He walked around quickly, he was hungry and need food now. He climbed over fallen branches and ripped through some spider webs. "I need food now...." He continued his search near a murky pond. "Something is going to come for a drink and then I will kill it, and eat it's brains." He looked around and saw nothing, nor did he hear anything. He climbed up in a near by tree and waited for an unsuspecting victim.

He waited for a half an hour, yet nothing came. He grew tired of waiting and made a loud scream. The scream echoed thoughout the entire forest. He then remained quite for a long time, he didn't want to scare anything or anyone that he could eat away.

Zin moved slowly through the forest, the trees creaking oddly, and echoing, the air was filled with menace, as if the trees themselves were threatening her.

She tightened her grip on the neck of her cloak, speeding up her walk to a brisk pace. She felt something, it was watching her!

With a yelp she spun, to find nothing there.

She gave a sigh, gasping for air, and muttered a curse on the idiocy that had led her to walk into this forest.

It had looked fine on the out side just fine! She turned around, eyes half shut, and began to walk, growling under her breath, hating the world in general at that very moment.

He heard some noises coming from the distance, they got closer and closer until he saw what was making them. It was a girl, and she was all alone. Meal time! Rake peered down below waiting for the right moment to strike.

Closer...thats it come on now. She was about ten feet away from the tree he was in. His arms and legs became tense. He could hardly wait. Hurry up little girl I need to have a little peak in that skull of yours.

Zin paused, the hair on the back of her neck standing on end, and looked about warily. She was sure there was something there...Just out of sight. She hissed a prayer to a long dead god, a god of night, shadow, cold, quiet, and thought. She whimpered, looking about again.

Her ears twitched, and she kept walking, moving with caution now. She stopped suddenly, and spun to look behind her.

Nothing there. She paused, then tugged a dagger out of her boot, and turned and started walking again.

'Nothing to be afraid of...It's just...just the wind! Or maybe it's just a primal reaction to being alone. I think that's it. Yeah...I read it in a book, didn't I?'

He was full of hunger now. She neared where he was hiding. He couldn't wait any more. He leaped out of the tree and right next to her he then lunged at her with his tentacles. "Food!!!!" He shouted as he attacked.

The Half-Elf gave a horrified shout, spinning to spot the terrifying thing coming towards her and began backpedaling furiously. She slashed wildly with her knife, her mind frantic, trying desprately to remember the words to her spell.

She resorted to using the power of verbal abuse, and began spewing a wide variety of oaths and curses, her voice a terrified, high-pitched howl. The words to a spell lept to her mind. 'no! Light won't help, uh...'

She wished she'd just stayed away from the forest. Wished it with all her might, but it wasn't happening. She wasn't waking up from this nightmare that she had suddenly found herself in.

He thought she was crazy trying to swing at him, she was hardly even trying to hit him it seemed. She looked as though she was to frightened to even care about hitting him. She needs to calm down if she is going to hit me. . Raku leaped forward. He grabbed his wand and quickly fired an enervation blast at Zin. "Now you are mine!" He could taste her brains already.

Zin was slammed backwards by the spell. She shook her head, trying to clear her head, to get out of there. Run away.

She tried to move, but she felt something dripping down her arm. Her eyes flickered towards it. It was blood.

She closed her eyes tightly, whimpering slightly, she didn't want to be bleeding. Her arm was gouing numb, and she tried to remember a spell that might work.

Her mind was fogging up, she couldn't think!

She ondered if it hurt to die. Her mind was slowing down, and she tried desperately to get it moving quickly again, to make it work.

The words to a spell flitted just out of reach of her mind, then one thought pierced the muddle. 'Oh hell...I'm going to die...'

That thought made the haze dissapate enough, and she could see the flayer, though barely. Her mind captured the information on the spell, and she hissed the incantation, there were no movements to it that she could remember, and a Magic Missle flew towards the Flayer.

((Got t' go for the night, or I can't use the computer for the summer. Be back tomorrow though. 'night!))

He was amazed that she had enough strength to fire a spell. He was caught off gaurd and hit by the blast, though he tried to avoid it, it hit him in the legs no the less. He flipped forward from the blast's power. He laid on his back in pain. "Ouch....that girl's is dead now..."

He grabbed his wand off the ground next to him and waved it over his legs. He started to heal them. When he finished he still was unable to stand firmly. "Curse you little girl." He then shrieked as loud as he could, so that maybe he could distract her. He walked slowly over to her then leaned down next to her. he rose his tentacles up. "I will enjoy killing you, after that little spell."

((Wow that would suck, ok bye. Wow again you said good night I don't get many of those.))

Her mind, which had been scrabbling desperately, locked onto another fragment of knowledge. She let out a weak laugh. "Not today..." She managed to hiss something, quietly, at her boots.

And out popped the Wisp. It circled around dully for a few moments, then fired a series of illusions at both. '...I knew I should've tried remembering that spell...' She thought, as Fade Out made an army of dwarves appear, throwing axes, hammers, and rocks, in the illusory image, and she let out a squeak.

Her mind searched desperatley, and, as a last resort she fired off light, trying to get her body in motion, trying to run away, trying to escape.

