The sky was turning a beautiful shade of red above the mountains bordering the Forest of Learmont. Dekor could make out the dark gray mass of the mountains silhouetted against the darkening sky. He knew that razor-sharp splinters covered every rock and stone. Moving slowly forward, Dekor reached out with his life senses and edged his way into the forest. Smiling at the memory of his classes where he had been taught by local hunters how to spot the signs of hidden danger, suddenly he was reminded of his father. A chill ran down his back as he stepped under the forest canopy into the deepening shadows of Learmont.
With his life senses tingling, his mind filled with a myriad signals that he could not decipher. Had things gone as planned Dekor would now be out here with his class, learning from a master how to decipher those signals. As it was he could not tell a friend from a foe. Warily he scanned the branches overhead; their thick, gnarly bark capped with a coat of moss looked more dangerous to Dekor than the hidden things his mind was telling him were there.
Looking back over his shoulder he swallowed hard, his throat dry. The outside world had been absorbed by the clawing briars of Learmont. He could no longer tell the time of day as the twilight was unable to penetrate the dense canopy and light the forest floor. Beneath his feet night creatures were stirring in their burrows. He would have to make camp sooner rather than later as the forest was rapidly fading into shadow.
He found a spot near a circle of smaller trees, a type he had never seen before. Their narrow trunks, wrapped in a paper-thin bark, twisted up through the canopy clawing at the fading light. Dekor knelt slowly down on the ground checking all around for signs of life. Just in front of him a tiny patch of leaf litter erupted, revealing a small creature, some kind of mole or shrew with a prehensile nose. It hissed at him vehemently before diving back beneath the surface.
Tired and hungry Dekor sat and leaned back, supporting himself with his arms. He looked up at the canopy, now just a tangled mass of dark fingers. He leaned forward, his hands over his face, and sighed. With his eyes shut tight he reached out once more with his mind, searching the forest for danger.
Dekor froze.
He sat, watching a creature in his mind as it raised its front legs tentatively feeling the air. There was a click, a hiss, and a soft guttural growl. Dekor opened his eyes, rolled to his side and blasted the spider with a ball of yellow flames, startling the creature. It reared up, now taller than Dekor, thrusting its abdomen forward. Dekor sprang to his feet, his eyes fixed on the spinnerets spitting wet silk balls at him. Dekor stepped aside, pulling the dagger from his belt, and narrowly avoided a second ball of silk splattering damply beside him. Dekor threw another fireball directly at the spinnerets. He missed but burned the creature's underbelly. The spider dropped to the ground grinding its belly into the leaf litter.
Again Dekor blasted the spider with fire; this time it dodged aside, the fireball striking its leg. The spider's eyes glowed angrily, a ring of smoldering red lights crowning its dark brown head. It charged forward, reaching out with its short front legs as it revealed its fangs. Dekor could feel the call of his mistress rising within him. He thrust out his hand to send a lance of fire right into the creature's mouth. Dekor dived under the spider, thrusting his dagger into its bulbous abdomen. The spider slammed its body to the ground, impaling itself onto the blade as it did so. The dagger sank deep into its belly. Thick blood poured over him as he yanked the blade free. Dekor scorched the spider with a wall of flames then rolled over and clambered to his feet. The spider writhed around on the forest floor trying to extinguish the fire burning its flesh, in the process tearing the wound in its abdomen wide open.
A bright light began to glow among the trees beyond the spider. Dekor could make out the shape of two enormous hands clutching a glowing blue-white ball. The spider scuttled around to assess the new threat, then turned back toward Dekor and charged at him. As Dekor stepped back he stumbled over a protruding root and fell heavily to the forest floor. The spider suddenly squealed as a ball of lightning struck it and spread across its back, sparking and crackling. The spider fell to the ground pinning Dekor beneath it. He stabbed the spider over and over, slashing at the fangs as he tried to wriggle from beneath it. The lights in the spider's eyes faded to black, and then it slumped down, dead.
Dekor pushed at the spider's head, surprised at how easily he managed to move it now it was lifeless. He grimaced as a fang grazed his shin.
"Hur hur." A deep, guttural laugh hung in the air as the spider was dragged from the clearing.
Dekor jumped to his feet, quickly conjuring a large ball of fire. He hung it in the air as a lantern to ward off the night. The forest beyond was dark, silent, and empty.
“No wonder they warn us about the fire,” Dekor said to himself, catching his breath. “Lightning. Magnus used lightning to kill the hatchlings. That..." he looked in the direction the spider had been dragged away, "used lightning.”
Shaking his head he searched around the clearing at the base of the trees, finding one with moss growing on its exposed roots. He sat next to it and briefly inspected his grazed shin for any signs of poison. Pulling his water bottle from his belt he sipped from it, shook it then smiled.
Stretching out his hand, he summoned ice rain and allowed it to pile up on the on the forest floor like diamonds spilling from a purse. When he had a large enough pile, Dekor scooped up some of the ice crystals in his hand and filled his water bottle with them. He wished now he had a wand so he could focus his magic more precisely, but at least he would not run out of water. He took some more ice and rubbed it over his hands to remove the spider blood. Next he washed the graze on his leg and was relieved to see it was only a superficial scratch. He had been lucky.
Dekor patted the moss-covered root, reflecting on the days he had spent out hunting with his father. Trenor had taught him to look out for the moss as it always grew most thickly on the north face of the trees. Refreshed he rose to his feet, summoning another lantern. Dekor pushed the orb ahead of him as he walked briskly through the forest, determined to stay in it no longer than necessary.