outside, it looks perfectly fine?"

"There's no way; we are only allowed to settle and live in the villages established by the Omnituens. Otherwise, we are branded heretic's," Will replied while deep in thought.

"That's what I thought too, but I came out here yesterday while foraging and found a cabin after going deeper into the woods. I tried to get closer to it, but as soon as I within fifty yards, I felt this fear and panic like no other. It felt like if I kept going that the cabin was going to swallow me whole." Sam shivered.

"Now that sounds interesting to me! Don't worry, if something happens, I'll protect you; otherwise, I'd be stuck with only Charlies' lame cooking." Will laughed. They continued to eat and chat for a while before packing their blanket back into Sam's bag.

They continued deeper into the woods for what felt like hours. Sam began to question whether he had actually seen the cabin yesterday, and then Sam felt it again. Fear had placed its roots in his legs as he began to tremble, and Will noticed.

"We're near it. I can feel it." Sam spoke quietly as he tried to regain his composure.

Will began to scan around the woods looking for the cabin but saw nothing. Then he heard a voice.

"Look closer; I'm right here. Why can't you see me?" A feminine voice called to him as he looks towards the direction he believed it came from as suddenly the cabin had materialized before their eyes.

"Sam, did you hear someone just now? Some girl calling out from the cabin?" Will kept his eyes on it while speaking.

"No, I think the bigger concern is that a cabin just appeared out of thin air. There are no spells in the holy arts book to make a building appear." Sam tried to shake off the fear that was preventing him from moving.

"Come on, let's just look inside for a couple of minutes, and then we can go back to the village." Will began to walk towards the cabin when he felt a tug on his shirt.

"I don't think we should go in Will, There's something off about it, and honestly, I'm scared." Sam spoke quietly.

It's to be expected. Sam was never really the kind of person to bravely go into the unknown. I can't believe the version of him in my dream was something I could even imagine.

"Five minutes. No more, no less. What's the worst thing that could happen in such a short period of time?" William chuckled as he grabbed Sam's arm and dragged him to the cabin's entrance.

As they got the steps, the door to the cabin flung open, showing no signs of anyone being near the entrance to open it for the pair. Sam stuttered, trying to say something to Will, but it was too late. He was dragged in by him.

"Is anyone home?" Will shouted.

"Why would you shout? What if someones home and they think we're trying to rob them?" Sam whispered.

"I mean, we're already entering someone's place. I thought the least I could do is announce myself?" William shrugged

The cabin looked as if it had been frozen in time. There was no dust to be found on any of the walls, even behind pictures and paintings. The cabinets were filled with various cooking utensils, and the dining room table was still set up. It was unnatural how well maintained it looked as if someone was actively living here. Perhaps they had only stepped out for a minute. William had wandered into another room, which he assumed to be some sort of living room. At the same time, Sam stayed behind in the dining room.

What do we have here?

William observed a bookshelf and noticed a particular book that wasn't fully in place. He pulled it and looked at the title. Its black cover and leather exterior were almost menacing in a way.

Deamhanicon?

William had begun to flip through the pages seeing various sigils and unknown languages as Sam had walked into the room to join him.

"What do you have in your hand?"

"I'm not sure. I guess it's some kind of ancient book? I think the title says D-Deamhanicon?" As William spoke the title, the book had begun to glow a purple light, and the room began to shake.

"What did you do?" Sam shouted, trying to get his voice over the loud noise of the cabin shaking.

"I don't know? Watch out!" William yelled as the floor had begun glowing below them, matching the same purple light emitted from the book. The room flashed brightly, and then there was complete darkness.