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[Arcalian]

Chup and Leartya came to the battle site the next morning. There had been rumors in the morning in town from farmers, claiming to have heard battle in the forest.

Chup was no Ranger any more than the masked warrior had been; but the events of last night needed little skill to find. There were no absence of corpses.

Leartya whistled softly. "Many evil folk died. I cannot say I mourn them, but perhaps....." she did not finish.

"A few might've learned the error of their ways, but not most." Chup tried to say it kindly, but couldn't quite manage it. Leartya made no answer, just hung her head and pursed her lips.

They had travelled together before, and Leartya has always been the one to try to see the best in people, to redeem the darkness. Not that she couldn't fight when she had to; her power as a mage was considerable. But she wanted to genuinely convince others of the virtue of goodness. Nor was she preachy or annoying about it.

Chup, for his part, tried to do the right thing of course, but in his bitter experience evil only ever understood the point of a sword.

"Do you think there were any survivors besides the hunter?" he asked.

Leartya shrugged. Well obviously *someone* ran off through that break in the trees," she said, pointing. "Maybe more than one."

He shrugged and nodded. Together they moved on through the woods, follwing the trail of the mage and the masked warrior.

Mere minutes after theyh had gone, Rolf's head poked out from behind a Tree. He had known them for adventurers when he had arrived in town, still yawning from a sleepless night. But he dared not approach; they would have no reason to allow a peasant boy, however well armed or eager, to join them. They would tell him to go hom, and that was one thing he would not do.

He would ahve to prove himself to them; and the only way to do that was to help them when they needed it most. So he followed, as quietly as he could. He wondered if they could hear him clinking along in his father's chainmail.

The adventurers passed on througha broken path forced by persons unknown, and Rolf followed them, darting from tree to tree, keeping a discreet distance, but always keeping them in sight.