Role

Chapter 2

In the middle of the forest, Hallanaphas, who was running fast, came suddenly upon a small glade. In the
glade stood a dark robed figure surrounded by the corpses of forest animals. Halting quickly before he
burst into the glade, Hallaphanas took measure of the figure and the situation from the trees without
being noticed. The figure stood crouched over the corpse of a deer in the middle of the glade and was
working on the body in a way that looked peculiar to Hallanaphas. The man was clearly not field
dressing the deer but doing something else to the body. Looking around at the rest of the corpses,
Hallanaphas noticed that they all had been horribly destroyed in some manner. The whole scene
immediately set Hallanaphas on edge. His anger began to rise. This person was obviously doing
something harmful and unnatural to the forest creatures. However, remembering his fathers command
not to delay he pushed down the anger and decided that his priority was to return the message in all
haste. He would have to leave this awful person to continue with whatever atrocities he was
committing.

Just as Hallanaphas began to rise to leave, the figure began to chant and wave his hands over the deer
carcass. The voice was a deep baritone, identifying the figure as male. The chanting caught the attention
of Hallanaphas and made him hesitate in his departure. The man chanted for a few moments and then
suddenly the deer carcass stirred and began to standup while the robed man cackled loudly in an
expression of some sort of maniacal form of joy. Necromancy! That explains this all. The man had been
practicing his necromancy on these forest creatures.

Losing all control of his temper Hallanaphas pulled out his bone knife and burst through into the glade,
charging the man. Caught off guard the man shrieked in alarm as Hallanaphas closed the distance and
caught him with a glancing blow from his knife. The man, unprepared for such an assault, turned and
fled before any more damage could be done. As he fled he turned and waved a hand in a gesture at
Hallanaphas and uttered a word of power. Hallanaphas staggered briefly as a sickening feeling washed
over his body. By the time he managed to recover his balance the robed man was gone, leaving
Hallanaphas to deal with the undead deer.