Scout watched as the mad man tore apart the hobgoblin with a short dagger. He ducked and rolled to avoid the massive goblin's powerful swings, countering with vicious stabs and slashes until eventually, the hobgoblin passed out from blood loss. Scout had been slightly horrified seeing the man tear the goblins asunder, but that was offset by the fact that his victims were the scum of the world. Goblins were wretched little creatures, and she could not deny the satisfaction she felt at watching them get mulched.

The horror she felt came from the way the mad man fought them. He charged them like a wild animal, a starving, uncaged bloody beast tearing into the nearest patch of exposed flesh. When he took bites out of the hobgoblin, she had almost not been surprised. She had stopped thinking of him as human at that point. The man had been smashed by the hobs club and thrown into a tree stump with the same force of a charging horse. Despite that, he simply stood up like nothing had happened.

She'd seen a man get punched by a hobgoblin and die. Yet, somehow, this mad man could tank much more powerful blows. Then he'd scared away the new goblins that had appeared in a terrifying display. Stomping down on the hob's skull and chasing the new horde partway through the forest. She had thought he was going to hunt them all down but then he came back, bloody and walking with a slight bend in his back.

He then pointed right at her with his axe, and shouted "Yeah, I see you. Go away!"

Scout hadn't hesitated to get out of there, not wanting to be chased by him again. As she made her way back to the Blackwings camp, she thought of what she would say to Prowler. Well, she tried to anyway. Her mind was occupied by other more tantalizing subjects.

"Do do dun dun, do dun dun, do dun dun, do dun," She sang quietly "Bwahhh bwahhh, dun dun dun dun dun dun dun bwaaaahh bwaaaahhh." She continued.

She shook her head. She was acting foolish. At the start of the battle, the mad man had taken out this odd little gray square from his pocket, and pressed a button. What ensued had to be the most beautiful music she'd ever heard. Had she been human, there would have been no hearing the song from where she had been perched. Yet, her elf ears granted her a great sense of hearing. The first instruments had been drums, followed by some kind of stringed instrument, and then… bwaaaah bwaaaahhh. What was that instrument? She'd never heard anything like it in her life.

How was the little box capable of playing such tunes? It was like he had an entire band trapped within it. Scout couldn't comprehend it. She did know one thing however… the next time she came here, if she had the oppurtunity, she was going to borrow that little box. She'd return it so the mad man wouldn't have an excuse to come after her, but she needed to hear that song again.

Indeed, all the way back to camp she found herself humming the alien tune. She passed over the bunches of goblin heads hanging from the trees, sparing them a fleeting glance as she went. Had the mad man done that? It was macabre and horrific, but if he really was living here then he'd need something to scare off the goblins. What would be a better deterrent to further goblin attacks than an example of what would happen to them? Perhaps she should tell Prowler of this tactic of the mad man's so he could emulate it if he wished. She wouldn't put it past him nowadays...

The mad man had set up his base a days walk away from the Blackwings camp, so when she finally returned, the sun had been rising on the horizon. As she passed through the entrance to camp once more, she found herself wondering how long the mad man had been settled there. It must have been a year or more considering just how many trees were cut down around the place.

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It did seem to just be him, but she hadn't seen into the small fort that had been built yet. Had he gone mad from isolation on the frontier? With no company other than the goblins that attacked him every single day? Why was he staying here? If she were to simply approach him without being invisible, would the mere fact that she was not a goblin still his murderous rage? Likely he thought her a hostile entity, not knowing what she was. Scout had only ever been seen by him in her body glove, but he wouldn't know what she was.

Would he simply talk with her if she just approached him?

That curiosity peaked, and Scout felt horrified at the feeling. For she knew that she could not resist it. She was going to try and approach the mad man without her body glove… oh by the gods what was wrong with her brain? Scout knew it was futile to try and resist the urge, but she really did try. She wasn't going to go unprepared however. She needed to make sure she had an out in case he tried to kill her. There was a speed potion in Medic's cabinet… she'd need to steal it though. Scout couldn't tell Prowler about her plan, he'd definitely tell her that she couldn't, that it was too dangerous and whatnot.

Yes… she'd be doing that. If all went as planned, she wouldn't have to drink the potion anyway. Medic would be none the wiser if she returned it, it was in a section he barely maintained. She passed through the camp, tired-looking guards patrolling and glaring at her as she went. She then stopped in place. Prowler would likely be asleep by now, and if he was, then he'd be angered that she woke him up at this hour.

Medic was asleep by now as well… and he didn't sleep in his work tent. Sure, there were guards stationed in front of that tent, but Scout had her body glove. If she was going to steal the speed potion, she may as well do it now. She made way for her tent, and put her mask back on, pulling on her hood as she passed through the flap

No one had even noticed her as she did it. The patrolling guards would have an easier time picking out a fly in a dung heap. She made way for the medic tent, crouching low as she went. When she reached the tent, she saw two guards posted in front of the entrance. They would notice the tent flap moving if she just walked in. She'd need to crawl on her belly to minimize that.

She assumed the position, and began crawling, soundless as she went. The guards did not look down, their eyes heavy. That was what she'd been counting on, if they saw the dirt being disturbed that would blow her cover. When she was completely inside the tent, she stood back up to a crouch, and moved to the end of the tent.

Finding the vial she wanted, she silently closed the cabinet, and snuck back out. The guards were none the wiser. When she got back to her tent, she triple-checked the vial to make sure it was the correct one, and stuffed the yellow vial into her haversack. She removed her bodyglove, folding it neatly and setting it on the canvas next to her bedroll. Scout then did her nightly stretches, and crawled into her bedroll, naked as the day she was born.

She sighed as her eyelids grew heavy. Would the mad man try to kill her? Or would he listen to her? What would they even talk about? If he really was all alone, and going mad from it… then maybe he just needed a friend. What was his name…?

His name…? Maybe she should come up with something for him. What should it be…?

She fell asleep, drifting off into a dreamless sleep.