Immortal Souls: Chapter 4

Chapter 4: Vanity is The Greatest Sin
*********************************

It was dark and cold in the mighty High Forest, one of the largest forests in Faerun. The trees grew dense and the canopy was so thick that even in the day, the forest was quiet and dark. The townsfolk around the High Forest spoke about the dangers of crossing the forest, only the bravest or most desperate caravans would risk traveling in the forest. Other caravans and travelers would rather take a detour.

Kayna sat closer to the small campfire. She ate the roasted bread and drank her supply of water. She needed to ration her supplies as the High Forest was huge and delays were expected.

"Damn bugs!" She slapped her cheek for the fifth time this night, killing another blood-sucking insect trying to feast on her, and let out a stream of elven curses.

She was terribly uncomfortable and irritable, having covered in dry mud from head to toe. The half-elf was scratching parts of her body, itching from the dirt and insect bites.

"I should have stay at home. Damn it. I should have tried a teleportation spell instead. Oh well, at least I'm not covered with troll gore," she sulked and slapped her arm to kill another bug trying to feast on her.

Nearby, the stalker laughed quietly at the dirty half-elf. He was pleased that he had followed his quarry into the High Forest. It had been a very interesting trip. The bard had been entertaining the stalker unknowingly with her comical sulking.

He decided that he would help keep her alive for a while until he tire of her, not that he was kind or anything, but for the sake of some entertainment. It was boring in the forest, with nothing but trees.

Seeing that the half-elf had curled herself to sleep, the stalker decided that he should get some rest too.

================

Kayna ran towards the stream. Her keen elven hearing had picked up the sounds of flowing water a few moments ago. The half-elf was dying for a bath. She was one who appreciated cleanliness and hygiene, not to mention that she could imagine herself walking around invisible if one of her suitors saw her in such a state.

The half-elf's robes were torn in several places, when she walked past the trees. They were dirty and covered with mud. Her hair had entangled into a lump and the fiery color had disappeared under a thick layer of dry mud.

It was a small shallow river with crystal clear water flowing. Kayna could see through the riverbed. She glanced around and was relief to find herself alone. There was no place to hide her modesty but she was not going to give up a chance to bath and wash her robes. As an experienced adventurer, she was determined not to be at a disadvantage, should an enemy take advantage of her while she was bathing. She took out her dagger, drew a circle in the sand and placed her backpack within the circle. Next, she removed all the weapons from her clothing and piled them below her backpack. She took off her boots and leggings and removed her cloak. The half-elf took out a handful of powder from a pouch and sprinkled it on the pile, and chanted a warding spell. Satisfied that her defenses were activated, she stripped herself down to her bare skin.

The stalker watched curiously as the naked half-elf bathed herself in the shallow river. He could see every single detail of her fabulous body. He had not thought of the half-elf as beautiful. She had been filthy and in a terrible mood since he saw her. At this moment, as the half-elf scrubbed away the hardened mud, he was mesmerized by the sight of a blue dragon tattoo on her back. The tattoo was a masterpiece, exquisitely and tastefully exhibited on a smooth flawless back. It was beautiful and so unexpected that he let out a soft gasp of breath.

Kayna stopped her scrubbing and positioned her dagger beneath her sponge. She thought she heard something in the trees. She listened carefully for foreign noises, her eyes looking into the forest, scanning every tree for unexpected intruders.

The stalker held his breath. He had never been detected by any of his quarry and he was not about to let his reputation ruined by a momentary reflex. He knew he had to do something to correct his mistake. He shape shifted into a bird and flew to the nearest tree. From the tree, he continued watching the female.

Kayna relaxed when she saw the bird flew from the trees. She was still a little wary to indulged in her bath but she did continue her scrubbing.

==============
Kayna noticed the bloody trail on the ground. It led to a broken caravan in the woods. The caravan had been looted and all that was left was empty crates and broken weapons. There were fresh blood all over the caravan and human remains scattered over the battlefield. Whoever the humans were fighting, they were definitely overpowered. She studied the messy tracks left by the fight, they were large and deep, indicating that the humans were probably fighting creatures that were large and had great strength. She observed that the wounds were deep and blunt, most of the corpses had some bruises and broken bones.

"Orcs! Several too. Ambushed these poor merchants," the female concluded and continued her journey.

The stalker followed his quarry faithfully, past the bloody battlefield. He held no great love for humans or orcs and he certainly did not feel any remorse at the loss of lives.

Kayna had not travel very far before she was ambushed by a group of orcs. Orcs, huge ugly creatures with great strength, they were covered in hideous green hide and held huge weapons. Kayna had battle orcs before and slayed many of them, but she was alone now and there were several of them. Orcs were not intelligent creatures but they were at least smart enough to expect an easy victory with their sheer numbers.

The female wasted no time in firing all her stored spells; spell trigger, contingency and spell sequence. She had to reduce the enemy numbers quickly. Kayna was a decent fighter with her sword but she preferred using her blade as a last resort.

Her spells gained her precious time and openings to maneuver. The orcs were thrown into confusion; a few of them were battling their own kind under some form of illusion. The half-elf had also successfully caught several of the orcs in a web spell. With a deft stroke, she slashed the nearest orc across the stomach with her blade. The orc spilled its entails before falling to its death. Kayna wasted no time in engaging the next orc.

She was surprised to see several orcs falling motionless onto the ground. Within a few moments, the half-elf had emerged victorious and unmarked from an ambush. Not letting her guard down, she observed the battlefield. All the orcs were lying on the ground, some cut down by their own kin, one was slain by her blade. The others had no obvious wounds but were definitely dead.

How?

The half-elf used her sword to flip one of the orcs over, there she found, a small silver bolt stuck at the back of the orc's neck. She flipped another orc and found the same silver bolt. Kayna was alarmed. The wounds of these orcs were tiny and looked harmless, yet all it took was a small single silver bolt to kill them. Using a kerchief, she extracted one of the bolts out.

"Poison... very deadly... Who did this?"

"Come out! Whoever you are! Show yourself!" The half-elf was certain that another in the woods with her.

Great chapter I wonder who this peeping tom is oops I mean stalker

thanks Dark-Mage