Tainted Meat - Chapter 1

“Did you hear that?” Ziza asked his polar elf friend as he raised his eyes from the pack he was rummaging through and glanced off to the east.

“Hear what?” Zolana replied. “I didn’t hear anything. But your ears are much more trustworthy than mine.”

“It sounded like a…There it was again.”

Certain now that he had heard something, Ziza stood and peered off into the distance. Zolana came up beside him and even though she knew she wouldn’t see anything that her fellow polar elf would miss, she strained her eyes and ears also.

“What was it?”

“It sounded a lot like a shout” Ziza replied. I think it’s best to send Claws out to check. He reached into his pouch, pulled out a small piece of dried arctic hare meat, tossed it into the air, and watched as his white eagle took flight. Claws knew what the treat meant and having snatched it midair, took off to the east.

“What kind of shout was it?”

“I dunno. It was a shout.”

“Was it a shout of fear or joy?”

“Can’t say, but let’s just pack up everything while we wait for Claws to return.”

The two friends packed up their gear from the campsite. It was a public use campsite on the edge of the Snowpines forest, the homeland of the polar elves. Both friends had spent nights here in the past on many occasions and knew they would spend time here again, but they never did leave anything behind, not with the orcs to the west.

They had packed up all the gear and sat waiting for the eagle to return. Claws swooped in out of the sky and landed on the outstretched arm of its master. Ziza and Claws never really needed words, they had a connection. Claws had been with Ziza’s since it was an egg and they were able to communicate simply with glances, but when they needed specifics, they turned to Zolana.

Zolana had always had a way with animals, all animals, but especially ones from the Snowpines. She had studied them, but she also had a connection with them through nature, a magical connection. Zolana was what was called a druid. Among her ability to speak with animals, she was even able to change her form into a few select animals that she had studied at great length. But changing into animals came with risk so she only ever did it when she needed to.

Through the three-way conversation, they learned that there was, in fact, two humans off in the east. One was fleeing the other, but the one doing the chasing seemed to be hurt. This point they had to confirm several times with Claws, but there was little doubt in the end. One man was running from another injured man.

Zolana readied her spear and Ziza strung his bow and they headed off at a light trot to the east. Ziza scanned the horizon. It wasn’t long before he spotted the fleeing man in the distance. As they got closer, the man saw them and started yelling for help.

Ziza and Zolana never did trust humans, because they were usually greedy and didn’t care much for things of nature, but some of them were not so bad, like the farming villagers off to the southeast of the Snowpines. Perhaps this man was one of them, but he was certainly in need of help. Ziza spotted the injured man and noticed that although he was moving as if he was injured, he was still fast, too fast. Ziza notched an arrow and aimed for the chaser but waited. He wanted to make sure what he feared was true before he let loose an arrow.

The chaser soon came into eyeshot of Ziza and its details were clear. The yellow rusty skin color, the ragged clothes, the foaming mouth, and the empty white eyes left little doubt. The arrow hit its mark and was soon covered in brown mouth foam. The creature fell on it’s back from the impact of the arrow and Zolana and Ziza turned to the man.

“Are you alright?” Zolana asked looking the man over.

It took him a few moments to gain his breath and was about to speak when all three of them heard a moaning noise. They turned and saw that the creature was back on its feet and was heading back in the direction of them all, arrow still sticking out of its mouth.

Zolana didn’t hesitate. She fell to her hands and knees and her body began to bulge and ripple, white hair, no not hair, fur, began to sprout out of her skin. She always was a pretty “furry” girl, especially for a polar elf, all that shape changing had left its mark. It didn’t take more than a moment, but she was now a full-size polar bear.

Seeing one of his saviors turn into a bear was too much for this simple man, and he turned and fled south. Ziza hesitated, not knowing if he should stay with Zolana, the now bear, or go after the man. The choice was made for him. Zolana, the bear, bounded off straight for the creature. When she got to within 10 feet she leaped. The creature, oblivious to fear, or common sense, didn’t even slow its advance. The huge white bear landed directly on it, paws first and slammed it into the ground. With the same stroke, Zolana sunk her fangs into the man-creature and began to rip and tear with her fang and claws.

Zolana made short work of the pitiful being and soon it was nothing more than a pile of limbs, bones, and flesh, all in a murky deep red pool of blood. The blood soaked into the red soil, but the gore was clear to see.

Zolana spat out the blood as she turned back to elf form and slunk to the ground.

Ziza on the other hand, needed more time to bring his quarry to a stop. The man was stricken with fear and there was nothing the elf could say to make him stop. He couldn’t shoot him with an arrow, although it would have been an easy shot as he fled in a straight line. He also could have had Claws just follow him. But Ziza tackled him instead and held him tight. Ziza was a strong man, having been a ranger for most of his life, but this man was strong too. He had the look of a farmer. Lucky for Ziza, though, the strain of strength brought the man’s fear back under control.

“Get off me! Why have you tackled me?”

“You can’t run off into the Blood Plains. These are dangerous lands. Besides we have some questions for you.”

“Questions! Where is that bear? It’s going to kill us both. We have to get out of here!”

“Calm down, it’s not dangerous. It’s actually not a bear.”

Lucky for Ziza, this farmer had grown up on stories of the elves of Snowpines and had heard a bit of the magic they held.

“That bear is not a bear, it’s my friend. She’s an elf. She’s a …” Ziza didn’t get a chance to finish as the farmer cut him off.

“Druid?”

“Yes, a druid.”

“Wow. Can I meet her?”

“Certainly, but let’s go back to our camp and we can have a little talk.”