Six miles from the town of Orrenfal
Gannis tugged each finger of his leather glove in turn before pulling it off. He dipped bare fingers into the scratch marks and tried to catch the scent of what had made them.
"This makes no sense," Gannis said to Dog.
Dog had nothing to say back, so Gannis continued.
"A cockatrice doesn't stray far from its nest for most of the year. This is four days in almost a straight line. All these other tracks too. An ogre or...an orc. Dunno what the fuck that is."
Dog tilted his head to one side and lifted an ear.
"Yeah, I agree," Gannis grunted.
Orrenfal's Town hall
They had assembled mercenaries, monster hunters, knights, explorers and anyone that would risk their lives for coin.
The town's mayor had put out food and ale for anyone willing to listen to their plight. It was more inviting than the row of hastily dug graves on the far side of bridge.
The sun was quickly setting. It would only rise for a few hours the next day. One of the three eclipses that happened every year was coming.
