A choice

The Whispering Woods was filled with life. Aaralon had already spotted several brightly coloured birds and one or two cat like mammals hiding in the trees. The woods were even louder now that they were inside; noisy but still a background buzz. It was the insects that accounted for most of the droning hum but occasionally a larger animal let out a squeal or mating cry from deeper inside. Even the plants seemed flush with life. The leaves were glossy green and the trees healthy and vibrant.

Camila had found ****. Once she had pointed it out it was easy to spot. The bush was broken and torn. The petals which bloomed, attracting buzzing flies, on all the surrounding bushes were dead on this one.

Carrie stepped forward cautiously. She kept low to the ground. Despite the sense of danger Aaralon couldn't but help admire how supple she was. She beckoned him to follow.

The torn bush gave way to a clearing. A clearing had been made by simply tearing up enough undergrowth to make a space and lighting a fire in the middle. "Gnolls," muttered Camila distastefully, "... but I can't sense any nearby. There's always a dark magic taint with a Gnoll. It's something they still carry from the Old Times. I can't sense it here so they must be at least two days ahead."

"That's not all," said Aaralon has he stepped over the unsightly camping ground and towards a large tree on the far side. He picked up the shredded cloth and showed it to the two sorceresses, "The remains of a woman's top. Oh. And there's rope marks on the tree bark here. She must still have been alive here because they've had her tied here."

Camila nodded, "Very good."

"We have a choice then," opined Carrie, "Judging from this side of the clearing it seems most likely that the pack split into two groups. Some of the Gnolls took this route and the rest took the other. We'll have to split up. Aaralon, you're not going by yourself, so who do you wish to travel with? Camila or myself? If all goes well we'll meet up with the girl back in her village in just a few days."