Chapter Two

As I was riding along the edge of the forest I was chased into the night before I saw something move in the dark trees. I stopped Sila and with my elven eyes I looked into the dark trees. I couldn't see anything. I shrugged and started moving again, and then out of the corner of my eye, I saw something move again. Once again I stopped Sila and looked into the trees. "Nothing" I murmured to myself. Then I thought, "I should turn my head around facing the road but still have my eyes on the trees then I could see what was moving". So I did just that. I sat there for a couple of minutes, and nothing moved, so I had Sila move slowly as I continued to do my plan. Then, as if out of nowhere, a huge beast stepped out of the dark forest and slowly started toward me.

I turned my eyes away and slowly took out my bow, and carefully set an arrow upon it. Sila sensed what I was doing and she started walking excitedly but cautiously. I peeked over my shoulder to see that the beast was almost right behind me. I knew I could only make one shot then I would have to take out my elven sword. So I turned sharply pulling the arrow back and quickly let it go. It hit the beast in the chest. The beast roared and started charging me. I quickly but smoothly put my bow back over my shoulder and took out my sword, and turned Sila around. Sila flared her teeth at the beast as she did the night before. I gave my own battle looks at it, and then I yelled, "What do you want with me!" "Me want to deal with the one called Ari-en," the beast growled back at me. I answered, "I am the one called Arien and if you want me come and get me!" I yelled and raised my sword and pointed it at the heart of the beast.

The beast snarled then charged me flaring its arms and paws out at me with terrible long jagged claws. As it came closer to me, I told Sila in elvish to jump aside. As she jumped aside and the beast whizzed by, I slashed my sword at it. I turned Sila back around to face it. I saw I had made a slight wound in its right arm. But the beast just charged at me just the same as if the stroke I had given it didn't affect it. I told Sila to jump aside once again, and as she did so I slashed my sword deep into the left arm of the beast. Blood was spilling out onto the ground from the beast's left arm. I knew it had no use of its left arm but could still use its right arm a bit, so I waited for it to charge again. It looked up at me and snarled and charged at me this time not using it's claws but it's teeth. Sila jumped aside of course but the beast already knew she was going to do that, so it changed direction and charged. I was ready for the beast to do that so the beast caught hold of my right arm in it's mouth and dragged my off Sila making me drop my sword. I felt a zap of pain go through my right arm and looked up where the beast held my arm, I saw a red stain on my tunic, and knew that I wouldn't be able to use my arm until it healed. Sila backed up on her hind legs and kicked her legs at the beast. The beast let go of my arm and I took that precious moment to crawl over to my sword with my left arm and slash at the beast. The beast jumped back but wasn't quick enough and got caught by the tip of my sword cutting the beast's muzzle.

The beast looked at me then said, "This not over" then it ran back licking its wounds into the dark forest. I watched it run into the forest until it was out of sight. I got up on my feet again and climbed onto Sila and told her to run a good ways past the forest so we could rest for the night in peace.

As we were about a mile from the forest, we found a good spot to make camp. As I was setting up my tent (with the one arm) I looked off into the direction of Talia and saw some merchants traveling down the road. I quickly set up camp without hurting my right arm, and then went towards the merchants.

When I got to them they stopped and starred at me, waiting for me to say something.

"Uh, do you have anything to sell?" I asked them.

The merchant behind them all stepped up and said, "I do".

"What do you have for sell?"

"I uh, have some blankets, food, tools, and different kinds of medicines. Just about anything you would need to travel with."

"Bandages too" I asked thinking about my arm.

He looked at my bleeding arm and said, "Yes, I think I have some bandages and antidotes that would suite you".

"I think I would like to buy some of those things. Would you mind if I went over to your cart er' wagon and had a look?"

"That would be just fine".

I went over to his wagon and looked in. I saw bottles of medicine, loads of bandages, three loafs bread, one blanket, and some flint.

"That's all you have?" I asked slightly disappointed.

"Yes, but I am going to Salia to get some more things to sell."

"Oh, well I'll buy the lot, how much will that be?"

"All of the supplies are twenty gold crowns"

"For that" I asked disapprovingly.

"Yes, for that" he answered scowling.

"How about five gold crowns" I bargained.

"Hmmmm, no, fifteen gold crowns" he challenged.

"Ten"

"All right, ten it is then" he said cheerfully.

"Ten gold crowns" I counted distastefully.

We exchanged money for supplies and he was generous enough to throw a bag in.

"Thank you" I said gratefully

"Maybe you can catch me again sometime on my way back"

"Maybe" I left to camp and watched the merchants leave.

I walked over to the fire and started wrapping my arm. I watched my arm for a little bit to see if any blood would seep through, some blood did, but I didn't worry I just wrapped the bandage where the blood seeped through again. I watched my arm for a little bit again, and no blood seeped though. I cut the bandage and tucked it into one of the folds on my arm. Then I made a strap and put it around my neck and under my right arm, so it would stay in a bent position and not move. I then started cooking my dinner.