And what of that woman at the pond? That was no ordinary human. Something was strange in this place, and it was making him a bit uneasy. Agnese had the feeling of being watched. One thing that wasn’t watched, however, was the fire. Agnese, lost in thought, hadn’t paid attention to the fire, which was now down to embers. He only noticed it when he felt a distinct chill. The fire was out, and the temperature had dropped considerably. Even with the forest as a windbreak, the cold air rushing down from the Rinzeremel Mountains could drop temperatures dramatically.
He cursed himself for his inattention and tried to revive the fire. He fanned, he blew into it, he added more kindling. All he managed to do was create smoke but no warning flames. Suddenly a light glowed beyond the fire.
“What are you trying to do, send a signal?” asked a bleary-eyed Courtney. “Think someone will see it and show mister big bad soldier how to start the fire?”
Agnese bristled, but he knew that this time, he deserved it. He had ignored his duties, and now he couldn’t seem to fix it.
“Man, it got cold all of a sudden. At least I got a little sleep. The big man over there has been sawing logs for a couple of hours.” Courtenay pointed back from where she came. Away from the fire, Beivalur snored away. Where he was from, the sudden drop in temperature was downright balmy.
“It’ll be light soon. It’s my fault the fire went out. If we get moving as soon as the light is up, we won’t feel the cold as badly. My apologies for failing in my duty.” Agnese regretted having to utter those words. He let his mind drift away from his responsibilities.
Courtenay tried to take the sting out. “Hey, no big deal. We all make mistakes.”
That was not what he wanted to hear. He had failed. Agnese snapped back, “Would you be so generous if someone had died??”
“Ok, ok… You messed up. Happy?” Courtenay turned around and headed back to her gear and started packing up. The suns would come up soon, and Agnese was right about warming up.
Ninette had quietly watched the exchange. They understood both sides of the conversation. Agnese did “fail” his mission, but it wasn’t something crucial. Ninette didn’t sense that failure was acceptable to Agnese and that he was likely as trustworthy as one might expect. But trustworthy enough to tell him about their reason for traveling? Not yet.
“I agree we should get started, Agnese. It will give us a little more time.” Ninette wanted to defuse his frustration with a little acknowledgment.
Agnese nodded. The sun began to filter through the trees in the Aca Forest. The purple fog around the mausoleum began to recede, seeming to hide in the woods. If they got an early start they could get all the way through the forest and even halfway to Tremer in one day. Tremer was a popular stop along the Orsholon/Lawcrane Road, and they could get some good hot food and a decent night’s rest in the town.
Beivalur began to stir, stretching his arms to the sky. Even sitting, he was a large man. “Are we leaving so soon, friends?”
Courtenay shot a glare at Agnese. “Yup. Fire went out. We’ll have to eat some of the dry rations as we go.” She did not sound happy about the prospect of eating stale bread and venison jerky for the day.
“If we pack up now, we can get to the other side of the forest by midday or slightly after, and stop there to rest. Then continue on. We’ll reach the farmlands to the west of Tremer before nightfall.” Agnese was taking charge of the situation, as might be expected.
“Very well, Oatspell,” Beivalur responded. “By the way, did anyone see…”
“See what?” asked Agnese abruptly.
“…never mind” was Beivalur’s response. The mere question seemed to agitate Agnese, and that would not help their party at the moment. No, he would keep the vision of the shadow to himself a bit longer.
But Agnese was fairly sure that the @(species:eaa57908-55af-4478-9046-7b329782688e) had seen the sky shadow as well. If he had been surprised, and Ninette had been surprised, was it possibly following Courtenay? And why?
They packed up their gear, and by the time the suns were cresting over the trees, they made their way into the forest.
The Aka Forest had many stories and superstitions associated with it. Stories of ghosts, spirits, demons, and the undead. It was also rumored to be a haven for Abominations, the descendants of individuals and creatures that were irreparably changed in the aftermath of the Cataclysm. These creatures were misshapen, deformed, abnormal in size and shape, and some had enough of their essence changed that they became entirely different species. Some were even crossed between creatures. Of course, there was rarely any evidence of these creatures, and the few times when a body or carcass was discovered, it turned out to be a badly mangled bear, wolf, or other normal creature. Still, it was possible that these creatures existed, and there were far too many stories to completely dismiss them out of hand.
