Through the forest

Her pickings were slim. Staying in place wasn't an option. The likelihood of the necromancer sending more forces to capture her again was entirely too high for her tastes. While the road would be easier to travel, it also meant too much exposure. Furthermore, if she could move faster, so too could the ghouls, and whatever else the necromancer had at his disposal.

Her mind decided, Venus shouldered her pack and set off through the woods in the direction of Namina. Before she had gone thirty meters, visibility had dropped to nearly zero. It was so bad she could barely make out her hands, much less her feet. For the briefest of moments, she considered turning back, but the thought of tangling with more ghouls promptly banished that idea.

She pressed on, her ears straining for any signs of hostile activity. The forest, however, was deathly still. The supernatural darkness made every step a challenge all it's own. It wasn't long before she realized this route was going to take her much longer than she originally thought. It didn't help that she couldn't see anything. She swore quietly as she stubbed her toe on a fallen log, then clambered over it.

The minutes turned into hours. Her progress was slow, punctuated by several tangles with patches of brambles. More than once, she stepped on patches of thorns or fallen branches, or kicked a stray rock or tree trunk. This made her progress anything but quiet, and she took to pausing every couple of minutes to listen for signs of pursuit. There were none. Worse, she had absolutely no sense of direction in the dense vegetation.

Hours later, as exhaustion began to nibble at the edges of her mind, she saw signs of light ahead. Wanting to be out of this cursed forest, she picked up her pace, stumbling through the forest as fast as she could. Minutes later, she stepped out of the treeline, breathing a sigh of relief as her soles hit soft grass instead of yet another branch. That relief was short-lived, however, as she discovered she was back at lake where she had encountered the Kappa.

The light illuminating the clearing was still somewhat dim, as dawn was just breaking. Her gaze swept the lake for signs of more Kappa, but she saw none. After several minutes of observation, she was satisfied she was alone for the moment. She headed over to the lake, taking a moment to splash cool, refreshing water over her face, before tending to her wounded feet. Thankfully, the damage was far more painful than anything, and the cool water helped sooth the pain from the various dings caused by her rough trip through the forest. A brief glance across the rest of her body revealed the brambles had done a number on her clothes, leaving multiple small tears scattered across them. She could feel numerous small scratches crisscrossing her arms and legs, but nothing serious.

Finally, she sat back to have a bite to eat. The rations, though not the tastiest of items, helped take the edge off the events of the last day. Looking around the clearing, she felt a bit of peace. Something began nagging her mind, though, something that was missing, though she couldn't place it.

Off to the side, hidden away in the treeline, Malgan watched Venus with cool, calculating eyes. Evading Moseph had been easy. For all of his considerable and well-known skill with magic, he was still clumsy at the art of movement. His presence would merely delay his goals, not deny them.

However, this Hunter presented some unique opportunities. She had skill with a blade, true, but two other things caught his eye. She was undeniably gorgeous, and he could feel the potential for her to wield some considerable magic from here. That potential was undeveloped, but that was for the best. The untrained were so much easier to sway than the already trained.

Malgan turned to his latest prize. The huntress had left him something important, and she hadn't quite realized it yet. Next to him, the Kappa stood. Brought back by his magics, it had the pallor of **** across it's flesh, but it hadn't been dead for long enough for it to begin to suffer necrotic rot. It's head had been returned to it's rightful place atop it's shoulders, though one could see the hints of magic holding it there. It's eyes were dull. The undead Kappa possessed solid strength, and was no longer bound by a need to keep water in it's lilypad. However, it wasn't the brightest undead. All it possessed were it's base urges: feed, fight, flee, and fuck. No matter. He could make use of some of those in a bid to gain control over this huntress.