Brithiach
A vast forest mostly populated by silver-birched trees lies to the south, appearing nearly impenetratable. To the East lies the Ford of Brithiach over the mighty Sirion river. The high mountains vanish in the shadows in the North, yet another range is clearer Northeast. All around you is barren, desolate land with few trees or features.

The woods are quiet, deathly still save for the rustling of the fallen leaves. Branches reach up like skeletal hands, casting lines of shadow across the barren earth of the forest floor. The light of the sun is pale and watery, as though shining from far away through the chill winter air. An army of billowing clouds masses in the north, creeping inexorably across beleriand with the whispered promise of darkness. The forest is grey, wrapped about in webs of veiling shadow that deepen and grow with the coming of the storm, and the sun sinks wearily towards the horizon. The cold, dreary air is filled with hidden menace, and the promice of watching eyes...

Softly upon a narrow forest path treads a young woman, a brown cloak thrown about her shoulders and hanging to her ankles. Born and raised under the boughs of this very forest, the woman's feet land quietly, but not silently, upon the ground with the ease of many years. Her hood is up over her head, hiding her features in shadow, and she grasps her cloak tightly about her against the cold. Were it not for the darkness and the dangerous mood upon the forest of late, she might be out for a casual walk. Yet something drives her from the hidden camp of the Haladin, and her face is set away from it.

Safely away from the traveled path, a single tree reaches up through thw woods, a sprawling, ancient oak. Thick, gnarled branches form a knotted crown twenty feet up the trunk, the hollow of which is filled with browning leaves. It is a large tree, weathered and cracked by years of wind and storm, and shadows cling to it's rough bark. The Oak is hidden from the path, faded and unassuming in the shadows, yet one could just make it out fromt he narrow trail...

High in the branches a stirring can be heard, and a handfull of leaves flutters to the forest floor. A thin black seems to slip upright, perhaps merely a shadow cast by swaying trees. The leaves rustle as it moves, even that faint sound breaking the silence of the woods. Then the movement is gone, the shadows are once again still, yet a soft hiss lingers on the wind...

As the handful of leaves falls from a nearby oak, the young woman's step slows. She casts back her hood to reveal the stern features and flashing eyes of Leana, apprentice smith of the Haladin. Her mouth is set in a grim line, as usual, but she tilts her head to the side in cautious curiosity. She glances up into the sky, perhaps to see if the wind shakes the grim branches of the trees above, yet all is still. Her brow creasing faintly with thought, or with worry, Leana continues on her way, though she walks more in the shadows at the edge of the trail, and more slowly than before.

Soft movement whispers between the boughs, the first breath of the coming storm perhaps-yet not. The earthfallen leaves are still, and no wind stirs the bare earth. Yet something is there... for even as the sun fails, a faint form can be seen upon the ground, drifting like a wraith upon the ashen ground. A spider form, what might be seen if the long shadows took on life of their own, and crept about with deadly purpose. But it too, vanishes, swept away by the gentlest of breezes. Nothing more can be seen, and the settling dust is undisturbed, but a sense of watching lingers in the silence...

A latticework of shadows casts itself over Leana's path, alternately illuminating and hiding her form in the dense forest. The light and whispering breeze pulls one of the woman's reddish locks out of the leather that binds her hair, sending it to whisper around her face disconcertingly. Pulling it back with cold fingers and tucking it behind her ear, Leana stops entirely, looking out into the darkness of the forest for an uneasy moment. She moves her fingers to the trunk of a tree near her, as though touching the solid wood will steady her. A moment passes and the smith steps forward once more, wary eyes glancing from side to side.

The cold air is tense, and the dark mass of the clouds loom ever closer in the sky. The mournful grey of the shadows deepens into black, and the light is devoured by gloom.

As darkness gathers upon itsef, a a faint pattering sound can be heard upon the earth. It stops at whiles, moving closer, it seems, but never louder, a ghost of movement haunting the sorry woods. Nearer, behind the human upon the path, a swath of shadow blurs suddenly into pitch darkness. For a moment, a gleam of red can be seen, like embers in a dying fire. after a long moment the blink out, and the shadow is empty once more...

Leana whirls about as though expecting to see something behind her, the soles of her boots slipping softly in the packed snow of the path. The smith's face is pale, and her breath begins to come raggedly. Her pulse pounds in her ears like the beating of a drum, and there is naught else to be heard. She pauses, her hand once more seeking a solid tree trunk nearby. Her eyes dart about, the pupils growing large to capture what little light is left in the forest, seeking something. She takes one cautious step back the way she came - - perhaps she has decided that a late-night stroll was not such a good idea after all.

