Role

Chapter 2

As years passed Reeia and Barthomel developed somewhat of a tradition. Every
year they would hike out into the forest west of Loch Terradian to an ancient
and open temple. They would use up a week or more cleaning and restoring the
various structures that were becoming overgrown or dilapidated. Barthomel,
growing out of his boyish years and into a youth, had been excited for the
trips each year. They afforded him a measure of peace, the people of Loch
Terradian were gracious and loving by and large but he still craved solitude
and serenity at times.

Indeed, there were times where he barely felt able to breath and needed
strolls away from others to abate the feeling. The annual trips seemed to
help with this immensely, and nearly every year he would hear a deep and
soothing voice speaking with his mother in the dead of night. He could never
make out the conversations but knowing the tones of his mothers voice well,
Barthomel knew that she was never worried about the speaker.

The trips were not without their dangers, of course. Many creatures lived out
in the woods, and many of them formidable. One year while Barthomel was
wandering through the forest near to dusk noting all of the different flora
when he heard the grumble of one such creature. Alone, his heart began to
race as he heard a second creature creep up on his opposing flank. He'd not
even sighted what they were and already he felt a sense that he was in a poor
position. A low raspy growl echoed from a dark shrub ahead of him. Barthomel
struggled to keep calm, every instinct in his young body screaming for him to
run.