In a sun-drenched forest, a man sighed as he chopped a mangled chicken over his chopping board. The man is making a stew under the blazing sun of a hot afternoon. There was an ugly hut near him, a sign above the doorway with the words:

  'Farmer Brown'.

  Clenching his fist, the man exclaimed, "Fuck, that vermin got no sense! Stealin' newborn chicks but only teasin' the hens. What's gotten into him? If he ever shows his nose again, I'll end his mischief once and for all!"

  The artist of the mangled hen was a cunning fox named Rusty. Rusty frequently invaded Farmer Brown's chicken coop, as the fox concealed the entrance to his den close to the old farmer’s hut, which the man struggled to locate.

  One day, while Rusty was chewing on some chicks and plotting his next heist, he heard a sound outside his den. The snake seemed wise as he drew some lines on the dirt. The lines were letters that spelled: ‘Slinky’. Confused, the fox stared intently at the snake.

  ‘Dumb fox. Why would he even be a named creature if he is this dumb?’ Slinky shook his head as he read the sign over the fox den which spelled out ‘Rusty’.

  Slinky was a wise snake roaming in the forest. His senses are keen and inquisitive, which inherently causes him to remain vigilant at all times. The day he opened his eyes, Slinky wondered what creature he was and what kind of place he spawned at. He surveyed the whole forest to collect information, as he stumbled across a puddle of water and looked at his reflection.

  Slinky was a snake measuring one meter long and had a dark green color. Curious about why he had memories of what creature a snake was, he continued traveling the forest for days. Slinky later summed up that aside from some brainless wild chickens, the forest only had two other creatures besides him; a fox and a human.

  Observing the human, he learned that the man was an intelligent creature. The man calls himself Farmer Brown which Slinky took interest in. Although curious, Slinky does not approach the man because he realizes he cannot speak like Farmer Brown. He feared that the man might misinterpret his presence.

  While ascending a tree, the snake observed a strange pattern in the distance far from the hut. Being an intelligent creature as he is, Slinky discovered this area of the forest was suspicious.

  The forest was made of dirt and some patches of grass here and there, but this strange part of the land had some big rocks. The rocks seemed to be scattered everywhere but upon closer observation, Slinky saw that they formed a big mark of ‘X’.

  Slinky was thrilled, 'Is it possible that a treasure is hidden beneath this spot?'. He thought of ways to explore his assumption.

  Unable to dig around the site, Slinky devised a plan to convince one of the forest creatures to help him out. He decided to go with the scary dumb fox instead of Farmer Brown, fearing the man may be more intelligent than him.

  After days of analyzing his foxy pattern, Slinky knew that the fox Rusty would visit the hut again, so he approached him before the fox moved. The snake waved in the air with his tail and proposed a deal:

  "Spare chickens. I. Give. Treasure. Please. Follow.”

  Slinky gestured as slowly as he could many times until he felt that Rusty was not wary of him anymore. He turned around and began slithering away.

  Forgetting about the chicks, Rusty blindly followed the snake until they arrived at the place with rocks. Slinky looked at the fox one last time as he began using his tail as a shovel, refusing to use his mouth because he did not want to look silly.

  Rusty walked closer to where the snake was and imitated Slinky’s action. The dumb fox swept his tail and also tried digging. Seeing this, Slinky whipped his tail on his head as he facepalmed… or facetailed. Slinky used his tail and pointed at Rusty’s paws. He squeezed the paws and dragged it to the dirt. Fortunately, Rusty understood what Slinky wanted this time and started digging with his claws.

  ...

  As they dug, the duo did not realize that Farmer Brown was in their midst. Stumbling upon the two creatures, Farmer Brown raised his knife.

  ‘This shithead! I went huntin' for the fox den, but what'd I stumble upon instead? A vermin worse than that sneaky fox - a slithy snake!’ The old man silently walked closer to the rocks.

  Feeling ominous, Slinky saw a shadow loom over their heads. He turned around and saw Farmer Brown walking to them.

  ‘Why is the old man here?? Did he not nap this time after his meal? He must have realized something was amiss when the fox did not return to his hut. Tsk,’ Slinky thought as his mind worked for ways of dealing with the human. Slinky slowly approached Farmer Brown and started writing on the ground.

