The following is an entry from the spell book of Kirn Stormpheonix.

Late Pre-harvest, 3032^nd year Past Legends

We have finally arrived in Willowleaf. Though I’m sad to say that the meeting wit the now late Orth Ethern came to an unfortunate end.

Our backpacks were filled with our needed supplies. We also left armed just in case. You never know who or what you might run into on the road.

Sera kept a dagger and short sword strapped to her belt.

I brought along the spell book in which I now write and my staff. The staff is rather simple by the standards of most magicians. It has a wooden shaft with a raven of sculpted silver mounted on the top. Not many human wizards carry staves, but it’s useful for some spells. Besides, I’ve noticed that it catches women’s attention better than my robes.

The travelling to Willowleaf had been going well to begin with. The weather was magnificent. The sun shined for hours after we left Lar behind. Sera and I talked frequently about the mundane, little topics that usually arise in conversation.

This journey had had me worried from the very start for some reason, and I mentioned that to Sera several times as we walked.

"Don’t ask me why," I would start saying. "But going out to ask this man about a dragon just doesn’t sound safe."

Sera would just give me this annoyed look and changed the subject, not that I blame her. Divination is an aspect of human magic that I never really took time to study, so I can’t explain what has me so worried. But I promised Mother that I would check up on my little sister from time to time to make sure she doesn’t get into anything she shouldn’t.

Maybe it’s this strange feel about the surrounding energies that has me so jumpy. I can feel magic coursing through the earth and sky. At first it was barely noticeable, but it’s gradually gotten stronger in the past weeks. It’s almost as if some type of enchantment is messing with the natural balance of the world. Hopefully, when this business regarding Ethern is cleared up, I can explore this magical flux in more depth.

Anyway, back to our trip.

Like I said, the weather was quite enjoyable. I actually wanted to pull off my shoes and walk barefoot if the road hadn’t been so stony. Everything about our march was picturesque.

At least until evening came.

As the sun went down, the clouds moved in. By late twilight, those clouds opened right up on us. And I’m not talking about the common showers that come before harvest season. What we had that night was a full blown downpour.

It was at that point where we needed to make a decision on whether to keep going. Sera made it plainly clear that she didn’t want to turn back because of a little rain. I didn’t have a problem with that. I’ve traveled in worse.

Sera said if we kept walking through the night, we could reach town by sunrise. We went for about an hour before the idea of going farther sounded less than appealing. So we made camp alongside the road and began to hope that the rain might cease.

We thought of making use of some natural shelter to shield us for the night. The only such protection was a nearby tree. We approached the maple until we saw a bolt of lightning illuminate the sky. Needless to say, the lightning changed our minds.

By this time, my robes were completely soaked, and Sera’s clothes weren’t looking all that good either. Despite the wet hair cling to her face, my sister’s expression was visible enough to make it known she wasn’t happy with the way of things.

Starting a fire was out of the question. Any and all exposed wood for miles was soaked from the damp conditions. The tinderbox we had brought along didn’t even let us ignite the kindling which absorbed the water falling around us.

As one might imagine, we got little sleep.

All night, we just sat there in the rain with our bedrolls sucking up the water like sponges. For hours, we laid in wait for the coming morning.

The sun greeted us and we were more than happy to greet it back. As it rose in the sky that morning, it seemed to simply chase the dark clouds away. The orange light spread its warmth all over the land.

With better light to see by, we made a check of our supplies.

The food had stayed well intact. The loaves of bread were only a little soggy and the cheese was untouched from being stored in the driest spots in our packs.

Our bedrolls, on the other hand, were a sorry sight to behold. We spent the better part of the morning wringing out the blankets and brushing off the larger clumps of mud.

As for ourselves… Well, we were still drenched of course.

I always hated having to walk in wet shoes, and mine were completely saturated that day. I tried to ignore the sensation at first, but soon found myself wiggling my toes in displeasure. My robes clung to my body with every movement I made.

The sun took away some on the darkness in Sera’s scowl. She made the occasional growl of annoyance as she pulled her vest closer around her. Apparently, she found that the white blouse she wore underneath was inappropriate for the weather conditions of last night and she didn’t want others to see anything she deemed unnecessary for viewing.

And we did run into others.

Towards late morning, at the outskirts of town, there was a farmer and his three sons whose wagon had become mired in the mud.

