Quiet Courage

10

Cienn awoke the next morning to the sound of rustling cloth and a set of low grunts. He sat up and saw what at first looked like a wild boar snorting his way through their saddlebags, only he never remembered seeing a boar with so many spikes sticking out of its back.

"Hey!" he shouted at it, and made a shooing sound. It turned its blood red eyes on him and roared. Everyone was on their feet in an instant, Kain's sword drawn and red fire sparking along Charna's hands. The beast charged and Cienn calmly raised a hand in his defense. White fire surrounded the monster, lifting it slowly off the ground. It squealed and squirmed as its hooves left the ground, its snakelike tail that definitely didn't belong on any boar thrashing violently. Cienn flicked his fingertips and the beast was launched back into a tree on the edge of the clearing. It's angered roar turned into a pained squeal as it hit with a sickening crunch. Cienn took a step forward and crossed his hand quickly across his front. The beast followed the direction of his hand and smashed into a different tree with so much force that the tree splintered and bent in with the impact.

Cienn released the beast and with a terrified squeal it raced off into the underbrush, a trail of blackish blood following it through the forest behind it. Cienn raced up to what was left of their supplies and picked up the nearest scrap of cloth, covered in mud and scraps of food.

"I think he got most of it," he observed forlornly. And indeed it seemed the monster had at least achieved his initial objective and got most of their food before he was so rudely interrupted. Still, they packed up what was left of it in their remaining bags, and pressed on towards the ruins. The beast had attacked early in the morning, most of the sunlight hadn't even pierced the canopy, and they made their way through the forest in the semi-gloom. They hadn't been walking for more than twenty minutes when they heard the first tell tale rustle behind them.

"That doesn't sound good," Kain said worriedly, loosening his sword in its sheath and reaching for a be-spelled knot of rope from his belt-kit. The rustling grew louder and was soon accompanied by the sound of high-pitched squeals they knew could only come from one creature.

"RUN!" Charna shouted and they all turned and started sprinting along the track.

"Why didn't you say those things hunt in packs?!" Cienn shouted at Kain as they ran.

"I thought it might be a loner, males tend to be bachelors until they find a mate and have a litter or two." He responded through his gasps as they ran.

"Less zoological discussion more running!" Charna shouted from behind them and after that they shut up and ran. They raced barely ahead of the pack of beasts, hoping they would quickly grow tired of the chase and leave off, Kain said they were fairly lazy creatures. But before they really even had a chance to see if that would work they came up against a tall cliff wall. They stood their panting and staring at it only a moment before Alcana swooped in and Aludaria whipped around, ready to fight the beasts tooth to hoof and claw while red fire blazed around Charna's hands. Cienn's eyes began to glow with white light and Kain lit his sword on fire, mostly for show. The monsters broke through the underbrush in squeals and roars. Cienn and his friends let out a roar of their own and charged.

They hadn't even gotten to kill one monster when a low mist began to seep into the forest. The monsters slowed and began to toddle about on their spindly legs, appearing more and more lethargic as the fog rolled in. And yet everyone else remained perfectly alert. The monsters were soon asleep. As the fog began to clear, Cienn began to notice shadows lurking out of the early-lit mist.

"You know I should've really let you handle these things," a voice sounded out of the ether, a low and sultry woman's voice. "I'm sure you could have used the practice." She came clear of the fog with a smirk on her face. She was taller than any woman Cienn had ever seen, with plaits of pale blonde hair held away from her face with a brown headband and the most shocking eyes the young man had ever seen. They were a deep and changing blue, one moment the color of a happy sea, the next sparkling like the sunlight dancing over a fast brook, and where her pupils should be there was only more blue. She was an Elemental. The words of the Goddess resonated in Cienn's mind at her appearance, and he couldn't shake the feeling that this was the Elemental Nanali had been talking about.