Isolda

The fire had burned through all the wood and sticks Yoka had retrieved earlier before dusk, and the skin full of honey water had been drained dry, the bread but crumbs on the ground at their feet. The magical fire had many uses but was still fire and fire needed to burn to stay alive. Yoka had a long thick stick she was using to stir the cinders. Isolda had gone quiet after yoka spun more tales of goblins and trolls and the whambaggins. Isolda stopped listening, she was done will childrens stories.

Isolda thought about he would kill Jani'dae, if she used magic surely Yoka would guess it was her and go back to the Owl clan and oust her as a murderer. Or she'd try to fight and isolda would have to kill her too, making it harder for her to take over the owl clan and the krakens at the same time,

"perhaps i can send her for more wood and kill Jani'dae when she's gone." Isolda thought to herself, half hoping her lord would answer and give her a plan to do it. Of course he did not, her mind stayed focused on only her own thoughts, her master gave orders and it was up to her to figure out how to complete them.

in the tree above her the Bramble bird sang out lazily, as if it knew there was no fowl that would be foolish to come to his song around these woods now that its made itself known by killing every bid within a twelve mile radius. Isolda watched as it cleaned its wings and shifts around on its branch stopping to sing in spirts.

Yoka got up from the the log, sleep had finally began to knock and she had decided to oblige and began to walk to jani'dae's tent to sleep in a makeshift cot by her side. "there has to be a gift my master means me to find to do what he's bid. There always is a solution in plain sight, i just have to find it."

Isolda decided to circle the woods around the camp and came up empty, There were no poisonous mushroom or berries, no weapons or creatures not even poisonous moss, everything was just ordinary things in the woods. The Bramble bird continued to follow her in the trees moving from the limbs abov her as she went singing its song.

Aggravated and tired Isolda sat down on a treestump freshly cut it looked like. The bird had decided to swoop down from its perch in the branches above her and swoop down to the forest floor and begin pecking the ground in front of her. "what a queer little creature." Isolda thought as she watched it hop around pecking at small bugs that scurried away from it.

Isolda reached her hand into one of her cloaks pockets and pulled out some bread crumbs and threw them to the ground at the birds feet. It gobbled them up and hopped even closer to Isolda. The bird had looked small when it was in the trees or even a few feet away, but as it grew closer it seemed to grow in its size, where it could fit in the palm of her hand it became the size of a small dog, its red eyes looked like fire opals and its black feathers began to look as sharp as blades.

Isolda jumped onto the log, the bird no longer looked like a bird but a feathered monstrosity, its beak sharp and serrated, claws took to the ends of its wings with razor sharp black claws, its legs had a large black dew claw that it clacked against the ground as it stood glaring at her

It did not attack or sing, it just stood there staring at her, as if it could see into her soul itself, it would cock its neck turning its head to the side in strange angles, truly an unnerving site to see. It snapped its beak at her feet causing her to jump onto the stump. The Bramble bird didn't advance as if to threaten Isolda, it was more curious of her than anything. Still Isolda didn't want to maybe cause the beast to change its curiosity into ire.

She soon realized what her master had meant her to find, the Bramble bird itself had magic of its own. Yoka had been jabbering on about them all night too, Isolda hadn't been listening to her whole heartedly but she remembered her telling tales of the different abilities the orcs believed they had.

"can you take any soul to the lands of the dead? That would make you very useful to me indeed." Isolda thought to herself out loud but the bird seemed to understand her. Its eyes seemed more intelligent than she had noticed as well, as she spoke it seemed to follow her words. "turn back into a swallow and follow me if you can understand me. "

The large bird let out a squawk and shrunk back to its smaller form, Isolda was extremely happy to see this as it meant she could command the bird. Maybe her masters power allowed her to, he had said the bramble beast was the servant of one of his brothers. Perhaps i can have her kill the orc for me, Yoka may blame more for not getting rid of the bird for her passing bur she wont be able to say i did it myself."

"The Bramble bird will not harm her physically, he will just take her soul and leave her dead." The voice wasn't Yoka's or Jani'daes, its a rough male voice, aged and hard as marble. Isolda fell off the stump this time landing into a pile of brush. twigs and leaves hung from her hair as she tried to collect herself and see who had snuck up on her. She fisted bolts of pure blackness prepared to attack whomever had caught her off guard.

