Horizons

12 Open eyes

Reegan sat in his chair, a shaky hand holding an untouched glass of Alexandrian whiskey, his eyes fixed and looking in no particular direction. His mind was still trying to catch up with the events of this morning and afternoon. He was in part trying to figure out how so many events took place in such a short period of time. After Raider had returned to the group who were attending to Connar, the quintet of responder's carried the boy to the healer's lodge, the two apprentices bearing the load for the majority of the walk. When the boy was settled under Morgan's caring attention, Raider told Reegan about the corpse in the woods. Reegan immediately sent Joshua the head Caretaker of Shadyknoll, along with several spear and bow laden apprentices to the clearing in order to collect the body for both study and proof of it's existence. After the Caretakers had been dispatched, Reegan invited Raider back to his home for some much-needed rest. To his utter surprise and dismay Raider informed him upon reaching his home that he needed to leave again. Reegan attempted to convince the battle-weary warrior to take at least a short break, but his old friend only smiled and wished him farewell as he gathered his gear, swapping his blood-soaked cloak for Hawkeye's less soiled one. The Scout then disappeared into the Western forest. Confused by the master's commitment to his mission, Reegan walked the short distance to the Caretakers lodge and got a good look at the corpse of the cougar-man. It had been jarring to see the beast. Although it was obviously deceased and was at the time laid out on what was essentially a butchers table, it was still frightening. He had only half believed Raider's story before he saw Connar wounded at the base of the tree, even then he had thought that the perpetrator was something a little more normal, a little more natural. He had not expected to see this twisted version of an animal. There was no way that this was the Creator's work. It was simply not natural. He thanked the Caretakers, who were all staring at the creature with stunned fascination, and he quickly took his leave and returned to his lodge. He sat down to ponder the events of the day and check on the young Scout who was still passed out in his common area. It was at this time that Reegan received a vision from Grand Master Thoreau.

Thoreau described to him the immanent threat to his community including a detailed set of instructions on how to advise the people of Shaddyknoll. Reegan was also given direction regarding what he and the other Shamen of the compound would be doing during this emergency. His instruction for his fellow academics was simple. Evacuate. Pack the necessities, and every single book, and head down to Lorristown, which was East of here, the first town on the way to Alexandria. As soon as possible. The far more complicated set of instructions, was of course what he needed to tell the townsfolk. He knew when he would talk to them, that was easy. Tonight, at Scott Miller's wake and funeral pyre. The hard part was trying to talk to these strong-willed civilians and making them understand the severity of the situation. He worried for them. For he knew there would be some that would not listen to reason. He continued to try and think of how each different personality in the community would need to be told. Some, would be simple. Others would require a lot of finesse to make understand. Others, each for their own reasons, had no trust in the Shamans of Alexandria and would stubbornly refuse to listen. Regardless of Reegan's efforts. His greatest obstacle was his own traumatized mind. As much as he tried to concentrate on the challenges of the coming evening, it was useless. His mind kept returning to the murdered man he was burning tonight, to the young apprentice holding his intestines in bloodied hands, and to the corpse of the small monster laying on the caretaker's dressing table. His mind couldn't get the images out of focus. He bent forward scrunching his brow while rubbing his temples in frustration, as if his brow could force the images from his eyes and his messaging fingers could rub out the memories of the previous days. He heard a jolt of movement from the sleeping Scout. He looked up and Hawkeye's eyes were wide open and he was looking around in shock, as if he had had a nightmare.