At long last, the pale disk of the sinking sun is at long last overtaken by the clouds, and the vestiges of light fade. The forest seems to come alive with sound, as secret creatures wake and move about in the inky blackness. Black forms loom suddenly on the path, like phantoms long in wait who come alive in the sudden night. The light wind gains power, howling between the trees with a wrathful shriek. A form slips suddenly from the trees, silent in the wind as it steps full upon the path. No more than faint outline can be seen in the darkness, but it moves slowly, with a sense of eager presence.

Bringing her hood up over her head and holding it there against the power of the wind, Leana bends her head into the freezing wind, wincing at its cold touch. She continues forward a few steps after the form has come from the trees, but suddenly stops, letting her hood go behind her as she peers forward. With a sudden gasp, the smith's eyes widen and she darts to the left off of the path, into the shade and cover of the thick woods. The snow crunches quietly under her feet, revealing the general direction but not the details of her path.

The shadow form moves with speed, lunging after the woman even as she moves. It slips between the tall trees and into the deeper shadow beyond, moving unseen after her. The patter of running feet is carried off by the the screaming wind, only a sense of rushing movement reveals it's presence. It it comes quickly behind the fleeing human, a wraith form moving through the woods, unhindered by root or branch, unmindful of wind or shadow, following with dreadful purpose over bare earth and snow alike.

Leana was not built for the chase -- she is short, muscled largely on her upper body, and built for strength, not endurance. She runs with ease through the forest, knowing each twist and turn of it intimitely, yet she does not run quickly. She cannot. With such skill as can come only from desparation, Leana grasps a tree-branch and hauls herself up, crouching on the lowest branch and then grasping the next higher one, beginning to climb into a sturdy tree.

Even as she does the black creature leaps behind her, gripping bark and bough and climbing with fearsome ease. It leaps from branch to branch, moving swiftly and surely despite the wind. It moves up the tall tree like some clinging insect, barely seen hands and feet finding purchase on even the bare and branchless of the trunk. It follows the human, tireless, relentless, and the distance between them closes swiftly.

Alarmed to find that the creature can climb trees quite as well as she can, Leana begins to urgently seek another escape route ... no longer simply moving up the tree, but off to the side, perhaps hoping its branches will intermingle with those of another tree. The young woman jumps down from one branch to another in this pursuit, her booted feet landing heavily near the trunk. Her feet are steady and she does not slip, yet the branch creaks ominously and then suddenly breaks, revealing its rotten interior. Her mouth open in a soundless cry, Lee falls with the branch with a soft thud on the forest floor. She is unable to keep her feet at the impact, and ends up in a heap in the shadows of the base of the tree, her cloak tangled about her.

Her pusuer does not fall. It leaps, dropping the shorter distance quickly, slipping from one branch to another quickly, indeed, barely touching each as it makes the descent. At the bottommost branch it jumps full upon the human, gripping with clawed hands about her throat. For the first time it makes a sound, an unpleasant gurgling hiss. A glint of white shines faintly, sharp teeth spread wide in a feral grin as it bends over the woman to kill.

With a strangled cry of fear and hatred, Leana scrambles somewhat, striving to get away from the creature. The scudding clouds overhead reveal a faint bit of moonlight, illuminating her pale features and wild hair as she struggles. The young smith fists her right hand, bringing it up sharply and desparately in order to throw a punch at the creature's face.

The dark figure takes a blow to the face, and shrieks out a curse. It's thinn fingers lighten their hold for a moment, and the girl writhes free. With a snarl, her assailant raises both hands, and brings them down together towards her face, meaning to beat her into the dust.

Snow begins to fall gently from the sky, brushing Leana's face and landing in her hair as she twists to the side to avoid the orcs attempted blow, scrambling to her feet. The apprentice does not so much as pause to gather her breath before running off, beginning to wind her way through the dark and pathless woods.

The orc is after her again in an instant. The snow swirls about it's black figure, as it hurtles itself after it's prey. A deep throated growl fights the howl of the wind as the creature moves to catch her again, despite the blowing snow. It's speed is less than before, for the human maid is obscured by snow, and her scent is scattered by the wind. It moves cautiously after her, making wary speed yet mindful of how near to the human camp his hunt brings him.

Knowing the forest so well that she could run through these trees with her eyes shut, Leana does not lessen her pace in the slightest as she runs back towards the camp. It is not too long before she passes under where the sentries are posted and gives the warning cry, causing the wardens to set their arrows to their bows.

The orc comes hissing to a stop withing range of the archers, growling as his quarry gives a cry. His red eyes flicker through the snow, and his shrieks are lost in the wind as he turns and slips defeated back into the trees...