We stopped to offer some help, but the farmer constantly insisted that they didn’t want to trouble us and that they had everything under control.

The admiring glances cast at Sera from the three sons told a different story.

For a moment, I had to laugh at the way the three tried to impress her with their strength as they all got behind the wagon and pushed while their father pulled at the harnesses on the pair of sturdy packhorses towing the wagon.

As we walked away, we heard all four of them give a unified grunt. Then there was the sucking sound of the wheels pulling out of the mud.

The horse drawn wagon quickly caught up with us.

"Where are you off to?" The farmer asked with the reins in hand. "Probably to Willowleaf, I’d reckon."

"You reckoned right." I answered politely.

"There’s still a few miles of road to cross before you reach town. Me and the boys here would be glad to give you a lift."

The three sons once again looked to Sera. Any idiot could tell what they hoped our reply would be.

"You don’t need to trouble yourselves on our account." Sera insisted and then cast a look from the farmer to me in search for me to back up her claim.

Now there’s an interesting thing I should mention about my sister. It’s her attitude with men. I’ve seen her flirt with fellows who don’t make advances on her. But when men do make moves on her (and that’s the vast majority), she automatically gets irritated by it. Don’t ask me to explain. I don’t understand it myself, and I’m her brother. Maybe she just goes for the shy, quiet types or something.

Anyway, the three sons didn’t look shy or quite, and they were well into puberty, so I could tell that thoughts they were thinking.

So when Sera looked to me, I decided to have a little fun with the situation.

After all, we were both pretty wet from the night’s rain, and I was fatigued from my recent lack of sleep.

Surely a ride would have been more comfortable than hiking the rest of the way.

"We would be grateful to ride with you into town." I said. "It would be easier going for us after the hard travels we’ve had."

Sera glared a line of daggers my way.

"Well, Sera," I said to my sister. "There should be room enough if I sat up front in the seat while you find a spot with the lads in the back."

If looks could kill, then I’m sure that she could have murdered us all in less than five seconds.

The next time I go to sleep, I’d better keep one eye open. But for the time being, I wanted to take this situation to its farthest limits.

"Don’t worry, dear sister. I’m sure none of them bite."

When I referred to Sera as sister, the sons’ eyes took on a whole new gleam. By the torch, I wanted to just find a way to freeze that moment in time.

I tossed my pack and staff onto the wide wooden seat on which the farmer sat. I then gathered my robes around me and brought myself up to sit next to the farmer who we later learned was named Jeleb.

Sera might have grumbled something, but she kept from letting it out in front of our new traveling companions.

The dusty-faced boys gladly made room for her and immediately started to introduce themselves in as courtly of a manner as they were capable of.

It turned out that Jeleb and his sons were on their way to Willowleaf to strike a deal for their grain at the end of the year’s harvest.

We reached Willowleaf just as the boys began asking just exactly where in Lar that Sera lived.

"This looks like where we’ll be getting off." I said to Jeleb.

We dismounted the wagon at that point.

The sons looked disappointed to have to bid Sera farewell. My sister, however, looked relieved to leave the wagon behind.

Our final parting with the four was interesting. Jeleb said that one of these days we should come to visit his farm. Sera’s face turned ashen at the mention of this, so I told Jeleb that we would see what we could do to swing by.

The wagon pulled away while Sera and I got our bearings. Once the wagon was out of sight, Sera set her face in my direction.

"Nice folks." I said pleasantly.

"I’ll bet." Sera said icily. "If one of those boys sat any closer to me, he’d have been on my lap."

"Oh, I’m sure it was just merely crowded back there."

"Those three made sure of that."

"So, when would you like to visit Jeleb’s place?"

"When the sun goes cold and turns to dust!"

And with those words, Sera started walking through the town.

We had been dropped off near the town’s marketplace.

As expected, people were milling and bustling about.

I was surprised at how quickly the place had recovered after the Goblin-Willowleaf Massacre from two years ago.

The two of us walked around at first to see if there was anything of interest being sold.

It turned out that most of the goods were meats and livestock. In result, the air smelled like a butcher shop. Fish and sides of beef were the most common items being sold from the stands throughout the area.

With our interest in the market quickly declining, we began asking around about where we might find Ethern.

Many people there were from out of town and had come only to buy, sell, or barter.

