The campfire crackled and burned dimly as Cynraede huddled as close to it as he could. He nibbled at the squirrel he had managed to kill with a stone, looking all around at the bushes down the small hill from him. Evil eyes peered at him from the shadows of the shrubs along the pathway down, he knew what they were. Long ago in his travels to bree, he came across a creature of the dark, so foul that it ate upon the dead no matter the creature. People had many names for them, but the most commonly used was 'barghest'. To look upon these creatures was not for the faint of heart, nor for the cowardly. For these creatures ate of the dead and it was evident in the smell of their bone chilling breath, sometimes even being covered in the 'dead slime' of the fallen of whom they dinned upon. Cynraede knew these creatures well, he had faced them in the barrow regions of bree while he was assisting in their destruction. He shifted slightly, looking around carefully and quietly for a way he could escape should it come down to it, muttering curses under his breath as he slowly stood, taking one of the logs he had from the fire. No sooner did he take a step back, one of the beasts launched itself towards Cynraede with a blood curdling growl, only to be met with the end of the red hot log bashed across its face.
He felt his legs shake like jelly underneath him with each step as he ran through the forest, the chilling howls filled the dark wood behind him. With every step he could hear them getting closer and closer as he tried to run harder and faster. Cynraede saw an opening with deep, clear water down below as he ran along the ridge. He pushed himself harder, hearing the paws of the dogs behind him growing ever closer. With a forceful yell he attempted a jump, only being met with the jaws of a flanking beast instantly engaging in a struggle between the two struggled as Cynraede tried to force the beast off of him, while the dog viciously chewed his arm in a desperate attempt to bite through the only thing keeping him from the mans neck.