"whao little witch! No need for violence i'm not here to harm you." A tall man wearing green mages robes over a silver silk doublet, his skin was dark from the sun and his face was handsome, he had blue eyes and dark curly hair, He was older than she was , he was around fifteen or sixteen and had a slim one handed sword hanging from his hip, he wore brown leather gloves that were a bit larger at his wrists.

" who are you little witch, what are you doing out in the savage lands alone, and where did you find an orcs mask." Isolda touched her mask, she had almost forgotten that she had it on, "I m of the owl clan orcs, it is you who should be announcing yourself, you're a trespasser." Her fists crackled as she started to apply lightning to her shadow bolts,

" As i said little witch i am here on a mission of peace, the magestrate of mages has sent me to the orcl lands. I am supposed to find the Fox clans but I do believe i am lost. I happened upon you and your Bramble bird. Who is it you are trying to kill, Surely a little girl like you has no enemies."

"Isolda" she shot at him, "not little witch, little girl, its Isolda." She kept her bolt crackling as violently as she could letting her hands and forearms glow and crackle waiting to be loosed to take on her intended.

"ok. Isolda it is, My name is Tahm, Tahm Merrimore." Tahm bowed to isolda and gave her a charming smile. He was truly handsome and Isolda felt her face flush red, stood back up and continued to smile at her. " Now why don't you let go of the magic and tell me who's soul you're trying to send to the afterlife with that Bramble bird."

" My mother, she's been mortally wounded by a bramble beast, She suffers slow in a coma and withers away. I want to let her rest with out any pain." Isolda worked up some tears to sell the lie, in truth Jani'dae would most likely wake in a few more days and be strong enough to travel in a few weeks time, time to which she was not being allotted.

" The orcs or notoriously superstitious, they believe the bramble bird is a bad sign, i'm surprised they didn't kill it the moment it appeared. Either way they're right an wrong, those birds are bound soul to soul with the one who killed the beast. The owner can command it to take a soul to their final resting place. Once you do you lose the bird. At least that's what i remember from my studies of the subject."

" you're from the citadel then, a student." Isolda smiled, she sounded less like her normal self and found the fire in her had turned to a different kind of fire. Her voice was more bubbly and spoke sweetly, " I do love the citadel, I was supposed to go once you know. I would invite you to my camp to share a fire and a tent but I'm afraid there's no room. My mother lay dying in mine and the other is occupied by a few or guards. You better be on your way before they come upon you and flay you on the spot. They don't like men very much."

Tahm laughed, he knew there were no guards, and if their were they weren't the clan known for their blood thirst. She was wearing an owl clan mask, if she was of that clan even as a human as long as he did not harm her they would most likely give him an escort to the fox clans lands. " I am a friend of your clan, the owls enjoy a great peace with the mages. It's the high nobility of men that have declared war." He sounded sweetly enough, though that was not entirely the truth, the mages did not send men to aid the royal house in their war, instead they sent Techno-drivers. Magical suits of armor that would make a man a threat even against the Giant monsters that took domain in the realms.

" Even so my party and I are headed to the Krakens keep, I don't believe you would fair well there. Where are you trying to go in the orc lands, maybe i could help." Isolda didn't quite no why she was volunteering to help this handsome boy, she was just a girl with a fools crush, but still his blue eyes made her weak as she looked deep into them with her own.

" my dear lady, I'm looking for the Foxes den, I am expected there and it seems they're hid even better in the dark than they are in the day. I'v been searching for them for a few days now."

Isolda smiled " youre in the eastern orc lands, the foxes are west, even further west than the tree cities of the owls and the eagle clans. I would be cautious, the Bramble beasts infest the western lands so much they are why the owls stay in the trees."

Tahm bowed again smiling at isolda causing her to swoon slightly, her cheeks turning a bright shade of red again. She curtsied back at him foolishly and watched him walk away his sword bouncing across his hip as he went. "Maybe i should have him come back to my camp with me, he could be of use to me in the future." she was trying ot find an excuse to bring him with her other than she thought he was handsome and found none.

She decided to go back to camp still dazed by the handsome boy she had found, she hoped she would meet him again and that the beasts of the forest didn't kill him before they did.