Role

Chapter 5

For more than a month, Golthazar had been stranded alone in this place that
was so foreign to her. She had grown accustomed to hard rock, darkness, and
stale air. Now, she was surrounded by soft vegetation, the light of days,
and wet, heavy air. It wasn't difficult to find little creatures to eat, the
place was crawling with life and plenty of drinkable water in streams. At
night, the jungle turned into an inhospitable place. If it wasn't the local
tribe of headhunter savages, it was the panthers lurking in the dark that
vied for the stench of Golthazar. Inherently, Golthazar had keen eyes in
the darkness and quick feet to evade capture. She was constantly on the run
or finding a new hiding place. She would gather moss and cover it with her
scent and hide it to throw off the jungle cats.With palm fronds, she
wrapped her boots to soften the shape of her tracks. Golthazar was smart, but
her hatred of the forest began to wear on her. She longed for stone
civilization and searched every day for a break in the jungle. One day, she
came to a stream and followed it from sunrise until sunset. For one week she
followed this river until she came upon a large black sail streaked with red
above the tree line. Peering through the thicket she made out the aft of a
ship with a large image of a bloody shackle upon a low sail. Her luck had
finally recovered. This was a ship her cousin worked as first mate to bring
slaves to the mines, and it was called 'Grurk's Rising." The captain had
anchored far from the shore as the water was shallow in this inlet where
saltwater met freshwater, and the crew set off in search for supplies. Sea
men were beginning to load the ship when Golthazar had emerged, covered in
vines, leaves, and leeches.

"Cousin!" waved Golthazar.

"Cousin?! The Eternal Abyss spit ya out!" exclaimed her cousin.