Moll looked up and then frowned, he said “let’s see if Nelly and Jack know where he is…” The rest of the group exchanged uneasy glances. When Nelly and Jack confirmed that they had not seen or heard from Frino. The unease turned to grim expressions, they had been here before and they knew there was little hope.

  Moll ordered the group to break camp. We would make a sweep to see if we could find Frino or clues to what had happened.

  Moll split the group up into two search parties. Jack, Barlo and Nelly in one search group, Sslaras, Moll and me in the other. He looked around at the determined faces and said “We will do a quick search for clues about Frino, if we find something use the trees to signal, three strikes for Frino, two for clues…”

  He then looked at me and said “We go together, no one ventures out alone, if you see something let us know, don’t engage unless I tell you to… Understood?” I nodded and said “understood… What if it is the panther?”

  Moll’s face turned a darker shade of green and the nostrils in his pig like snout vibrated, he looked pissed. Oh shit! I realized how my question could be misunderstood! “I… I ehhh mean I have seen what it can do. we should be careful, it likes to play with its food”

  Moll took a deep breath and said “Okay, lets get out there” and he looked at me, as he added “be careful of the panther. I am not losing anyone else today!” The rest of the group looked resigned at those words.

  Moll was leading the way in our group, Sslaras, Stalker and I keeping an eye or nose out for anything out of the ordinary. The Ghostwood spooky and intense in the best of circumstances, but now with a crewmate missing, knowing I was in “cursed” wood and that the green menace was out there?

  My heart was up in my throat constantly in a way that reminded me of how I used to feel waiting for the newest set of scans, knowing it was bad, scared to hope, but doing it anyway. The dark wood seemed to suck in the light creating oceans of shadow that could hide Frino everywhere, so I went searching through every bush, until Moll pulled me back and said “you are wasting time and making too much noise… stop it! Keep your eyes open and your hands to yourself”

  I nodded to him. I was helping no one by going through everything like a bull in a china shop. Now that I was not making all that noise, the eerie silence of the woods was all the more noticeable, it was like this whole place was holding its breath… Daring us to go deeper.

  Stalker was with me. I had emoted to him we were going on a protection hunt for the one that smelled like prey, and he had readily agreed to help, and sensing my anxiety, emoted safe hunt and calm. I didn’t tell Moll about Stalker smelling danger and something old, not because I didn’t believe in Stalker, but because I didn’t trust Moll or the others enough to explain my connection with Stalker.

  A tense half hour later

  Clack

  and another

  Clack…

  we waited with our breaths held for the third clack, but half a minute later the two strikes repeated… Not Frino, but a clue!

  Following their signal we soon link up with the other group in a small clearing, and they do not look happy. Barlo is red eyed, as if he has been crying, Nelly is trying to comfort him and at the same time avoids looking at their find.

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  The clearing is a mess! The smell is awful… A mixture of old rotten wood and decaying leaves and bark with a metallic overtone of blood. There are large globs of heavy red sap spread out in the clearing, and even torn branches and vines, along with bloody pieces of Frino’s clothing. At first look it would seem like Frino might have fought back, but the picture is more complicated than that!

  A closer look reveals tufts of green fur and on examining the branches and vines we can see that they have not been cut or chopped of, but have large claw marks… The tracks indicate that at least two beings left this clearing, one of the tracks clearly being the panther, the other only visible because of the drops of red sap.

  Stalker is examining the clearing, and he emotes Scent prey… Danger… and old smell. That fits the blood and remains we have found. It looks like Frino ran into both the panther and the old smell must be a woodwraith right? I mean the quest earlier, the talks about the wood being dangerous… it all fits! So, a three way battle…

  I couldn’t stop myself from wondering what kind of monster a woodwraith was. I mean it clearly had the ability to move silently and almost without a trace in the wood. It was also strong enough to fight off the panther… Yet it could be hurt as the puddles of sap and torn branches proved, so not invincible.

  Stalker is now looking at the tracks out of the clearing and he emotes Danger and indicates the clearest track and then old smell and prey at the other. It would appear that the forest won the fight or at least took Frino. He looks up at me hunt?

  I turn to look at Moll and the others and ask, “Do we go after Frino right now or do we need to get reinforcements from the camp?” Barlo looks up with a sudden interest and Nelly is quick to take his hand. Moll shakes his head and says ”Neither, we are going back for today” Barlo looks away and Nelly squeezes his hand.

  I look at the group and at the clearing, and try again “But Frino is your friend, you can’t just…” Moll looks at me as the words stop coming. He looks resigned and with a sigh he says “Look, would I love to go and get Frino back? Yes!” He shakes his head and continues “But Frino is not the first we have lost to the woods, and he will not be the last. We learned early that going deeper into the woods only leads to more deaths”

  Sslaras and the rest of the crew take one last look around the clearing and at the bloody clothing that is all that remains of Frino and then admitting defeat to the woods they turn to follow Moll back

  I hesitate and sadly emote to Stalker no hunt. Stalker looks at me and then at the leaving group and emotes Escape pack? He growls softly and then looked at the track and emoted to me solo hunt protect pack!

  No wait! It’s no safe solo I emote desperately to Stalker! He doesn’t stop, I’m not sure what to do… I want to follow and protect Stalker, but he has a better chance at finding Frino alone then with me, so going with him might endanger him. Undecided I stand in the clearing looking where Stalker disappeared and then looking to where the group has gone.

  Sslaras grabs me and says “come along, now is not a time to be left behind!” As I leave with Sslaras I emote be safe come home to Stalker, not sure if he is within range.

  We return in silence, one man short, defeated and resigned. I’m lost in thoughts about what could have been done differently, baffled by how easy it seemed for the others to just accept that Frino was gone and that there is nothing to do about it and full of worry about Stalker… Alone in a wood full of dangers, looking for the friend they abandoned…