The ninth person we asked finally turned out to be a local. He was a pudgy, red-faced man with a bald spot on the top of his head.

He told us that Ethern’s house was on the eastern outskirts of town. After that, he began to talk of how the bacon he was selling was the finest around, and how travelers like us should never make a journey without it.

To show our thanks for his time, we each bought two gold coins worth of the bacon. It seemed like a steep price at first, though my mind is being changed as I eat while writing this entry.

As we left the marketplace, there were less and less people to be seen. I guess the market days are popular events for the town.

A road led out of town to the east. "Road" was not precisely the right term to use. It was more of a path. Ethern must not have had many people passing by his home.

When we came to the house, I was impressed.

Here was the home of someone who not only made a living, but a fortune. It was not an extravagant mansion by any means. The home was practical, but exceptionally well built. The craftsman ship of the wood showed the word of well paid elven carpenters. Buildings made with that kind of quality rarely come at an inexpensive price.

The two of us walked up five stone steps onto the front porch. Sera stood before the door and gave it three hard knocks.

For a moment, there was no answer. Then we heard footsteps coming towards the door. It opened just enough for the resident of the home to peek his head out.

Orth Ethern had the kind of face I’ve seen on a number of soldiers. The lines running from chin to forehead told the story of a life of many battles and many deaths. A bushy moustache ran across his upper lip. His eyes were alert and bright. I was definitely surprised at how little Ethern resembled his cousin in Lar.

"Yes?" He asked sternly.

Sera did her best to make a good impression and flashed him one of her best smiles.

"Would you happen to be Orth Ethern?" She inquired. This was Sera’s trip, so she did most of the talking. I stood silently in the background as the introductions were made.

"I am." The man said. "Who cares to know?"

"My name is Sera Stormpheonix. This is my brother Kirn."

Ethern continued to stand behind the door. He glanced past Sera at me with a look of distrust. I get a lot of that. It goes with being a mage.

He neither stepped outside nor invited us inside his house. There was something dimmed about his behavior. Almost like part of him was dead.

"Well then, what can I help you with?"

"We were looking for some information." Sera said, still trying to show a sunny disposition.

"What about?"

"It involves a dragon’s horde."

At that moment, the calm, yet alert expression on Ethern’s face crumbled. What was left beneath looked like a hybrid of fear and anger. I wasn’t sure whether he was going to say anything more at that point or simply slam the door in our faces.

Thankfully, it turned out to be the former.

"Where did you hear a story like that?" The impassive mask was put back on to conceal everything he might have been thinking.

"Your cousin, Glif, told us an interesting tale back in Lar." Answered Sera.

"You know Glif?"

"He’s a pudgy Northeasterner with a general store."

"That him." Ethern then took a glance at me then back at Sera. "I suppose that we would all be more comfortable if we talked inside."

Ethern they stepped back and opened the door for us to enter.

The inside of the house blew my earlier assumption of Ethern being a completely practical man straight to hell.

Of course, there was the mark of fine and sturdy elvin workmanship all over the interior, just like the exterior. The architecture was completely wooden. Elves hate to defile the remains of tress by putting metal nails in them, so even the floor was put together with oak pegs.

What showed Ethern’s true extravagance was his art collection. For the most part, it was made up of tapestries on walls and sculptures on shelves.

I’m a bit of an art patron myself, and I could tell that many of Ethern’s items were not bought cheap. There were even goblin works amongst it all. Yes, you read that right. The little bastards do have a knack with clay.

I was tempted to fall behind and take a better look, but I didn’t want to look like some kind of bumpkin.

We stepped through the wide hall of the house and passed several rooms as Ethern led us to where we could only guess.

Towards the end of the hallway, he made a sharp turn through a doorway and we followed.

In the room we entered, there was a stone fireplace with a thin layer of dark red embers glowing. The smells of smoldering pine had filled the room. Apparently, this must have been where our host was whittling away his time before answering the door.

Four chairs surrounded the fireplace in a semi-circle. The room was well lit with most of the wide windows on the same wall as the fireplace. One the mantle of the fireplace itself sat a double-edged sword perched upon a stand made of black onyx.

"You may as well put your packs down and take a seat." Ethern said.

We did as instructed while our host made himself comfortable in his own chair.

Oh, did it feel good to sit down after all that walking.

