After walking for three days, the small party had entered the outskirts of the sick woods. Aspaelwin kept glancing about, looking for signs of the monster. He didn't expect it to come this far out, but you never knew. It depended on the rules set down by the one who had summoned it, Master Owadro had explained. The hot weather beat down on them despite the shade of the trees. Sweat trickled down his face and he pulled the cowl of his cape forward to shield him from the burning sun. Sir Hapow snickered but refrained from commenting.

Aspaelwin frowned. Both guards thought less of him for being a half-breed, but also for being from the northwest, where the sun wasn't as hot as here. His pale skin couldn't handle it and burned easily. Sometimes he considered moving back to his mother's people, in the mountains. But he didn't like the cold and the snow. And the high-elves weren't very keen on half-breeds either. Maybe he should migrate to Terador. He'd heard they were more used to half-elves there, living close to the wood-elves in the region. Could he persuade Sekafi to come with him? He shook his head.

They pushed deeper into the oppressive pine forest, heading down towards the small river when a screech tore through the air. Aspaelwin stopped in his tracks, his breath hitching. His hand snapped to the hilt of the curved knife, gripping it hard. He searched their surroundings, straining his eyes in his efforts to see everything at once. The guards halted. The ringing of steel as they drew their arming swords grated on Aspaelwin's ears. He resisted the urge to hush at them. It was already too late. If the monster was near, it'd have heard them. He swallowed, his throat dry and his lips parched from fear.

Thunder shook the ground, rhythmic and fast. Something heavy coming their way. Hiaashaqwi shouted and pushed Aspaelwin out of the way. Something hurtled past, snorting and whining. Aspaelwin's heart thrummed, his chest constricting. Unable to breathe, he froze, his hands shaking with terror. It was here. They'd die. Dear gods.

The guards shouted and spread out to keep Aspaelwin between them. The black beast skidded to a stop, spraying dirt and dust into the air. Tossing its massive horned head, it charged them. Sir Hapow dipped low to the side and stabbed his sword towards the creature's side. It snorted and shied aside from the glancing blow with a whine.

It shook Aspaelwin from his paralysis. It wasn't it. This was something else. A wild animal. Not a monster. He drew a deep shuddering breath and pulled the knife from it's sheath. As the animal spun around again, he studied it more closely. It looked like a huge deformed deer. Black and powerfully built with bulging red eyes and large swivelling ears, it sported a huge rack of twisting and malformed horns. Sores and boils covered its hide and an arrow stuck out from it's back. It gave a strange ear-splitting call, lowered it's head and charged again. It bowled right into Sir Hapow, throwing him to the ground. It kicked and stomped as he rolled and scrambled to get back up.

Hiaashaqui jumped towards it, hissing. He raised the sword and cut the large deer across the back. It reared up with a screech and kicked out, forcing him back. Blood flowed down it's sides. Flaring its red nostrils, it jumped forward. The samandar dove to the side and spat at the animal. Aspaelwin stared at them, his feet rooted to the ground. The huge deer locked eyes on him. A tremble coursed through him as it ran straight for him. He raised the small knife. Sir Hapow appeared before him and stabbed towards the animal. Unable, or unwilling, to evade it, the huge beast speared itself in the shoulder as it lunged forward and bit into the guard's upper arm, spraying froth. Sir Hapow roared as he and the deer fell to the ground in a heap. Aspaelwin stumbled back, avoiding the animal's sharp horns by a breath's width. The struggle on the ground ended in a few seconds as the animal cramped and thrashed, it's eyes rolling wildly in their sockets. Bleeding from its nose and mouth, it sagged to the ground. Sir Hapow grunted and pulled himself out from under it.

Heart hammering, Aspaelwin cautiously approached and nudged it with the tip of his boot. What was wrong with this thing? And why had it suddenly died? The wounds inflicted on it weren't serious enough to fell it. He jumped as someone placed a hand on his shoulder. Looking back, he met Sir Hapow's steely gaze. The guard seemed fine, if dirty and sweaty from the ordeal.

'So, this was the beast?' He grinned. 'Just an oversized deer with a weird rack.' He laughed and patted Aspaelwin on the shoulder in a derisive manner.

'No,' he snapped. 'This isn't the monster.'

'Look, it's all right to be confused. It was dark that time. I get it.' He cleaned off his blade and sheathed it, then proceeded to brush off the worst of the dirt from his armour and clothes.

'No, you don't get it,' Aspaelwin retorted. 'This isn't the same. The monster is bigger and not a herbivore. It had many legs and eyes. This is just a... a big strange deer. It's –'

'Yeah, yeah.' Sir Hapow waved it off, clearly satisfied with his own explanation. The half-breed was scared and had imagined the whole monster-thing.

