Ephermon yawned as he walked down the hall, the early morning light not affecting his disposition in the slightest since all the windows had long been enchanted to disregard the outside world and instead show whatever tranquil scene the hallwalker preferred at the moment. He smiled slightly, the sort of face laceration that occurs after a night of forced joviality and semi-heavy drinking. The two men in front of the door had an almost opposite disposition, and the elder wizard thought he heard the distinct constant ting of two spear ends clanging against each other because their beholder's were having trouble containing the twitchiness of their hands. Eph personally liked that, but then again he had spent a few years garnering the sort of reputation that inspired a subconscious twitch.

"Evening boys, your replacements will be along soon I trust?" The guards nodded in unison. As their spears seperated Eph walked through the door into his personal study to complete the task he had set aside from the day before. The two guards looked at each other, making sure that a solid piece of matter seperated the enchanter from them, if only for the moment.

"Do you think he'll notice?"
"I don't know Todd, would you notice if Ethel was missing from your bed when you came home?"
"Not really, she's never there anyway..."
"Todd, your wife isn't having an affair, and we've got bigger problems. We had one job, one thing, one PERSON to make sure remained last night and I'm pretty sure that it'll be noticeable."
"...What makes you say she's having an affair?"
"Huh?"
"I just said she wasn't in bed, I get home and she's out at the market or sumsuch, whatever they do when we're not there, but I never said affair."
"I don't know Todd, maybe I'm just a little on edge because one of the most powerful and eccentric enchanters in town is about three seconds from piecing together the mystery of 'Whos Gonna Pay' and it was the first thing on my mind."
"Why would it be the first thing, huh?"
"Todd, focus!"
"No, why was my Ethel cheating the first thing?"
"Todd..."

At that moment the door slammed open, and arguably the most angry face in the town at that moment stepped out, attached to a less noticeable angry body which inspired more fear than a visibly angry body would have. "Where is he?"

"Uhmm...who sir?"

Ephermon smiled and Todd never had to worry about shaving the back of his neck. "Hmm...good question, I admit I was particularly ambiguous there." He stroked his beard for a second. "Hmm...further information, ok. Where is the MAN I INSTRUCTED YOU TO GUARD LAST NIGHT?"

Todd tried to formulate a coherent sentence but found that his entire vocabulary had been reduced to such inarticulate, along with inapproapiate, phrases such as 'Buhbuhgeh?' and 'Rutebaga'. Luckily the more vocal of the pair stepped in. "He...was taken out. I mean, claimed, said they had your authority, seemed very official...at the time..."

"I gave you one, ONE, job."

"I know sir, I was just reprimanding Todd over that, sir."

Ephermon, in a rare moment of not-brain-wiping took a few heavy breaths. "Who? Who said they had my authority, the authority I said NO ONE had?"

"A girl sir. The man inside seemed to take a shine to her something quick."

Ephermon let this information slosh around in his mind like one tastes a fine wine, although there was sure to be a lack of spit involved in this action. Finally he let his gaze return to eye-level. "That is most unfortunate but not entirely unexpected I presume. Be on your way, I will of course have to dock your pay, but I expect you here promptly tommorow for your normal duty." And he returned to his room.

Todd remained motionless for a few moments until his fellow guard slightly pushed his shoulder. "Do I still got my regular features? I'm not green or nuffin?"

"Shuttup Todd, don't jinx it. Now you go home to Ethel and rest your nerves." And the two guards left, one headed home, one running to his loft to tell Ethel to get back to her real bed.

----------------------------------------------------------

Artemis saw the wolf but didn't make eye-contact. She made sure Victor was still dozing before trudging after the beast, enchanting its steps to glow in the dark to easily follow his path without making herself known.

With a quiet rasp, Raenor's blade pulled free of the scabbard. "Good boy," he whispered to Fen as he scanned the glade looking for any other signs of the predator. Reaching Amelia's sleeping form, he clasped his hand over her mouth as he shook her awake.

Amelia startled, then settled as she looked at the ranger's grim face. Raenor's gesture for silence was entirely unnecessary, for Amelia scarcely dared breath as Raenor moved away. Indicating his intentions to Amelia, he began moving towards the horses, who had been tethered nearby, still saddled. Raenor's worry had made him take unusual action, for to leave a horse saddled was unusual. Stealing as quietly as he could to the horses, he pushed bits into the mouths and led the champing beasts over to Amelia, wincing at every noise the horses' hooves made.

