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    For some reason the last creature had started to turn around in the middle of their stare down.  As soon as it broke eye contact Gray launched himself forward swinging the tree branch parallel to the ground with all his strength.  The heavy blow landed on the monster's burly arm, bone cracked audibly as the monster was launched backward by the impact and the log as thick as a man's thigh shattered into little more than splinters.

     A sickening sound was heard as the creature careened backward a dozen paces, its feet never even touching the ground, and slammed hard into a tree.  Blood splashed the bark as the force on the impact split apart skin and smashed both bone and organ alike.  The broken body of the creature slowly slid down the tree, its eyes locked on Gray as its last breath rattled out through smashed teeth.

     Gray looked down at the shattered tree limb in surprise.  The stone blade and the makeshift club both were destroyed after landing one hit.  He was obviously capable of exerting enough force to completely wreck what should be fairly durable weapons.  Yet when he had fought bare handed, it had barely even broken the skin on his knuckles.  

    Jaze had mentioned his new body would contain high potential, a seriously tough body and ridiculous strength were to be expected perhaps.  Well his body's strength he was certain of, the broken weapons and absurd jump he'd made earlier were indisputable proof.  But that tiny sling stone had broken his finger and knocked him on his ass, his endurance just didn't seem to make any sense.  He felt a major piece of the puzzle was still missing, but for the moment he was satisfied.

    Something entered his eye, causing a burning sensation.  Gingerly wiping at it with his left hand and he quickly realized he was totally covered in blood and some foul smelling gray and brown tissue.  Suddenly feeling nasty he cast around for something to at least wipe himself off with, and after a brief search of the area he came to two possibilities.  The creatures he had killed had three pairs of thick leather leggings, however two of them were so covered in blood and gore that wiping himself down with them would just make him dirtier.  The remaining pair was fairly clean, but he would like to wear them.  Naked was dangerous in the woods, things could snag or poke; he could see a vicious looking bramble bush near the wood line as well.  Yea; he was going to need pants.  That really only left option number two.

      As Gray finished pulling on the pants and tightening the waist up with a handy cord attached to the inner hem the woman sat up, a low pained moan escaping her.

     "Ahh... My head... head feels like a festival drum."  She said, placing her fingers against her temple and wincing.  Followed by, "Gods.  What is that stench?"

    Gray was dumbfounded and spoke up in disbelief.  "The hell, you can speak English?"

     Still sounding groggy the woman replied, "Engrish?  I speak the common tongue, everyone in the Empire does."  Her eyes refocused slowly, then as she realized she did not recognize the voice of this person jerked quickly to face him.

    "Back demon!"  She cried out trying to get up, but a wave of dizziness assaulted her, causing her to drop back to her knees.

    "Gray."  He replied in a deadpan voice.  He was quite happy to have dodged a bullet though; if he had been unable to communicate things would have gotten seriously complicated.  

     "No, it was definitely white..."  She began absentmindedly, then suddenly stopped with a panicked look on her face.  "I mean, what are you talking about?"

    Gray snorted, "Gray.  Its my name, and I'm not a demon.  Probably."  The last word was barely audible; after his battle earlier he wasn't entirely sure he could really be called human anymore.  Demon was pushing it though.  

    The woman frowned, "What else but a demon could kill a Myrk bare handed.  Let alone three."  Her hand returned to her forehead again  "And you were; and with the lightning... and, and then something waved at me..."

    "So those things are called Myrk eh?  And you know, you tried to run full speed through the tree behind you, I'm not surprised your memory is hazy."  Gray interrupted.  "So then you attacked me because you thought I was a demon?  You must see a lot of demons around here then?"

    The woman frowned and redness crept into her face as she replied, "N-no.  I've never seen, or even heard of a demon around here.  But, but I...  I was in the Myrkwood and..."  A look of panic returned to her face.  "Oh.  Oh Gods.  I'm in the wood."  She continued to panic, rising to one knee but stopped and swayed violently.

    "Relax.  I'm not going to hurt you." Grey began.

