From the instant Edercy the Tracker first stepped into the forest, he knew it was a land like no other. The initial layer of vegetation grew close together, forming a thick barrier, almost in an attempt to hold back intruders. Once one got past the clinging vines, gnarled trees and thorn-covered bushes, though, the forest was quite beautiful. Sun filled meadows frequently appeared, and there were plenty of animal trails to follow to avoid the worst of the plants. Streams meandered through the trees, marked by bright green ferns and mossy boulders.
What interested Edercy the most, however, were the traps.
These were not simple snares set along animal trails or near watering holes, but ingenious booby-traps designed to capture intruders of the two-legged variety. Edercy spotted most immediately, though he knew that typical raiding parties from the logging camps or other spreaders of civilization would be blundering into them without the slightest clue of danger. There were pitfalls that dropped down into cloying mud, tripwires set before large cloths covered in sticky sap, and a variety of nets and swinging logs that would knock a grow man off his feet.
None of these traps were lethal, a particular point that Edercy noted with some disgust, despite that anyone unfortunate enough to become entangled in them would need to procure expert help in order to get out again.
Ignoring the multitude of simple traps, the Tracker tried to focus on finding signs of his quarry, since it was clear she was the one to have prepared this welcome. As a consequence of his concentration, Edercy almost stepped straight into the next level of defenses.
He felt the nearly invisible wire as soon as he trod on it, and a sixth sense told the man to drop to the ground, just before a light projectile whistled right over his head, striking the tree trunk behind him instead. Cautiously returning to his feet, Edercy inspected this new trap. A small bolt, probably fired from a miniature crossbow set somewhere in the tree beyond, had sunk into the bark. Pulling it out for a closer look, the Tracker noted the dark stain at the end. Probably a sedative poison, he thought. Now the hunt was becoming more serious.
Returning to his search, Edercy proceeded with more alertness to his surroundings. It barely mattered, as only his lightning-fast reflexes saved him from various more traps, which were gradually increasing in complexity. Somehow, the Tracker knew they were meant for him.
It began to grow dark in the forest even before the sun had touched down on the horizon, and Edercy began to turn his search from his quarry to a place to spend the night. He finally settled on a small cave carved out of a low mound, probably from some ancient tree that had grow out at an angle before falling to the ground and decomposing away. There was suitable cover around the cave, as well as an abundance of dry twigs and leaves, which would
crunch slightly should anyone approach. Anyone other than his former apprentice and quarry, that is.
But Edercy wasn't worried about a night attack from Aylon. She would want to try to drive him out of the forest before fighting.
As the Tracker went to sleep, he didn't realize that the very one he searched for was sitting in the branches right over his shallow cave. The man didn't stir when she dropped down a little pod with thin skin, which burst open when it landed next to his nose. Even if Edercy had been awake and aware at that point, the sleeping gas that floated out of the pod would have knocked him out anyway.
The next morning, long after the sun had risen again, the Tracker awoke to find himself laid out on an old log, gently floating down the main tributary of the river that traveled out of the forest.
"Well played, Aylon." He whispered, aware that his knapsack of provisions and spare weaponry was missing. "But this is only the first round."
Wishing you a happy holiday season, and a better day than Edercy is going to have,
Triscribe
