• A splatter of dark red liquid trickled down a cliff face to the chasm below. Two withered fingers outstretched to the thick pool. The hand rose to the mouth in the dark. A long wet barbed appendage slithered out of the mouth , and licked the blood of its prey.

    A drop fell into a small glass bottle that was pulled from beneath thick hide armor. The glass glowed red momentarily, illuminating the mouth of the creature. Long jagged teeth crisscrossed as the lips contorted into some sort of evil smile.

    Lederic gazed down the steep hill into the sea of old trees, standing bare amongst their own blanket of dead leaves on the ground a small forest animal scurried quickly across the ground collecting its food for the winter. He took in the smell of sweet maple as he descended into the valley between the hills. The past few days had been quiet ones, but he knew he was still being hunted.

    He came upon a small creek, the clear water shined a small glint of blue. He knelt down and touched the surface of the water. The cold water met his fingers sending a shiver down his back. Lederic cupped some in his hand and brought it to his mouth. Tales from all over the continent told of the waters having magical healing abilities. Lederic unbuttoned his long black coat down to his chest. A gust of wind blew in from behind him as he pulled his collar up higher above his nose.

    Tenderly, he pulled his left arm out of the stained sling it was held in, and let it rest on his knee. The arm was not like his other; slightly larger and looked as if it came from another creature, with only three long, hook like fingers and a similar thumb. A great eye rested in slumber on his forearm. On the elbow a large, lip less maw of sharp teeth, was closed tightly.

    Up and down it were scars or deep, bleeding wounds. Green blood seeped out of a large cut he recently acquired. He splashed some of the water onto it. Lederic winced in pain as the wound sizzled and couldn't help but flinch the hand. Suddenly, there was a sharp screech and the eye opened revealing a deep red iris, the pupil a thin slit which opened wide as the mouth spread its teeth, saliva flying out.

    The arm pulled Lederic to his feet with a jerk, energy crackling up the fleshy mass, collecting within the fingers. Lederic tried grabbing at it to pull it down and cover it, but the power was too much for his body. The energy ripped open long closed scars just like new, as a bolt of lightning exploded from the hand into the sky.

    Lederic forced the arm into the sling under his coat. Within the darkness the eye relaxed and closed, drifting back to sleep. He felt the new wounds trickling blood and began wrapping it in gauze he pulled from one of his pockets as he took off at a run, across the water and onto the opposite bank. The trees quickly thinned out as he made his way into a gorge.

    The walls of the gorge were jagged cliffs about fifteen feet up. It curved left and right sharply opening into a small clearing of grass, surrounded by more trees. A very old and grizzled tree rested in the middle. A large gap in the tree provided a small refuge, which Lederic took quickly.

    A pair of eyes watched the sky carefully, light flashing across its dome shaped beetle-like eyes as it witnessed the release of energy. Its pale, rotting hand gripped the tree branch tighter as the glow in its eyes faded. It flew from the branch, soaring through the before landing on the ground. It slid a moment on the leaves under its feet then bolted off, dodging trees left and right.

    Fast steps padded across the gravel of the gorge, ringing off the cliffs on either side. Brief flashes of a humanoid shape grazed the rocks as it jumped from boulder to boulder, following the trail. The creature made one last leap onto a large tree in the middle of a large indentation surrounded by trees. Its claws gripped the bark of the tree quietly moving around it quietly like a spider.

    Its body was covered in an old, thick, leather armor. Its head was round and hairless. Two huge shiny insect like eyes dominated most of its face. The rest was nothing but a wide mouth of fangs, bent and chipped slightly in places. Nearing its prey it pulled two long curved daggers from inside its armor.
    Lederic felt a sinister presence above him. His good hand went to his pocket grabbing a shuriken. He heard scrapes against the bark of the tree as the claws of the monster gripped the wood.

    Both acted in unison. The creature flew from the tree toward Lederic, positioning the blades in its hands, ready to cut out its prey's throat. Lederic dove forward, rolling off his right shoulder and came to one knee as he released his shuriken at the enemy. It took the blade in the collar bone as it attempted to turn away in mid air.

    The beast bounced off the tree swinging its weapons. Lederic held up a large kunai, blocking the attack. Scraping of metal against metal rang out in the quiet forest as each forced their opponent back. Lederic threw the kunai as he flipped backward reaching into his pocket and pulling out a small deep red marble.

    Lederic threw down the sphere with a shout. Red lightning crackled momentarily, followed by a puff of smoke. A red, hound-like beast jumped from the smoke and closed its jaws around the neck of Lederic's attacker. Black blood sprayed from the puncture of the teeth. The creature ripped the dog away throwing it out of range. The red hound attacked again, only it was intercepted by the blade of a dagger. It exploded into a red light and returned to a marble on the ground.

    Seeing the distraction of the enemy, Lederic met the beast in the chest with his blade. It shrieked as its quickly turned to stone from the point of the knife. The petrified creature burst apart releasing the blade. The chunks of stone evaporated into the air as Lederic picked up his weapons and returned them to his pockets, and turned to continue on, cradling his immobile arm.