Author's Note: The creature described here is from the DnD Monsters Manual ver 3.5... again. Think I play DnD too much?... Nah!

Chapter 52: A Startling Encounter

Dregan led Vivi, Zentarou, and Orko through the woods he knew as home. The Syndisian Woods were thick and lush, the leavens like the most precious emerald. They heard birds chirping and animals moving away from them, but not in the usual way of scurrying fear. One bird, a lovely blue songbird, didn't even fly as they passed below its branch.

"Amazing," Zentarou whispered, pausing to look at it. "I'm a cat, and therefore should appear to it as an enemy. But it just sits there."

"Well, you are an upright cat," Orko commented. "It's probably confused." They laughed.

"Hunters, at least those who over hunt or poach animals, are forbidden here," Dregan said. "Those who attempt it are severely punished by Kest or by the woods other guardian, Render."

"An elf?" asked Zentarou.

"No. A magical beast which about the intelligence of a child. But his kind 'adopt' areas as their special protectorate and guard it for their entire lives, with their lives. Kest befriended him a long time ago, before I came here, and taught him how to communicate better and some minor skills." Dregan chuckled. "If we camp before we reach the S.S., and someone finds a dead hare, it's probably an offering from Render. But we shouldn't have to camp. It's not far."

"This place is beautiful," Vivi complimented, looking around in wonder.

"One of the most powerful Kheledi in the world lives here," Dregan replied. "These woods are his home, and he has powerful nature magics to enrich the soil. His tie with it is so strong that he knows when someone enters of leaves, even us, but unless we harm something or run into one of his animal companions he won't investigate." The Dunedi grinned. "So we can surprise them."

"I don't see any sign of the demon army," Zentarou observed. "Nothing at all."

"I believe that they would have come here," responded Dregan. "Each time, they've gone after family, and my family is here. Even if they wanted to search for me, not all would've left at the same time, just in case I returned and to protect the kids. Either those beasts haven't been here yet, or they've come and gone."

"You don't think they destroyed your family, do you?" Orko didn't really want to say it, but felt the thought had to be voiced.

"No." Dregan was definitive on that. "The woods are untouched. There's no way the demons could've marched on the S.S without leaving a trail of destruction. Kest's magic would've been able to repair the damage quickly. Plus, you all saw how much damage Natar did. Adynaeus if many times larger, and that many times more powerful. And," He winked. "my sister has a special hatred for demons. She can sense one a mile away, and her swords were created with her special hatred in mind. If the demons got here, the only way any of them would've survived my family would be if one was plucked up by Jaskar for one of his experiments." He sounded so sure none argued.

Dregan suddenly stopped, listening.

"What?" asked Zentarou.

"I - thought I heard something. Just a second, and I'll check."

"Want us to go with you?" Vivi offered.

"If it's Render or one of my friends, I should show myself first. Iriador, Evarion's wife, has a jumpy finger when it comes to her bow, and if she's out here, she's hunting. I wouldn't want her to accidentally shoot one of you." He moved off silently into the brush.

The mages waited patiently, agreeing that if it were Dregan's friends, it probably would be a good idea for the Dunedi to appear first. After all, they did look kinda odd, and it might alarm them.

"I'm so glad the curse is gone," Vivi said. "Now we can all go home, and still visit each other."

"Trolly-molly, some of these trees are huge," Orko commented, looking up at a particularly tall one.

"This forest feels ancient," Zentarou said. "It's almost like the Elven Woods back home." A sudden SNAP, like that of a branch or twig breaking underfoot, startled them all, and they huddled together. "Dregan?" asked Zentarou, looking over. It wasn't the direction the elf had gone, but the cat guessed if it was one of their comrade's family, saying his name first might avert trouble. "C'mon, Dregan. Don't try to scare us."

No answer.

Zentarou, nervous, put a hand on his sword, as the other two moved closer to the center of the little clearing they were in, fingering staff and wand. The cat took a deep breath and approached the direction the noise had come from.

"Whoever it there," he began, "we mean you no har - YIKES!" His sentence ended in a yelp as a large beast, stooping over but still nine feet tall and broader than anyone the mages knew lunged out of the brush. It was gray all over, with long arms ending in clawed hands that scraped the ground as it moved. Upon it's sloped forehead six small, yellowish eyes glared at them, and it's wide mouth, full of black, sharp teeth, snarled as it snapped forward with surprising speed for it's rocky bulk and batted Zentarou's sword aside without trouble before wrapping the mage up in a tight bear hug. Zentarou squirmed, trying to get out of the crushing embrace, one that was tightening with every passing moment, but was no match for the beast's strength as it began to squeeze the air out of him, like a cobra to a mouse meal.