Role

Chapter 13

The couple huddling in the tent were terrified. It was supposed to be a
thrilling adventure into the Dranettie Woods and the sorceress and her
ranger beau were confident that they could handle any owlbears or
unfriendly natives.

What they were hearing outside was none of those things.

"Aldaric, go check," she said, sweat beading on her upper lip.

"No," he said as the sound started up again. It was a five-pitched
moaning or a four-pitched moaning accompanied by growling, or a
three-pitched growling accompanied by two types of roaring. Some horror
was outside the tent.

It was scratching the trees. They could hear long slivers coming off.

"It's looking for bugs to eat," Aldaric said.

"No it's not, you idiot," she responded, "Nothing that big eats bugs."

Just as quickly as it began it was over. Something large shuffled deep
into the forest, but the two did not sleep that night. In the morning
they exited the tent and packed up quickly, abandoning any notion of
gathering an owlbear feather.

The only indication that anything strange had happened the night before
was a heart carved into one of the tall ironwood trees. Clearly something
with terrible claws had rendered the symbol.

Within were the letters "D + TV" and a crude arrow pierced the heart.

They briefly tried to decipher it, but in the end ran back to Dagdan as
fast as their feet could carry them.