"Get on," Raenor hissed to Amelia as he helped her up and on. "Leave the blankets. They can be replaced."

Whistling softly, Raenor waited for Fen to approach, still facing the source of his fear. It had edged nearer the party now, though it seemed to be taking its time, sizing up the company, giving them some space until it knew how they would react. Watching the dark woods about them, Raenor found himself cursing his decision not to light a fire. The darkness was all-encompassing, and he couldn't see anything. Only Fen's vigilance gave him any indication of where the beast was.

Suddenly, though, Fen stopped growling, and barked in confusion. The scent was gone. The creature was gone. Raenor relaxed slightly and started to swing into the saddle. That was when everything went to pieces. Fen snarled as the horses screamed and reared, causing Raenor to lose his footing on the stirrup. As he landed on the ground a liquid black shadow raced past again, swiping at the ranger, who barely managed to evade the beast's vicious swipe. Slightly dazed, the ranger regained his feet and turned his attention to Amelia, who was struggling to get her horse under control.

With strength born of desperation Raenor raced towards his panicking horse. Across the glade he could see Amelia wrestling her horse under control, with Fen snarling protectively beside her. The black shadow appeared again, near Raenor, bounding lethargically after him, confident in its kill. Raenor turned to face the shadow as his horse screamed and bolted again. Holding tightly to the pommel of the saddle, with his foot firmly in the stirrup, Raenor let the horse run. His blade flickered out towards the moving shadow, hoping to at least distract it. A great claw flashed past the ranger's face and the horse's flank as Raenor finally gained enough time to mount the horse.

"RIDE!" he roared as the shadow leapt after the horse, it's claws and teeth gleaming dully in waning moonlight. Raenor could have given the horse no greater urging than his instincts, and he let the horse carry him away from the ravening creature. He watched as his horse drew level with Amelia's horse and Fen, both of whom were running almost blindly through the woods. Seizing the reins, Raenor finally brought his horse under control, urging it in front of Amelia so he could find a safe path through the forest. Branches whipped mercilessly at the ranger's head as he plunged his horse recklessly through the forest. Had he known any less of these woods, it is likely his ride would have ended with a broken neck on a dead-end fork. As it was, he found a safe game trail which lead onto the plains. The company broke from the forest gashed and bleeding from the beating the branches had given them, but they were alive. Their horses were foaming and shivering as their terror-fuelled strides increased the distance between the riders and the forest, the frightened animal's seeking to outrun what they instinctively knew to be a terrible danger. There had been no obvious sign of the creature since gaining the deep woods path, but Raenor had been certain that he had seen the liquid shadow crisscrossing their path, front and back. The creature had their trail, and was relishing the hunt.

For once, the plains of Kenshuria seemed like a gift from Avelia. The clouds blanketing the area earlier had finally diminished and the moon provided dim illumination everywhere. Raenor and Amelia rode on for a what must have been half a mile, when they finally calmed the horses down and convinced them to stop galloping wildly away. Raenor wanted them to save at least a bit of energy if another escape was needed...

Just a glance back to the forest confirmed that. There the creature was, in the midst of a beeline charge towards them. Raenor's heart sank to his waist and didn't return: The beast was charging faster than even the horses. He could see some of its features now, too.

It was charging on four legs, it's movement most similar to a lizard. It's entire body was black, or very dark in colour, so he had trouble distinguishing the finer features even in the clear moonlight. In it's current position, it's size was a perfect medium between Fen and Raenor's horse. The entire creature was disgusting, and shone in the moonlight as if it was covered in slime. The head was long like a horse, but had insectoid characteristics, and continually disappeared in and out of the torso as it moved. The appendages were long, giving the creature large strides and a good reach. As it drew closer, he could just make out the claws. They were not claws, but more the hide of the creature coming to an abrupt, spiked end. It was a demon, that was Raenor's only conclusion as he turned back to look at Amelia.

"GO! DON'T STOP UNTIL THE HORSE COLLAPSES!"

