Go home, gear up and come back.

Thea chided herself for even thinking of running off into the deep woods of all places unarmed and unclothed. That had almost been a terrible mistake. Instead, she ran as quickly as she could back to her hut. Once there she dumped her washing bucket and went straight for the chest in the corner of the room. Throwing it open she dug through her mothers’ stuff till she found the one thing she was looking for. An old set of leather armour. It was cut for a much bustier and less bottom-heavy woman, but Thea had made some alterations to it.

She had tightened the top till it hugged her chest tightly enough it would not get in her way but to do this she had needed to bring it up showing off way more midriff than it ever had on either of her mothers. The leather tunic already showed a lot more cleavage than most of Thea’s clothing even with the alterations. The leather pants had been even harder to alter. Thea had ruined a lot of good leather in her attempt to widen them and had been left with what amounted to a thong but it would have to do. It still counted as armour and it would protect her even if it was skimpy, thanks to the blessings of the Goddesses. Similarly, she grabbed a pack, some basic hunting and camping supplies, a dagger belonging to one of her mothers, her family longbow and quiver of handmade arrows.

She almost left there and then but turned back for one last thing. Dashing over to the far wall she grabbed the iron key that hang on the wall and slipped it around her neck. If she was to capture a trespasser or someone else that meant her harm, she would need something to restrain them. She slammed her door closed before running across the barn. Her animals were already out but they could fend for themselves, and they would be able to shelter in the barn for tonight or tomorrow night if she was not back. Any longer and they may need her. She grabbed her milkmaid yoke and wielding it like a spear she charged off back down the side of the river.

By the time she got back Thea was huffing and puffing. These supplies were heavier than she had thought they would be. Leaning on her yoke to catch her breath she eyed the river in front of her and the distant tree line. A brash option would be to jump from stone to stone to try and cross the river but Thea was trying to be smart about this so instead she walked further up the river and crossed where it was shallowest. That also gave her some time to recover. By the time she walked back up to the footprints she had seen earlier she was steadily breathing and cool headed. Glancing at the tracks Thea could tell they were fresh. The broken muddy ground had not even cracked in the sun yet.

She guessed they were less than a day old but more than a few hours. They looked to have been made by some large, booted feet. Not leather or rubber. The indent in the ground was wrong. Hide or fur perhaps. Something sturdy enough for the conditions out here but not as well refined as leather or cumbersome as rubber. They trailed back towards the woods but faded before reaching the tree line. An indent in the mud near the river and some crushed reeds told Thea that whoever had stopped here was not doing something like kneeling down to fill a canteen. Why would they go into the reeds if that was their intention? There were plenty of better places along here to access the river. Whoever had stopped here was seeking cover. From what or for what purpose… impossible to tell but Thea had a sixth sense they had not been up to anything good.

Following them back towards the tree line Thea came across exactly what she had been expecting to see. A fallen branch. Whoever had been here had come back into the woods and climbed the tree to watch Thea from it. Then they had fallen and… but there were no signs of someone having climbed the tree. Nor was there any indication of someone having fallen here. The vegetation was not crushed properly and looking closely at the tree branch… it had not broken. In fact, there appeared to be weird scorch marks around where the branch had been severed from the tree. Something had done this. Burned through this branch and dropped it onto… someone else, who had been standing here looking out across the river, watching Thea. She could see it plain as day in the lay of the forest floor. But what she could not tell was why?

Was it true that the spirits of the forest, or whatever it was that lived out here, held malice for any that stepped into it? If so, then perhaps whoever had been spying on Thea had bitten off more than they could chew. Whatever fate may have befallen them Thea needed to find out, preferably before it came for her too. For she too had now stepped into the deep woods and if any of those stories held true, she was in as much danger as whatever else had been here. Thea started following the signs and tracks left behind by the recently bludgeoned spy. Whoever or whatever had been here walked a path through the forest floor that had been well travelled over the last few days. Wherever it led was somewhere that the spy or someone else had travelled between here and there multiple times. This implied it or they had been watching and scouting out Thea’s farmland for a while now. That worried her more.

As she pressed on deeper into the woods it grew darker as the canopy grew thicker. There was enough sunlight filtering in through the leaves for her natural elven sight to be unimpaired by it, but it did make her feel more tense. It was as she went down the trail that she could not help feeling eyes watching the back of her head. She turned suddenly and caught what could have been motion as her silver hair flickered around her head. But she was not sure. It had been up in the trees. And it was then that she heard the giggling from behind her. Turning around once more, this time she was sure she saw something. A flicker of motion. A small creature that darted between the leaves of a tree.

Resting her hand down on her dagger she held her yoke at the ready. That’s when she heard more giggling. It came from multiple directions at once. Behind her, beside her, in front of her, above her. She wheeled around, every which direction looking for it. Hoping to spy what was stalking her. What was seemingly playing games with her. But she could never get a good look. She could not even tell if it was one ore more creatures. They were so fast and seemed able to disappear and reappear elsewhere. Thea steeled herself. She needed a plan of action. Stand and fight? Run and hide? Something else?