Darius Marlane drew in a deep lungful of pine and wildflowers. He enjoyed the walk home through the sparsely covered rocky terrain, but he was in a hurry, so he kept his corded legs moving fast.
"It's not wise to be out and about when the sun goes down!" Darius could hear the words of Nhelgrin the Blacksmith, his teacher, that morning before he had set off to deliver a sword to Sir Cambrin of Delaurre.
He sighed and leaned forward, swinging his arms to walk faster. He tried to ignore the scenery, and the temptation to imagine which spot would be best to build a house in this unused and prime area.
The sun was getting close to the ridge of mountains to the west. He knew he shouldn't have spent so much time talking with Allora outside the inn, but she smelled of cherries and apple, and her eyes seemed to gleam at him, so he couldn't look away. The sight distracted him so much that even after an hour of talk, he couldn't for the life of him remember what colour they were!
The sound of an animal shook him out of the memory. Darius scanned his surroundings quickly as he nearly broke out into a run. Most likely he only had to worry about boars, or the odd wolf pack, but there was always the chance that a band of goblins were about. They were becoming more common these days. Small, leathery creatures, but fast, and their sense of smell strong enough to track prey for miles. They hunted in packs and thirsted for flesh.
He shuddered.
The sun grew closer to the horizon.
"Damn," he spat. There was no way he was going to make it home before dark at this rate. To his left he saw the great dark pool of Lake Dral. If he crossed that, he could cut his trip in half. It sounded like a good idea, if it were not for the normally clear blue water was turning opaque so late in the day. It's impenetrability gave him pause.
"Fuck it."
Darius headed straight for the lake. He disrobed down to his breechcloth and tucked his shirt and pants into his leather satchel. He tested the bag on the water, and it seemed to stay afloat. Fighting past his hesitation, he twisted the strap on his satchel to his wrist and dove into the shallow water.
The apprentice blacksmith was a thin and wiry young man, but smithing had turned his arms into swollen lengths of muscle. This fact aided him as he started to speed across the lake. His arms cut through the water easily. It didn't matter that he wasn't a very good swimmer.
Something touched his leg. He jerked upright and peered into the depths. The water wasn't deep, but he saw nothing. Just as he was about to continue something rose out of the shadows. It was a sucker-eel. They weren't dangerous, he was told. They ate algae and muck. Still, it gave him the creeps as it stared at him. It was just over a foot in length, wide at the head, and narrow at the tail. It looked slimy, and had no visible eyes. The worst was the obscene gaping mouth that pulsated. He didn't think it had teeth, but he really didn't want to find out.
Then, all of a sudden, it darted back into the shadows.
Relieved, Darius turned his attention back to crossing this increasingly eerie lake. His arms plowed on, his hands scooped at the water like oars. He could see the other side of the lake, and he would reach it before dark fell.
Again his leg was touched. Not bothering to stop, Darius glanced over his shoulder, assuming it was another eel. There was a large, dark shadow beneath him. He jumped nearly out of the water, and the shadow expanded, and then contracted. He exhaled.
"It was just a school of fish."
His powerful arms kept parting the lake, but he could feel fatigue start to set in.
Something smooth grabbed his thigh. Jumping onto his back, he saw a sucker-eel had latched onto him. He slapped at it and it darted away to join it's friends. It was then he realized that the dark shadow was still beneath him, and that it was a school of eels. He tried to reassure himself by repeating what the local fishermen had told him, that the things were harmless, but why then were they following him?
