(Fledinem)
At the fence at the edge of the grounds, Fledinem spotted the tracks.
“Lupa! I think this is it!” He moved forward excitedly. It was sometimes tricky to spot when an animal had passed by – Fledinem had learned to look for the tiniest details. A break in a twig. Grass that looked like it had been pushed to one side. But today he was in luck – there on a section of the ground where mud had collected, a perfect pawprint confirmed what had visited here.
A wolf.
He leaned down, placing a hand on the earth to get a closer look at the tracks. It seemed that Calliban was correct, in that there was only one trail. It led to the fence, then away, deeper into the forest. These forests would be just Middling Forest. Not safe, but not as dangerous as the Deep Forests.
Lupa, ever at his side, gave the trail a cautious sniff. She looked at him questioningly.
“Go on, track the wolf!” Fledinem encouraged. “Let’s find where they went.”
Lupa sniffed hesitantly. Something in her mannerisms seemed to convey scepticism to Fledinem. Normally she would have charged along eagerly, but here she seemed almost reluctant to move off into the forest.
Strange, she seemed to say. Strange tracks.
But Fledinem wasn’t really listening. He had already raced ahead.
***
In the clearing ahead of them, Fledinem spotted a cave.
They had been travelling at a fairly quick pace through the Middling Forests for about half an hour. The ancient wood swept across all of Heldsgard, separating the Six Cities with a forbidding barrier that made travel dangerous except along specific, narrow routes. The Deep Forests were dangerous. Everyone knew that monsters lurked within them. It was rare for anyone to enter them without good reason.
However, Fledinem had learned that as long as you didn’t go too deeply beneath those dark canopies - as long as you kept to the Middling Forest - you could keep safe. Nevertheless, his eyes strained through the gloom cast by the tall pines. He trod as quietly as he could across the rustling needles that carpeted the floor. He kept his form low. His bright skin he covered with a dark green cloak that he’d brought for just this occasion. He hated the darkness, but it was necessary.
And now they had arrived at what had to be the wolf’s lair.
The ground here was not flat. Rock protruded from the soil here and there, mossy with time. At the end of a narrow gully between two sloping hills, a cave slit the earth like a black gash. Within, the air was still and wet.
Lupa whined uncertainly.
Fledinem patted the wolf. “It’s ok, girl. I’ve brought along some meat. I’ll coax them out with that, and then we can show them we’re friendly.”
Approaching a wolf’s den was a delicate business. A lone wolf would be wary of them, and may already have sensed their scent on the air. Fledinem would have to be careful that it didn’t see them as a meal, or as a threat.
As such, he placed his bow carefully on the floor near the edge of the gully. When he went down to the cave, he would need to show the wolf he was unarmed. As long as he approached carefully and respectfully, he was sure that he could convey to the creature that he meant it no harm. Patience was key. Slow movements were important. Respect, and not staring them dead in the eye – they might see that as a challenge.
Carefully, respectfully, Fledinem approached the darkness of the cave. Lupa stayed back at the edge of the gully, and whined again nervously.
It’ll be all right, he willed at her.
Then, half whispering, he cautiously began to call into the cave to let the wolf know he was there.
“Here, wolf. Hey, you in there?”
He listened carefully. His ears strained through the silence of the forest, and the stillness of the cave. Nothing.
“I’m here as a friend. I’ve brought you a treat!”
He listened again. He could see nothing, but he was fairly sure he heard something shift within the darkness ahead of him. He longed to cast a little light magic, but figured that would spook the wolf, which would undermine his intention.
Ahead of him, the air in the cave began to stir. He held still.
A rustling sound. Something sniffing the air.
Slowly, slowly, Fledinem reached behind him and brought out a ham he’d taken from the Vance Manor kitchens. He placed it on the floor in front of him, and stepped back.
The light glinted off two eyes in the darkness. He had been seen.
Behind him, Fledinem heard Lupa whine quietly, one more time. He waved at her to let her know it was all right.
The eyes in the darkness… they began to move forward slowly. They were about the right colour for a wolf, but… Fledinem tried to gauge how big the wolf must be from how high they were off the ground, but there must be something strange with the cave, because they seemed to be too high for a wolf. They were about a meter and a half off the ground…
And then the wolf screeched, a strange, bleating, cawing sound.
And for the first time since he’d started this test, Fledinem realised that something was wrong. He cast a Light into the cave.
A flash of white light flared into existence, revealing the cave and its occupant. It was no wolf. The thing inside had some wolf-like features, but was as tall as a meter and a half, and in some ways reminded him more of a horrifying amalgamation of stag and a predatory bird. Its body was covered in rust red feathers. Wickedly sharp antlers crowned its canine head. Its mouth was rimmed with razor sharp teeth that protruded forward, perfectly angled for plunging into soft flesh. It stood on two taloned legs, and as it stopped in surprise at the light, it flapped large, feathered wings.
Fledinem had no idea what it was, except that from its eyes it was obviously a predator, and he had left his bow at the back of the gully.
The creature screeched again, then charged out of the cave. It ignored the ham, but immediately charged at Fledinem, sweeping at him with its antlers. He ducked and rolled, feeling the rush of air as the creature passed right over him. If it had hit him, he would have been disembowelled.
Then it lifted into the air.
With just a few powerful wingbeats, the thing lifted its bulk off the ground using what must have been herculean strength, and quickly gathered momentum. It didn't go far, though, and began circling back around towards Fledinem and Lupa.
Lupa started barking, moving to defend him. This distracted the beast, which slashed at Fledinem’s wolf as it flew past, barely missing thanks to a swift retreat from Lupa. Its wingspan was large, but it nimbly wove its way through the trees, particularly near the gully where the area was clearer.
Fledinem dashed forward up the gully to get to his bow just as the creature came crashing down through the canopy for him again. Its antlers raked the air again, and Fledinem felt the rush of wind rippling over him as it passed. But then there was a searing pain. He dropped to the ground, the back of his head suddenly searing with agony. He put a hand back there. It came back wet with blood. The creature's talons had got him as it passed.
But Fledinem had by now made it to his bow. He grabbed the weapon and swiftly knocked an arrow, swinging round. Where had the thing gone?
There! Fledinem spotted the creature just as it reached the bottom of its arc and caught Lupa squarely in its antlers.
“NO!”
The wolf yelped in pain, and was thrown several feet. She lay still. The creature rose up out of its arc, cawing in triumph. Its eyes flashed at Fledinem, intelligent and mocking. It knew. It was smart enough to know what it had done.
Fledinem released the arrow.
The arrow flew true, striking the beast in its chest. But something went wrong. The monster’s feathers were too tough, and the arrow bounced off as if it had struck against armour.
With horror, Fledinem remembered tales of creatures that were resistant to all but magical attacks. Born from magic, they would not be harmed by ordinary sword or arrow. The creature wheeled around, and dived forward, readying to strike him down.
He did not have time to draw another arrow.
He did not have time to cast another spell.
Like a rabbit facing an eagle, he saw the talons dive towards him.
“I SUGGEST YOU LEAVE HERE!” a voiced called through the clearing.
And then strangely, Fledinem didn’t die. Moments away from impaling him, the creature’s eyes went from flashing and angry to glazed and dull. It broke from its attack, and shot up through the canopy. Fledinem watched, confounded, as it flew out of sight.
In shock, he turned to the voice that had spoken. It had come from a human woman, perhaps in her twenties, with black and green clothing covered in arcane jewellery. Her eyes were glowing emerald in the shadows of the forest.
She giggled.
“Well, that was fun, dearie! I think you owe me a life debt, hee hee!”
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