5 Hunted

Overnight the forest was quieter than normal. Many of theanimals that could flee had left this part of the forest. Those that were left had been affected by the blight in the forest, but there was more than that. The was a strong presence that was moving around the forest which caused many of the animals to stay quiet as if there was a predator near. I was sure this was the cause of the issue I was looking for, but I did not want to face it in my weakened state. Suppressing my presence, I blended my self into the oak tree which I was resting under. Unless they possessed a more powerful spiritual strength than Faun, they would not be able to find me out in one night. Humans and elves walking past me or even touching me would not notice anything but the old oak.

I could sense that I was being hunted throughout the night but the nearest the presence got to me was roughly a mile away. While it was that close, I could tell that it was just slightly weaker than Faun. It was not something that would be a direct threat to me, but better to be safe. I was unnoticed still, and I was not one to give up any advantages I could get in a conflict. I did not reveal myself and waited until the sun was up before I started to move.

The aura of the presence was completely lacking redeeming virtues. It felt like a rot that wasted life away without any of the renewal that comes in nature. A poison that brings only death after long suffering.

I had been tracking the location of the disturbance as best as I could while not revealing myself. Shortly before the sun came up that presence disappeared near the eastern edge of the forest. I knew that beyond the edge of the forest was the human domain. It would not be hard for a powerful being to hide himself among the humans without being noticed. Elves couldn't notice me unless I wanted them to, and the humans made the elves look like they were great spiritual beings.

The first thing I did once the morning came was to head to the last place where the presence had been. I wanted to see if I could get any clues as to what it was once I was there. I again left a trail of green for the elves to follow. From my covert searching last night I knew that they had been diligent through the night. The two that had followed me would make it to my position in just over an hour while the ones coming from the elf village would arrive by the time the sun had set or early the next day, if I stayed still that is. It was not my plan to move as fast today since I needed to start investigating.They might have a chance to catch up with me, if they worked hard.

Just before I got into sight of where the presence passed most closely to my hiding place, I cut off my power that was causing the forest to grow. Since the blight was likely caused by the presence there was a good chance that removing the blight would remove some of the evidence left by that presence. My aura was not hidden like it was last night, however, I was not broadcasting my location like I did yesterday. It was just enough that the elves that would follow the trail to the end would be able to find me. If that presence could sense it and come out I would welcome it since it would only be a benefit to me if it came during the daytime.

The closer I got to where the presence was, the stronger and fresher the blight seemed. It took much of my self control to stop from healing the plants. They were the closest thing I had to children, after all. From what I have seen in the past, there is no way an elf or human would not be moved when they see their own child suffering. The Fairies called me their mother and due to my respect for their kind I accepted their intent. But we did not have the close bond a mother and child have in the human and elf communities. Maybe it has something to do with nurturing the plants daily with my power, and gaining strength from there growth and health.It was more like fairieswere distant relations instead of immediate family.

When I finally made it to the location there was a trail of death left by the presence's path. Not only the plants but insects and other small animals were dead. I am sure Faun must have been heart broken when she saw this. Killing for food, Faun was accepting of, but killing for no reason was something she could not accept. It was even harder for her than it was for me since they were her domain, and unlike mine, animals have a much stronger ego than plants. It would be fair to call animals her family.However, the fact that animals had their own ego limited the power she had. She could not control them like I could with plants. She was able to heal them a little when they were sick and communicate with them. Usually they would listen to her because they respected her as the animal spirit, but they were under no compulsion to do so.

This had led to some interesting events in our time together. Many of the smaller animals did not have the intelligence needed to faithfully follow the directions that she gave them. I remembered one time she had asked a chipmunk to gather an herb to help her heal a sick pheasant. The chipmunk ended up bringing hemlock instead of hollyhock. This just gave us more work… Wait. I needed to get back to the task at hand. I need to not get too sidetracked. I am usually able to take things at my own pace, but I feel that now is not the time to be distracted.

Looking more at the path of death left by the entity I could see that on the ground the death spread in a circle at a distance a little longer than my stride. Which makes me believe that it must have been bipedal and slightly taller than I was. Walking a little I found a muddier spots were I could see a print that was left. However, I was not skilled enough at tracking to gain more information from the print. Knowing that my skills were lacking I decided that it would be best to wait at this spot for the elves to show up. They might be able to determine more from this trail that I can on my own. I had to think that Istan or Leafia would have some tracking skills since they were the ones that were tasked to 'guard' me.

I waited the hour it took them to show up by searching around for more clues but I was not able to find out any more. I could easily follow anything that was within several miles of me by listening to the plants. I could learn some more by communicating with the plants, but to 'talk' with them to the point of being able to know what had happened in the past took effort. The power that I would use would likely cause the plants to start growing and might destroy some evidence I had not yet found. Also it was easy to get distracted and it would not be a bad thing to have my guards with me at that time. They might actually prove useful for the first time in 500 years.

"Forest Mother." Istan said with a bow. I put my hand up to stop them from getting any closer. Istan and Leafia immediately stopped.

"What is wrong, Mother Laurel?" Leafia asked with concern on her face while looking around. I heard an notable gasp from her when she saw the trail of death. It seems like Istan took a bit longer to figure it out since he was too focused on me.

"The presence that I believe was causing the disturbance was here last night. There are tracks that are left by that thing, but I am not gifted enough in tracking to learn more about who it was."

"We will learn what we can from the trail that was left." Istan said confidently. The two of them started approaching my location much more cautiously than before. I was not sure what signs they were exactly looking for, but I could tell they were being thorough to make sure no clue was left uncovered. I sat where I was for several hours waiting on them. If I had not spent hundreds of years sitting around the same pond talking to Mist and sometimes Faun I would have been really bored. I guess being immortal and stuck in one spot for centuries really works on your patience.

Leafia finally broke the silence. "This trail was left by either an elf or a human. The height should be halfway between Istan and myself. Their weight is nothing special for their height. The footwear that the person matches the style often worn by Humans. I can also tell you that this person was heading in that direction." She finished while pointing to the left.

"I think we should follow the trail carefully and see if we can find any additional clues along the path."

Istan added.I had no reason to disagree with that suggestion. I nodded to him and stood up, ready to follow along the path of death.

As we walked the elves were able to determine that the person was right handed and had been wearing a cloak. Neither of these points felt like big revelations to me, but who knows when they might come in handy.