"Here it is. This'll take a while." She was back in the ruddy red forest again, the first place where she almost died when she emerged in Revaliir. Looking back, she had barely anything to her name. After making a narrow escape from that pirate infested den, she found herself lost in these same red trees thanks to receiving extremely vague directions from the person who snuck her out. What she learned from that experience was that moss was more reliable than a creature with eyes and a mouth. If she hadn't noticed where it was growing on the trees, it was likely she'd die from starvation or the beasts that prowled the area. Compared to the open plains, the thick canopied wood was more deadly. With less light reaching below the trees all sorts of unsavory things could hole up in here. Wargs were the least of them.

Large, vicious, and primal–they were the easiest to figure out. But compared to wolves, what they lacked in coordination they more than made up for with their sheer strength and speed. There was only one 'safe' place to attack a warg, and it was just as difficult to actually pull it off. Pulling out her axe, she quietly searched the area for signs of recent animal traffic. Trampled grass, scuff marks in the dirt, and if she was lucky–paw prints. It was eerily quiet, and not hearing any ambient sounds of forest creatures put her on edge. This place had too many secrets that were more than ready to rip a person to shreds…or swallow them whole. Keeping near the trees, she walked slowly. Most of the time she was staring at the ground to avoid stepping on anything that would alert lurking beasts of her presence. And if something did come at her, she'd be up the nearest tree in a flash.

it was utter rapture being part of the winds again, but unfortunately for Kale there was a job to do. The winds coalesced, rapidly revealing the young man, one sleeve flailing in the winds as he flew. The red forest was now in view, quickly growing closer. This was one place the young pirate had avoided; not for any particular reason, there was just never cause. He'd heard rumors and stories about the sorts of things that went 'bump' in the dark. How bad could it really be, though?

Kale set lightly onto the dark ground, looking up to gaze at the canopy above as it strangled the faint rays of light that struggled through. This place, it echoed sound, reverberating it off the very canopy. Calls of regular birds became cries of terrible creatures found, one would hope, strictly in nightmares. The young man shuddered to think of what other creatures lurked in the darkness deeper within. He found very few traces of people passing through this place, but one set of tracks seemed fresh. "They're here, then," he said quietly while inspecting the tracks. Creeping through, he followed as best he could.

It was slow progress, tracking in this place, due to the canopy above and the foliage littering the ground. Finally, he spotted the person he'd been tracking. "Hey," he whispered loudly when he was close enough, "You're the one that took the bounty at the Winking Mermaid, right?" Of course, no sooner had he said this than he walked straight through a spider's web. With no attempt to hide his annoyance, Kale scraped off as much as he could with his one hand. Thankfully, it seemed to be from an ordinary spider and not one of the… Larger breeds that he'd heard might lurk here.

Way to ruin an introduction, he thought and let out an annoyed sigh.

She had been focusing her hearing for the sounds of beasts, so when the voice of a person suddenly appeared it made her enter a defensive state on instinct. Following the voice calling her out, her head snapped to the side towards the direction it had come from while crouching close to the ground. Gripping her axe tightly in her left hand, two eyes intently stared back at the new arrival while considering whether or not this man was a threat. Shiloh was silent for several minutes as she assessed the level of threat he potentially posed. There was a reading when she did an aura scan, confirming magical capability…and it was substantially high. Her limb muscles were tensing up and her body was preparing to either fight for her life–or run. This axe wasn't the best thing for this situation, but a few distracting swings should buy her time if she was pursued. The face and build were of someone lithe and trained. Possible weapon mastery in things requiring speed and finesse, possession of concealed weapons unconfirmed. Physical status was normal, except for a noticeable handicap of a missing limb. The way the sleeve fell flat told her that much. 