  ‘If he is not as dumb as Rusty, then he should understand my words!’

  Initially frightened, the old man soon realized that the snake was trying to communicate and read the words on the ground: ‘Please don’t kill me. We are digging treasure’.

  The old man was shocked. Aside from the chickens, he didn’t come across anything interesting in the forest. Discovering that there might be a chance for a treasure, he felt excited. The man quickly used his knife and abandoned all his thoughts of murder he had a few seconds ago. Farmer Brown clumsily started digging in the dirt. At that moment, he dug like his life was on the line, similar to a kid drowning in the ocean gasping for air.

  Surprised at the old man's change of heart, Slinky felt a sense of relief. He gestured to Rusty and ordered him to dig in another spot as they started digging again.

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  ...

  A few minutes later, the fox, the snake, and the human unearthed an ancient chest. The chest was not locked and Farmer Brown quickly opened it for all of them to see. Inside the chest was a lot of coal. Slinky and Farmer Brown squinted their eyes, disappointed at the treasure.

  “Guess this coal'll be useless but for cookin' supper...” Farmer Brown murmured as he comforted himself.

  'Tsk,' Slinky started moving away from the duo, utterly frustrated. He decided the fox and the human could have all the coal they wanted for it was useless to him.

  Unlike the old man and the snake, Rusty the fox was delighted after the opening of the chest. He was not expecting anything fancy and was just ecstatic that there were things inside. He did not know why he felt happy but he took all the coal he could get out of the chest. Meanwhile, the old man sighed and began his walk back home.

  *Aruuu!*

  After a few seconds, Farmer Brown and Slinky stopped in their tracks as they heard Rusty’s sharp howl. Slinky turned around and saw that Rusty’s paws were covered in blood. The snake went back and looked inside the chest again. Ignoring Rusty’s pained growls, both Farmer Brown's and Slinky’s mouths were open wide in shock.

  “Jewels!”

  ‘Jewels!’

  There were many colorful jewels the size of a fist underneath the coal. The old man and the snake were delighted as they pounced and gathered the genuine treasures. Not wanting to be left behind, Rusty joined them ignoring the pain he was feeling. Upon grabbing something, the fox was yet again faced with difficulty lifting a treasure from the chest. It was a gold pendant of sorts in the shape of a bone. Rusty could not lift it out of the chest which Farmer Brown noticed seconds later.

  Farmer Brown used both hands to carry the pendant out of the chest. It was an amulet with golden chains connecting it. The main part of the amulet was a golden stick two inches long and about two fingers wide.

  "What in tarnation is this amulet? Feels plumb different from them other treasures."

  Observing the amulet, Slinky the snake looked with wisdom in his eyes as he speculated, 'Judging from its color, it must be the one piece of power that he told me about...'

  Slinky urged Farmer Brown to do something with the treasure using his tail. The old man, also curious, tried waving the thing around with his two hands but nothing happened.

  'Darn this stupid heavy thing! I wish it were a bit smaller,' whispered Farmer Brown at the back of his mind as he continued using the amulet like a wand.

  Suddenly, the amulet glowed and transformed under their very eyes. The whole amulet reduced in size and was thrown away from the hands of the shocked Farmer Brown.

  Slinky was confused, 'What happened? What did that man do?'

  "Fuck! Now where's it gone??" Farmer Brown was also puzzled as he looked around where he threw the amulet.

  Rusty saw the thing landing at his feet and was amazed at its new appearance. The fox picked up the amulet and also waved it around as the man did, but nothing happened this time.

  "What's wrong with this contraption? Where's the switch making all these things?" Farmer Brown pondered as he stared at the fox.

  Slinky realized something, 'A switch.. hmm. Maybe it's just as he says'. He quickly grabbed the small amulet from the fox, afraid of the man figuring it out before he did.

  Lifting the amulet with his tail, Slinky began thinking of reshaping the amulet back to its default size. Immediately, the amulet glowed again as it transformed itself back to its original form. Slinky was not able to act fast and dropped the amulet.

