The Journey of the Legend part 8

As We leave town, Marda wants to be in the front, and as she and Melfina are sharing a horse, they lead the way. I notice that Aurane is in the back, and I wonder how many times he has left the city, if ever. As we travel on, we notice that there are huge cart tracks in the road where Elon's team must have dragged the equipment they meant to set up. there are other people on the road, and as the day passes on, a few start to drop off here and there, to make camp, or to return to their homes outside of the city. there is very little talk in the group, some small polite conversation, but we keep to ourselves throughout the day. Each of us coming to terms of what we are getting into, and thinking about why we have left this city. I try to think of everything I can about this Hydra we are to face, if I am going to fight it, I may as well be prepared. I'll try to ask Melfina and Marda, but they seem to be talking to each other right now, and I do not wish to interrupt.
 
As the day becomes late afternoon, many of the travelers around us break off in a larger group, not necessarily together, but staying near to each other for need of safety rather than camaraderie. We decide to venture farther, as we still have time and energy to travel, and we desire speed over company. The moorbounder Mittens seems to have no problems with me, or my companions, although he was frisky at the start of the trip. Maybe getting back out into the wilderness will be good for man and beast. Some thing about this trip has me on edge, as if I have been in the city for too long. It has been quite nice making armor to protect those who would fight, instead of Weapons that could be placed in the wrong hands, could be used to kill innocent lives. and the smell of the fresh woods, the smell of life. I had forgotten how nice the woods smelled. I need to leave the city more often. Melfina calls out to us, pulling the group out of their own thoughts, when she says we she find a place to camp. We leave the Road, and eventually she finds a nice clearing in the woods where we can set up camp. once again, my thoughts go back to the time I was in the Army, camping most every night. I look around and see that most of the group can set up their own gear, Marda and Melfina setting up well used, but sturdy tents, Rorin's tent is a bit more gaudy than anything I would have seen in the Army, except maybe for a visiting General. I see that my thoughts were confirmed about Aurane, seeing that he is having trouble with his tent. He needs to stop using that ridge pole as an upright, and he should be ok. I remember a new kid in the axes that tried that a couple of times. always had a funny shaped tent. Heh. I can't help but think of that kid, or me when I first joined with the company as I take the old Blanket Max gave me and try to spread it out over my bedroll. as I fling it up,
 
I suddenly find myself on my tail, my tent resting on top of... another tent. this one looks like the material that made up the blanket, complete with patches. Not entirely sure what just happened, I poke my head inside to see what became of my bedroll.... and I find my self inside my parents cabin...almost. It looks just like the home I grew up in, where I felt the safest, complete with the oven where my mom baked sweet bread, and the chair my dad would sit on and smoke his pipe, but Everything was made out of pillows. And the hallway was about 40 feet longer than it should be. I pull my head out, and look around, and find myself back in the little clearing, my canvas tent sitting on top of this new Blanket-tent, and my comrades looking at me, in bewilderment. I tell them what has happened, and I invite them in to show them. Inside the new pillow-fort-cabin, we find everything is made of pillows and blankets except for 6 mugs of perfect hot chocolate. Hmm. Odd. I start looking into rooms, and find that the hallway is longer because there are more rooms, more than enough for a room a person, and they all seem to be premade for them, as if someone has already thought about their needs. Maybe while I was spreading this blanket and thinking about the others, I somehow did this? What exactly had happened when I spread out that blanket? How could this new space have taken the form of My parents house? As I open a room near the end of the hallway, group in tow, I look in, and in absolute horror close it as fast as I can. In a small state of shock, I rapidly tell the others they are not allowed in that room. That Had Not been in my parents house at all! I had spotted Piles of Bodies, limbs and parts. A vision of my past made out of pillows and blankets in soft, gruesome detail. Whatever the Hell that was, I wanted my new friends to not be any part of that. At that point I abruptly ended the tour, again warning everyone to stay out of that room, and we headed back to make our meal and decide who should be on watch and when. With Rorin on first, and the two Clerics on 2nd, I head to my room, and try to get some sleep before I have to get up early and play my own role in watch.
 
I lay awake thinking of this place, and realizing I have No idea how it came to be, or if I could even replicate it, and it feels like I have only just drifted off Whn I hear the yelling. Quickly attaching my arm, and grabing my axe, I barrel out of my room to hear Aurane yelling about us being under attack. The rest of the group, in various states of being awake are out of their rooms and we all sprint out of the house, in time to hear the other cleric yelling about" Magic Bad!" The wraith we had seen in battle before seemed... reluctant to fight, as it was hovering over my tent. Melfina was nearly 30 feet away battling a large cat. Not afraid of Large animals, as I spent many as watch sitting next to them with the Axes, I run up to it, and quickly find out this is no normal wild cat. It seems to have a large eye on the back of the tail, and it seems more a Stalk than an Eye. Whatever this thing is, it probably bleeds, and it will probably die, so I swing my axe down and connect with it. Feeling the energy of the fight, and being somewhat grumpy that I was so rudely awoken, I breath fire down onto it, my axe still in its body. It didn't really seem to enjoy that, and Marda comes in and slices into it with her wicked swords, and Rorin hits it with his staff, and punches it, the skin of the beast rippling with the force of his impacting hands. Aurane Brings his hammer down, and continues to insult the monsters heritage, and as it is still alive, and has an Eye where it shouldn't be, I tend to agree with the young city cleric. This thing is not natural. The massive eye on it's tail focuses on Melfina, and she cries out in pain, while the thing jumps at me, flashing teeth. Not having had time to put on any armor, and needing to defend myself somehow, I throw my metal arm in the way of the massive jaws, and I am able to block the bite from coming down on anything soft. but as I block it, I feel some sort of force going through my body, as if I had tripped and landed on all of my bones at once. I'm going to be feeling that for a few days I think. It moves as if to flee, and we all take the opportunity to lay into it, I cut a large gash into the back , near one of the rear legs, and Marda gets one of her hooks around the neck of the beast. Marda and I stopped it from leaving, and Rorin stopped it from Moving again. He leapt into the air a couple feet, bringing his staff down on the skull in a massive overhead blow, that smashes the skull, and forces the head post the hook of Marda's sword, partially decapitating the creature.
 
All is silent in the clearing, but for our hard breathing after fighting, and Melfina speaks up saying that this thing is probably left over from the caster wars, as it was made to hunt magic. That would definitely explain the new tent, but I still have no idea how it works, or even Why Max would give me something so Valuable! I guess I will have plenty of time to think on this as Marda and I decide to just take over at this point, as I settle down near the remain of the fire and I go to restarting it. It isn't hard to get it back up, as I breathe the damn stuff, and using the light, Marda starts attempting to salvage some of the skin from the beast, but from all the cuts, tears, and the lack of real light, she gets enough for a pair of nice gloves. I hear a small scratching noise, and feel a tapping on my side, and a small.. Raccoon-crow... Thing is tapping at my scales, attracted by the fire reflecting off of me. Gently swatting at it, it eventually leaves me alone, although it may have taken one of my scales as a souvenir. The rest of the morning passes without incident, and we find ourselves, all packed up, trying to figure out how to take down this tent, when it just falls to the ground, slowly drifting down, and when it hits the ground, its just back to the old, patchwork, threadbare blanket Max had given me. After removing my canvas tent from atop it, we find an iron pot someone had left inside was sitting on the ground, along with my bedroll, which I had forgotten in the sudden surprise of the blanket tent thing appearing. We pack up, and get back on the trail, and after an incident where my mount let out a startling cry, and suddenly attempted to climb a tree with me still on it's back, we were back on the trail.