--------------------

The wolf doesn't seem to notice Artemis peeking out of her bedroom door as it scales up onto and through the window. The enchantment reaching her eyes only gives her a perfect path with which to follow, where anyone else would see only shadows shifting in dim twilight. The wolf scans around on the flat roof of the manor, and then slinks off out of view from the window.

--------------------------

OOC:

To Barahad:

Creature: Melee VIII

To CMP and Others:

My advice is to not follow it alone.

Elmric awoke from a disturbing dream, it almost seemed like a vision sent to him, a warning of things to come, however, Elmric had no idea how to interpret it, if it wasn't anything more than stress being relieved from his troubled mind. He knelt next to his bed and prayed to Avelia for guidance, asking for even the slightest glimpse of his divine intentions. Elmric stood, bowed to Avelia, whom Elmric believed was omnipresent, and walked out into the hallway, preparing to go down into the kitchen for a glass of milk. He saw Artemis peeking out of her door.

"What are you looking at, miss?"

Darren awoke in a cold sweat, panting his recovery from another form of nightmare altogether. He sat up and cast a hurried glance 'round the room. He sighed in relief; Hunt manor still provided the four walls which surrounded him.

Darr had dreamed that he'd been unable to charm his way into the lives of the lasses and ladies all night. To make matters worse, when challenged by their men he found he could barely draw his sword.

The blade felt like an iceberg in his hands and the harder he tried the weaker his arms seemed. Darren's view became hazy and he struggled to control his movements, embarrassed that a flailing parry was the best he could muster. Then he had awoken.

After checking his limbs and ascertaining that they were neither gelatinous nor damaged, Llewellyn headed for the liquor cabinet.

On his way through the halls he walked straight past both Elmric and Artemis, never stopping to wonder why those two would be up at such an hour.

OOC: Comedic relief has returned! Back from vakation...

The order given, Raenor sheathed his sword and looked over his shoulder, examining the nightmarish beast which bounded after the fleeing company. Reaching over his shoulder, Raenor drew his bow free from its case. Judging the distance and wind, he reached over his shoulder again and drew an arrow. Then, he waited. The charging creature closed the distance with alarming speed, the sleek figure chewing up the ground between Raenor's horse and those darkly gleaming claws. It was getting uncomfortably close, and Raenor knew he would have to act soon.

It was almost too late. The creature lunged towards the horse, missing only by the barest of inches, a huge furrow getting torn in the Kenshurian grasslands where it landed. Bringing the panicking horse back under control, Raenor rested the arrow on the string, and then twisted himself sideways in the saddle, so that his bow was pointing back at the creature. Guiding the horse with his knees, Raenor braced himself in the stirrups, aimed, drew, and fired. The bow hummed and the arrow screamed towards the creature, striking it on the back. The arrow seemed to shatter on impact, part of it splintering away, leaving the head and part of the shaft to jut awkwardly into the air. The creature ignored the injury and kept on doggedly after the horses, dropping back only slightly.

Anxiety grew in Raenor’s gut as he drew and fired again. The result was much the same, the head of the arrow penetrating, leaving part of the shaft to shatter and snap on the hide of the beast. It was impossible to tell if his arrows were having any effect.

“Raenor!” Amelia was gesturing urgently to him. “The horses are tiring! We have to slow down!”

“We canot!” Raenor answered. “The creature is far too close. We keep riding north!”

“But where are we going!” Amelia sounded desperate and uncertain, but Raenor did not have the luxury of time to explain to her his plan.

“Just trust me!”

So the pursuit continued for nearly three quarters of an hour, prey and predator zig-zagging all over the Kenshurian plains in the pre-dawn gloom. The thundering horses leapt over fallen logs, and broken fences. Their riders urged them on, giving them only the mildest of directions as they sought to evade the terrifying predator behind them. As they rode, Raenor continued firing at the creature, his arrows forcing the creature to keep a healthy distance from the lathered and sweating horses. Several times he shot wide as the beast took an unexpected veer to the left or right, and at those times the creature would be almost on his horse before he could bring another arrow to the string. At those moments though, he often did the most damage, driving arrows at point-blank range into the surging, corded muscles of the beast's body. So the creature was kept in check, but it seemed to Raenor that the stamina it possessed was far beyond anything the Hunt horses could boast.

