At dawn, the newly acquainted group gathered at the gate in the wall that led to the forest beyond. She was the first to arrive, and waited grumpily for the others, eager to be off. But she didn’t have to wait long. The drow, also known as Lucien, handed the papers to the guards that gave them permission to enter the forest. The moment it was confirmed, she pushed past roughly and headed through, not waiting for the others.
“Hey!” came the higher voice of the halfling known as Gelwyn, whom she jostled a little when she walked by. “Wait you dummy!” Trotting her pony out after her.
“Barbarians,” grumbled the dwarf, Ainz, as he followed after the halfling, wondering if he could replace his skeleton minion with her re-animated corpse. Lucien nodded in silent agreement as he fell into step beside the dwarf.
Ruthrrien honestly didn’t care if she put a little distance between her and the rest of the group. The drow and the dwarf were sinister at the very least, and the halfling was like an annoying toddler to her. She could hardly imagine how one so small could endure a fight. She slowed some as they entered the shadow of the trees, the solitude of their towering trunks and dense canopy feeling eerily familiar. Her senses heightened, taking in the damp smell of moss and the rich aroma of pine, birch, and oak trees. It was in that moment that she felt more at home than in any other part of the city she could remember.
They traveled for some time into the forest, following the road that led from the city. Without realizing it, she had slowed her pace some, the rest of the group now close behind. But she hardly noticed, entranced by the forest and how at home she felt within its natural walls, taking in every site and smell her senses would allow. Gelwyn seemed to be talking with her pony, while the elf and dwarf brought up the rear, alert yet calm, seeming to have bonded over their mutual taste for the darker side of life.
A slight glint of light near the ground suddenly caught her eye. “Stop!” she burst out suddenly, throwing her arms wide. A trip wire was strung across the path twenty paces ahead.
The group halted as she cautiously drew forward and crouched down, eyeing the trip wire closely. Looking to her left down its length, she saw that the wire was tied to a small trigger device in the shadow of a tree. A thick rope led up into the canopy where a thick trunk hung suspended, ready to swing. Then she looked to her right and saw the same on the other side of the road. A trap ready to pulverize a less keen victim between the two trunks.
“It’s a trap,” she said over her shoulder to them, pointing at the thin wire. And as they averted their gaze to see the trunks ready to swing, she extended her hand to trip the wire.
Seeing her move, the dwarf was a split second too late in realizing what she was about to do. Rushing forward, he shouted, “No!” just as she pulled the wire.
A horribly loud clanking noise filled the air as the tree trunks whooshed down, making them all cover their ears. Dozens of pots and pans tied to the ropes clanged against each other, announcing that the trap had been sprung. As the trunks met in the middle, everything began to fall, and she scrambled back to avoid being flattened.
They all froze in the sudden silence, staring at the mess of the two tree trunks surrounded by the noise makers, limbs, and brush that now was like a low barrier across the path. The mistake she had just made was not lost on her, nor the rest of the party.
“Great, you might as well have walked through their front door,” Lucerin said coolly, a sneer curling his lip.
“Stupid barbarian,” muttered Ainz in agreement.
“If she dies and you resurrect her, would she do what you say?” he said in a low voice to the dwarf.
“Hey!” she said angrily, glaring at them as she got up and dusted herself off some.
He shot the drow a wicked grin as he sloughed a small bag off his shoulder, dumping out a pile of bones. With a mumbled word, the bones shook and flowed together like water, forming a standing skeletal form of what she only guessed was previously a human. She shuddered a little.
“What only one?” jeering to hide her revulsion.
He turned his gaze to her, sending a chill down her spine. “I’d be happy to trade it out for your bones, sweetheart,” eyes still glowing from the spell.
She narrowed her eyes. “At least I face my enemies head on you creepy a**..” continuing with a few choice curses in a low growl as she gripped her ax tightly.
“Stop flirting,” the drow said with a sneer over his shoulder as he and Gelwyn scanned the treeline for trouble.
“That’s disgusting,” she spat, and turned on her heal before her anger got the better of her. Itching for a fight now, she forged ahead, stepping over the trunks and careful not to trip on the tangled mess of ropes and pans. The others slowly followed.
She had barely gone ten paces when the ground beneath her gave way, falling into a shallow pit that shot a jolt of pain up her leg. The pit was only about knee deep, but as she moved to climb out, the soft “fwump” of an arrow landing in the dirt beside her made her freeze.
The Whitney Scott 