Of Women and Wolves

Searching and Slaying PT 2

As the rising sun penetrated the thick canopy of foliage above her, Fianna gently came out of her meditation. After packing up her small camp, eating some semi-stale bread and feeding Rolo an apple she mounted her loyal stallion and set off on the start of her hunt.

Travelling at a slower speed so as to not miss anything of her surroundings, Fianna arrived at the site of the attack just as afternoon turned to evening. It was a wholesale slaughter located inside a small forest that connected to a mountainous region. The thick tree coverage and waning daylight made it necessary for her to drink a vial of Cat so she would not miss anything during her investigation.

Immediately it was clear to Fianna that whatever this beast was, it was large. The massacre that lay before her was not for the faint of heart. Three of the seven bodies were torn completely in half and the other four were mauled past recognition. Fairly sure that she could rule out a werewolf as the culprit but not wanting to rely on guessing she decided to check anyway.

Crouching by one of the corpses that was still somewhat intact, she scanned the length of his body with her potion enhanced vision. "Hmm... no lacerations" she observed as she moved some debris away from the man's torso and cut away at his shirt to examine his injuries. "His ribs are completely crushed...torso caved in under the force of one blow... shattered rib probably punctured his lungs... bled out internally... poor fucker."

The next body she examined had his stomach ripped clean open, grimacing at the smell of rotting organs she steeled herself and started moving his misplaced organs around until she found the liver. "Not a Werewolf then" she huffed and continued to look around the surrounding area for leads.

She found large tracks leading away from the camp into the mountainous regions and followed them for a full hour before coming across a tuft of fur snagged on a low-hanging branch. She leaned closer to catch the scent and had to fight back a wretch. "Ughh fuck, that stench" she spat in disgust before honing her well-trained senses and following where her nose led her.

She followed that scent for hours until it disappeared over a ravine, not too wide to jump, for her that is. Fianna tied Rolo to a nearby tree before she tightened all of her weapon sheaths and supply bags. Breathing deeply in preparation, she turned and sprinted to the edge and leapt. She was airborne for only a moment before her feet touched solid ground again. Fianna threw her shoulder forward and rolled with the momentum built from the jump, gliding smoothly back up to two feet she looked around again.

It didn't take her long to find a new set of tracks to follow. Bending down, she rubbed her fingers over the footprint and smelled her hand. "Definitely a Fiend, a big one too by the looks of these tracks"

The dose of Cat she had taken earlier in the day had worn in time for the sunrise, she had been following these tracks for hours, occasionally stopping to eat and meditate. It was midday by the time the trail led her to a smooth cliff face. Fianna could see a cave about halfway up the cliff "That must be how it gets inside, have to find another way in".

It did not take long to find another entrance into the cave, circling around the cliff, she came across a hole in the roof of the cave. Looking down, she couldn't see a thing. It was too dark down there to see the height she would be dropping from. Fianna looked around her and picked up a nearby rock, she dropped it down the hole and listened as it clattered at the bottom two seconds later.

Confident that she would not break her leg and have to fight the Fiend handicapped, she stepped over the edge and let herself fall into the dark.

Landing with bent knees, Fianna's nose was immediately assaulted by the stench of blood. Drinking another vial of Cat, spidery veins crawled from underneath her eyes and down her face, when she opened her eyes in the darkness her sclera had turned pitch black. With her potion enhanced eyes, the source of the smell of blood was clear.