"So what do you want to know about the horde?" Ethern’s tone was all business as he got straight to the point.

"For the most part, we wanted to hear the story about the horde." Sera replied. "If you don’t mind me saying, I’m rather skeptical about some of the details."

"A man talks about seeing a dragon." Said Ethern. "I suppose it is hard to swallow. But I know what I saw. And I’ve been living well since that day."

"So what happened?" Sera was quick to ask.

"It’s a long story."

"We’ve been on the move since yesterday." It was the first thing I had ever said to Ethern. "A few minutes of rest while we listen would be nice."

"Alright. But first, I must warn you that what you desire is very dangerous. I wouldn’t go back to that monster’s home even if could increase my wealth tenfold."

"We’re aware of the risks." I could tell Sera was using the same tone of voice she used to use with Grandma when the old woman talked about how her shoes were conspiring to throw their owner out on the street.

Fortunately, Ethern didn’t seem to notice.

"Well then, everything started while I was returning from a tour of duty on a campaign against a militia of ogres, during the last yearly freeze. Now that was a battle to remember. The general of the army I fought for paid me well for my troubles.

"Anyway, as I made my way home, I thought that I could make better time if I cut through the Steel Mountains. I never did care for any of the old legends of the mountains being haunted in the first place. So I went on my way without a second thought.

"The strange things began to happen after my third day of traveling. I was hoping to find shelter from the snow, when my hike brought me to a big cave. The opening of the place could have easily allowed thirty men to walk in shoulder to shoulder. The top of the opening was high enough to a siege tower to roll through.

"The cave seemed empty enough. The lantern I held brightened only part of the cavern and left a large portion I had not taken the time to explore in darkness.

"With nobody in the immediate area and my exhaustion at the time, all I cared about was getting away from the cold winds.

"And so there I was, already unpacking my bedroll and wondering if I could get a campfire started to cook my dinner that night. It was when I was making a circle of stones for a fire from the ones laying around the cave that my eyes started to adjust to the darkness. I saw a faint gold light toward the other side of the cavern.

"I had no idea what was causing the light. I could have easily been another person caught in the snow outside. It was whether that person was a friendly traveler or part of a band of angry goblins that had me worried.

"I picked up my lantern and turned in the wick to the point where it almost wend out. Then I drew my sword and walked cautiously to the light. I remember almost tripping on the uneven, stone floor of the cave as I walked through the dark.

"The light was coming around a corner on the left. I came to the very edge of that corner and stuck my head out to see what was causing the light."

By this point, Ethern was putting dramatic pauses between his sentences. It made me wonder how many times he had told this story to friends and relatives.

"I have fought goblins, ogres, and even once a dwarf wizard once in my life. But the sight around the corner was nearly enough for me to drop my sword and run out of that cave.

"There was a horde of wealth beyond anything in the old stories parents tell their children. And with the treasure was the guardian of it all.

"The dragon was enormous. The cavern it stood in was barely large enough to accomidate it. The beast was squatting over its many prizes with interest.

"I stood where I was in utter shock for a few seconds. Thankfully, I finally came to my senses and ducked my head back before it could have seen me. I swear that first sight of the thing still haunts my dreams to this day.

"The fangs on the dragon were easily as long as my sword and probably sharper too. Each one of its red scales looked as if it were made of crimson steel. The beast’s tail had a barbed tip, which could most likely rip the chain mail I was wearing like old parchment. The claws must have torn open many a deer for meals. The sheer thought that I could do anything against such a creature was ludicrous.

"I must have sat huddled from the dragon’s view for an least half an hour.

"I could hear it shuffling around in its confining space as I waited. For a moment, I thought I had actually gone insane, and the dragon was just a figment of my racing mind.

"Then there was silence. I can’t really say how long the silence lasted. It could have been a second or as long as an hour. Time itself just seemed to pause.

"But when the silence broke, I could hear the dragon speaking. It was actually talking. My first thought then was that there was somebody else in the cave besides the two of us.

"The dragon was speaking in a language I couldn’t recognize. And the way it talked was like some kind of song.

"That’s when it hit me. The dragon wasn’t singing. The damn beast was chanting. I knew a spell was being cast right there.

"I had to know what was happening. For all I knew, the dragon may have like to clean its cave out with a flash flood. So once again, I looked around that corner.

