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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Emperor Valerian" data-source="post: 1867865" data-attributes="member: 15043">The ‘Old Man of the Forest’The party immediately set off, following the peasants directions.  For several hours they trudged through the woods, as the insistent rain finally began to let up, in time for the sky to turn a brilliant orange, gracing the woods with the glorious light of evening.For Felonca, the light did not look very glorious at all, and the panorama her eyes saw in the orange glow looked more forbidding than glorious.  All day little voices had been pouring over the words the peasant’s mentioned.Sacrifices...Hill surrounded by skulls...She could tell by the eyes of Nayu and the others, such worry was running in their minds as well.  Worry that had to be pushed aside, as each hour ticked by...True to the word of the peasant, there was a large clearing in the midst of the trees, and at its center, a steep mound, rising some fifteen feet into the air.  Brambles, grass, and leaves deeply covered its flanks, the slight evening breeze causing them to shift and rattle lightly.  The crest of the hill was a flat plateau, perhaps ten feet in diameter.“Um,” Felonca heard Nayu gulp, and watched the young man point nervously towards the base of the hill, “those... those are skulls.”Felonca’s eyes followed where he pointed, and just underneath the leaves and thorns, she could see a bit of yellowish white, and the dark, empty eye sockets of what was once an enormous bear.  Her eyes then searched along the base of the mound, a knot of worry growing in her stomach as she recognized other skulls... great deer, lions, a bevy of sharp toothed animals, great horned animals, and in general vicious looking animals.  Finally her eyes settled on one skull whose eye sockets seemed to stare at her, and her heart stopped.It can’t be... but... who would have the power to...“Um... Nayu?” Felonca asked, her own arm nervously pointing.  “Do you see that skull there?  Is it what I...”“A dragon skull?” Nayu’s voice replied in a nearly silent, frightened whisper at the monstrosity twice the size of the other skulls, large, powerful horns emerging from its rock hard bone.  The beast’s mouth was agape, as if about to lunge, the maw large enough that Nayu could have easily been bitten in two by it.“Who possesses the power to kill such a great thing?” Liu asked quietly, his own voice filled with fear, as he gingerly stepped forward to peer closer at the enormous skull. “Who would want to kill such a great beast?”Felonca’s eyes searched about, fearfully, as the sun’s golden fingers still warmed her face.  All around the sounds of birds chirping, squirrels chittering, and even the occasional animal noise made the eerie scene complete, as if nature did not care for what abominations might occur in this spot.“I’m thinking we should wait in the woods,” Chou said quietly.  “If our friend does not appear too... um... ‘friendly’ we can jump him, and make him heal you for his life.”“Quiet,” Felonca rasped back.  The coughing pain was returning again.  “If he... or she... has great enough power to have slain a dragon, she might be able to hear what we’re saying from afar!”  The first of what would be a series of coughs forced her to pause, before she managed to rasp onward.“We...stay...here...show...we...mean...well...”The sun’s golden disk had long ago disappeared below the horizon when Nayu gave his growl of frustration.  He stomped over to the side of the mound, and barely resisted the urge to kick one of the skulls.My friend is DYING, and whatever old foggie works in this place has taken the night off!  For the love of all that is sacred, why do the fates always crap on us?!His pacing then took him back towards where Felonca, Liu, Chou, and the old Captain, still bound but now ungagged, sat beside the horses.  Liu and Chou’s eyes betrayed worry, Li’s betrayed relief (at Felonca’s insistence, Nayu had finally ungagged the old man)... while Felonca’s reddening eyes betrayed worry.“Nayu...” she rasped out, an already thin hand reaching up to him, “calm...I’m...still...” The sentiment was interrupted by another bout of coughing.“How can I stay calm, if you’re dying, and the one thing within a hundred miles that can save you decided to take the damn night off!” he snarled, spinning back towards the mound.  In the growing moonlight, it rose from the ground like some huge abberation, as mists started to close in from the surrounding trees, clinging close to the ground.Suddenly, the leaves that covered the mound began to rustle, whistle and crackle.  First in ones and twos, and then in great clumps, the leaves blew off the mound, their whistling rising to almost a roar.  In the moonlight, Nayu thought he saw a pair of stag antlers on the top of the hill, then he shook his head assuming his eyes deceived him.But they had not.  