A shape passed through the trees ahead of her. Siril muttered an incantation of hope, wishing for the spirits to grant her speed and strength. It was the first spell that she had ever learnt, because without speed, without strength, a warrior was nothing. As the shape passed by again Siril caught a glimpse of an enormous spiked hound, with fur a deep shade of red. Its eyes were as shadow and it seemed alight. It was most certainly dangerous, and Siril felt terror just seeing it for a few beatings of the heart.
She heard the demonic sound again and the hound emerged from the shadows, though it kept its distance from the light of her falchion. It was huge, at least a head taller than her, and she had no wish to face the beast on its own terms.
She turned and darted towards the nearest tree, hurrying up the side and into the branches. The hound tried to follow, cutting into the trunk with its huge claws, but it couldn't reach her. Siril had grown up in the forests of Draenii. She was superior in the trees.
The hound dropped back to the ground and began to stalk away, but Siril wasn't finished. As a servant of the light she was duty bound to end the darkness wherever it was discovered. She sheathed her falchion and slid her longbow from over her shoulder. Taking a slender arrow from her quiver. She waited until the creature was away from the tree and she fired, finding her target in the back of the creature's neck. The beast let out a shrill screech that echoed through the forest and soon collapsed.
As Siril dropped back to the ground she saw the hound begin to fade and shrink, it's flesh rotting in mere seconds as it was sent back to whatever hellish realm from which it had come. For a moment Siril began to worry that its screams had summoned others, but the forest was silent. She hooked her bow over her shoulder and hurried on.
By nightfall she had reached the trade path that followed to the mountains. Knowing that the Lord's beats patrolled the path she pressed on. She had been well trained to pass unseen in darkness and she called to the spirit on concealment to aid her passage. Even the monsters of the evil realms would not see her with the spirit's aid.
She set off down the path at a brisk pace, keeping a hand close to her falchion but the weapon stayed sheathed. She did not want to give away her presence and her master had warned her many times of the creatures of the dark. She had no wish to be killed by one of them. She would not share her father's fate.
Before long she could see the town of Misdrobar ahead of her, lit only by a small torch above the closed gate. It did not seem welcoming and Siril knew that she would not be afforded the right to enter at this late hour. The townsfolk were understandably wary of strangers, even before the Lord's cursed arrival. She could not enter until morning.
She sensed death as she woke at dawn and she opened her eyes to see another of the demonic hounds below the branch she sat on, picking over the body of a human man. His back had been torn open and Siril could see flesh hanging from the hound's teeth. She guessed that he had tried to seek help and had found only the jaws of a monster.
She remained in the tree until the hound had left, carrying the body in its huge jaws. When it was out of sight she dropped down and returned to the road. She could see that the gates to Misdrobar were still closed, but two men stood at the peak, watching the road carefully. They were permitted crossbows, but only because they were too scared of the Lord to try and harm him.
Siril turned away, unseen by the humans, and returned to the forest to prepare herself. If the Lord could summon demons to do his work he had to be a powerful summoner. She had to tread carefully. Many warrior from the temple had fallen to such foes, especially her own father. She had to be sure that she wouldn't fail in her mission, however nervous she was. If she failed then the people of this town would surely die.
But it was a lot to do. This was her first mission. What if she failed, or worse? What if she fell to the dark? What if she betrayed the lives of her parents by becoming the very thing they had hunted? She couldn't live with such a fate. She couldn't fail.
