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Message: <blockquote data-quote="monboesen" data-source="post: 1142933" data-attributes="member: 4647">Part 5Ran kneeled and studied the muddy ground. She quickly spotted the imprint of Javids well tailored boots. Along them were tracks of four other men carrying moderately heavy burdens. They would be easy to hunt down even with the stench of taint long gone to the wind, or at least they would have been if she could have followed them right away. But that was not to be, the beefy merchants wound was deep and he could only be moved slowly on a litter. Had it not been for Gabriels sure hands and knowledge of wounds Jonas would have died that night. She turned her head and looked at the litter and three men further down the narrow path. Colill too was wounded. A superficial cut in the thigh, but he moaned and limped as had his leg been half severed. She shouldn’t have cared, he was a liar and maybe a magician. But Colill had come to her aid. Had attacked the greasy but dangerous mercenary,  blatantly disregarding the fact that he had no armor, no real weapon and obviously no skill at fighting. Still, she shouldn’t care. She had not yet questioned him about the incident at the fire, his little distraction. In truth she was afraid of what the answers might be. This was much harder that they had ever told her, witch hunters were not supposed to like their prey.*******(As I have realised that it will take me forever to write the story in the format used up until now, I have decide to change the pace and reduce the detail. Please comment on your preference)******The seldom used path cut northwest through the forest and eventually to the small village they had left the day before. They were met by wailing women and confusion. Javid and his men had come upon the village at early morning. This time there had been no sweet words, full of promises of riches and justice. They had taken the villagers last horse and plenty of food and drink and offered nothing but rape and violence in return. As they left Javid had commanded his men to bring along two children. The two small boys mother had received a thorough beating as she tried to stop them.The news galled and enraged Gabriel. But even though both he and Ran wanted to set after the villains right away, the two others wounds prevented any immidiate action. Gabriel assured the women that most af their men would return home in time for the harvest and swore that he would see the boys back or avenge their deaths. He then walked the long way back to the fortified village to reclaim his and Rans horses and find out what had happened after the attack. On the way he met a patrol of Lord Bookley soldiers who escorted him to their liege. To his surprise Gabriel found out that Lord Bookley actually came from Dhorne. The lord was a former lieutenant, whom had tired of the rigid social structure in Dhorne, that kept him from advancing further due to his birth as a commoner. He had left Dhorne and taken work for the former lord of these lands and when he died Bookley had grasped the reigns of power. After much politeness and diplomatic words the two men actually found that the liked each other. In the end Gabriel swore to bring back Javid dead or alive. In return he got back the animals and a promise of swift and merciful judgement of Javids easily defeated ragtag army. At late night he returned to the small ravaged village and his companions.As Jonas regained conciousnes the next day, the litter was rigged to one of the horses and Manolis put on the other. The tracks were still fresh and easy to follow, they headed steadily east, towards the Broken Lands. By the end of the day vegetation had become sparse and further to the east the red cliffs and dust dominated. Ran assured the others that they had gained on the kidnappers, the children slowed them down, but it would take days before they caught up. Jonas was feeling better and surprisingly keen on catching Javid. Privately the other three each wondered about the merchants motivation. Manolis was silent and moody, the withchunter and knight did not let him out of sight, and the road would take them back to Dhorne. After a meager meal and a cold night they continued. The tracks surprisingly turned south after some hours. Heading away from the road to Abbesborough and directly into the rocky red desert, undeterred the witchhunter lead on. That night they didn’t even have a fire as they had found nothing to burn. Ran thought they might catch their prey the next day or at least the day after.As they broke camp with the already unforgiving sun hammering down, they all heard a faint baying. A startling sound that rose and fell in an undulating rhythm. None of them thought it a good sign, but it might mean that they were closer than they had thought. But hours later the baying still continued, with only short breaks of blessed silence. The sound grated on their nerves, sapped concentration and will to go on. It was at times quite close, but they had yet to see any sign of whom or what was uttering the demoralising sounds. Only when Ran found tracks of some large canine creature the pieces clicked into place for her. The stalkers were themselves stalked. A terrible beast known only as a howler was hunting them. If she did not take action they would be reduced to mindless, catatonic shells,  easily slain and eaten by the hellish creature, before the day was over. Working quickly she deviced earplugs from sticky sap of cacti and threads riped from their clothes. These dampened the sound, but as the sun set she could still see the signs of beginning apathy in her companions. Especially Jonas had lost interest in his surroundings and had to be prompted to speak or perform even menial tasks. In the dying sunlight they climbed a steep hill to set camp at a narrow ledge, fearing an attack in the night. Soon after the baying stopped and sweet silence filled their ears. All except Ran felt relief, she instead feared that the howler had only stopped to sneak up on them in the dark. Like most tainted creatures it preferred darkness. She herself took first watch, hoping that even a few hours of sleep would help the others throw of the insidious effect of the baying and Gabriel did seem more clearheaded as she woke him for the second watch. Gabriel and Ran had decided to trust the two others not to kill them or run off while they slept, and no longer had to assure that one of them was awake at all times.Gabriel meticously put on his plate armor and began his watch. Though he was still tired and affected by the howling he half an hour later heard scraping sounds from further down. As he looked down the hillslope he saw a terrible spiked houndlike beast, the size of a horse, moving in the moonlight. Just then its head snapped up and the glowing eyes stared right at him. Exploding into motion the beast cleared a good third of the distance to the ledge in one leap and raced on toward him, slavering jaws full of long sharp teeth wide open.</blockquote>

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