However she didn't consider one less arm as a reason to lower her guard. In fact, it was just the opposite. She knew someone who was a mercenary who had only one arm, and she could beat the tar out of enemies as well as a woman with two. If somebody could survive with a missing limb, then they had to be strong and clever enough to do it. Darting eyes were analyzing the dark-haired man's posture and facial expressions, his voice tone, and the movement of his muscles. He then began waving about, and her adrenaline-hyped senses noticed the spider's web he was trying to wipe away. Was it carelessness or poor perception that led to that? There were thoughts on considering lowering her guard upon seeing that, which were swiftly suppressed. First, this man knew she had been in Adeluna recently, specifically that particular tavern. Moreover, he knew why she went there, and what she did before leaving. Had he been tailing her all the way here? How long had he been doing so? And how much did he know? Asking point blank would do nothing if she intended to draw out this information. Initiating questioning would put her in a position where the other party would be able to glean as much information from her as she could from them. 

Her natural instinct was to slip away into the trees to lose him, but there was this uneasy feeling that she still had ever since she entered the Virens. At first she thought it had been due to sensing she was being followed, but in this case shouldn't that feeling have left once he revealed himself? It was probably nothing. This sort of thing happened all the time. Just like how you'd feel the need to glance over your shoulder, or think that somebody in the crowd was looking at you strangely. Just her paranoia, nothing at—CRACK!

The sound of something splintering rang out so clearly in the dimly lit wood, and she swore for a moment everything had gone silent. But what bothered her the most, what worried her the most…was the fact that neither of them had moved to cause such a noise. 

A large axe; that was the first thing Kale noticed when the woman whirled around. He took a step back, raising his left hand up and pressed his back to a tree. "Whoa, whoa," he said as his eyes shifted from the axe to the woman's face. She seemed to be analyzing him, probably trying to determine whether he was a threat or not. A look on her face and tensing of her muscles made it seem like she could see everything about him. Her eyes didn't pierce in the same way his own icy blue ones did, but there was an unsettling and calculating quality to that stare. The woman looked as though she wanted to run, but before Kale could speak there was a loud crack as something, a branch or limb perhaps. The birds had stopped as had the other sounds of the forest. It was as if every living thing in the forest inhaled at once and were holding their breath. The deafening silence hung heavy in the air with almost a physical presence.

An echoing roar shattered the silence, sending chills down spines and creatures fleeing by any means they could. Blue eyes flicked in the direction of the roar, locking upon a massive shadow. A mass of matted fur and scars rose high above as the creature reared back. This giant beast was a dire bear; a mountain of muscle, fang, and claw. The form let loose another ground-shaking roar before falling forward and charging. Trees seemed to mean nothing to the furry horror, splintering and giving way to the fierce charge; it was headed straight for Kale with glistening fang and raking claws.

The pirate dropped his one arm, pulling it back and preparing to take him head on. Kale stepped forward, twisting and throwing a punch at the bear's face. His fist connected against the thing's snout with a sickening crack, sending the dire bear backwards through a nearby tree. Kale winced and quickly looked at his knuckles only to find them bloodied. It seemed he'd caught some of the bear's teeth. He opened his hand, ignoring the pain, and a crooked sword appeared in his hand. The blade gave off a sinister aura; a khopesh cursed to rot any bitten by its blade. "So much for an easy bounty," he snarled as the bear rolled itself back up and released another earsplitting roar.

The silence erupted into a deafening roar, signaling for her to run. At once she was up the nearest tree with axe handle in teeth, clambering up just in time for a massive bear to charge in. The horrid beast went straight past the tree she had retreated into, making a beeline for the one-armed man. The man had his back to a tree, had only one arm, and seemingly nowhere to run. Then, whether out of boldness or brashness–he swung that one arm, landing a hit square in the rampaging animal's face! It went flying back, but not without consequences. His only hand was injured as well, and bleeding. The smell of blood might attract other creatures, but she would have to deal with those as they came. A sword appeared in his hand as he prepared for a fight. The bear however was still very much alive and kicking, the punch having less effect than it appeared.

Taking this chance to strike, she secured a rope around her axe. With an utterance for luck to work in her favor, she leaped off the tree she was hiding in and swung the axe on the rope as hard as she could. The biting edge of the axehead tore into the back of the monster bear's hide, leaving a fresh gash across. A vicious snarl told her it had at least felt it, but the damage was still too little. This beast's muscles were thick, and the hide was tough. Even this special weapon designed to take beasts down would need more time to do its magic. Landing on its back, she swung again creating an 'X' with her second blow. Choosing not to push her luck any further, she leaped off and triggered teleportation back to the tree she had fallen from. A cowardly tactic? No, it was common sense. One hit from that monstrous bear would send her reeling. A perfect extermination included efficiency and caution. 

