The path ahead wove through the oddly colored trees and over the steep hills of the Grimling Forest, the permanent gloom of the place making the landscape appear even more alien than it was.The Ranger moved silently, only the barest glimmer of bright mail every now and then announcing his presence- and that was just as he wanted it. He wasn't here to fight, or to vent frustration, but to walk and think..to still the maelstrom that was inside him, to find a way to remove the darkness he felt over his heart.
The one thing he counted on, the single constant in his life, the admiration and unquestioning trust of his wife, had been what held him together, the driving force that made the struggles and battles worthwhile..and now it was no longer a certainty. The words echoed in his head, over and again, nothing able to drive them out...so he meandered through the twilit forest, his thoughts constantly returning to her- peacefully sleeping where'd he left her, unaware of the storm of emotion she'd started in him.
Thinking, walking distractedly down the well- travelled path, his mind a million miles away, he never saw the threat, had no suspicion until the weight of the owlbear was upon him. Rolling, bringing blades to bear on the creature, he struck out in an attempt to end the fight quickly...and that was when it hit him, like a splash of icy water on his heart. A sudden shock of pain, slicing deep into his soul- a pain which had no
external cause, coming from inside, from her..from his wife. But that wasn't the end, and not the worst...as quickly as the pain hit, it subsided, and was replaced with emptiness, the sudden snapping of the spiritual tether that had tied them to one another for so long.
Stunned into inaction,the owlbear saw an opportunity, landing a vicious blow to the Ranger's upper arm, knocking him aside...which seemed to wake him, building rage resulting in a flurry of steel, and ending with the lifeless body of the creature blocking the path.
With the beast dispatched, Gules set his mind to reaching her, searching for a glimmer of contact, seeking her life force. He was rewarded only with fleeting glimpses and feelings- the sound of hooves on soft earth, a feeling of being held, suspended, helpless, and over it all, the pain. It was the pain that roused him to action, exploding into a dead run through the trees in the direction he left her, anger quickly being overcome by panic, his mind searching for the way back to her, back to the quiet grove where they had parted...
There...the answer came in the form he saw in the clearing ahead, a half-Elven Druid standing with his back to Gules' approach. Silently, seeing no other option, the Ranger crept up behind his target and placed the edge of a blade against the Druid's throat, whispering into his ear- "To the Twilight Sea, and right now, if you wish to draw another breath."
The half Elven druid stammered at first, startled at the blade at his throat and the unseen assailant behind him. Gulping past the blade, his unsteady fingers began to weave the spell, lips chiming the proper incantation as space swelled around them. Swirling motes of magic engulfed them as the sound of imploding air sucked them both out of the Hollowshade Moor and touched them down into the colorful landscape of the Twilight Sea. Whispering an apology, the need to avoid any delay foremost in his mind, Gules brought the hilt end of his sword down hard at the back of the Druid's head, dropping him unconcious to the ground.
Taking a deep, cleansing breath, the Ranger looked slowly around him, trying to shake the disorientation of being transported in such a manner. The Sea was as usual, the peaceful serenity of the breeze sighing through boughs over sun dappled meadows. The sun glittered off of the turquois body of water surrounding the clutch of islands, oblivious to the scene of tragedy. A sapling near his feet had been cut down with the quick swipe of a blade, footprints in the soft soil leading to the copse of trees where he'd left his sleeping wife. Following the footprints, he searched the ground carefully, kneeling briefly to inspect some of the tracks- years of training in identifying the tracks of man and beast coming into play. The tracks were of Elven origin, the tailoring of imbued armor leaving tiny imprints in the ground for the trained eye of the Ranger. The prints were deep in the soil, the wearer of the boots made heavy by armor and weaponry. The traffic on the ground near the unconscious half elf made any others indescernable, but there were a set of hoofprints that seemed to sink into the soil as the horse waited, pawing boredly at the ground. The sense of urgency coming back, he entered the small grove of trees, hoping to see her still sleeping, his fear the result of a tormented dream.
A rough caw sounded from the limbs of the tree that she'd been sleeping in. A strangely made bird, as black as pitch and with a thick body, was sitting on the limb like an owl. Two wide, golden eyes blinked curiously down at the Ranger, the set forward, binocular vision trained on him as the bird observed his actions. The beak of the creature was long and jagged, unlike the smooth hooked beak of normal owls, and it had a raven's voice, breaking the serenity of the copse with its rasp. The dark blotch of feathers stood out against the colorful backdrop easily. It's blackened talons flexed on the bark, shifting closer to the trunk of it's perch where an arrow pierced the thick skin of the tree- pinning a note written in a brownish ink that matched the spray of blood across the trunk. This, in combination with the blades of grass beneath, broken and crumpled by some struggle, caused him to give voice to his fear..."She's gone."
No comments:
Post a Comment