     The woman cut him off with a loud yell, "Myrk!  Myrk live in the Myrkwood!"

     "You don't say?" Gray chimed in as calmly as he could manage while glancing over to the three shatter bodies strewn about the clearing.  "Maybe, if you stop yelling they won't all come here at once and kill us.  What do ya think?"

    "But! Its dangerous." She began again, dropping to a whisper now.  "Only a  demon or a Myrk could be here."

    Gray was starting to get annoyed.  So he leaned in closer and shot back, "Are you a Myrk?"  The woman shook her head.  "A demon then?"  Again negative.  "If those are the only two things in this place then how is it you are here?"

    "I was hunting and that ass Vert... ah!"  Her gaze lifted and met his eyes for the first time.  "Sorry, I'll...  I'll try to calm down.  I'm Erivere by the way, everyone calls me Eri."  She seemed to be making an effort to control her run away fear now, even her tone of voice was no longer frantic.

    Gray nodded once and spoke up again, "A pleasure, I'm sure.  Now if this place is so dangerous we should probably get moving.  Do you know the way out?"

    Eri looked around briefly and then nodded.  "Yes.  Maybe ten minutes to the edge of the woods.  Then a little less than an hour to Festid."

    "Can you walk?"  Gray asked as he retrieved the remaining intact tree limb from near the Myrk's corpse.  Better safe than sorry.  A frown crossed his face as he picked it up.

    Eri tries to stand again, wobbles fiercely and drops back to kneeling.  "I...  I don't think so.  Maybe if we rest here a little longer, what?  Whats wrong with your hand?"

    Gray had grabbed the branch with his left hand.  It hadn't hurt at all, a closer look showed the bones of his finger had already healed.  The angle was ever so slightly off as it hadn't been set correctly, but it was totally healed.  "Ah, nothing I guess."  He said, not really wanting to tell a stranger he had known less than ten minutes that an injury that should take weeks to heal had disappeared in moments.  "I'd rather not hang around here, if you cant walk you can have my shoulder."  

    Eri nodded, even though she didn't look overly enthusiastic about him supporting her at least he was wearing pants now, so it should be fine.  Gray switched the branch to his right hand and offered her his left shoulder, which she clung onto as they began to move out of the wood and toward the hills under Eri's direction.

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    As they broke out of the wood line, Eri couldn't help but smile, and then looking over at Gray she asked, "What in the name of the Gods is that smell?"

    Gray replied while suppressing a chuckle, "You.  Your clothes are covered in Myrk guts."  Eri looked down at herself for the first time since waking up and a horrified look came over her face.  Her shirt was caked with blood and gore, pieces of skull and other miscellaneous shattered organs.

    She blinked slowly once and said, "Hu?  How... the bodies were at least dozen paces away from where I fell.  But."  She began, but Gray cut her off by clearing his throat and taking the initiative spoke up himself.  "There are people coming, friends of yours?"

    A dozen men, armed with spears and dressed similar to Eri were trotting towards the two of them from the direction of Festid.  Perhaps ten minutes farther out and from the direction of the northern plains a lone man was walking in an unhurried fashion toward them.

    "The men with the spears are from Festid, likely come to defend the hamlet if the Myrk had been disturbed.  The man from the North looks like a peddler, or merchant.  Perhaps coming to trade in Festid."

    Gray nodded slowly and released Eri, letting her slide gently to the ground.  "Lets wait for your friends here.  Id rather not smell you any more than strictly necessary."  He said while moving slightly upwind.

    An annoyed look passed across Eri's face but was quickly replaced by a small grin.  "Ah, yea.  Its really bad isn't it.  I still don't get how..."

    Grey coughed, cutting her off again.  "Its not that bad."

    "That's not very convincing coming from the one standing upwind."

    As they bantered, the detachment from Festid arrived led by a man in his early fifties.  The man was short, standing not a inch over five and a half feet with dark reddish brown hair, he was clean shaven and had light blue eyes currently set in a scowl.  When his eyes met with Eri, his face warmed up a bit, but the scowl remained.

