SpinTales

A Stranger Among Us

Chapter 6

'That cheater!!! She ruined the game!!' The shadow man plopped down on the oversized arm chair, releasing a giant cloud of dust. 'Why didn't I see her? Was she hidden there at the village? If so, why didn't she show herself  sooner?'

Elsewhere in an ancient forest, a shimmery form drifted through dense foliage, lost in thought. 'It has been so long since troubles of war had plagued these lands. Who is it that awoken you? What are you up to now, my love?'

By high noon, the traveling partners were many miles away from the mountain side town. It was time to stop for a lunch break and they found a small clearing near a tiny water fall. While they were setting up a cooking fire, Brodie said, " I'm going to scout out the area with Vaya. Thadd and Lucien, you two can watch over the camp. Giles and Stauss, will you go out hunting?"
"Of coarse." Replied Stauss as he and Giles checked their weapons before setting off.
Dane huffed a bit and turned to Brodie. "Why can't I go on the hunt with them?" Vaya smiled and said "Until we feel you are ready to take on certain responsibilities, you will be assisting at camp. Both Alley and Davina can use your help here."
"But..."
"There's no "buts" about it." chimed in Alley. "All this is new for you and everyone here already have a role to play. No worries, though. You'll have your chance to obtain a duty or two before you know it." She smiled as she finished her sentence.
With that, Dane huffed again and went about with unpacking stuff for cooking. Alley turned and winked at both Brodie and Vaya then turned her attention towards camp. The cousins grinned at one another and started to circle the surrounding area.

Thadd and Lucien both moved to opposite ends of the camp at higher vantage points, both pushing the senses to the max over their given location. Only sensing where their friends where at, and no danger in the area, Lucien began to contemplate the past few days events. With his mind he sent his thoughts out to Brodie ☆I'm  beginning to feel that this little quest is going to be more than what we can handle with the people we have involved. What are your thoughts?☆
About a mile away from camp, Brodie responded ☆ I'm not entirely sure. It seems that we found the story of the old merchant to be true, but now what? And what does he mean by playing by the rules? Something tells me we will be seeing him around more and more.☆

Lucien☆ And what about the sphere? Did Vaya tell you about what she experienced with it?
Brodie☆ Yeah. But it seems she has that under tight control. It has been quiet since she placed that containment hex on it. Obviously it came from the merchant, so we have to keep a close eye on it.☆
☆Okay, you two. What are ya'll chatting about that you can't clue me in?☆ Vaya's voice intruded in their heads.
Lucien ☆Sorry, V. Nothing new. Just pondering the past days events. Are you doing alright?☆

Vaya smiled as she felt the concern through his mental sendings now that they allowed her to join in.
Vaya ☆Yes. I am well. I have been thinking of what exactly this little trinket does. It's a tool, I think, for mind control. To what extent, I'm not entirely sure. But since it came from the merchant, I believe that he would be the one to do the controlling.☆
Brodie☆ Indeed. But it seems that you have control over that thing. How are you able to do that?☆
Vaya☆ Well, it started about two years ago, before we all got back together that I had the opportunity to do some crash coarse training with magical demon artifacts. I was staying at the monastery near Parish Lake.☆
Lucien☆ You mean the one that's isolated in the ancient forest?!☆
Vaya☆ Yes. It's called the Forbidden Timbers. That monastery specializes in demon folklore and how to battle it. Ya know, dark arts stuff.☆
Brodie☆ Is that how you learned about expelling souls?☆
Vaya☆ Yes. I was only there for a year, but I learned quite a bit. That's why, as much as I'd like to destroy this thing, I don't think I have the power to do so. Also, it's our link to the merchant. He seems to be playing some game with us, but whatever game it is, he certainly didn't expect that strange woman to interfere. I'm still trying to come up with a theory on that, but no luck.☆

