Hrunine left before dawn the next day. He was the first of the acolyte class to make a move.
Arianthe bribed the guards at the front gates to inform her immediately when that rich bastard was spotted. She followed him out the Temple in a hooded brown cloak, and was careful to keep him within her sights.
So what if the headmaster was playing favorites by pandering to bastards? Arainthe could still take advantage of that. She could take advantage of anything.
The Temple sat enclosed by a thick ring of trees, and was situated somewhere between the city of Beinost and the Red Forest. It was closer to the Forest than any other beacons of civilization. There was a thin path out of the Temple which forked into two roads past the ring of trees. One of them led to grassy fields and civilization. The other one curved through clusters of overgrown trees and led to the Red Forest.
Hruine did not stray from the main path, so following him was simple business. All Arainthe had to do was to keep her cloak up and her footsteps quiet. The foliage around her provided sufficient covers for her to remain unseen.
It took them a mere two hours to reach the furthest edges of the Red Forest. The road slowly narrowed to nothingness. The foliage grew more twisted and gnarled with every step. Fallen green leaves were replaced by crinkly red ones, and healthy brown soil were replaced by black, crumbly dirt. The air itself grew sour. Arianthe’s breaths became shallower almost unconsciously, because her gut instinct was telling her that breathing too heavily would bring danger.
Hruine’s footsteps were still bold and his back was still straight, so of course Arainthe continued following him.
---
She could almost admire the bastard if she didn’t despise him so much.
He was good with a blade and good with his magic. They came across their first corrupted forest beast, a wolf cub that had grown to be six feet tall with teeth the size of Arainthe’s forearms. Hruine had it cut down immediately. The feat was impressive -- a clean slice of the blade to the neck, followed by a burst of flames into opened jaws. The animal burnt itself up from the inside. The bastard was good and hadn’t even been nicked. Arainthe almost whistled in appreciation.
The next few beasts followed suit. One of them tore a line down Hruine’s arm, but that bastard bounded it with a strip of cloth and carried on like nothing had happened.
Impressive, Arainthe thought, following close behind. She was ever more careful here, because a misstep could cost her more than discovery. Staying close behind Hruine had became the safest -- and the most economical -- route through the Red Forest. She fully intended to take advantage of that.
She would not admit that she was terrified of the Forest’s quiet hum and bloody leaves, and of the unknown waiting to pounce upon unmarked flesh.
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