Mordonis gracefully stepped between the trees, the twisted briars of bramble seemed to unfurl and part before her only to return to their twisted tangled form on her passing. The trees themselves seemed to almost lean as she passed like a compassionate guard of honour. All around her small Thrushes and Sparrows flew alongside bounding and swooping from branch to branch, a hundred pairs of eyes scanning the forest. Ahead of her a great bear of pure white moved silently nose to the floor scanning the path for the scent of the quarry they sought.
Several hours earlier Mordonis had come across the burnt remains of a camp amongst the forest. All around the undergrowth had been trampled and the uneaten carcasses of rabbits and other unidentifiable remains were strewn about the clearing. The footprints were large and heavy and the scent of Orcs was everywhere. Mordonis had been following the trail deeper into the forest, listening to the trees and birds as she went.
The bear stopped and raised its head, a silent signal that they had caught up with the foul creatures that had desecrated the forest. The flock of birds stopped their chatter and rested on the branches of trees all around her. A single large Raven dropped from above the tree canopy and rested on the right shoulder of Mordonis. She cocked her head towards the bird and listened, one hand stroking the birds midnight black feathers. After delivering its message the Raven flew up to the branches to join the other birds.
Mordonis had received all the information she required and she immediately broke into a graceful run towards her foe that was camped unseen in the thicket ahead.
The first Orc sentry was thrown heavily against a tree by a large white bear, its heavy black armour buckling under the force of the blow. His fellow sentry turned to look around at the sudden noise and was blown back by a sudden blast of flame, the remains of his torso a smoking ruin. Now Orcs from all across the camp were rising and grabbing weapons, looking for a foe.
Half a dozen Orcs were busy with long spears trying to fend off a large white bear, another half a dozen already lay beneath the bears paws in a bloody heap of twisted limbs and torn metal. Across the camp a female Elf emerged from the tree line, sword and staff in hand. Four Orcs stepped forward to block her progress but a bolt of lightning struck the first Orc before arcing between himself and his comrades, all four stood rigid for a few seconds as the electrical charge coursed back and forth between them before they finally fell to the ground.
The Elf continued her advance across the camp cutting through fleeing Orcs with great sweeping arcs of her sword and staff. A number of Orcs had backed off and were now on the edge of the clearing shields raised to form a wall of black iron. The Elf stopped a few feet back from the taunting Orcs. Her hand made a small gesture and in an instant the roots and branches of the forest came alive and seized the remaining Orcs. Roots twined around legs and arms before violently wrenching them apart. A large arm-like branch lunged down from the canopy and gathered up two Orcs in one quick motion before crushing the helpless bodies.
Silence returned to the forest. Mordonis looked about her to the twisted and torn remains of the Orcs satisfied that the foul creatures had been made to pay for their transgressions. The large white bear now sat obediently at her feet, diligently cleaning its blood soaked paws. Mordonis lifted up a hand and placed it on the nearest tree and listened. The Forests calls for retribution against the foul creatures had been satisfied.
