It’s warm and cozy here, my eyes smiling when they found the fireplace. A piping hot bowl of venison stew beckoned me to sit beside the blazing fireplace.

I ate half of the food for ten minutes. Noticing the lavish royal blue curtain, I scooted away from the fireplace and pushed aside the curtains. I just realized that it served as the door between—

“This place is a village,” I breathed, wiping my mouth clean from eating. From just the look of the surroundings, I’m pretty sure this village is in the middle of the forest. And near a lake, the briny scent could never hide the smell of fresh...