--- Adventure 1 ---

Drogo blushed. And this time, it really went to the tip of his gnomish ears. "Errrrm. Great." He smiled. "Thanks for the amulett, by the way." He had been the first to accept one. "Do... do you know what you'll do when we'll meet this... felix'kasha thing? I mean..." he sighed. "Ice magic won't help much. Duro'than has his big axe... Will you go in with claws and all that?" He smiled. It was somehow funny to try picturing Angy in a wild feline rage, clawing away at an enemy.

Angy smiled , showing a little bit of her teeth.

"I might look innocent and inofensive , but believe me , I'm not. And of course I will use my claws , and... this little thing." She showed her quarterstaff , proudly. "This little fella' helped me a lot during the years ....and... I can do some magic too." She smiled.

"And don't worry , you will manage to survive this minor "battle" just fine. You have great powers for a gnome , I know that."

"We shouldn't worry so much about magic support" Ias spoke. There was proudness in his words. "We have some offensive sorcery with us and a healer, which is more than enough not to get us killed. Oh, well... and even if someone does kick the bucket... this doesn't mean they'll be of no use..." the horse smiled. Of course, he said this with the irony of a nekorrim and fate... he didn't want anybody to die, but his staying far from anything around his area of profiency made him kinda ignoring.

"I propose an after-noon camp, if this is not too soon" Rissa said, changing the subject. "I don't think the meat would last long". It's not that she was too hungry already, but for an predator, what was just half a rabbit ?

"If I remember correctly" ('And I do', he thought), "there's a suitable place a couple of hours' healthy march from here" said Thorn, still not taking his eyes off the tracks. There are some strange boulders lying around. Carved ones to that. That place is a favoured camp for..." he paused shortly, almost unnoticeably "for the Druids and Blade Dancer scouts of Shilmista. Or at least it used to be, when they still existed. Plenty of firewood around and snakes and the likes never infest it. The boulders make great watch-points and are quite comfortable to lie on for guards and spellcasters... well, if you rely on the magics of Nature as the Druids did, you'll find the place is on a pretty nexus of magic lines. We wouldn't have made it there before nightfall on the road, as it winds through the hills and at one point goes near a little human village, but since this thing" (he pointed his chin at the tracks) "took a shortcut... we'll reach it a couple of hours into the afternoon."

"Then you should lead the way" Rissa proposed. "I doubt anyway that - where ever it may have went - this creature would hunt us now, in full day, rather than finish us off while she had the chance". Ias aprooved, so that they won't loose time.

It was in late afternoon that they reached the camp site Thorn had mentioned. They would've gotten there sooner, but the march through snow in a straight line meant going up and down the hills that the road wound around and that proved more difficult and tiring to some of the party members (especially those with small feet :D ). However, they still had about an hour of daylight left, which was good.

They had somewhat shortened the distance to the felix'kasha, but weren't dangerously close, as the creature had passed the grove in which they had camped the previous night, while they were resting. Apparently, it was headed straight for Shilmista and had passed some way West of the huge carven boulders that the travelers headed for.

Way ahead North, they could see a dark line: the borders of Shilmista; the famed Elven Forest of Shadows was just a couple of miles away. It was better they entered it in the light of morning, anyway. The first encounter with it was by far more pleasant by day than by night.

So they headed east of the felix'kasha tracks, carefully not to touch them, towards the campsite, gathering firewood from the dried out bushes and the single trees around.

" I suggest nobody get's too far from this point" and Ias showed with his wings the area around. "Here, trees are not that dense we can see each other. The night is closing, so we must hurry on with the fire... warmth and light, alike are vital". He put down the things he was carrying, like the book and the scythe. The heavy objects fell deep in the snow. He took his cloak and cleaned it of snow, then dressed it back on and went on wood-picking. Many trees were leafless, and some were even dead, but not fallen. Maybe this attracted the horse to bizzare carresing the bark of some trees, before ripping it of for fire wood.

Rissa was by far more agile than any other at branch collecting. She was either in good mood, or just making some sleep and food desire, to rest better. Instinctivly, she placed all she gattered near Ias's black objects, though no place was yet decided for sure.

Thorn looked around, impassable. He seemed to give it a couple of seconds' thought, then he let his bag bag down. He placed his sword in its sheath and made the dagger disappear. Taking a few steps away, he seemed to be searching for something. Then, seeming content, he knelt in the snow, put both hands on the ground and closed his eyes. He seemed to concentrate intently.

Drogo was at a loss again. Then his face brightened as he seemed to have gotten an idea. He turned to Duro'than and pointed at the deer. "How about we try it thief way? You know... dig a bit of a hole, fill it with plate stones, put the meat on it, cover with wood, make a nice camp fire... I only ate it like this once, at a great festival of my people, but the memory still makes me drool."

"Sounds delicious to me, said Duro'than. But first i must butcher it. Come on ,follow me, master cook". He moved next to some trees and dropped the deer from his back. Then he drew the same knife used to kill it and stated skinning the carcasss. "A fine specimen, said while cutting carefully with the knife. This will make into fine gloves, or a hat, or whatever your heart desires. The organs are reserved to the gods if we want to hunt other animals again"

Having said this he cut open the belly and carefully removed all the organs placing them in the snow nearby. After that he severed the deer into chunks so they can be cooked

"I hope you brought plenty of herb, because i like my meat spicy" he reached into his bag and pulled a small bottle. "Here, i was saving this for a special ocasion and i guess our first real feast together is one. It's some red wine excellent for cooking meat" He handed Drogo the bottle and patted him on the back.

"Off with you now to make sure the fire is prepared. I have to honour the gods first. After that i'll bring the meat"

He gathered the ogans into a small pile and using his flint and some dried bark he started a small fire over them. then he knelt and said looking towards the sky:

"Gwaeron, god of hunters and game. I thank you for your generosity and offer the organs of the first hunted. If it please you then guide my knife in the future as you have done before"

She blinked while looking at Duro'than.

"You seem to have a strange cult . Would you like to tell me about it?"