It was then that she had an idea… Looking at the axe in her hand, she realized she had a perfect opportunity right in front of her. That man wasn't in an ideal position to deal a blow without being countered–but she was. Untying the rope, she was reluctant to follow through with her newly formulated plan. Sentiments aside, this was the best solution. Pulling her arm back, Shiloh hurled it as hard as she could. Gaining momentum in the air, it lodged itself into the bear's back with a dull smack. Another roar rattled the trees around them, and she held close while covering her ears. Yes, now it was time for the second step. Channeling power, she began to focus. She had her misgivings about it in the beginning, but with that axe in position her chances of success were much higher. With the snap of her fingers, she muttered the word. "Fulgur!" A powerful static charge was released as the crack of thunder heralded a torrent of lighting, tearing through the canopy and striking the bear dead-on. Ungodly screams of pain and agony along with the crackling electricity pierced the air.

"A perfect hit." She said, lips forming a small smirk. The axe embedded in the bear's sinews was unharmed, but she couldn't say the same for the bear. The scent of charred fur and burning flesh assaulted her senses, turning the smirk to a grimace.

The strange sword had only just appeared in Kale's hand when the woman who'd scampered away leaped from the trees above. It wasn't this that brought a curious look to the man's face, but rather what was going on at the same time. The axe was now attached to a rope and sailing through the air. Was this brilliance or was this foolishness? Honestly, Kale didn't know what to think having once been known to do the same with a dagger. Though the axe found purchase, it wasn't enough to rend the dire bear's flesh. A second blow came as the woman landed upon the creature's back. Kale watched as she jumped and vanished. A moment later, the axe was cutting through the air again, freed of the rope and gaining momentum until finally sinking into the beast's back.

There was a moment, however brief it was, that held a nostalgic sensation for the one-armed man; the static charge that exists just before a strike from the heavens above. He hadn't thought about it, but had begun to approach the monstrosity in front of him and now there was no time. "Aw crap," he managed before the flash. Kale's blood reacted, its own electrical charge luring stray arms to reach out and grasp at him. The charge crawled through his flesh and followed a familiar path throughout his body, trailing the web-like scars through him. He fell to his knees with his face up to the sky, his body in shock despite his mind racing. Unfortunately for Kale, the scent of burning flesh and fur filled his nose and overcame him as his muscles relaxed and his body fell limp to the ground.

It was a few moments before his body twitched back to life, first his back went a little straighter and soon he was able to move his extremities enough to stand. He gathered his wits and looked around for the woman. "Neat trick," he said into his bloodied hand as he set his teeth around an embedded bear tooth. With a wince he pulled at it and spit the thing onto the forest ground. He was sure the commotion would have drawn attention, not to mention the scents filling the air. Who knows, though; just maybe the two of them get lucky.

It wasn't until she saw that the bear wasn't the only one was hit by the lightning that her smirk faded. Cursing under her breath, she crossed her fingers as she pressed her luck with another teleport. Reappearing behind the man who tried punching the bear in the face, she tried to see if he was still alive. A few moments passed, then he started to move. As he was back on his feet, she noticed he seemed more or less unaffected by the lightning's discharge. Sure that was a good thing, as it meant he didn't die, but that raised even more questions about who this man was. An ordinary person shouldn't be able to survive that without a great deal of bodily harm. And here Shiloh had thought she had just about finished her analysis of this stranger. This was a vital detail that could not be overlooked. 

Surviving with only one arm, a certain level of confidence in one's demeanor, high magical capability, choosing to directly assault the monster bear head-on with his hand, and finally–surviving enough electricity to fry a large animal's nerves. This man was an experienced hunter, or some other occupation with significant combat prowess. He had managed to follow her all the way from Adeluna, and into this forest. He must be one of those bounty hunters. Nobody else would have the mettle to go toe-to-toe with a beast if they hadn't done so before. The bear still had plenty of fight left in it even after taking a direct hit to its nerves with enough electricity to kill a man. Staggered but not any less ornery, it snarled baring its nasty yellowed teeth. It wasn't in prime condition anymore thanks to that stroke of luck earlier, but neither was the one-armed man. And that clutch strike had been a big beacon for anything with a mouthful of fangs and a stomach full of bestial aggression to come homing in.