Beside them rose something long and thin, glittering in the night, just as the antlers rose higher and higher, the largest set of deer horns Nayu had ever seen.  As the crest reached its apex, a head that belonged to no deer rose from the ground, followed by a shape, heavily covered in robes of furs.  The great beast, it appeared, stood well taller than even Nayu, perhaps seven feet.  As the moon was at its back, Nayu could not see whether its face was human or beastial as it slowly strode down the mountain, unseen bones jingling as it walked.“Who are you to have set upon my sacred clearing?” a voice, aged beyond ancient rumbled.  A long bony finger swept across the entire group.  “Who are you to have interrupted my meditations!”“Oh damn,” Nayu heard Chou curse.“Wise one,” Nayu began uncertainly, fearfully, “we come in peace, seeking your wisdom in healing!”  We need your help, not your fury!“And why should I heal mere interlopers as yourselves?  For all I know, you could be bone collectors, sent to deface my sacred clearing!” the voice rumbled with anger as the apparition advanced.“We...” Felonca started to rise, before doubling over as a powerful coughing fit shook her entire body.Nayu’s eyes narrowed as he saw his friend in such a state, and a bravery came into his heart.The bravery of desperation.“Sir, that,” he pointed to his friend, who had by now collapsed to the ground, “is why we are here!  My friend is terribly sick, she has been poisoned and will die within the day unless she receives help!  And the villagers have told us that you, wise one, can heal almost anything!”  Believe me!  There is no time for fighting!The apparition moved slightly to the side, its head flitting towards the doubled up Felonca.  As it moved, moonlight now entered its cowl from Nayu’s perspective, and reflected the craggy visage of a terribly old man, a man so old that what would have been a great white beard only had strands and wisps of mane left.He’s not convinced, Nayu thought, desperation powering his brain.  Not convinced at all!On complete impulse, Nayu suddenly dropped onto both knees.  “We are your humble servants, wise one!  We beg you, I beg you, please, save our friends life!”  He then immediately prostrated himself in a full kowtow, wet grass and dirt touching his forehead.After a moment, he felt something else touch his shoulder, as the long, bony fingers of the man tapped and pulled lightly for him to rise.“Young one, I am neither a god, nor an emperor, you need not prostrate yourself,” the same ancient voice said as he helped Nayu to his feet.  The man’s eyes looked at Nayu, but they seemed to also look far past him, to places miles and miles away.“So, you are going to help her?” Chou asked, his voice filled with eagerness.The antler headed man turned slowly, ignoring the question, till he faced the moon.  As Chou started to ask his question again, Nayu held up his hand to prompt him to wait.  The old man’s eyes had closed, and even Nayu felt some kind of power billowing around him.  After a few moments, the man’s eyes reopened, and he turned to the group.“I believe your story, but the spirits of the moon and stars are not so sure.  They demand proof, a show of loyalty, that you are seeking what you are truly seeking, and not some agents of darkness set to damage this sacred ground.”“Proof of loyalty?” Chou asked, indignance rising in his voice.  “Give me a bow, and I shall bring back a bird, an oxen, whatever animal they require in sacri...”“No!” the woods echoed with the wise man’s shout.  “These spirits look after life, and seek life, not death!”  His eyes blazed under his hood with a simmering rage at the suggestion.“What do they seek, wise one?” Nayu said hurriedly, hoping to defuse the situation.  The old man turned to him, and Nayu could see the fires of anger losing their power.“These sacred woods are being attacked on all sides by undead, by beasts of fire,” the old man said after a few moments.  “From the north, skeletons of fire burn my woods, while here in the south, undead beasts roam, destroying sacred life.  I am but one keeper of the forest, and I cannot be in all places at all times.”“We...can...assist...you...if...your...spirits...require...such...” Felonca rasped, the coughing fit over for now.  Nayu flashed her a worried look, knowing full well she wasn’t in a position to assist anyone really... perhaps not even herself.“Yes... that would show the spirits your worthiness.”  The man lowered his head in momentary thought, before it suddenly snapped up.  “There is a great beast to the south of here, powerful and beyond death’s call.  The spirits of nature call for it to return to the ground whence it came, but it refuses their beckon.  If you can return it to the realm of the dead, where it belongs, I am convinced that the spirits will guide and allow me to heal your friend.”“Where is this beast?  Give me one swing of my sword, and I’ll put the ‘dead’ back in ‘un-dead!” Chou snapped.“Chou...not...funny...” Felonca replied.</blockquote>

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