  Amused with this development, Rusty the fox happily snatched the amulet and thought of increasing its size more than it currently is. With a glow, the amulet grew and crushed the paws of the fox to the ground.

  Rusty cried in tears again but the snake did not care as he moved towards the amulet again.

  Unfortunately, Farmer Brown was quicker this time. He touched the amulet, and once again, it glowed.

  After many curious touches from the three creatures, they realized that the amulet performs whatever miracles they could think of. Concluding their treasure hunt, Slinky and Rusty followed Farmer Brown to his hut. They used the amulet to transport the treasure chest full of coal and jewels by telekinesis.

  ...

  Farmer Brown continued experimenting at his base, moving things casually using the amulet's powers. Pebbles and coal levitated in front of him as he juggled in the air without using his hands.

  "Aww, man! This could maybe make modernize this ol' shack."

  Wanting to maximize the amulet, Farmer Brown thought of having a potato farm on the side of his hut. With a glow brighter than before, a small area of land was transformed into a potato farm with crops ready to be harvested.

  The fox happily jumped around the potatoes as he started munching them raw. Farmer Brown dropped the amulet and chased the fox, the duo began their usual routine once again. Unlike them, Slinky was deep in his thoughts.

  'If it does not have limits, then it may give me a way of communicating like that old man!'

  Picking the amulet, the snake closed his eyes and thought of his command to the amulet. After the glow, Slinky opened his eyes and tried to speak.

  "Hello..? Fuck yes! It worked!" Slinky's voice trembled as he exclaimed.

  Hearing the voice of a teenager, Farmer Brown, and Rusty stopped and turned towards Slinky.

  "Yes, that's right you dickheads," the snake looked down at the duo. "I used the amulet to give me a voice similar to a human. With this miraculous treasure, we should agree on some terms. For the sake of peace and whatnot."

  After his first speech, Slinky waved the amulet towards Rusty and the fox glowed.

  "Aruu?"

  "Are you seriously saying those are your first words?" Slinky disappointedly remarked.

  "Huh? What this thing saying?" Hearing his voice, Rusty jumped joyfully as he began shouting the few words he knew.

  After having the ability to communicate with each other, Rusty, Slinky, and Farmer Brown held their first meeting to lay down their own rules. They first had to teach Rusty the alphabet though, not understanding what's wrong with the fox's head.

  From then on, their territory expanded and Rusty was in charge of managing the food he wanted to eat, which was all the food he could get, while Slinky assisted Farmer Brown with ideas for improving their livelihood.

  Farmer Brown tossed and turned in his rustic bed, his weathered face contorted in anguish. His eyes darted wildly beneath closed lids as a haunting dream gripped him.

  In the dream, a radiant being with many shadows stood before him, bathed in an ethereal glow. The air was thick with an otherworldly presence.

  "Choose, Felix," the being declared, its voice like gentle thunder. "Wear my ring, and your toils will never cease."

  The being pressed a glowing ring into the man's calloused palm. As they touched, visions of endless harvests and boundless fertility flooded his mind. He felt peace.

  "But, sir," the man hesitated, "what of my power? I don't want my rule to end. I still have people to kill."

  The being's gaze turned cold.

  "Those memories will wither like autumn leaves. You shall begin anew."

  The man's eyes turned berserk in fury. "Fucker, what do you want!?"

  The being's voice hardened. "You will not recall your tyranny. Oblivion awaits those who refuse."

  Felix's fingers trembled around the ring, "And in exchange for my life, you gave me this ring?"

  "Do not let it touch filthy dirt," the being warned, vanishing into darkness. "Consequences will sprout from such carelessness."

  The man screamed as he lost his vision and experienced something eating away his body bit by bit, like ants creeping under his skin.

  Farmer Brown jerked awake, drenched in sweat, clutching his palm as if afraid the ring would fall out of his hand.

  Hello, this is the handsome author. The chapters of this series are in the form of short stories, averaging from 5,000 to 10,000 words. This first chapter was uploaded earlier than scheduled, with 8,000 worth of words missing. I apologize for that. Still, stay tuned for some changes here and there.

  Thank you.