Every time it looked like things would get better, she knew to hold off celebrating before it was all over. It was a rule that she'd learned time and time again to follow, and it never failed to disappoint. The disappointment of expecting an even worse thing to rear its ugly head was as natural as breathing, and unfortunately the dreaded happened. Either as a fickle turn of chance or a chance visit from misfortune–something big was now headed this way. The sound of foliage being thrashed with guttural growling made her grip her new perch in the trees by the nails. "Great–as if one of these wasn't bad enough…" A new terrifying roar shook the clearing as an abnormally large warg with a mangy black coat and numerous scars charged into the scene! The dire bear's attention was turned away from them both as the other predator entered its territory. It only took a moment for the two acknowledge each other's presence before they began a battle for dominance.

This warg was at least three times the size of your average warg. Whether this was due to random chance upon being born or due to its ferocity as a predator, this was uncertain. The warg took no time to leap at the dire bear, fangs out and claws ready. Having sustained damage, the dire bear wasn't able to make the first move. The two began wrestling on the forest floor, biting and clawing at whatever they could. One of their misses left gashes a few inches deep into the old hardwood trees, and the bark was smashed off when they made impact. The bear grabbed the warg by the neck and pressed it against a tree aiming to claw out its throat, but the warg was more agile. A snarling bite to the bear's neck from a sudden rush sent both crashing down, the stench of blood and gore everywhere. It was an awful sight. But once one of the beasts were dead, they'd be left with the victor to take down. 

Under normal circumstances, Shiloh would've taken the chance to make a break for it. But it was when she got a better look at the new beast that she hesitated. This might just be the warg mentioned in the bounty. As much as she'd prefer to save her own skin–this thing would single-handedly devour anything it could swallow. Smaller wargs people could deal with, but one giant freak of nature? Getting rid of it would be helping everybody. That warg was fast for its bulk, and she wasn't fully confident she could get luck to turn her way again. 

A new roar echoed among the darkened wood, coming from beyond the nearby shadows. A massive form burst through the brush and darkness to pounce upon the unsuspecting bear. This new creature was large even by warg standards; a giant among the species, perhaps? Kale, reckless as he was, knew better than to stay between the two. He vanished in a whirl of wind, reappearing in the air above and out of reach. The carnage below was horrific as the two creatures ripped and tore at one another, tossing blood and rending flesh all around like confetti at a celebration. It was a sickening sight to behold and, with his hangover returning, nearly overwhelmed the one-armed bandit.

It was a struggle, but Kale managed to gain control of himself, though his head still felt like it would rip itself apart. He held aloft his hand, raised to the skies above. "Fall," he said through a pained grimace. The air and sky crackled, growing dark at an alarming rate as dark clouds gathered above. There was a loud CRACK as a ferocious bolt of lightning ripped the skies asunder and found its way to the quarrel below. The ground, brush, and debris around the area flashed to a charred black from the strike while the two creatures lay motionless and separated. The warg began to stir, pushing itself up and snarling at Kale as his flight faltered and his vision blurred for a moment. It had been far too long since his body had endured the strain of that magic and he was out of practice… Drowning himself each night in alcohol probably hadn't been any boon, either.

The man managed to guide his decent towards the trees and was now safely within their branches while his head began a more intense endeavor to tear apart. The tree soon began shaking and threatened to cast Kale from safety. The warg below, while charred and singed in places, seemed enraged rather than damaged by the flash. He really hoped there was more damage beneath the surface, but couldn't be sure. The beast was now throwing its full weight against the base of the tree again and again. Perhaps it was offended that its prey would dare strike it? Kale had no intention of going without a fight; wrapping his legs around the branch holding him up, he extended his hand towards the warg. Blades of near ethereal wind formed and darted at the creature, only a fraction of them sinking in halfway along the blades before dissipating. This was far from the pirate's usual standard. "Shit," he said to himself as he wrapped his arm around the limb once more. "Knock it off, ya bastard," he bellowed at the creature below as the tree shook once more, knowing the beast wouldn't understand. As soon as he could see clearly again, he'd have to find a new tree fast.

