As the trio exited the cave, Marren spoke, " this way, I hear something stirring in the forest, it might be Lyranda .  Be at the ready though, there's something else there."

After following Marren's lead for about three hundred yards, the forest opened to a small clearing where there stood an ancient, long forgotten pagan monument.  However,the sight that held the group's attention was the dead body of a badly mauled orc and the large cat sitting next to it.  As they approached,  Marren whispered, "there's something odd about that animal, normally it would have run off or at least be in a defensive position to protect its prey from scavengers."  "Aye," replied Petra, "I may not be as skilled as you, Marren, but there is something strange here." 

As the trio approached the cat and its victim, weapons at the ready, the beast looked up at them.  In a complete surprise, the cat spoke to them in a voice that now had become familiar, "lower your weapons friends, you are in no danger from me or this creature."  As the three stood there in silence from the shock of hearing a voice from the great cat, before their astonished gaze, the beast transformed into the human form of their new companion Lyranda.

Upon seeing this transformation, Cailin was the first to speak, "Lyranda? What... how...?"  Interrupting her question, Lyranda replied,  " I am sorry for the shock, it seems that when I was telling you about the druids, I forgot to also tell you that we are able to take on the form of our chosen bestial aspect when needed for battle.  The oversight was not intended, it has become so natural, I often don't think about it myself."

Lowering their weapons, Cailin once again spoke to the druid, "yes, you did forget to mention it, that's quite an amazing thing, how are you... ?"  Cutting Cailin off in mid sentence, Lyranda spoke, "we'll have time for questions later and I'll explain it more thoroughly then.  Right now, the spirits are telling me this creature's companions also heard the noise and are gathering to come look for their friend.  We need to leave the area, NOW."

"Lyranda's right," Marren interjected, "he was probably part of a larger raiding party.  You three get back to the cave, break camp quickly and head for Myra's Cove as fast as you can, the sun will be up soon ... push the horses if you have to, just get as far as you can from here."  Marren continued, "I'll stay here and remove all human sign, they'll find his mauled corpse and think a large beast did it.  With luck they'll start scouting around for the beast to extract revenge and buy us a little time.  Sooner or later, though, one of them will discover the cave and know we were here, then they'll come looking for us.  Now go, and follow the trail we used to get here, it will be easier to hide one trail than two or three.  I'll catch up with you later... GO!"

Following Marren's orders, the women quickly returned to the cave, broke camp, hitched the horses to the wagon and left for Myra's Cove.  As Marren was finishing cleaning the kill site and starting to wipe away the trail, he heard the women pulling out.  "Good, they're gone," Marren said to himself,  "almost done here, let's see about leaving our green friends a few little 'surprises'... might cut their numbers and even the odds a bit if we do have to fight these bastards."
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Cailin's Journey - - An Adventure In The Making
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