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'Please,' Aspen tried again, 'I know what I saw. And a simple animal like this wouldn't have harmed Sekafi. It was poisonous!'

Sir Hapow and Hiaashaqwi both looked at the dead deer at that.

'Maybe it didn't think it needed it?' Sir Hapow grunted, but Aaspaelwin noted how he rubbed the place where he'd been bitten. 'Or it was too tired? Someone's been trying to kill it already, and it looks sick.' He spat on the ground.

'Yes, it does. And that's worrying, don't you think?' Aspaelwin said. 'It died, and we don't know exactly why.'

'We know why,' he huffed.

'We do?' Aspaelwin raised a sceptical eyebrow.

Sir Hapow nodded towards the samandar. The fire-lizard stared out into the woods, absently cleaning his sword with a rag.

'What?' Aspaelwin half-whispered.

Sir Hapow gave him a look that spoke volumes. 'Samandar are poisonous. Hiaashaqui killed it. It's very efficient.'

Aspaelwin stared at the lizardman again, suddenly very nervous. The huge deer had died in mere seconds. Maybe the wounds and the sickness had sped the process up? But he didn't think so. Wiping his forehead on his sleeve, he watched the deer again. It looked very sick. Similar to the trees. Bulging boils and sores. Some plague? He covered his mouth and backed off from it. It could be contagious. His stomach churned and he wanted to take a bath and clean himself off. At least he hadn't fought the thing.

'Let's go,' he said and sheathed his knife.

Aspaelwin led the trio to the small river. In the glow of the setting sun, they made camp in silence beside its steep banks. Aspaelwin slept uneasily and woke early, too tense to relax this close to the waystone. The waystone that wasn't a waystone, but the outer perimeter of the summoned beast. Probably. They couldn't know for sure. He balled his fists against the fear curling in his stomach. He should turn back. He should leave. Sekafi was saved, he didn't have to do this. He shook his head, knowing he'd keep his word. They'd saved her in good faith he'd accomplish this task as payment. He let out a long breath and relaxed. It'd be fine.

Stirring the coals from their campfire, he added more wood to the glowing coals. The guards soon joined him and they shared a quick breakfast. The guards spoke in low voices, keeping Aspen out of their conversation. He missed his best friend and glanced back the way they'd come. Maybe she'd catch up with them?

'Hey, ghost.'

Aspaelwin looked back. Sir Hapow sneered at him. Probably amused by the new nickname. 'Yes?'

'Let's move. Where's this rock you talked about? We've got to get there before it gets late again.'

'It's not far,' he snorted. 'Unless you're a stinky dumb guard,' he added under his breath.

'What was that?' Sir Hapow stepped up to him and jabbed a finger in his chest.

'Nothing, just thinking aloud about the path to take.'

They stared at each other for a while, Aspaelwin sweating under the hard gaze. After a few nerve-racking moments, he looked away, unable to bear it any longer.

'Thought so,' Sir Hapow snorted. 'Better watch your step, half-breed. I'm gonna keep you safe, but I can make your life real hard.' He left and readied his gear for the day's travel, leaving Aspen a nervous shell.

Like Aspaelwin had said, it took them only a short time to find the waystone. And something else. A black-fletched arrow, stuck in a tree, dark sap bleeding from the broken bark. He only spotted it because he decided to circle the stone to see if there was anything written on the back of it. Hadn't the arrow in the deer been black too? He thought so. They weren't alone in this cursed place. But who was it? Aspaelwin glanced around at the dying trees and sickly underbrush, shrivelling in the heat. Maybe he hadn't been too far off the mark in assuming people still lived in the area after all.

Curious but unwilling to let the guards know about it, he resumed his study of the stone and left the arrow where it sat. It took him longer to copy all the symbols than it had taken them to reach the stone from their camp. He hoped Master Owadro would be able to make sense of these scribbles later. They looked like total gibberish to him. The guards muttered their displeasure but kept it quiet to Aspaelwin's relief. He didn't want to consider what'd happen if the creature found them again. He rubbed his sore ribs, a sharp reminder of how easily the beast had hurt him.

'I'm done,' he announced and placed the parchment into a metal scroll-holder he'd been given from the mage.

'About time,' Sir Hapow muttered.

The samandar only nodded. Not much for talking than one, Aspaelwin thought as he struggled through the underbrush. Now, they only had to find the rest of the stones. He almost laughed. Only. Normally he'd be delighted about such a thing, but not now. Not here. Instead, he walked with care to avoid making any noise and kept his wary eyes on their surroundings.