Chapter 3

Anjali

I awoke to a bright light. The sun was shining through the window and blinded me for a second before my eyes adjusted. As I looked around I noticed Odo was awake and trying to convince Duncan to do the same but the larger man was having none of it and kept his eyes firmly shut. The Magister was also awake but looked a little groggy as he sat on the mattress. After spending the next ten minutes hopelessly trying to wake Duncan up Odo walked over to me and calmly asked if I could set fire to the man's bedroll. Duncan's eyes flew open at that statement and quickly got up before I could answer. Odo simply smiled as Duncan packed his stuff, muttering the whole time.

As we headed down the stairs the large warrior forgot about the small door frame and smacked right into it. He quietly muttered a few choice words before moving on. As we left the inn I pulled my hood a little lower, hoping the sun at our back hid my face in the shadows. As we walked people began to point and stare at us as we passed. I wondered if it was because of having two armed men, a hunter as tall as a bear, and an old man in a blood stained mask walking through their village was considered unusual or because it was something new to talk about.

We ignored the gossiping people as we passed through most of the town but before we could reach the forest something happened. A little boy, maybe five or six years old, walked up to me. Since I didn't plan to run him over I was forced to stop. It seemed my hunter disguise was working because the little boy was asking me question after question about capturing and skinning animals. From his questions I assumed he wanted to become a hunter himself. I know how to hunt but I'm not sure if the same rules apply to this realm as they do mine so when Odo stepped over and answered for me I was relieved.

The little boy was relentless though. He kept asking questions and Odo was running out of answers. The Magister would be very proud of this little boy's curiosity but it was costing us time. I could see Odo was feeling the same but was unable to leave without being rude. Luckily for him I don't care if I'm rude. I turned to the kid "Look boy, we need to leave" I said impatiently before grabbing Odo's arm and pushing him forward. Odo shrugged before moving on with a relieved look on his face but as I moved to follow the boy jumped in front of me again.

I was very tempted to smack the kid but that would draw unwanted attention so I crossed my arms and glared at him. The little boy looked at the shadows that covered my face and asked in his squeaky little voice "Did something happen to your face?" I continued to glare at him as I answered "No". Sadly the boy was not convinced and stepped closer to see my face and what he saw there would likely haunt his dreams. The boy's eyes popped open and he stumbled back falling on the ground in his haste. His mouth opened but nothing came out as he scrambled up off the ground and bolted for a nearby cottage.

After that little scene we hightailed it out of the village as fast as we could. There were no signs of pursuit once we entered the forest so we slowed and looked at the map again.

The wavy lines and odd colors meant nothing to me but they clearly meant something to everyone else. They were pointing in all directions before one was finally picked. All the while I was standing off to the side making sure no one followed. Once I was sure none of the villagers would come running at us with pitchforks I turned and started to follow before something caught my eye. I turned and was knocked off my feet by a wall of fur. As I lay on the ground the furry creature charged toward me again but I managed to get onto my knees and roll out of the way. As I turned I finally got a look at the beast that was trying to kill me.

Its light brown fur blended perfectly into the trees around us which was why I had not seen it before. It was maybe ten feet away and was glaring at me with its big brown eyes filled with rage. The creature, which I believe is called a bear, circled around me looking for a weak spot. As it walked its claws, each as long as my finger, gleamed in the sunlight. The bear then stood on its hind legs, muscles rippling under its thick fur, and roared out a challenge before falling on all fours and running at me.

I dodged the clumsy attack and turned to see that the bear had already turned and was charging again. When he got closer he swung his paw at me, the long claws just missing my face, before swinging his head around to bite my arm. The teeth dug into the leather armor and even managed to pierce the skin. The beast swung me around a bit, his teeth digging further into my arm with every swing, before I managed to get a hold on his head. I dug my fingers into his eyes and the bear dropped my arm and began howling. The beast was swinging his head every which way and howling in pain the entire time. When it swung its head my way I could see why. The bear's eyes were melting.