Raku's eyes burned as she cast the light spell. "No....not the light.....I can't stand the light!" He fell to the ground and began to rub his eyes furiously. He was blinded for the moment, and couldn't even see the illusions. He moved his hands around trying to find something to grab onto and pull himself up. His vision slowly started to return, then he found a tree. He managed to grab a low branch and pick himself off the ground.

"Where are you...when I regain my vision you will die." He saw what looked like her leg. He started towards it, but was tripped by a tree root. He picked himself off the ground again and continued to look around for the girl. Every second his vision returning.

Fade Out moved to Zin, and the Half-Elf latched on to the Wisp, accepting it's help to stand. She skittered back, and started to fall, and hit the ground hard, a little farther away than before. Her head was starting to clear again, but she wasn't trying to snatch at any spells.

She still clutched the dagger in her hand, so tightly that her knuckles were white.

Her eyes watched Raku and she managed to move back farther, if only by a foot.

She switched her grip on the dagger so she could throw it, and prepared for the worst.

He regained most of his vision and looked at the girl. "Why do you continue to fight me. You are not leaving her alive, so you might as well make it easy." Raku held hid wand at her. He began to collect energy. Then Raku started towards her keeping the wand pointed in her direction. "I....I...." And with that Raku fell face first into the mud. He had wasted alot of energy already, and he needed food. Rake seemed out of luck. He could hardly move. He looked up at her and then his head dropped again.

Zin stared at the Illithid for a moment. She couldn't help but feel sorry for it, despite the fact it had been trying to kill her.

But she wasn't stupid enough to get within reach. She closed her eyes, and didn't move for a while, gaining enough energy to get up. She quickly moved backwards, away from the terrifying monster.

After she had been walking for a while she stopped, spotting a large animal. She stared at it for a moment, then shrugged.

She stabbed it, then dragged it to the Flayer, though she had a feeling that the creature would be able to get away.

Her conscience now clear, she started walking again, the wisp floating by her head.

((...you have to admire her sense of honor at least...though she is rather stupid...XD

Back soon. Hitting the Library to get a few books before it closes))

He saw her bring back the animal. He was so low on energy at the time. I would have said thanks, but need energy so he wrapped his tentacles around the animals head. He got past it's skull and started eating it's brain. After he had finished he realized that the girl was no where to be found. Why do I feel bad all of the sudden.... He stood up and started off to look for her. He was still close enough to see her body heat. He started to quicken his pace a little. He hoped she wouldn't run away this time.

He slowed down as he made his way behind her. He was still a bit aways. He would be there soon, but she might here the noise he was making and run away thinking it was him trying to kill her. He continued however, he was getting very close and didn't want to lose her.

'...Stupid sense of honor...' She knew that was the root of her problems, she was too...kind at heart. She didn't like being the root of something elses' pain, even if it wasn't her fault.

Her ears twitched slightly, a scowl planted firmly on her face. The wisp had fallen asleep inside her boot now, and she was rather sure that there wasn't anything else quite so dangerous. She'd pulled out her spellbook, and was idly flipping through it, trying to find a spell that was fairly simple to learn, and didn't take too much effort.

She skipped past the elemental spells, knowing there weren't any that she was after there. "Hn..." She looked at the spell that was before her now, an eyebrow raised in intrest.

Heal. She needed that one. She really did. She was running out of luck, one of these days she'd end up dead because of her recklessness, and she'd only have herself to blame then.

She paused, ticking off the numbers on her fingers. 'one... two.. three... four... five... six...' She scowled. She was making progress towards her goal, but not very quickly. She decided that once she got her next few spells she'd be able to gloat, as she'd be about halfway to her goal.

He walked up behind her. "Thank you for the food. I don't know why you did it, but I am grateful and will never hurt you again....please forgive me." He bowed to her. If it wasn't for her I would be dead.

Zin froze for a moment, then turned. She stared blankly at Raku for a few moments, still rather disturbed by the whole nearly being killed ordeal. The Illithid wasn't that much tallet than her, she realized, and that came as a bit of a shock.

"No problem," She murmured, still a bit worried, "Sense of honor." She explained, albeit uneasily. "Uh...Sure? It could of been worse. I could of been dead." She forced a smile.

He rose up. "Yes well I am still sorry. And I am now in your debt." He stepped closer to her. "I shall follow you on your travel to see nothing happens to you."

Zin shook her head. "No! No! No! It's fine, really!" She was still rather skittish, as you didn't really see many Illithids about these days, in fact...you normally didn't see any.

She took a few quick steps backwards, Her hands in front of her, palms out, and fingers splayed, as she kept saying that no, she was fine, she had a feeling she'd spotted a waya out already.

He looked at the ground. "Well if you don't need me then I guess I will be leaving." Poor girl she is frightened, then again I did try to kill her. He bowed to her then turned away. He then started down the long path back into the deep parts of the forest.

Zin breathed a short sigh of relief, then hesitated. "Maybe I'll see you in town." She called, then turned on her heel, disapearing down the trail, headed in the wrong direction, at least to get to the city, but not to get out of the forest.

Verling had been walking in the deep parts of the marshes for some time now. Everything in it was either dead or dieing. As he continued through he began to wonder if he would ever see another living thing again. He now midnight. He was getting very hungry and tired. He had entered the bog a few day's erlier and had not slept or ate anything since then.