The trees swayed overhead with the wind letting in the blue moonlight and then blocking it again. Small creatures scampered away in the darkness causing the ground to ripple toward us. Something humanoid slipped through the trees and I watched with my peripheral vision to see if they drew near. Growling and howling could be heard at various distances out in the deep darkness.

I watched the centaur ahead, waiting for the light to go out at any moment. Agatha and Millie grumbled in the back of the line. Mia winked at me. Neither of the old goats seemed concerned with their surroundings only the injustice of placing their beloved centaur in the front after his recent trauma. They held an open debate over whether or not I would so callously place one of my ladies up front. Millie believed I would, only to save my own skin. Agatha thought it more likely I would set one of the two of them out front, and at the moment I had to agree. I was considering it already.

I heard the falconites talking for the first time if I listened close. They were better at realizing the danger of walking through a dark unexplored forest. They muttered about the creatures in the forest around us and wondered if there were wolves. “I would pick off one of the birds from the pack if I were a wolf.” One of the falconites said, “No way I would mess with the minotaur or the giant orc.” He went on. “I heard the wolves pull out your guts while you watch, his pack pins you with their teeth, holding down your arms and legs so he can disembowel you.”

“That’s nonsense,” one of the other falconites whispered back, “right?”

“You’ll see,” The other defended his previous statement, “when one of them is lunching on your pudgy belly.”

“Good luck catching me, I’ll be a hundred yards ahead of you shrieking out your mother's name in vain. He will take the fat one trying to catch up while I’m waiting at the other end of the forest for you to respawn for dessert.”

“There is something out there watching us,” Shia said touching my elbow. “I keep catching glimpses of it.”

“Keep an eye on him. Tell me if he is about to make a move on us.” I answered.

“You saw it too?” Shia hissed.

“He was watching us when we came out of the river. He seems unafraid of me. I think he could be a problem. I am working out how to deal with him.” I stepped over a fallen tree after looking beneath it. I hadn’t really worked out how to deal with the creature. He seemed to be in one part of the forest and then appear at an entirely different point in the forest moments later. I never saw more than one at a time, so I assumed it was one with an incredible traveling ability. He hadn’t made a move yet and I wondered if he would make his move during the day when we were sleeping. Should we stop early and set up a day watch? I hated the idea of stopping in the dense forest, but I also wasn’t sure how far we would have to walk to find its end.

The centaur stopped ahead, and I held up a hand to stop the others. Agatha ran into the dwarves at the back and Thurnar slammed his hammer to the ground in anger. “Would you stop babbling woman? I can’t hear a thing beyond your relentless jabbering.”

“Remember little un, I’m already behind you it won’t be but a moment before I catch yer backside. I tell ya. Let me hear ya disrespect me again.”

“Tell 'em, Aggy.” Millie instigated.

“Tootsie where did that thing go?” I asked as Tootsie zipped past again.

“I can’t keep track of it. He is here then he is there.” Tootsie disappeared through the trees again.

“I’m going up to see what he is stopped for. Wait here until I signal.” I whispered and Mia relayed the message back. I started walking and Mia slipped in behind me. “Where are you going?” I whispered again.

“You said you would never be far from my side. If you are going up there then I am too.” Mia nearly ran into me when I stopped. I glanced at Goar. He stood with his hands just above his handguns. I sent him a look and he nodded scanning the trees around them.

“There is something stalking us. So be careful this might be just what the thing wants.”

Mia responded by extending her claws and continuing to follow me toward the centaur. He remained frozen ahead. We closed the last thirty yards at a crawl like a panther closing in on prey. The centaur never even turned his head to look over at us. I noticed another light before him. A multicolored light flashed at his feet. Something moved. Something small.

We stopped and tried to make out the movement. It was several somethings moving. They were as small as chipmunks. They were not fleeing the centaur. I wondered if whatever they were would flee when they saw us coming up. I swallowed and stepped forward again. I let my Shade Tail hang loosely from my hand dragging the blade behind. A tree broke my line of sight for a moment and I used the block to jog forward keeping the tree between us and the unknown entity.

Mia ran and ducked against my chest. We both breathed through our wide-open mouths trying to silence our breaths. When I had slowed my breathing enough to breathe through my nose again I peeked from behind the tree again. I saw Tootsie buzz from behind a tree to my left and the head of the watchman poked out from that tree. I hardly had time to register his presence so near as my target was on the other side of the tree I stood behind. I looked down at what the centaur had come upon. Mia peeked out with me around my shoulder

It was, well, they were, how do I say it….