Her suspicions and analysis were correct after all. For somebody with one arm, this man managed to call down a powerful strike of lightning from the heavens. It hit both monsters dead-on, and their nerves were fried. The bear had taken more damage out of the two, and was either dead or too paralyzed to show signs of life. The monster warg on the other hand still had plenty of fight left. Battered and raging, it turned its ire towards the one who aggravated it and thrashed against the tree. Pretty soon that decades-old oak wouldn't be standing as chunks were being ripped off its trunk. Holding on as best he could, the man who called forth lightning sent spectral blades at the beast, only to miss with most of them. This was what hunters in the wild called a chance opportunity. An occurrence so rare that it was almost a myth. A large predator, high in the food chain was distracted to the point where it was unaware of its surroundings. Ignoring this prime example of fortune turning the right way would be a crime.

She seized the moment–grasping a blade in her hand, then hurling it like a javelin. Impaling itself into its spine, a blood-curdling howl of pain pierced the air beneath the forest canopy. It was stuck fast, in a place that it would never be able to reach. With blade exposed halfway from its flesh, she sent herself flying at its back to force it in deeper. Her mind going blank as adrenaline gave way to raw instinct, she took out a shield and began bashing it against the sword's handle like a mallet to a chisel. Over, and over, and over. Letting out a wild war cry, she slammed the shield down one last time on the handle and a sickening crack was followed by deafening screams. Then, the warg fell limp. As it fell she lost her footing, and tumbled off onto the ground. From the location of the weapon, she had dealt irrecoverable damage to its spine.

Laying on the ground, she breathed in and out rapidly as her eyes were wide-open. Her hands were twitching from the fading effects of the adrenaline rush, and conscious thought was coming back to her. It had been years since Shiloh had reverted to her base instincts, something that hunting beasts had a way of dredging back to the surface. Monsters were the one exception she had when it came to spilling blood, but that didn't lessen the impact. Normally she would try to end things quick, not long and drawn out like this. Peace settled over the Virens at last, and the monster with a bounty on its head was dead. Pushing herself up, moving her limbs was difficult now. Going over to the warg, she tore out the wakizashi from its back, and with both hands she brought the blade down with the entire weight of her body behind the swing. A rushing gale sharp as a reaper's sickle sliced through the warg's neck like damp paper in a clean cut. The rest could go to the scavengers; she was taking the head back for the reward.

Kale watched blurry shapes of color race around his vision, though there were brief moments where the haze would dissipate to show detail only to return a moment later. The sounds were what truly told him of what happened. A sickening impact immediately followed by an ear-splitting howl of rage and pain. A blur came into view racing towards the warg's back. Everything came into focus long enough to see the woman now on the beast and raising her shield. Haze returned, but the blur where the shield had been began moving up and down accompanied by metallic clangs with each downward motion. Of course, she was driving the sword deeper! Before long, a horrific crack echoed. A horrendous screech leading to a sickening gurgling sound signaled the end of the monster.

The haze dissipated once more to reveal the unnamed woman staring upwards, though not at him in the tree. It was strange; her eyes were wide and her hands were twitching. Kale couldn't place the expression as the fog returned again, but surely this woman wasn't quite that out of her depth, was she? "You alright," he asked with a struggle, "Hey, can you hear me?" The sound of foliage and debris on the floor clued him in that she was at least moving. He was willing to count that as a good sign. The sound of the blade being ripped from the warg's back brought yet another sickening sound with it, no doubt there was matter of some sort stuck on the metal.

A rush of wind stirred and was just as quickly gone, the source couldn't have been natural. Kale strained to focus and found the head already severed cleanly from the body. He began to scramble despite being exhausted; he fell from the tree and crashed in front of the creature. "Hey, hey, hey! You and I both put in for that head. You can't just take it and leave. You know that right? I deserve part of the…" A darkness came over his vision and he drifted from consciousness without finishing.