�Priscilla!� I yelled all the louder. Suddenly, a noisy rustling came to my right, and as I turned, a saw Priscilla emerging from out of some scruffy trees.
�Pady Proudfoot! Such a loud voice in the morning! Can�t I search for mushrooms in peace?�
I was angered. Here I was concerned about her safety, and all she could do was complain. Harshly I yelled at her. �Why did you leave the circle? You should have stayed right here!�
�I always search for mushrooms in the morning. It gives me time to think to myself and have my own time of quiet peace without anyone else interfering. I don�t see why that has to change out here and besides, I heard you and Lanthir talking. The wolves have moved on and since you two went off to play with bows and arrows, I decided to do my own thing. So there, Pady Proudfoot!�
Surprisingly, I heard chuckling behind me. Turning, I saw that Lanthir was wearing a large smile, laughing.
�Priscilla,� he said, addressing her, �You must be quiet indeed. My Elf ears are trained to hear anything that moves. To leave this circle I would say was unwise, but I doubt that any evil would have known so, if my ears did not catch you.� His face went serious once more. �Still, I must respectfully ask that you do not do so again without telling us where you go. Your safety is as much my concern as my own.�
Priscilla looked skeptical at being told to report her actions to us, but nodded. �I suppose I can see what you mean. Anyway, here is what I found.� She held up four enormous mushrooms and my mouth began to water immediately. It was not long before we were all sitting by the fire, Priscilla and I with two warm mushrooms in our hands. Lanthir refused to take one. He said he did not like mushrooms and I assume the way he grinned at our response meant we looked at him with amusing incredulity. I will never understand why anyone would not love mushrooms. Just the smell of one is enough to make a stomach full to bursting hungry once more.
After we had finished our breakfast, Lanthir told us to spread the ashes from the fires around the clearing. He did not want to leave any trace of our presence, more out of concern for the wolves than anything else. They might be gone, he told us, but there was no sense in assuming they would not come back to this spot. Once that task had been accomplished, we took up our packs and our walk began again. What a dreary wilderness! The gray sky, dusty ground and dead trees were enough to put anyone in a bad mood. The mountains were coming closer and closer to us, and when we were but a half mile�s length from them, Lanthir called for a break, I think not of his own accord, but out of Priscilla�s insistence that we stop for elevenses. Lanthir had complained that it was not wise to keep stopping every few feet for meals, but Priscilla was able to coax him to at least allow us a small snack. Priscilla and I opened our packs and went at our eating with gusto, while Lanthir paced back and forth, out of impatience and what I recognized as a bit of nervousness. When a few minutes had passed by, he turned to us and spoke quickly.
�I do not think we should linger. This is not a safe land. Something is uneasy and I fear what is coming our way.�
I looked over at Priscilla who shrugged. The way of Elves, I think, will always be a mystery to us. They see and hear things no one else can and though we have come to love many of them dearly, I doubt their minds will ever make sense to us. Still, this day, I have learned to trust our guide and listen to his counsel at all costs. We were just beginning to put the food away into our packs when Lanthir spoke once more.
�Quickly. We are not far from the mountains and�� He never finished his sentence. From out of nowhere, a blurry mound of gray fell upon him. It took me a moment to recognize what I was seeing, but there was no mistaking the same unnatural cries we had heard the night before. A wolf, far bigger than I, had pushed Lanthir down from behind. Its eyes were a hideous red, and it looked beyond the Elf it stood upon to me, snarling. I was frozen in fear. Not until I heard two dull thumps was I roused to action. Turning, I saw that Priscilla next to me had drawn her bow and was furiously firing arrow after arrow. It was then that I discovered there was not one, but more than a dozen wolves rushing at us from all directions. Each of their eyes spoke one thing: death. Turning back, I saw Lanthir had managed to throw the wolf from him, but not before it had bit into his left arm, causing red blood to flow.
