JoP: The Woman in The Woods (Year 1)

The Woman in The Woods (Year 1)

Rumour had been going around of a creature living in the woods between Ravinac and Skiptingr. The creature was said to lure people into those woods, after which they would never be seen again. Because of this, it was deemed a dangerous, people-threatening monster, and for that same reason there was a rich reward for whoever could prove that they'd captured, driven off, or killed the thing.

Fifteen men so far had been sent out by various noble-houses across Phantasia, but none had come back. And the people near the woods grew frightened as the nobles grew all the more desperate.

Almost as desperate as the young man who currently scoured the forest-line for any firewood that could keep him out of the cold.

Ayan had caught a fresh pheasant, a lucky catch. But without a proper fire, he couldn't eat it. So he picked every relatively-dry twig and bark-piece from between the snow that he could find, and tied them up with the remaining rope he had left. The crispy snow reached above his ankles, and the sun was getting low. It was a little past mid-day, but Ayan knew he had to make himself scarce fast.

Both Ravinac and Skiptingr housed dangerous beasts, after all.

He called for his horse Bayo, and tied the wood behind the saddle, and the pheasant to his belt. Now all he needed was to find a nice place to sleep, where he wouldn't get pounced on by a pack of wolves, a troll, or worse.

He found a firm, half-fallen tree. The stem had snapped halfway, and it kept the ground under it free of snow. Ayan quickly made his camp here and tied Bayo to the standing half of the tree. He draped a firm green blanket over the fallen half and made a fire. When the lands got dark, he contently sighed, knowing he would make it 'til the morning.

Many of the pheasant's bones now lay in the fire as Ayan consumed his dinner. He chatted with Bayo throughout, who only nickered as he ate the hay Ayan had 'borrowed' from the farm they went past a few days ago.

"Hope you enjoy your dinner..." he said. "I guess we better go back to get you some more in a few days before we run out." He made an uneasy smirk as he spat a shard of bone into the crackling flames. "We've got a long, long way to go before we reach the steppes in the north." Bayo snorted at that, and nodded his head as he ate the last of the hay on the ground. The horse's eyes went droopy and he yawned.

"I'm glad you understand that." Ayan chuckled as he copied the yawn. He nuzzled into the troll-hide mantle around his shoulders, and slowly dozed off to sleep with one hand on the handle of his sword.

Until the noises started.

The night was still dark -and very, very cold- when Ayan heard a voice, interwoven with the sounds of his dream. He dreamt of the princess in a field of flowers, singing to him, but the voice wasn't hers. Now, she suddenly sprouted a thick cow's tail, and her eyes turned to yellow like a cat's. She kept smiling as Ayan slapped away the dream and awoke. He yawned once again. The sounds of the forest in the dark hummed through the air. Ayan quickly re-lit what was left of the embers of the fire and used it to look around. Bayo was still asleep, standing up.
Something didn't seem right. That dream couldn't have been just a dream. It felt too real.

That proved to be true when the singing once again sounded through the cold air. It was soft, it came from far away. But it was high, and pure like the air it waved through. It was almost like an angel sang, to announce that the very heavens had been opened that night. And, it almost lulled Ayan back to sleep. Almost.

His juvenile curiosity won both over his fear of the dark, and the urge to sleep. Beyond the dark, between the trees, there was something- or someone- with that voice.
There was something singing.