"The chanting kept going. Right in front of the dragon, something was happening to the air. Or maybe it was the wall of the cave. All I saw was some kind of smoke cloud. But it didn’t look like smoke or move like it. The smoke just stood there, waving in mid air. And there was this glow to it I just couldn’t explain.

"It was small at first, but started to get bigger with each word the dragon said. When the chanting ended, the smoke was as high as the monster was tall.

"The reptilian face seemed to smile. It was gruesome to see those rows of teeth in such a grin.

"The dragon ducked its horned head down and went into the smoke. After that, both of the unholy horrors disappeared as if they never existed.

"I had no idea where the dragon went. Damn, I didn’t even know when it might return. And I certainly wasn’t going to stand around and wait for the answers.

"The treasure was too appealing to just leave behind. So I decided to grab what I could as quickly as I could.

"I realized I still clutched my sword. My knuckles were white from the grip I held. Slowly, I returned it to the sheath.

"From there, I ran from my hiding place to the horde and filled every pocket, bag, and pouch I had.

"With a pack bulging with gold and jewels, I ran back out into the snowstorm. Freezing to death was preferable in comparison to being slashed to ribbons by the dragon.

"The gold slowed me down a bit, but I paid little attention to that. The knowledge that the cave was to my rear kept me going throughout the night. And if I had stopped to rest, I’m sure that I would have passed and frozen in those hills.

"My fear drove me home in record time. The first thing I did with my new found wealth was buy myself the finest meal I’d ever eaten.

"One man at the tavern I was at tried to come near me. I saw the glint of metal from a dagger tucked under his cloak. He stopped when he noticed my hand reaching for the hilt of my sword and backed off to return to his own table.

"I never had so much money on me in my entire life. It made me cocky at first, but I was much more careful of flashing it around after the tavern encounter.

"Once I got settled into my new home here, I decided to spread the good fortune to my family. When I was sorting through all the things I had so frantically taken, I came across a bracelet. You’ve probably seen Glif wearing it. Every time he mentions me, he tells about how I gave him that bracelet. Most of my other relatives got a few bags of gold for the Torchlight season.

"All in all, I’d say I came away from my journey like a bandit. But I’d never do it all over again. The first time was enough for my nerves."

"That’s some story." Sera said. I had to agree, even if it did make Ethern’s sanity questionable. Dragons, treasure, magic clouds that made things disappear. There may have been some grain of truth, or Ethern had one hell of an imagination.

"And this all happened somewhere in the Steel Mountains, you said?" Asked Sera. "Would you happen to remember exactly where?"

"I’m sorry. But the snowstorm didn’t do much for my sense of direction. Everything was completely white, and I could barely see more than five feet in front of me. I was lucky to make it out of there with my life. I don’t think that I could recognize any of the territory if I was there right now."

"Thanks for all your help." My sister said softly. She looked over to where I sat. "Kirn, maybe we could find someway to narrow the search. Maybe check--."

I had to cut her off there with a wave of my hand. I could feel magic in the air. That sensation of a thousand spiders crawling all over me. Something enchanted was nearby, but I couldn’t quite place where it was coming from.

Slowly, I stood up from my chair and went to the window. Outside, I could see something horrible running straight for us.

I was about to shout something, but there was little point, for the danger had already come crashing through the windows.

That danger stood on two, muscular bird-like legs. The round bodies of the creatures were covered with black feathers. On most birds, there are usually wings instead of the stubby arms covered with white feathers. At the end of each arm was a twisted hand with claws shaped like curved daggers. The long, sinuous necks easily made the creatures sizably taller than any one of the three of us. The heads had straight beaks filled with sharp teeth. Drool dripped from the beaks onto the floor. The monsters looked like a demented rendition of an ostrige I had once seen in a circus I had worked with.

All of us knew that these were far more dangerous than the tall and timid birds I had seen. These were bloodtalons, violent and fearsome opponents in a fight.

Two of them had crashed through the windows, while four more followed them in making the total six.

For a moment, they looked at Sera and me as if they had been taken by surprise instead of us by them. But whatever shock their faces seemed to mimic only lasted for a second.

Ethern, however, had made full use of the small bit of time. With the speed and efficiency of the soldier he claimed to be, he leapt from his seat and retrieved the sword from the rack on the mantleplace.