What use to be big brown eyes were now drippy white blobs just barely attached to the sockets. The beast kept howling and scratching and swinging his head as if to rid himself of the pain. I decided to take pity on the poor beast and quickly jumped onto his back. The bear never noticed as I wrapped my arms around his neck and began to squeeze. By the time he did notice he was already unconscious and still I squeezed until I heard the loud snap and felt his neck give out underneath me.

As I got off the beast I saw Duncan and Odo running towards me with the Magister struggling to keep up. When they got closer they slowed and took in the scene. The large bear with a broken neck and melted eyes and me with a large bite taken out of my arm. They looked at each other and shrugged before turning to the Magister who had just arrived.

The Magister glanced at the bear before quickly looking away again. The crushed neck and still dripping eyes proved too much for him in the end and he ordered Duncan to move it further into the forest. Finally the Magister noticed the wound on my arm and moved closer to study it. I lifted my arm so he could get a better look and enjoyed the shocked expression on his face. The wound was almost healed and the Magister watched in amazement as the torn flesh knitted its self together and was made whole. Soon all that remained was a thin line of black blood slowly dripping away.

The Magister immediately began asking questions about my arm, which I, of course, ignored. Eventually he gave up and smiled "You would think I would have learned by now that you only talk when you want to and not when I'm asking questions". I smiled in return and we waited for Duncan. As we waited I couldn't help but think about the bear…how I melted its eyes. I was worried because I didn't mean to do that. I never even tried to call on the fire. Usually it came only when I commanded it to and never a moment sooner. I silently hoped that whatever caused it would never happen again.

Eventually Duncan came back and we all headed off. This time I stayed within view of the others as they walked. All too soon the sun began to dip below the horizon and the moon rose to take its place. Odo claimed that there was a town somewhere in this area so we split up and searched. As I wondered about trying to find signs of a nearby settlement I stumbled upon a bloody scene.

A large oak tree stood in the middle of a small clearing and tied to the tree was a man .The grass surrounding the tree was covered in a thick layer of blood and as I got closer I realized that the blood had come from the man's stomach. It looked like a large blade had slashed open his stomach deep enough to bleed but not deep enough to kill him outright. I moved closer to check for a pulse knowing there would be none. I walked around the tree and saw the thick ropes that bound the dead man and saw they were covered in blood as well. Whatever happened here was not good. I turned and run back to find the others.

With the torches they carried I managed to find them easily enough and told them what I had found. Duncan was angry when I finished while the Magister looked confused and Odo kept glancing around with a worried look in his eye.

I led them to the tree and stood watch while they studied the gruesome scene. I could hear Duncan cursing under his breath and the Magister muttering to himself but Odo was as silent as the trees.

Eventually we left the clearing and found a shallow cave to make camp in. Odo stood watch by the entrance of the cave while Duncan sat with the Magister further in. I searched the forest surrounding the cave to make sure we were alone. When I finished I searched the area around the dead man, hoping to find some clues, and found signs of a trail. I looked closer and saw it was a trail of blood. The grass had been pushed down, like something was dragged through it, and there were faint marks in the dirt…almost shoe shaped.

As I sat there, studying the trail and trying to see where it goes, I felt someone watching me. I quickly turned around to see a man crouching under some bushes. If not for my excellent eyesight I would have never seen him and as I stared at his hiding spot I saw who he was.

I turned back to the trail and spoke just loud enough for him to hear me "You can come out now Odo." There was a second of silence before he crept out of the bushes, barely making a sound, and came over to me. "How did you know it was me?" he whispered. "I saw you" I replied. Odo looked confused for a second before shrugging his shoulders. "You were late" he said "so Duncan took my post and I went out looking for you".

I pointed to the trail "Trying to find out what happened and stumbled along this. Do you have any idea where it leads?" I asked. Odo studied the trail for a moment before pointing north "That way" he claimed "They must have dragged him to that tree so we can't be far from where he was taken."

I nodded "Should we tell the others?" I asked. Odo immediately shook his head "We need to be quiet while we follow this trail. Duncan is a lot of things but he is not quiet. We would be better off just following this trail alone." He glanced over at me "You can be quiet…right?" I shrugged and said "If I can't I can follow you at a distance." Odo seemed happy with the compromise and set out north, following the trail like a bloodhound.