On the day of their departure, Rika was up before the rest. She rode Branak to the Shore not that far from the Oak and watched the mist above the waves for a moment of goodbye. She wanted to lose herself in them and her thoughts as the sun turned them into a cloud of silver light. Yet she was always dragged back by the pines behind her for she knew she was watched.
Not by Orc or beast, but him. She felt the hair on Branak’s neck rise and turned to let her hunters gaze go over the forest and for but a moment it was silent. Nothing but the waves down beyond the cliff made sound. Neither tree, nor wind or bird spoke a word in that moment yet they all watched. She saw crows watch her from the trees, staring at her every move. She saw the silhouettes of a doe and her two children standing still in the far distance, having a red glow in their eyes as they stared at her. Not far beyond, ignoring the does a Wolf would stare the same, all of them without movement and all of them waiting in terrible silence. Finally she realised even the smallest beasts. Rabbits, squirrels and mice, just hiding in the shadow as their red eyes watched her.
Barnak started to growl and was answered by her attempt to reassure the great Wolf “Shhh great hunter…” she whispered into his big ears “never strike first...”. She stroked his fur and he knew they would look out for each other, no matter the shadows between the trees.
Just when she made him gow silent again the last set of beasts appeared. Spiders. All though small, it was the number that made her skin crawl. More and more of them slowly came from the shadows and watched her from the trees. Some hiding on their bark others gathered in webs between them. Webs that hung like fog between the trees. They grew to so many that it looked more like ants than spiders yet they all stopped moving once she and Branak were in sight.
Centipedes did the same, all just crawling far enough so she was in sight and staring with their invisible eyes, while the trees were covered in clouds of moths. A few of them were unlucky enough to be caught in the spider's web yet neither them nor the spiders took a single move but to stare at her.
Slowly her big wolf took a few steps backwards but soon reached the edge of the cliff. “Pa?...” she asked hoping and looked around. The fear in her eyes was no secret any longer when the wind started to slowly blow but only to carry distant whispers.
Whispers that came from the leaves and carried a thousand different voices, yet they were all silent enough that it felt like the wind just made a sound
“Your father…” “does not lie..” within nature..” “yet..”
Branak whimpered at the strange voices and laid down. His ears set backwards.
Slowly Rika realised who spoke to her and stood up from Branak. She walked closer to the edge of the forest while all eyes of nature followed her. She drew her bone and stone made sword and looked around the many eyes as she answered.
“I am here for him. Not you..”
“Yet..” “you answered..” “my call…”
A rebellious grunt escaped her before she shook her head, “I am here to return blood to our prey, not~”
The wind between the leaves grew stronger and the one voice that disrupted her was far more unnatural than the others. A raspy deep sound almost like a frog croaking “How is that different, my dear hunter?”
In the farthest distance of the pines she now saw another silhouette appear. Four arms but two legs. Twice as high as the biggest orc and a head that carried horns. It was slim for its high stature and carried a staff that was the length of a small tree with two of its arms on one side. From that tree not only skulls but corpses hang low. Both beast and orc just dangling lifeless. It moved far too slow for her to know if it was only the wind that made it move or if it actually slowly took its step towards her, yet she held her sword tighter either way.
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“Why do you come to me?” she asked and slowly raised it with both hands while Branak behind her stood up again. Still in pure horror but knowing she might need help. “Why to me and not your druid?”
“He is no druid..” the croaking voice answered before a whisper in the leaves continued “Of mine..”
“Neither was my pa.” she proudly proclaimed as the distant silhouette finally stopped. Above her a swarm of spiders moved around a cloud of web ready to plunge at her. So she took a few steps back and waited for its answer.
The whispers answered first now “He was…” “when he was..” “young..”. The wind seemed to change yet again and was now loud enough to drown the crushing waves below “He adored…” “the blood…” “of the hunt…” “the prey…” “of the north…” “and the rush…” “of battle…”
The wind suddenly stopped before the croaking voice spoke yet again “He was a loyal beast…” with the last words its voice boomed over the pines, “of the wild hunt…”
With that the silhouette suddenly disappeared in the darkness of the trees yet the forest still watched her.
“Pay the price for your prey” the croaking voice now sounded like it was directly behind her.
Slowly she turned and saw in horror how Branak carried the red eyes of the wild. He twitched under the weight of the voice and it seemed like he wanted to whimper as his jaw moved out of place. “Stop it!” She demanded pleading. Her wolf's red eyes stared at her before his twisted smile spoke in the forest's voice “Then pay…”
“That’s what I came here f..” she stopped talking and moved to the edge of the cliff. Without any hesitation she used her big sword to cut her hand. It was a deep cut and she grunted in pain yet she made a fist above the distant waves below. Slowly thick red drops of her blood fell down into the sea. As they were lost in the waves the voice spoke from Branaks twitching mouth again.
“You pay the sea, when you should pay the land..”
“It was a beast of sea and sky.” she answered with closed eyes while she still held her bleeding fist above the ocean, “Even you can’t deny the old pacts.”
Slowly the whimpers from Branak became more visible beneath the croaking breaths of the voice that possessed him. Yet Rika, despite the tears that answered her companions fate continued to pay until the waves grew louder. Now loud enough to overshadow the sound of the leaves. The mist across the waves slowly turned red, as if the sun behind them had changed colours.
Branaks head started to turn as if the wolf was about to break his own neck, when the croaking voice boomed from him and across the forest yet again “Your flesh is marked, little hunter. It shall be mine to craft.”
“Not yet..” she replied just before a gigantic wave crashed at the cliff and wetted both her and branak in salt. With the crushing of the wave the forest returned to what it was supposed to be. All the animals that carried its eyes before suddenly ran away in fear. Some just shivered in shock. The spiders started to hide again while a few of the month finally realised their horrible fate in the cloud of webs. Yet even the spiders had to shiver and realise what just had happened before they could take on their prey.
Meanwhile branak laid down and whimpered. His ears looked backwards and he shivered in pain and fear. Rika instantly moved next to him and looked at his face. Despite her fears, nothing was broken. Neither his snout, mouth, or neck. She was relieved and hugged the big wolf while her sword just fell beside her. “Shhh Branak..” she whispered to him while the shock inside her still lived on. “It is gone now…it won’t do a thing to you.” The big wolf looked up and licked her face, thankful that she was there. They both remained for a moment but she knew they had to leave. “Come now boy..” she said, petting his side. He then stood up together with her and slowly they started to take their walk back through the pines. It didn’t feel right to ride him now, yet she knew they had to be fast.
Once she arrived back at the Oak the others were ready to move as Kazzok just rolled the last piece of Wyvern leather. He saw the shock in her eyes while the two darklings went over to look at her hand. They only shared a look, but slowly her fear washed over to Kazzok, for he knew the enemy that sought to guide them and he knew that he was watching.