A claw whistled toward the man’s throat, but Ethern jumped back out of the way to stand with Sera and myself.

My sister had already drawn the short-sword and dagger from their sheaths on her belt. I held my staff out in front of me. My mind was racing, trying to decide what spell to cast.

The bird-like monsters formed into three groups of two, a pair standing before each of us.

The group on my left, those in front of Sera, made a lunge for my sister.

Sera dodged one and then the other. She thrust her dagger into the chest of the bloodtalon closest to her. The feathered horror hunched over. Its long neck was now an easy target for her short-sword as it slashed down. The creature’s head was cleanly severed.

Blood gushed from the spot where the head once was. The dying bloodtalon was left flailing around like a chicken in a similar situation. Once the nervous energy of the thing was spent, it fell to the floor in a pool of its own spilled fluid.

Ethern was evading every swiping set of claws that came his way. It would have been interesting to watch the battle, but I had troubles of my own.

I saw a slash coming up on my right and ducked down. Another slash passed by as I dodged. I kept half of my mind on staying alive and the other half on casting the spell I had chosen.

My staff came up to point at the bloodtalon nearest to me.

"Tharsis!" I shouted.

I could feel the magic channeled through my body and into the staff I held. The staff focused the power I had sent into it. The eyes of the small statue of the crow perched atop it flashed bright blue. From the eyes, streaked bolts of blue lightning that wrapped themselves around the bloodtalon.

The bloodtalon writhed and squawked in agony as the lightning surged through it. I could smell the burnt flesh and singed feathers given off by the dying body.

My other bloodtalon hissed at the sight of its fellow’s fate before coming to attack me. I was able to pull back of the way before I had my throat torn out by the talon’s snapping beak.

Immediately, I readied another incantation to cross my lips.

Before speaking the spell, I took a quick glance over the shoulder of the bloodtalon I faced.

Sera was still fighting her other opponent. They hopped out of each other’s attacks with only split seconds between life and death.

Once I was finished with my own problem, I planned to join Sera’s side to help.

I also caught sight of Ethern finishing off one of his two adversaries. The blade of his sword dug into the bloodtalon’s side. The black feathers immediately became soaked with blood pouring from the wound.

However, the small victory became costly. For the other bloodtalon had circled around to Ethern’s back. The clawed hand swung out low. The wickedly sharp claws went through the back of Ethern’s body with ease. Maybe if he was wearing some armor instead of just his leather tunic, he would have been unscathed by the attack.

The old soldier choked back a grunt of pain. He was obviously doing his best to throw off the pain. His face was pinched in the effort to continue to fight.

He swung his sword over his head and sent it through the beast. The manuvuer worsened his condition even more. The bloody hole opened even more as he twisted his body to deliver the assault. More blood came out followed by Ethern’s entrails.

The spell I had readied fluttered from my mind as I became occupied with watching the gruesome spectacle. Thankfully, the other part of my mind set on defensive movements had seen fit to keep operating.

A cackling squawk from my other bloodtalon brough me back to the immediate danger I was up against. My attention immediately went back to my sorcery.

"Mertorm loth!" My right hand, which held the staff, and my free hand pointed in the direction of the bloodtalon. A ball of yellow flame shot from my hands at it. The talon was engulfed in fire. When the magic blaze went out, all that was left was a pile of ashes and charred, black bones.

The sudden flash of light given off by my foe’s fiery death caught the attention of its still living brethren. The last bloodtalon was taken out by Sera’s dagger when it ceased to notice her for the short moment.

With the immediate threat lying lifeless on the floor, we ran to where ether was sprawled among the bodies.

His wound was terrible. The warrior was still alive, but only barely. And his life was sliding away with each second. There was nothing we could do for him, it seemed.

Ethern tried to sit up, but failed at the attempt.

Sera told him to stay still, and Ethern was forced to comply. He turned his head to the side to cough vermillion liquid out of his mouth.

"I think th--." The agony was becoming too much for him. Death was halting his words. However, Ethern proved to be someone who would not go quietly. With greater effort, he spoke again. "I think the old bastard would be… laughing if he could see me now."

"Who?" Sera asked.

But those were the last words Orth Ethern ever said. His eyes froze in a sightless gave at the ceiling.

I reached out and closed those eyes that would never see again.

