Verse 22
We traveled for the entire night in the rain on our journey towards Coranus. As day rose into the sky, the rain ended and we sought a spot to rest for a while. I took first watch as the rest of the party rested. An hour into my watch, 2 horses approached from the south. As they came across our camp the leader of the group addressed me in my own tounge.
"Decker it has been a long time" he said. A chill rose up in my spine as I realized who rode before me. It was Cahir, my long lost friend. With him rode a rather unusual dwarf wearing a silly outfit that reminded me of a corut jester. Cahir spoke quickly with me about my party and my trust in them, as they began to rise from their slumber.
I found it rather odd to be seeing him here at this time, especially given the importance of my mission. Though I chose to accept his company for the time being. Moments later it began....
A boy entered our camp, a long wound across his chest wearing ratty clothes. His eyes were glazed and he had a crooked smile along his face. His voice was unnatural and he spoke to Cahir. "How fortunate that I find the Bearer and the stone here, along with another stone. Give me the stone and you will not die." Cahir told us to run as the boy smiled and slit his throat. Then they came from the sky along the tops of the tree lines they came, 3 of them in all. Black man/bird creatures with long sharp claws, beaks and a huge wingspan. They seemed interested in only one thing. Our deaths.
Only Ariratram stayed to fight, as Cahir vanished and I called upon my magics to confuse my enemies with multiple images of myself and ran for the woodlands. Everybody else also ran, except for Aalaysia who was no where to be seen since we made camp and Kaduul who appeared out of air to battle these winged horrors. Ariratram let loose with several arrows missing his target as the creature clawed the life from his body and threw him across the soil. Kaduul took the head of the first creature with ease as the second one attacked him. Closer to the woods the third one was being attacked by an unknown attacker.
The battle lasted for several minutes before the 2 creatures vanished without a trace. Ariratram though severely wounded, would live... though now Cahir is once again missing, and I have separated myself from the rest of the party when I entered the woods.