by Renee "Kindrianna" Booke
[Editor's Note: Part I is available here]
Tromping through the woods alongside Wynn I really began to appreciate the changes in my life. For so long I had felt like an outsider to the Realms. It was approximately eleven years ago that I had seen a tree for the first time after all. All these new experiences had overwhelmed me as I learned about them, and now here I was running through the forest like I belonged here. This was my domain now. I had made this place my home by fighting for it, spending time in it, and contemplating its many lessons and mysteries. It didn’t mean I had everything figured out yet. Occasionally there was still a new experience I encountered that I didn’t quite understand, but ultimately it all worked out for the best. I was happy. Even now, running through the woods and gathering my friends to head towards an unidentified threat, I knew joy.
When we found Tulkhan he froze like we had caught him doing something he wasn’t supposed to be doing. The extended eye contact made me nervous, so I froze too. There we stood, staring at one another. Me with squinted, nervous eyes and he with a large stick in his mouth. Wynn didn’t seem to pick up on the tension in our little exchange and ran over to greet him.
“Tulkhan, Tulkhan! There are people in the forest!” Wynn exclaimed. “We’re going to go investigate and see what they want.”
The young wolf dropped the stick, and his playful nature was replaced by that of the young serious warrior he aspired to be. “People? Are they supposed to be here? Are we chasing them out?”
With a heavy sigh, I shrugged my shoulders. “They didn’t seem too keen on Wynn sniffing about their camp,” I explained as I recalled her tale. “I doubt they are looking to make friends. To make matters worse she saw them by the Boar shrine last.”
Almost as if reading my mind, Tulkhan spoke one word aloud: “Mogar.”
I nodded my agreement. “We have to hurry. The Orc is not known for his patience.” I wrapped an arm around Wynn’s shoulder and encouraged her to sniff the air again. It was good practice for her to try and use the abilities of her bear form. I knew that if she struggled, Tulkhan or I would have no problem picking up the slack. Tulkhan’s wolf abilities put me to shame, however. Where I was still learning about what it meant to be a wolf, he had lived their experiences since he was born. Such tracking came as naturally to him as breathing. In this situation, I was glad for his expertise.
Wynn wrinkled her nose as she concentrated, turning to face the direction we were heading. “It smells like flowers and trees that way,” she said proudly. “I don’t know what that other smell is. I think I tasted it once though. Honey maybe? Cinnamon?”
Tulkhan stood beside her and closed his eyes to concentrate. “Oh! That’s just Evie.”
“Excellent. Let’s grab her as we go. If she’s on the way, hopefully, she’s not busy and can come with us,” I added, already starting off in that direction.
Tulkhan looked back over his shoulder at the stick he was leaving behind. He was a little sad about it but knew that there was a job to do. He didn’t linger long and began to follow after Wynn and me hurriedly. Out of the three of us, he was the quickest, able to navigate the forest floor without disrupting the leaves and branches that lay underfoot. You would have thought it was because he was small that he had this advantage, but life has its way of surprising you. Hygar, for instance, was able to sneak up on people all the time despite being a junior giant. No, this wasn’t a size thing. This was a practiced thing that I liked to refer to as the “hunter walk.” He passed us soon enough, going up ahead to scout out the area while Wynn and I continued together.
Despite all the drama, I could hear her stomach rumbling with hunger. I felt a little bad that we couldn’t stop for snacks, but this was too important. I would have to reward her later for her effort. I had almost forgotten the difficulties this time of year brought to any bear types. Hibernation was around the corner. Did celestial bears need to hibernate? I made a mental note to investigate at a later date. I would have to add it to my ever-growing pile of unresolved worldly mysteries for the time being.
“Wynn, sweetie, you doing okay? You hanging in there?” I finally asked her.
“Uh-huh!” she replied cheerfully. “I’m so glad I get to run around with Tulkhan and Evie today. Sometimes Tulkhan shows me where he buries stuff and I get to see his secret treasure collection!” She grinned from ear to ear, proud of herself.
“Ooooh. How fascinating. Well, I won’t tell him I know about his secret treasure collection now. It will be our little secret,” I replied, smirking.
“Okay!” Wynn giggled.
Evie was waiting for us in the clearing when we arrived. Tulkhan had beaten us there and informed her as to what was going on. She was beautiful as always, with a crown of flowers adorning her head and small little bunnies scampering around the clearing at her feet. They seemed to like her. Possibly because she was always giving them carrots or other vegetable snacks. They made her happy though because any time one of them wiggled their nose in a particularly cute way she would squeal in delight. As we approached she raised her hand in greeting.
“Hi, Lady Kin! Hi Wynn! Guess we’re off, hmm? Tulkhan continued on ahead. He wants to see if he can catch Mogar before he encounters the outsiders,” Evie said.
“Thank you, Evie,” I replied, grateful for the update. “Let’s hope he can.”
Evie gave a gentle pat to a particularly plump bunny with a unicorn horn sticking out of his forehead. A creature that I was not entirely familiar with. “See you later little friend,” she cooed, before joining the rest of us on our quest to the shrine of the Boar.