The further they party traveled into the forest, the darker it became. The high canopy of trees filtered so much of the light coming through them that there was insufficient light to cast shadows. The dense trees, parted only by the road, absorbed the majority of sound as well, giving the entire forest an eerily quiet atmosphere. Not even birds seemed brave enough to chirp.
The group seemed to follow suit, with not even Courtenay daring to speak. Their footfalls on the road were accentuated by the crunch of oak leaves and pine needles beneath their feet. Suddenly, Agnese stopped dead in the road and held up his hand. The group stopped in time to see a half-man, half jackal leap out of the trees! Narrowly missing Agnese, it spun around to face him, and as it did, Agnese pulled his sword and stabbed at the beast. He hit true, but the beast appeared to be unshaken and unfazed.
Courtenay quickly recited an incantation and with a throwing motion, released a magic force from her hands in the shape of a blade made of ice. It whizzed by the beast’s ear, narrowly missing it. Ninette ran forward, drawing their dagger and cutting at the beast. But they too missed the mark.
Beivalur drew apart is massive hands and with a loud “clap”, slammed them together creating a huge thunderclap that shook the ground. And yet, the beast remained unfazed. It took a mighty swipe at Agnese, tearing through his armor and cutting his chest. Agnese fell to the ground, unconscious. Courtenay let loose a bolt of fire from her hands, and this time, she hit the beast square in the chest. It let out a fearsome cry, its fur burning from the bolt. The smell of burning hair was putrid, and as the beast lay writhing on the ground, it slowly changed shape, losing its human form and becoming nothing more than an ordinary, dead jackal.
Beivalur quickly knelt by the prone Agnese and laid his hands on the fallen warrior’s chest. He muttered a few words in what sounded like Mosae and closed his eyes. His hands took on a subtle glow, which flowed into Agnese’s wounds. Agnese blinked weakly and looked confused.
“Don’t move yet, Oatspell. You took a hard hit. We killed the beast, but it may have companions. Just rest a moment and I can deliver a bit more healing.” Beivalur kept his hand on Agnese’s chest to prevent him from trying to rise.
“That was a jackalwere, an abomination,” said Ninette. “I had heard tales of them, but never had seen one myself. And now I understand why there is never evidence other than a carcass. We need to move, and quickly. Most often, they travel in packs.”
Beivalur performed his incantation once again and restored Agnese’s health. But those wounds would slow him down nonetheless. They had to make their way out of the forest. Beivalur could restore life force, but wounds would still take time to fully heal, even if accelerated.
Courtenay and Beivalur helped Agnese to his feet, one under each arm, and Ninette took the lead. After a few steps, Agnese insisted that he could walk on his own, pushing his companions aside. “Pride will be your undoing, Oatspell” chided Beivalur.
Courtenay drew her light stone from its pouch and cast her spell. She figured the beasts were less likely to attack if they didn’t benefit from the cover of darkness.
Slowly, and more cautiously, they made their way farther down the road. The sunlight was penetrating a bit more now that it had gotten higher in the sky. They soon came to the point where the road skirted the lake Agnese had seen the previous night. But in daylight, it had a much different look. Just a peaceful bit of water along the road, and no sign of the mysterious woman. The party stopped briefly to fill up their water skins and check Agnese’s wounds. As expected, they had already begun to close neatly, but they still looked a bit painful. Agnese waived them off. “It’s just a scratch.”
Canteens and water bags filled, they continued on. The trees became less dense on this side of the forest, likely signaling they were almost through. Indeed, within an hour or so, they had reached the eastern edge of the woods. Not far away, another cemetery stood in the distance. “Yeah, I know,” said Courtenay. “We’re not going there either.” Past the cemetery was open farmlands. Not much in the way of cover, so they’d have to keep an eye out for any more trouble. Tremer was still at least a full day away, and they needed the rest, especially Agnese.
