The forms of trees whished past Syra as she sprinted through the enchanted forest. Just moments ago, she and her sister nymphs were relaxing by the riverside when all of a sudden a spear impaled a tree inches from her face. The chaos that ensued after was fresh in Syra's mind as she fled the masked attacker towards the cover of the forest. She could hear the furious rustling as the assailant closed in on her.
"How are they so fast? How are they in the forest at all?" Syra's mind was running almost as fast as she was when suddenly, she was tackled from the side. The two bodies tumbled through the woods before settling in the soft moss below a large tree. Syra was pinned under the imposing body of the assailant, unable to escape. She felt her arms roughly tugged until they were pinned above her head as the hooded figure murmured a spell. As the attacker picked herself up, thick rope looped Syra's arms behind her back and forced her into a kneeling position, legs slightly spread, before the warlock.
"Y-you have to let me go! The Interspecies Treaty forbids all humans from the forest!" Syra shouted, tripping slightly over her words in fear. She was hoping she cries would at least alert anyone, or thing, in the forest of her situation. A heavy silence followed her lament and there was no response, neither from the forest dwellers or the attacker.
After a few painfully quiet and tense moments, the assailant slowly pushed back her hood, revealing her face to Syra for the first time. Black bangs with navy undertones framed the sharp and defined features of the bounty hunter. Her dark gold eyes shined with triumph as she peered down at the restrained nymph. They stared at each other for a few moments before the bounty hunter summoned a scroll with the wave of her hand. She turned and began scribbling onto the scroll before dismissing it with the same ease as she summoned it.
"Are you going to kill me?" Syra demanded.
The bounty hunter sighed and narrowed her eyes as though she was burdened by the question and turned back to Syra.
"No. My client is offering a particularly large bounty for you alive. Consider yourself lucky." Her voice was husky and monotone, so unlike those of Syra's sisters.
"Lucky. I know that a fate worse than death awaits nymphs like me in the human realm." Syra glared up at the ominous-looking woman. "Surely, she has some morals, or at least something more important to her than the bounty," Syra thought. The bounty hunter was clad in dark blue, white, and black robes, they mark of an extraordinary warlock. It frightened Syra by how talented she seemed. "Maybe my seduction powers will work. I haven't used them in decades and this woman seems too unlikely to fall for them, but maybe...maybe," Syra thought, overcome with panic by the scary situation she was in. Suddenly, the bounty hunter grunted softly. She was holding onto her wrist and mumbling under her breath. Syra instantly recognized the wound. It was a laceration from a plant native only to the riverbank, deadly to everyone except the nymphs and river creatures. She had accidently cut herself on the plant while chasing Syra.
"I can heal that. I can stop the poison... if you let me go." Syra offered slyly. This could be the bargaining chip she was looking for. The bounty hunter grimaced at the deep wound but didn't address Syra. She began casting a mixture of spells to try and counteract the poison of the plant but frowned at their failure.
With a quick glance to Syra's tied up form, she stated "I don't need your healing abilities. I have the antidote. I just...", the bounty hunter trailed off and summoned her inventory so that it was floating in front of her. Her expression darkened.