Clueless Delver

Domel could sense that same restlessness from the men under his command now as he wordlessly gazed at the thicket for several more turns.

The army had stood silence in wait for Lord Hirmvird's order to advance. At that time, Domel felt time went by very slowly as nothing happened other than a lot of waiting. Though he was more than happy to have a brief respite after marching several leagues, he remembered the sensation of restlessness that brewed within him then.

As Domel considered what to do, he was reminded of a similar situation several revolutions. As in his previous dispatch, he was Lancebearer for the Old Knight Oad, and they were led by the Commander Lord Hirmvird, and he surveyed the foggy battlefield of the Scarred Barkswathe which they were certain their foes lay on hiding within.

Standing in a loose arrowhead formation near Domel and Niamel were around 8 troops, most of them recruits armed with simple bar maces and some chest armor made of boiled lizard leather. Domel gazed at them for a moment and looked back at the thicket, silently hoping for some sign that would betray the numbers standing on the other side.

"Do you suppose this infiltrator has forces lying in ambush?" "I highly doubt so. But I can't rule it out either. A few of my fellow went in there and haven't returned" Niamel's brows furrowed as he continued gazing at the thicket.

 It was with Niamel's astute ability to track down targets that led him to this stratum of the Right Sprig, and some time ago led Sergeant Ultu to pursue the other infiltrator along the Narrow Pass along the Trunk-spiral near the sixth stratum.

 Despite the boy's youthful appearance and voice, Domel knew that behind this facade was the crafty and deceptive Scout named Niamel that joined his investigation team just a cycle ago.

Domel looked ahead at the small thicket and raised his brow. "Did you see someone there?" "Aye, seems like the one you were pursuing - the checkered rag and all"  The one who replied stood to his right and appeared to be a boy who placed his fist below his chin as he looked in the same direction as Domel.

Gleefully Gumue charged out of the thicket, hoping to get as far as possible from those highly dangerous characters. But less than half a turn later Gumue quickly turned about and ran back into the thicket. She had finally understood why the bird had left her.

Just as Gumue stepped out of the shadow of the thicket, she suddenly felt the cold grip on her shoulder loosen and disappear. She hear the sounds of flapping wings, and from the corner of her eye she saw the Resplendent Flow fly deeper into the thicket away from her.

Gumue clicked her tongue in frustration as she continued running through the thicket, eventually reaching its edge.

"Get your fowl off me, and maybe I'll consider it!" Gumue yelled as she continues running through the thicket. As she ran, she nearly ran into a tree, but narrowly dodged it, stepping to the side. Despite this close call the strange bird maintained it's firm, frigid grip on her shoulder.

 Just as Gumue stepped into the warm shadow of the thicket, she felt frigid sharp claws dig into her flesh through her manteau and clothes, along her left shoulder. An unusual chill permeated across her flesh as she felt the coldness of resplendence spread across her body from her shoulder making her heart sink in terror.

Gumue felt her heart race as she quickly scrambled up from her prone position and sprinted as fast as she could in the direction of the edge of the clearing. The strange melodious chirp then rang once again behind her, making her heart jump.

Gumue heard a shout of desperation from the soldier as she felt her arms scrape against the grass of the clearing. The moment she landed upon the grass she felt a gust of frigid wind blow against her back and legs, followed by a scream and the strange, uncannily melodious chirp of the bird.

"It's coming!" the soldier at the front exclaimed as she tensed up in her stance, preparing to strike. Gumue felt her heart jump as she quickly lowered her stance and leapt to her right.

"Resplendent Fowl!" the soldier yelled as her body tensed up, taking a defensive stance in the direction of the unusual bird still perched on the tree. "Are you sure!? How can it be so far here?" the young voice of another soldier responded. Gumue's expression turned grim as she once again found herself at a standstill. She had little doubt that if she made any move right now she would likely find herself a prime target.

But soon, Gumue had no choice but to halt as she hear loud rustling coming from the direction she ran. Into her sight soon came two soldiers in Iguana hide armour with leaf-bladed messers drawn. "Looks like she's here.... Wait a second... Is that..." the soldier at the front muttered as she surveyed the clearing.

 A breeze blew across the clearing, causing the sounds of rustling leaves fill the area. Now was the moment! Gumue thought as she immediately broke into a sprint towards her right, away from the blind girl and the strange bird

 Now was still not the time. Gumue decided to wait a little longer to ensure that any attention to her was forgotten due to the reunion between this blind girl and the strange bird. "Did you find someone here...?" the blind girl asked the bird which remained silent as it twisted its head in the direction of Gumue. This action made her heart jump, but she stifled any exclamation that she would otherwise have made.