Act IV.
Reliable Wing
After yesterday, many are in low spirits, which cannot be said about
MyHighness, who looked cheerful in the morning, as if something pleasant had happened to her during the night. On the contrary,
Gur was in a bad mood and looked sickly; he clearly felt unwell. As for
Heroist, he seemed calm and exuded confidence, probably influenced by his nighttime encounter with one of the forest's strongest inhabitants.
Nefela, as usual, finished her tasks early and was already preparing to take refuge in her little house when she was distracted by a whistling sound – an arrow that flew past and hit a bush of conocarpus. The girl suddenly fell to the ground. Before she could recover, another arrow pierced her body. One of the witnesses to the murder said that some time later, someone else approached the body of
Nefela; the figure looked ominous and intimidating. The stranger stood near the corpse for a few seconds before leaving.
Meanwhile,
Morning was returning from another shift, and nothing foreshadowed trouble until a growl-like sound was heard nearby. The sound became more distinct, and after a while, it was joined by footsteps that were rapidly approaching.
Morning heard the crunching of breaking trees and branches, and soon even saw it when one of the fir trees collapsed next to him. Almost simultaneously, a terrible creature jumped out of the darkness and let out a deafening roar. It rushed at its victim, but
Morning managed to jump aside. He dodged several times from the monster's huge paws, which tried to crush him, trying to strike back in return. But this was very difficult to do; the monster did not allow itself to be approached, although it also could not hit its target. This continued until the first mistake. With a powerful blow, the brute threw
Morning away, literally slamming him into a tree. But he was still alive and even tried to get up because giving up was not his habit. However, the forces were unequal; with a second blow, the creature finished off its opponent. "Gland. Gland," repeated the creature as it ran back into the darkness.
After the last assassination attempt,
Master became much more cautious and suspicious. And that night, he moved carefully, often looking around. In fact, thanks to this, he noticed silhouettes flickering among the trees, clearly following him. He started running, but it didn't help. The pursuers caught up with him and knocked him down, after which there was a blow to the head with a mace.
Master would have remained dying in the nighttime forest if an old acquaintance had not been nearby, who once again saved his life.
Alive:
1.
David's Deer -
Pepp2.
Irbis -
Heroist3.
Pink Pigeon -
Dagr4.
Loggerhead -
MyHighness6.
Sea Otter -
KindShaman8.
Okapi -
Master11.
Mountain Tapir -
Vishmaster14.
Ethiopian Jackal -
Drakkosha15.
Addax -
Gur17.
Okinawan Triton -
Alexeagle19.
Proboscis Monkey -
Siverfale20.
Blue Whale -
Neira DrakeDead:
5.
California Condor -
Nebo7.
Brazilian Tapir -
Morning9.
Red Wolf -
Ment10.
Hawaiian Duck -
Fragment12.
Goliath Frog -
Ple-Sen13.
Indri -
Vall d'Emeroll 16.
Spotted Pouched Mouse -
Nefela18.
Giant Panda -
Mona