Something in the bush

"Step back to the tree and put your back against it," Camila suggested cautiously to Aaralon, her eyes fixed just over his shoulder.

Aaralon paused for just a second and then did as he was told. Sometimes, with some tones of voice, only an idiot stood there and asked "Why?" or "What?" He felt the rough of the bark press against his back.

Camila stepped forward, moving towards him and the tree. She reached forward and to the left, pulling something out from the woodland shrubbery which was still thick around the outskirts of the clearing. It was a length of rope.

"A rope!" Aaralon was less than impressed, he had assumed, had been lead to believe from Camila's tone of voice that there was danger. "By the gods. I thought you'd spotted a gnoll. I imagined it would be you who would tell me not to clown around? whereas it looks like you're the only clowning." Camila cut him off mid-sentence.

"Young man," she said, holding the limp rope freely in one hand, "I'm not clowning around. Do I look like a clown to you?" She didn't. Aaralon had to admit that. Camila looked splendid if rather out of place as she stood in the woods, rope in hand, dressed in a silky and rather slinky silk dress. Once again Aaralon found his eyes drawn to Camila's heaving chest. He said nothing and let the College tutor continue, "I can use the rope. I am a senior lecturer in the school of divinity. "We need to recreate as much as possible of what happened here and then, with a bit of magic, I'll be able to push forward my vision and see what the gnolls /will/ do."

Aaralon nodded, "Of course," although he had never heard of such a spell or ritual before. "But how can we recreate what the gnolls did?" Then there was fire. Flames danced around the clearing, burning on top of the already burnt ground and moving towards the centre of the area to where the gnolls untidy campfire had been. Aaralon was glad he had backed up against the tree; he would have been caught in Camila's spell otherwise. He knew the fire had come from Camila, he had seen the magic weaves ripple around her and he had noted she could cast significant spells without chanting.

"We only need to recreate some bits," Camila explained, untouched by her own magic fire and safe enough once the flames moved behind her. "We just need to concentrate on the girl. It should be simple enough. They had her tied to the tree. I'll tie you to the tree and cook some poor animal. That should do it. Are you hungry? It'll be best if you are. I bet she was and I bet the gnolls didn't feed her a bite."

Aaralon ventured, "You want to tie me to the tree?"