Main Story: Part 4

​I apologize for the hiatus... again :\ BUT! I do have the next chapter to the story, and while it is brief, it means I no longer have heavy writer's block, only light writer's block! Yay! Here is my latest addition to the story.

As the party of Taren, Tyken, Tenn, Annika, and the king's deployed squadron, along with mercenaries Ramona and Simon, reach the entrance to the Forest of Whispers, a man runs out with bloody cuts and bruises. He trembles in pain, and then collapses unto the ground. Annika rushes to his aid and heals him.

As his wounds seal up slowly, he rises and begins to panic. He exclaims something about a rebellion getting powerful tools from men inside the forest, and Schall recalls that there was a stave recently stolen from the royal sage that allowed him to heal an entire army at once. Tyken suggests that they do not pursue the enemy and travel through the forest without provoking anyone, because they do not know the capabilities of their opponent, nor do they know the forest like the dangerous thieves that gather there. Simon blows Tyken off, telling him that the staff is too valuable and cannot be placed in the hands of whatever is coming toward the Northern border. Taren contemplates her possible courses of action, and with Gill's advice to consider the possible casualties in a fight with an enemy they know nothing about, she decides they will enter the forest without looking for the thieves.

When they enter the forest, however, they are immediately ambushed. Ramona grabs Simon's arm and tries to run as soon as she sees their leader, whom she recognized as Petrean. Petrean hired her for more jobs than anyone else, and the jobs he assigned often required a strong stomach and a cold heart. Karti blocks her exit and reminds them of Tyken's ultimatum: they must either help the group or be sent to prison. Ramona curses, then releases Simon, hoping and praying that Petrean won't try to kill her or Simon after her last mission, where she failed to finish off a vital target.

Petrean claims that Ramona stole his pouch after she reported to him that she had not eliminated one of the people she was instructed to. He demands it back, but Ramona tells Taren that she spent it on food. Taren tells Petrean that it probably wasn't his anyway, and he becomes angry, siccing his men on the party. The now healed man calling himself Hemn requests to join them and help out, and Tenn quickly grants him good luck and rushes the enemy.