"By the Torch." Sera took in the sight around us. "What in the Soul’s name is going on? We came here to get information. Instead, we’re standing in the middle of…this!"

"I wish I knew what was happening too." I admitted. "But this leaves me at a loss."

The whole situation was unreal, but explainable if you look at it objectively.

As we all well know, bloodtalons are not the most pleasant creatures in the world.

Many of the races hunt for food or sport. Game hunters may have dozens of trophies from their kills. But bloodtalons never kill for what I would define as sport.

For them, it’s more like an instinctual obsession. I could be the sight and taste of blood. Or maybe the sounds from the dying gives them some kind of thrill. Whatever the cause, something makes bloodtalons so violent that they need to constantly kill for something more than food.

I remember taking my act to a small farming colony.

At the time, the locals said that people would go into the forests nearby to gather wood and never return again.

The people were willing to pay me join a party of the last few young men around to go into the forest to find answers. Whatever they thought might have been in those woods was enough to make them accept the aid of a mage.

We left two days later and only had to walk a mile into the woods to find the first body. It was terribly mutilated, but most of the flesh was still left on the bones. The face was too mangled to recognize. One member of the party was able to identify who it was by the clothes on the corpse. It turned out to be the blacksmith’s oldest son.

Not far away, we came across another body and then another. It got to the point where we were just following a trail of death.

At the end of that gruesome journey, we found a nest of at least a dozen bloodtalons.

My spells came in handy that day. I was able to get through the fight with only a few cuts. I was one of the lucky ones.

There were twenty of us when we first entered the woods. We killed all of the talons, but there were only five of us to return to tell the tale.

Throughout the entire battle, you could hear the bloodtalons crying with both the pain of dying and the joy they extracted from the killing. It was a terrible, deep-throated cackle.

Whenever I have to camp in a forest, my greatest fear is hearing that cackle coming from behind my back.

I’ve heard stories in taverns of talons being kept in cages without any live prey to kill. So they just went at each other. The last one living was so starved for the feel of its claws sinking into warm flesh that it simply slit its own throat. Even as it died, the damn thing gave out a gurgling laugh.

I thank the Soul that while bloodtalons are one of the most ferocious species of animal on Neddel, they’re one of the stupidest. They’ve also creatures of habit.

At least they were until they came through the lounge windows of Ethern’s house. That’s what has me and Sera rattled.

Bloodtalons are forest animals. They don’t just come barging into a house on the edge of a well-populated town like Willowleaf.

Then there was the way the talons behaved in Ethern’s house. The psychotic bastards actually seemed to use a strategy and just didn’t kill whatever was closest to them. The divide and conquer tactics they enacted are supposed to be past their meager intelligence.

And then there was the magic I sensed before the attack at Ethern’s place.

Could those bloodtalons have been enchanted? And if so, then by whom?

Ethern’s last words might have held the answer. Maybe the "old bastard" he was talking about was someone he once swindled.

The thought of the dragon being the bastard in question has crossed my mind, of course. But I’m really not taking that idea seriously.

I discussed the matter with Sera after we went back into town to give the news of Ethern’s demise. We warned the locals that there could be more bloodtalons in the area, so the whole town is on its guard tonight.

Those who knew Ethern took charge of the body and plan to give it a respectable burial in the morning.

This story has made me lose my appetite for the bacon I bought. No matter how good it may be, I don’t feel like eating another bite until I can get my mind off the day’s dreadful events.

Anyway, like I said, I talked to Sera about the magic I sensed.

"But who could cast such a spell?" She asked.

That kind of skill is beyond me. I would take an archmage of considerable ability to pull off something like what happened today.

The Spirits are too scared of the rest of the world to take action like this. The Ghost are a possibility, but the elves are trying to open relations with us humans right now. Even the Crossers don’t seem to have a visible motive to kill Ethern, and they goblins.

I can tell everything that’s transpired has put a dent in Sera’s usual calm, but she’s still determined to search the Steel Mountains.

The Library of the Spirits is on the way, and I was able to convince Sera that we should swing by there to see what answers we can get from them.

We’ll be leaving first thing in the morning, and I could use some sleep.

My sister and I have checked into an inn here in town for the night. It’s certainly a welcome change from sitting in the rain.

I will write again soon enough.

Until next time…

Back to Chapters Menu Home Bios History and Terminology