“FASTER!” Raenor urged his horse as the sky began to lighten in the east.

Artemis held a finger up to her lips as Elmric poked his head out, pointing to the glowing paw prints as if that explained everything. When the first Hunt manorian she had ever met walked by she silently exclaimed wildly like the people who stuck around her for more than a day. When the oblivious ladiesman didn't register her excitement she waved her hands and the shoelaces of his boots sprung to life and dug into the ground, holding him in place for the moment.

With all three parties aware of each other she held her hands together in a bowl shape, spreading them open to reveal two shining prismatic birds. Holding these close to her mouth she quietly whispered something and threw them in the air, watching as they gained their wings by flying over to the two men and perching on their shoulders before digging their ethereal beaks inside the more corporeal ears. Artemis's voice was emitted in a series of stuttered chitters and squeaks that eventually melded into a continuous message.

"Wolf...in the hall...looks mean, didn't...wantittoseeusandtrytoripourthroats-" And then the birds puffed away. Artemis sighed and repeated the magic. "Seems...best to keep...quiet, stay behind and together...hiya Darren :)" Artemis's bubbly affinity with enchanting enabled her to convey her smile quasi-telepathically.

Walking out of the door frame she stood in front of Elmric and said her next sentence while he read it as it blazed into existence in the air. "Now that that's cleared up, would you like to lead?" The words floated in the air for a few moments before turning into a variety of forest animals that scattered into the AEther.

The chase had continued for a full hour and Raenor had already delved well into his second quiver. The creature had been held at bay, but something was going to give and he knew it. He would run out of arrows, or the creature would get unlucky and reach one of the horses, or the horses would get exhausted.

The latter problem was at the forefront of the ranger's mind as pre-dawn light slowly crept up on the far east horizon. These were very powerful horses, but they could not sprint forever. If the horses fell, Raenor and Amelia had no chance of escaping on foot; it would be become sudden death.

Raenor drew back his bowstring and let loose another arrow, which deflected harmlessly off the top of the creature's back. Out of nowhere a horror wailing sound emanated from the creature's gaping maw. Raenor was a blink away from dropping his longbow and losing it forever as his hands nearly forced themselves up to his ears to block the shriek. He took the pain for a few precious seconds to stow the bow over his shoulder before covering his ears and urging his horse to ride on.

He wasn't even sure the horse heard it, it too was becoming frantic over the scream that still resonated behind them. He looked slightly ahead, Amelia was covering her ears and yelling something to him, but he heard nothing aside from the deafening wail. The horses were slowing down, Raenor wondered if they were losing their mind as they were forced to listen to the shriek without a way of covering their ears. With gritted teeth he whipped the longbow off his shoulder and into his right hand in one smooth move while drawing an arrow with his left.

The arrow entered the beast's mouth and the wailing stopped. For a few seconds that seemed to hang in the air, Raenor knew the beast would topple over and die from such a deadly strike. The wailing stopped abruptly, but the creature did not die. It barely slowed its pace, just long enough to hork up the entire, blackened arrow and a small pool of dark slime.

Raenor was deaf for the next three minutes, until he heard the sound of hooves in the distance drawing closer with each passing moment. His hearing returned in another ten minutes and their situation had grown more grim than ever. He had three arrows left in his second quiver and the horses were getting exhausted maintaining their sprint for such a long time. Raenor shouted his horse to push a little harder and caught up with Amelia.

He ignored the blood coming out of her ears and yelled, "Can you keep the horses going?" It was a long shot, but he thought he saw her nod through all the bouncing of the ride across the plains. Amelia's body glowed with a faint blue aura as she uttered her healing incantations Raenor could not hear over the stamping of hooves. In a matter of seconds the aura extended to her horse and it picked up speed. She opened her eyes and slowed the horse and came as close as possible to Raenor. Without thinking he reached out and she grabbed his hand firmly. Raenor was hit by a revitalizing feeling throughout his entire body, like the feeling of a warm bath flowing through every muscle, bone, and joint. The spell must have transferred to the horse as well, for it picked up speed almost immediately.