    "Silly girl, what have you done?  You have killed us all."  The old man began, and as he did another man behind him also spoke up in an heavy rural accent, "Yea.  I told her not too chase it, an I told her..."

    The old man spun around and bellowed at the man who had spoken up, "Vert, I know you well enough to know damn well this is at least half your fault.  What a fool I was to make you hunts master.  A mistake I intend to correct if we live through this day.  Now be silent."  Vert's mouth immediately snapped shut and he stared hard at the ground as the old man turned back to Eri.

   "Now speak quickly girl," the old man began again, this time with urgency plain in his voice "did you see or hear any creature in the wood?"

    Eri nodded slowly with a downcast look, "I saw three Myrk in the wood, but."  One of the men behind them cried out "Three..." The rest all looked ready to faint at any moment as fear dyed the groups faces pale white.  The old man was no exception, fear plain in his voice he muttered, "Gods.  One slaughtered forty good men, three...  Its. its truly hopeless."

   Eri slowly looked up and continued. "but wait Grandfather.  This man killed them, all three.  I thought he was a demon so I, but he, he did kill them.  Then he helped me."  She gestured toward Gray, who was standing a little ways apart from her in dirty pants, and nothing else.  

    "Killed three?  This child?"  The old man looked at Gray dubiously.

     "Child?  I'm thirty there old man.  And head on in and see for yourself; the bodies are probably still warm."  Gray responded, slightly annoyed.

    The old man looked at him in shock, "If your a day over sixteen summers boy then Im a Mertian whore."

    "Mertian?  Ah whatever."  Gray shrugged and Eri cut in informing him "Mertia, you know the capital of the whole Empire."

    "Right.  Mertia."  Gray sighed.  "Look old man."  He lifted the tree branch off the ground and laid it across his shoulders.  Gray thought this should help convince them, as the branch easily weighed a hundred and fifty pounds and he had swung it up with one hand like it was nothing.  "I'm not really from around here, but I assure you I'm not a child."

    The old man's eyes widened slightly as the club came of the ground, and he looked closer at Gray, then nodded as if he understood.  "Ah, your eyes.  How could I miss it, my apologies Traveler."  Murmurs broke out behind the old man again.  "A Traveler?  I thought they all went crazy and were locked up by the king."  A younger man with a really terrible beard said, another spoke from within the crowd, "Nah, they all killed each other crazy is what I heard.  Then the king saved em.  By locking em up or some such thing is what I heard."

    After looking over his shoulder to silence the gallery the old man continued, "If you truly killed the creatures my granddaughter disturbed than maybe, just maybe we may live through this day yet.  Let us head home.  Traveler it would honor us if you would stay at Festid for a time.  You have many questions no doubt, and we will do our best to answer what we can."

    Just as the old man finished speaking the lone man arrived his gaze locked on Gray, ignoring everyone else present.  Gray had observed him for the last few moments of his approach and he felt an odd feeling as the man drew closer, like his hair wanted to stand on end, while at the same time a light pressure pushed down on his skin.  Since the man had not looked away since arriving Gray addressed him as he strode up.  "Greetings traveler."

    The villagers all started murmuring again at the mention of Travelers and the lone man's brown eyes widened in shock.  "Ah! He was going to have to watch his mouth.  That word was used a bit differently here apparently."  Gray thought to himself.  Then a strange thing happened, the man shimmered like he was surrounded by a great heat for a split second, then he was someone totally different.

    The man that appeared out of the heat haze wore blackened chain links over dark colored leather armor from head to toe, a long thin dagger was held in his right hand in a reverse grip and the dark glow of power coalesced around his left which was clenched into a fist.  The look on his face quickly changed from surprise to annoyance as he spoke, quick and with low baritone voice.  "How the hell did you know I was a Traveler!?"  He shakes his head and grunts, "It doesn't matter, time to break you!"

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Work situation is piling up so probably be Monday for the next chapter.  Though honestly Ill try like hell to get it out on Sunday, as always comments and ratings are appreciated.  

Thanks for reading.