Perhaps it would have better to heed Sseth's warning about this abandoned city. For such a warrior as Sseth to avoid a place would surely be an indication of the danger that lay within. The man...lizard...is no coward. If it had not been for the evidence that a human had entered this way followed by a pack of wolves, I would have been more than willing to circumvent the ruined city of the Orishadi. I am aware of how few humans are in this area and this likelihood of this one was not attached to the information that the shaman gave us was thin. So we pursued. Big mistake.
Within no time, we were beset by huge monster archers. Each must have been 7 feet to gauge by the size of there arrows. Arilyn and I both took several shafts, as well as the odd spellcaster Nyran. We made rather quick work of them, but took our own share of pain in the process. I believe Arilyn was upset that there were no bodies to plunder afterwards. Whatever the things were, the vanished into smoke as soon as they fell. As soon as the increasingly uneasy Elana fixed us up, we were quickly back on the trail of the wounded man.
We found him hiding in a temple on the edge of the clearing. He has sheltered in a stone room with a wolf, presumably his companion. The man, the Will I Am that the shaman mentioned. After much exasperating negotiation, I got the druid in to heal him. It seemed like he had never seen magic, nor even for healing. This I cannot understand. Even as set against magic as Jorag was, he wouldn't have turned down the healing from it. It's as though Will I Am has been shut away from magic all his life.
He preceded to relate the recent invasions of demon that have plagued this place but we had no time as we were then attacked. Two flying demons had found us and they were neatly dispatched by Islan and Nyran. To be honest, I have never seen Islan wield a sword so well, but the battle was still more than we could handle more than once. At this point, it was deemed best to find a place to hide and recover.
Will I Am lead us to one of his caches, then made to leave on an errand. I offered to go with him. The man had barely survived this things and no wished to go out into the night alone. With no healing, magic, I feared for his chances of survival and I wanted to information he could give about the demons and the terrain. But he was adamant. So I followed. The damned ranger quickly heard me and I forced to fall back. I would have lost his trail entirely if it had not been for Puppy-butt. Smart little, what was it Will I Am called him, ah yes, jackal. But there was much time that I was left just sitting in the jungle waiting.
Will I Am reminded me off what many rangers become after too long in the field. We forget that we are human, instead thinking we can live solitary like an eagle. When my companions burst in on me all those months ago, I was furious. It didn't help that they then burned down my forest, my home. But in time I remembered what it was like to not be so alone, to be needed. The adventures aren't bad either. I can only hope that Will I Am will come to the same realizations as I and hopefully become a better ranger for it. Only a fool would hold out a place with such an invasion going on. He feels no need to tell the people he comes from. He has been alone for to long.
By the time Puppy-butt had picked up Will I Am's trail, I was a little more calm about him, however I still wanted his information. At the end of it, we found a group of wolves gathered together around a huge wolf in the center. I don't know if I am correct, but it would explain his sense of smell. On the assumption that Will I Am was indeed, the center wolf I continued to watch. But if he can change shape, why is magic such a mystery to him. It doesn't make since that he would be able to switch forms but never have seen even a healing wand. What I saw, made no sense to me, but seemed to be some sort of communication. I left after all the wolves had departed and made my way back into a hiding hole in one of the temples. I will wait here to see when he returns....Damn man is above me. I am going to show him one of these days what being a ranger really means: more than hiding in the woods and playing wolf. |
