A RANGER IS BORN

Chapter 1-On The Hunt

The tall man blended into the forest as though he were a part of it. No sound emanated from his passage through the thick underbrush. No trail marked his passing. His face could not be seen beneath the shadow colored cloak he wore over the forest colored clothing. Only the bright twinkle of his eyes and the hint of a beard could be seen. No piece of metal lay exposed to the bright morning sun to gleam in the eyes of another and give away his location. Neither the well-used longbow slung over his left shoulder nor the three foot longsword at his belt, hampered his movements as he traveled through the forest seeking the stag he had been tracking all morning. The man knew from the tracks in the deep loam of the forest floor, that he would soon see his next few meals. The stag was very close now. Silently, Crentar Bronn, Ranger of the North Wood, glided through the forest until he saw the target of the mornings hunt.

The stag was walking unconcerned through the wood, stopping every few steps to nibble at the foliage nearby. In a well practiced motion, Crentar unslung his great longbow and silently fitted an arrow to the string. Quickly sighting along the shaft, he prepared to let loose death upon the unsuspecting stag. Just as he was about to release the shaft, something caused the stag to bolt away deep into the surrounding trees ruining the shot. Silently cursing under his breath, Crentar re-slung his bow and prepared to move into position for another shot.

A feeling of wrongness crawled over Crentar and he froze. The forest was too quiet. Not even an insect broke the perfect silence. The only sound was the sound of his own heart pounding in his chest. He looked carefully around at the forest with an expert eye gained through long years in the wilderness. He picked out every irregularity in the dense vegetation. He spotted the path of the fleeing stag immediately, but saw nothing unusual which could be the cause of the feeling. Though he strained to hear, he could detect no sound other than the faint breeze blowing through the upper branches of the trees. A deep chill made Crentar shiver as the sense of wrongness increased.

The breeze became a sporadic wind that increased steadily. Then something other than the wind broke the silence, a deep thumping sound, almost masked by the wind as it grew louder with each passing second.

Driven by some deep instinct, beyond all the years of learning in the wilderness, Crentar began to move through the forest. He searched for shelter, of any kind; mere trees were not enough. Soon, he scrambled through a thick screen of pines into a hollow made by three huge boulders leaning upon one another. This will have to do, Crentar thought as he crouched down and listened to the wind blowing madly from the perfectly clear sky.

The wind became a howling monster. Leaves, and even branches were picked up, and thrown about. Abject terror pierced through his heart as the sun was blotted out; he may have screamed, he could not tell. He wanted desperately to run howling through the forest, but his muscles, locked in fear, would not obey him. The darkness lasted for an eternity and two seconds. Then the sun was back.

Through the trees, Crentar's fear-crazed mind registered the huge, sinuous shape of a monster out of legend. Shocked into clarity, Crentar realized that he was one of the very few people to have seen a dragon and lived, unscathed. He offered a quick prayer of thanks to Tym, goddess of luck.

---TO BE CONTINUED...---