<h4>Chapter 17: Following Their Tracks</h4>


    I caught the feather as the wind blew it past me. It was soft, it looked beautiful and elegant. I knew one person who had feathers like this. Had Delthur returned here yesterday? But... why would he do that? And how would he have gotten past the protection of the crystal?


    With numerous questions in my mind, I stared at the feather. I took several deep breaths to calm myself down – panicking was the worst thing I could do right now. I nced at the tracks. I knew for a fact that at least some of them had survived and left. All I had to do was follow the tracks and I''d find them.


    Before I set off, I packed what little food was left in the box and ced it in my inventory, along with Delthur''s feather. Using Fallen Grace, I ran after them, only stopping ever so often to check their tracks. They had clearly left in the middle of the night; the tracks had already started getting old.


    I had to force myself to remember everything grandfather taught me about tracking prey. I would have never guessed his teachings woulde in handy in a virtual world of all ces. I smiled as memories shed before my eyes; his lessons were always fun. Unlike Mother, he always wanted to me have fun. He was always supportive, no matter what.


    A loud screech disrupted my thoughts. I quickly turned to face the source of the noise, staff in hand. Something passed by me. Then, something else. Many small rodents, birds, even felines and other creatures passed by me in a rush. I froze in ce, if these creatures were running, then...


    I heard a loud thud. Then, another. I felt something in the back of my mind – a tingling sensation. Before I could make any sense of it, a loud and very close roar echoed. It came from the east, where the tracks lead. I hesitated, if I turned back now, I would lose the tracks. I would lose my only way of finding Erik and the others.


    I gulped and gathered my courage. I had been training for as long as I could remember. I had to be able to beat this thing, whatever it was. I couldn''t let this chance slip away. Fighting was the only thing I was good at; the only reason I even lead the life I did.


    Yet, as I stepped out of the woods telling myself all that, there was still plenty of hesitation in my heart. I passed through thest of the bushes to face the creature blocking my path.


    It wasrge. Huge, even. It had grey fur and the body and head of a lion with a pair of dangerous looking horns and a very fluffy mane. Its bright green eyes focused on me as I immediately regretted my decision.


    I was about the size of its paw. It stepped towards me. I felt the ground shake as its paw touched the ground. It opened its mouth. The sight of those razor-sharp teeth sent chills down my spine. I stood no chance against this monster. Still, I had to try. I grasped my staff as I used both Fallen Grace and Death''s Scythe.


    A pale, grey light shone from my staff momentarily. I could only hope this meant the skill worked. With hesitant, shaky steps, I inched closer to the monster. It reared its head and roared. I felt my whole body shake with that roar.


    Before I could even think of a way to get past it, it pounced on me. The sight of a giant, horned lion jumping high up in the air might have beenical if I wasn''t its target. Seeing as how I could get crushed like an ant, I leapt to the side and sprinted out of its way. Momentster, it hit the ground behind me and the shockwave from that sent me flying.


    As soon as I hit the ground, I rolled to the side and barely avoided another paw strike. It roared again, it seemed slightly annoyed. Or perhaps it was having fun, I wasn''t sure, and I didn''t have time to think about it as it tried to bite me. As those giant, razor-sharp teeth snapped only inches away from me, I threw myself aside.


    It was fast, it was strong. It was everything I was not. I couldn''t keep up; I could already feel the effects of Fallen Grace wearing off. I could only evade it for so long before I lost the extra speed and strength the skill gave me. I had to do something before that happened.


    I ducked under the next paw strike and ran between its legs. It seemed slightly confused as it scrambled to find me. Taking care to not get stepped on, I swung my staff to hit the back of its front leg. I didn''t expect it to die from something like this or anything, but maybe I could hurt it enough to just run past it.


    My staff hit the lower part of its right leg and... bounced off. Loosing my bnce because of the rebound, I fell on my back. Before I even had the chance to get up or move a little, it finally spotted me. I didn''t have the time to evade its paw. I screamed as I felt the weight of it crush my body. Its ws dug into the ground as I felt my bones crack.


    I grabbed its ws and desperately tried to lift them a little. I could feel by ribs slowly giving in as I slowly got crushed under that enormous power and weight. Was this the end? I felt its ws extend, like a cat''s ws would. It slowly lifted me off the ground. I tried to reach for my staff, but it was just a little outside my reach.


    "Damn it..." I whispered. Even talking hurt. I felt the ws dig into my back. Was I seriously going to die like this? I iled my arms and legs, hoping to somehow slip through its sharp ws, but all that did was prompt the creature to make its grip tighter. I felt a sharp pain in my chest.


    I was right in front of its face. It leaned in closer with its snout and sniffed me. "I''m not tasty at all!" I shouted as fear gripped my heart. Of course, my desperate words didn''t do much. It opened its mouth and I got to see the very clear view of several rows of sharp teeth. I closed my eyes as my death approached me.


    Suddenly, it shook and let go of me. Unexpectantly finding myself in the air, I fell to the ground with a loud and painful thud. I screamed as a sharp pain shot up in my chest. I could feel something sharp hurting there.


    I nced at the creature, it seemed to havepletely forgotten about me as it stared at something in the woods. A few drops of blood dribbled onto the ground from its side. Something had wounded it.


    I didn''t hesitate. I shot up on my feet and bolted. I didn''t stop when I reached the treeline. I ran until I couldn''t properly breathe anymore. Until I copsed from the pain and blood loss. I felt a gentle, cool breeze before darknesspletely engulfed me.