Pursue with Caution

Grok ducks low and as best he could blend in with the brush as he watches several figures mounted on horseback ride off into the distance, he has their trail the strong scent of horses and hooves tracks beaten into the ground he has a path. He also has the feeling of what general direction Ryena is headed because of the enchantment upon him.

The party of adventurers push their horses at a gallop for a solid mile and a half before slowing down, the sight of the creature lost in the landscape. Most of this area is wild and the only paths are game trials.

"What the hell was that!" Here shouts, at his comrades,

Catla the dwarf is distracted making sure their quarry is securely bound doesn't answer, Rewards ferrets head pokes out of his pocket as they slow and chirps, Reward scratches his pets head and responds to Here

"It was really big, probably over ten foot tall."

Here a bit calmer "It also had wings and ran on two legs."

Catla no longer distracted "We should find some cover being out in the open would be a bad idea if it can fly"

The wizard and alchemist just taking in the conversation both agree with their paladin, The alchemist nods at the wizard "The closest thing around here would be the Bloodwood, taking that route would lengthen our journey back by two days, though there is an old lumber mill out there."

Groks only indication on how far the group of ambushers were was the weight pulling on his collar, each mile they put between him and her he could feel an incremental tug until about the 3 mile mark when it was almost burning again. His feet quickened to stay within that limit, he did not want to test out flight in the broad day light and clear sky they could easily see him and he has not had the time to experiment with that ability just yet. He was happy though for the durability of his new body, even bare his feet were tough and leathery, the hot rocky soil of the badlands did not bother him much and though not as fast as the horses he was considerable larger that a human and could keep a faster pace then he thought, his body wasn't tiring even after the first sprint to catch up. Though light sweat had formed on his scaly body, something he didn't expect since he knew most reptiles did not sweat, what ever the reptilian of dragons they are not cold blooded. He wondered if he had taken the fire based dragon if he would even felt the warmth in this desert. The green dragon form must be accustomed to more temperate climates for even though his hide was tough he still felt the heat.

The sun began to approach its zenith as the party saw the barren soil rocky ground begin to give way to more grasses, it was not a half hour later they could see the edge of the Bloodwood. This wasn't the green forests most think of but a red one, the most common tree, The Bloodwood, here were all tough as stone and their leaves similar to ferns were a dark red. Their sap was also red, and hardened quickly if exposed to air. The nickname of Bloodwood was assumed earned from the blood like appearance of the trees sap. Other species of trees existed here but the most dominate in the canopy was the Bloodwood. These trees were rather small and stocky, their limbs thin and flowed in the winds. Their sap was sweet and tannic, but not bitter. Though the bark was tough around the trunk with the proper tools you could drill a tap. At the other end of the forest lay a small village which specializes in harvesting these trees, Clott. For the party it was a 2 day journey their pace had to be slowed because the Bloodwood was also home to several venomous creatures that lived in the decaying stony bark the trees shed every year after the rainy season and the path would not be cleared until the abandoned lumber mill where an old road begins.

Grok did not know what to expect of this unusual forest when he got near the edge of it, he quickly caught up as the party had to slow down, he did not know why the forest impeded their pace so much but he assumed the terrain must be rougher than it looked. Until of course 20 minutes into the woods he encountered a Red Bellied Asp, the snake was around 5 foot in length and hooded, similar to the cobra in his world. It was almost unseen because its natural patterned blended so well into the bark covered ground. Until Grok nearly stepping on it **** it to reveal itself and hood and belly bright red was flashed. Grok managed to step away far enough it missed its first strike. The snake quickly went in for another but Grok let loose a cold ray that shocked the creature. The cold blooded snake seized back in retreat and the frosty beam hit it. It didn't die but it was deterred enough to back off. Grok hit it again with another cold ray and the creature hissed one last time before slumping over and dying. His belly grumbled, he nearly ran a whole day and his body was craving food, he thought "Guess its snake for dinner." A closer look at the snake and he knew it was venomous, he quickly severed the head from the body so it wouldn't contaminated the meat. In his old life he did not know rudimentary survival skills but he often watched nature documentaries because the wilderness seemed so exotic from his life, one of an urban office worker. In the falling light as he tried to remember the proper methods of preparing game, with no real experience he only had the small notes he read in camping books. He wanted to escape one day to a more wild location for a vacation at one point in his old life but obligations and pressures **** him to delay that dream. He chuckled at his terrible attempted at butchering the snake, he had to take longer than he thought but the real trouble he had was how to cook the creature. Does he need to cook it? His body wasn't that of a human and all its weak constitution. He contemplated for a minute, if he made a fire there was a chance his quarry would see it. "Well at least its fresh" his keen scent smelling the blood, an animalistic nature drove him to taste the raw meat. It was chewy and had a slightly sweet taste, he consumed the whole snake bones and all before he realized. His belly was not full but at least it wasn't grumbling anymore.

The adventurers were not so cautious, they thought they were long out of the danger that pursued them, they made a decently sized camp in a clearing within the forest before nightfall. "More salted fish stew, when we get our bounty on this one I am going to get a proper meal." Reward grits while taking in a spoon of the alchemists concoction for dinner, his ferret Manta chewing happily on a piece of dried fish Reward gave him. "We will be on the road before noon tomorrow and into Clott by evening so keep your grumbling to yourself!" Umag shouts at him while stirring the pot over the campfire. the others just watch, and throw in their own two cents. Meanwhile Ryena has been silently observing the group while she feigns unconsciousness, they have bound her to a tree and she cannot use her hands which means most of her spells cannot be cast. She focuses on Grok, she can feel his presence he is not too far, little more than half a mile.

she whispers to his mind, "Why haven't you saved me yet?"

he responds "Good Evening to you too, I am just not so ready to be captured like you."

she frowns a moment "Well I did say sometimes the unexpected happens"

Grok "Yes like a snake in the woods"

Ryena with a scornful play "Fine, ill take it your being cautious"

He chuckles "Well are you at least not hurt?"

She says dispassionately "Only my pride"

With a bit more serious tone "I would like to know what I am facing, and maybe when most of them are asleep"

Ryena quickly sends one last message "Later, looks like they know I am awake..."

Burhiue was alerted by her magical senses that there was a change in the mana around the camp. She was first to notice that their captive was awake, she refills her bowl at the stock pot and whispers to the party, "I think our guest is awake ", then she heads over to Ryena with the bowl "You can drop the guise of sleep now, I felt you conjuring something, what are you up to witch?"