Hissing and thrashing could be heard in another area near the waterfall camp. Giles jumped down from a tree just in time to nail the wild boar in its head with his blade. "Sheesh!! He certainly didn't stand a chance against you!!!" laughed out Stauss. "Yeah, well, when you've spent almost all your life hunting, what do you expect?!" Giles laughed with him. "I think this should be plenty. Should we dress the kill here or in camp?" Asked Stauss. "We should dress it here, less bulk to haul back." was Giles response.
So the two quickly worked at dressing the kill and packing up the portions that would return with them. Without skipping a beat, Giles asked "So what are your thoughts about the shadowman? And what do you think he wants from us?" Taken back a bit, Stauss replied, "I am not sure. However, but I know that we seem to be a great source of bloodshed and  entertainment to him. He instigates the conflict and enjoys the agony of others in the process. He definately is a powerful creature, just like the strange woman from town. I don't know if you were able to feel the raw power rolling off of her, but I did. I wonder how she is connected to him." Giles nodded and said, "She certainly is powerful and an enemy to the shadowman. Something tells me we will see her again, too. Did you notice how she kept staring at Brodie after she walked over to help the villagers." Stauss replayed the whole scenerio in his head. "You're right. She kept a close eye on him and also Davina as well. Did you mention this to them?" Giles said, "Yes, I did. Brodie mention she seemed familiar to him, but couldn't place where or how he knows her."

Meanwhile, the silvery - haired beauty known as Davina sat near the falls going over her inventory of herbs. She grew tired of the banter between Dale and Alley and decided to keep herself busy before she decided to put a hex on the two. Her mind began to wander while her hands simply kept themselves busy. She began to think of the strange lady in town who helped them take down Brodie. 'I've seen her before, I just know it. But from where?' She thought back all the way to her childhood when she first began to study the supernatural. She remembered a scroll that she had read about the Lightening Witch and the stories about how she dwelled in the mountains.  'Hmmm, I wonder if it's connected to the story about the Mountain Enchantress. I'll have to ask Brod if there were any details he left out about her.' Her hands and mind stopped working when a foreboding feeling began to surface. Whatever it is, it wasn't upon them, yet.

At the same time, despite the distance between all of the members of the group, they all felt a sinister presence making its way towards them. There was no way of telling what direction  it was coming from, but it was already engraved in everyone who felt it, that nothing good could come with it.

Vaya stopped instantly and grasped the tiny marble in her hand. "Crap!! I think something is coming for this thing!!" She shouted at her cousin. Brodie stood still as stone after the words escaped her mouth. "We have to warn eveybody." His thoughts went straight out to the little group☆Danger. Something is coming for the sphere!!!☆

Everyone scrambled to head back to camp as quickly as they could and to prepare for battle, all the while the presence slowly grew stronger and closer. As the group reunited, Stauss noticed Vaya wasn't with him and turned to Brodie. "Where is V? Do you think it's the shadowman, again?"
Brodie: "No. V said it doesn't feel like it. But she did sense that it's coming for the item in her possession."
Stauss: "So again, where is Vaya?!" Everyone turned towards Brodie in an instant with dread filling their entire being. Brodie took a deep breathe and said, "She took off running away from the camp, but when I was chasing after her... she vanished into thin air..."

Everyone stood grounded to the spot they were standing. Nothing could be said as the shock ran throughout everybody there. That didn't change the fact that the dark presence was still coming towards them, but no one could bring themself to do anything. It was only when they heard the sniffles from Dane did anyone move. As they turned to the young lad, all paused to see Davina standing right behind him. But then they realized something was off. It was Giles who spoke out, "Davina?" But as they all looked at her, her features began to change into someone else. It was, in fact the strange witch from the town that now stood where Davina was. In unison, they snapped to a battle ready position and Lucien called out to Dale, "Get away from her!!!" Dale's head snapped up, face full of confusion when he felt an icy grip on his shoulder. He turned around only to see the witch from town, peering down at him. He tried to run forward, but was frozen to the spot. "No, little one. You're not going anywhere. None of you are."

(To be continued..)