Willam knew that Jessup wanted to stop at the old mine for a short break. He had said as much before they embarked. In the end though they had agreed to ride the twenty five miles through the valley without stopping. There was something in the valley and you didn't have to be a mage to feel it. Something prickled your skin and it wasn't just the unseasonable snowfall. Jessup dreamed of going into the mine and striking it big but there was a reason it sat empty with its single track piercing the rocky hillside.

They had just passed the mine and Williams' mind was feeling more at ease when it happened. It was so fast that there was no time to think. In one moment the rock wall fell away and his horse spooked, throwing William onto his back in the snow. He had just enough time to comprehend this wasn't a rock fall at all, before the large troll brought a foot down, crushing his legs while a large toe depressed his chest.

Involuntarily William tried to call a warning to Jessup, but there was no air in his lungs. He tried to breathe but there was no room to take a breath. In a last fruitless gesture he waved his arms before the darkness took him.

Seeing old Bill knocked from his horse and crushed was all the warning Jessup needed. His mare had reared but he had managed to stay in the saddle and witness Bill's horse dashed into the canyon wall. One look at Bill's swollen, bleeding face as his eyes bulged and his arms raised ever so slightly, was enough to know he was done. Jessup turned and fled.

*****

Shar stood reading tracks outside the old mine. Two horses had come past, then one returned alone and had been in a state. They must have been a brave soul because they had continued on again, albeit at a much slower pace. Shar didn't have to see the attack to know it was the Wendaal he hunted, or that it was too late. For now all he could do was climb the rock face and prey for their safe passages. He would stand on the highest point, hold his spear and shield out as long as he was able, offering up all his strength while asking the great one to imbue him further. Tonight he would sleep on the open ground in weather that would kill a normal person but for Shar it was normal. His body was so hot already it would melt snow and warm the very rock he slept on.

*****

Jessup rode through the night without sleep. Exhaustion dragged at him but mostly the fear kept him going. It had been hard to go back and past the body of his friend. He wanted to avoid it... to not look, but there was no way around it and he dared not close his eyes. The troll was nowhere to be found but the large tracks led away through the canyon. It was small comfort to follow the imprints knowing that somewhere up ahead was the monster. He rode slowly making sure to never lose the trail in the moonlight. By morning he had reached the end of the canyon and to his horror the footprints were getting smaller. He was no tracker but he knew that melting tracks got larger not smaller. Just before the snow petered out completely the footprints were now human size and a single print in wet dirt removed all doubts. From here he rode straight home, fearing something far worse than a troll.

*****

Shar didn't need to track the Wendaal with traditional methods. He could sense its evil intent. It would head to the new settlement and take a human form. It would be a clumsy form, stolen from the mind of the dead man. Shar ran continuously, stopping only to eat, sleep in short cycles and pray. On the third evening he made the settlement. He had picked up the trail of the surviving man, who had gone from a cautious pace to a mad dash. Shar suspected he too knew of the creature. Near the homesteads with their wagons and strange whirly machine, Shar heard a gun in the night. He was too late.

Running toward the sounds, Shar watched as the broken man stumbled backward from a door, and collapsed. The Wendaal stood in the doorway taking an eastern female form. Blood covering its body told Shar it was too late to save the people but he could at least stop it here and now. Striding past the collapsed warrior he pushed the creature back with his shield. The man had damaged its physical form but it would take more than that to dispatch it. Inside the bodies of a family lay dismembered. Shar felt the fire rise inside at the sight of it.

Dropping his guard he let it grab at him leaving itself open. Quickly he clasped its shoulder and let the magic flow. Instantly his arm was ablaze and he forced the flame into the creature. The process made him feel cold even though he was alight. With a final push he let the flames envelop them both, combusting the wooden house. The room was a white explosion of heat and the creature tried shape changing in desperation. Too late it was growing larger as Shar let go, backing out the door.

The house was ablaze now, a funeral pyre for the family and creature alike. Shar retreated, his arm slowly losing the flame mana and a gentle warmth returning to his body. It would take months to build up that level of power again but with luck he wouldn't need that much mana anytime soon. He would give thanks to the great one and pray for the souls for a day. They weren't from his tribe but all who fell to the Wendaal were one tribe in his eyes.