Nearly an hour and a half of riding and finally they were gaining precious feet of distance between themselves and the creature. They reached the apex of a small slope of the plains and Raenor saw it. A change in the terrain up ahead, a small difference setting it apart from the monotonous, dark plains: a river! It was dead ahead, and there was a small forest to the northeast. They rode on for another five minutes and by then the river was clearly visible and the creature was a hundred feet behind them, still chasing.

The river was small, but Raenor wouldn't be able to judge its depth with so little visibility. They would be in serious trouble if it was too deep for a horse to cross, but there was always the off chance their hunter couldn't swim. They came up to the bank and made a sharp turn east. Raenor scanned the river intensely and decided it was shallow enough to cross. He looked back and saw the form of the beast a good two hundred feet behind. The horses splashed into the water at full speed, only to lose their momentum after several feet when the water was half as high as their legs.

Raenor readied his bow to fend off the creature as they crossed at a slower pace, but found it sitting there fifty feet from the bank, unmoving. He didn't bother questioning anything at the moment, and kept his arrow nocked and ready as they crossed the river. The deepest point saw up to the horse's chest, and before long they were wet and chilled on the other side of the bank. The creature was running away from them now, following the bank but always keeping it's distance. Before long, it was gone and they were over the shadow of the forest just beyond the river.

"Let me collect my proper things, just in case. I don't want to be caught in a fight without my equipment." Elmric slipped into his room and reappeared five minutes later, clad in armor, his shield and spear resting crosswise against steel. The others assembled did the same and returned, and then Elmric looked at the paw prints.

"Out the window? Hmm. Grab hold of my hands for a moment. Darren grabbed his left hand and Artemis his right, and Elmric uttered a slight prayer, and they floated into the air. "Now turn, and file out of the window one by one." Artemis went first, then Elmric, then Darren last, as they were still strung together lest the magic fail. Elmric uttered another small prayer and they floated up to the roof, and landed lightly, Elmric let go of the others and stayed kneeling down. "Thank you Avelia. I was not sure that we would make it." Elmric mumbled this, hoping the other two did not hear. Elmric looked in front of himself, seeing the wolf licking his paw, seemingly uninterested with the humans before him. "Let us watch, and see if he is vicious, or if he is tame. Not to mention...that divination took a bit out of me, so..I must catch my breath." Elmric stood shakily, and continued breathing, watching the wolf with interest.

Raenor reined his horse in and immediately dismounted. Walking over to Amelia's horse, he pointed back to the river. "The horses must drink, and we can cool them with the river water. I dare not tarry too long...that creature, in spite of appearances, hunts us still."

Amelia nodded and dismounted, following Raenor down to the river bank. There, Raenor removed the bridle from the horse's head and let him bend his neck and drink greedily from the cool river. "Will they live?" Amelia asked, looking worriedly at the horses.

"They are strong, young and healthy," Raenor answered. "If we can cool them down now, and keep their muscles working, we won't lame them. I have my doubts, though, about the long-term. We have asked much of them, and they have given more." he patted his horse's flank in appreciation.

A few minutes of rest and cooling off for the horses followed, and Raenor took count of his remaining arrows. Five remained. The nightmarish creature was nowhere in sight, and Raenor felt vaguely troubled by its absence. At least when he had known where it was, he had known what to do.

"Do you intend to go on?" Amelia asked quietly, her hand resting suddenly on his arm, startling Raenor out of his trance.

"I think we know what destroyed the gargoyles we found on our way to Midgaard," Raenor shrugged uncomfortably. "We also know that a party of Venurians was heading north-east...it is information enough to give the defenders of Midgaard." he shook his head then. "I intend to go on. There are still unanswered questions."

Amelia smiled and pulled Raenor into a sudden hug. "Then I will stay with you. I think the horses have recovered some of their strength. Which way do we go?"

"East," Raenor said finally. "We must go east."

Amelia shivered involuntarily. "The creature went that way."

"I know," Raenor sighed. "Let's just hope it hasn't found anywhere to cross."

Putting the bridle back on, Raenor mounted and turned his horse to follow the winding bank of the creek. After last night, he did not want to chance another encounter with the creature in the woods. Spurring his horse into a slow trot, the company rode east into the rising sun.