“We will keep the watch tonight, Oatspell. You will rest. If you can get a full night’s sleep, your wounds should be fully healed by morning.” Beivalur embraced the sudden position as healer. and he was big enough to enforce it. Agnese tried to argue, but the Mosae would have none of it. “We’ll do fine without your assistance for one night.”
After setting up a quick fire for warmth, Ninette and Courtenay headed back toward the woods to pick up some more wood for fuel. Meanwhile, Beivalur stayed behind to tend to the recovering Agnese.
Agnese complained. “I need to do my share of the work! I can’t just sit here!” He tried to rise, but Beivalur easily pushed him back to down onto his seat. “You’ve done your share for today, Oatspell. You took a blow that nearly killed you. You can rest for now.” The look Beivalur gave Agnese told Agnese that he had no chance of winning this discussion.
Ninette and Courtenay returned with wood for the fire and some kindling to get it going. Ninette tended to the fire while Courtenay unrolled her pack and started work on a meal for the party. Every time Agnese tried to get up, Beivalur shot him a look that convinced Agnese to park his read-end back on the ground.
“I hate sitting here feeling useless!” Agnese was frustrated.
“Relax, tough guy. we’ve got this for tonight. You can take a double shift tomorrow if it makes you feel better,” Courtenay teased. “Just eat, get some rest, and we’ll try to make it to Tremer tomorrow or the next day.” Beivalur, backed turned to Agnese, gave Courtney a wink and a smile of approval.
The rest of the evening was uneventful, and Ninette took the first watch, followed by Courtenay. Courtenay sat by the fire, contemplating what she would do. Sure, Lawcrane was likely to have some entertainment for her, but it would just be a rougher version of Orsholon City. And she was tired of that. She wanted adventure. She wanted to be excited about the things she was doing. She hadn’t cajoled her way through the Magic Arts classes just to entertain people with parlor tricks. She wanted to make a name for herself in the world. And you can’t do that from the safety of home. Lawcrane was a start. But it wasn’t a destination.
As the night began giving way to morning, the sky to the east blended from black to deep purple. And in that black, she saw a shadow. Large, flying towards the east. She wasn’t sure what it was, but as she tried to make it out, it was suddenly gone. Vanished. Maybe it was her eyes playing tricks on her. She had been up half the night. But it sure seemed like there was something there. “No matter…” she thought.
“Did you see it as well, NIghtglade?” The deep, quiet voice was Beivaiur, She hadn’t seen him approach. She had been mesmerized by the shadow. “See what?” she responded, just in case he was talking about something else. She didn’t want to sound paranoid.
“The shadow in the sky. You saw it as well. I could tell by the way you were staring at the same point in the sky. And as soon as we looked at it long enough, it simply vanished. That’s what you saw. I saw it as well.”
“What was it, Beivalur?”
“I do not know. But I feel as though someone, or something, is watching us. Why? I do not know. And yet, that is how it feels to me” responded Beivalur.
“So you saw it too.” Agnese chimed in as he rose from his sleeping mat.
“Wait – when did you see it, tough guy? And why didn’t you tell us?” Courtenay was surprised. “Didn’t you think that might be important?”
“Important? No. I caught something out of the corner of my eye. Figured it was just my imagination. I guess it wasn’t.”
“Ya think???”
Ninette added “That makes all of us. This cannot be a coincidence. If this were naturally occurring, I would have to believe at least one of us would have heard something about it previously. I too felt as if it was watching us.”
Agnese saw an opportunity to regain some semblance of “command”. “We double up our watches while on the road. I don’t think it means harm. If it did, it has had ample opportunity to attack. And I saw it only in a dark sky. Whatever it is, it appears to only travel under the cover of darkness. We’ll keep a tighter watch at night, just in case.”
The sun began to rise, turning the sky at the horizon a pale yellow. “If we leave soon, we might make the outskirts of Tremer by evening. from there, we can push on after dark, or wait until the next morning.” Agnese was hopeful they’d choose to push on. While he was feeling much better, a night’s sleep at an inn would help him heal much better than a night sleeping on hard ground.
The party began packing up, and was soon on their way, but now with an additional sense of caution. Who was watching them? Why? And what did they want?