Letting go

[Guardian 452]

*Enzo stands in a dense wooded section of the wolfswoods forest allong side him is his companion Thornas (a wild boar Enzo rescued years and years ago when he first was called by the gold dragon)


*Enzo sits on a stump and pats his thigh*

*Thornas moves closer and nuzzles his snout under Enzo's hand*

*Enzo scratches Thornas's nose, the hairs around Thornas's nose and eyes have greyed signifficantly in the past year*


It is that time old friend.... Time for you to go back to the woods again.


*Thornas tilts his head looking up at Enzo*


Your gettin' too old to be runnin' off with me on my half crocked adventures. It's time you settled down, while you can.


*Thornas looks up and Enzo can sense he is asking why he wants him to go now after all this time*


I can't stand the though of seeing you get hurt because of the things I drag you into old friend. You know as well as I that your no match for some of the things I face these days.... hell I'm not a match for some of it even.


*Thornas looks very saddened yet he understands what Enzo is telling him*

Now don't you think I will be forgettin' you. I will come see you from time to time as I pass thru the Wolfswoods.


*Enzo slides down off the stump he was sitting on and gives Thornas a hug*


Now go on and find some goblins ta pester *he grins and scratches his head*


*Thornas snorts and rubs his nose on Enzo's face, then he slowly walks off into the forest, stopping every few yards to look back at Enzo*


*Enzo tries to muster a few words out*.... it is for the best.... good bye my friend.


*Enzo gets up and walks away vanishing into the forest*

[Guardian 452]

Today we find Enzo deep in the tainted woods of the Dark Forest on Dregar


Working his way allong the wood line always sticking to the shadows, he easily goes un noticed in the pitch black surroundings of the tainted forest. He passes dark spiders and dark tree ents, making his way to a swampy section of the forest. Within he sees numerous spiders each one seems to be more powerfull than the last. He dares not give away his position near any of them.

He makes his way to a stone entrance jetting up from the dark brown soil.... he thinks to himself.......This must be Mosscrypt that I have heard of. Some said it is the cause of the taint in these woods.

As Enzo aproaches the crypt from the rear a figure emerges from its dark entrance. Enzo could tell this was a being of signifficant power and instinctivly he hit the deck and hid himself behind the ledge of the entrance.

He peered over the ledge just enough to see the figure lower his hands to the ground and then in a motion he raised them skyward as if he was summoning something from the ground itself.

A moment later the ground shook and a mass of skelletons came up from the dark brown soil.... these Enzo could see were nothing like the walking bones back in Hlint... He could tell they were more powerfulll, much more powerfull.

The figure then pointed down into the entrance of the crypt and snapped his fingers.... then out came an enourmous golem...the likes he has seen maybe once before... its entire body glimered with a metalic sheen similar to that of a polished suit of Admantium.

The figure pointed off in varous directions and the skelletons went off one by one in each direction he pointed.


Enzo crawled back to the woodline, got up and followed one of the skelletons east..... it apporached a few panthers that were huddled in a corner of the clearing..... the skelleton just walked up to one of them and in one feld swoop of it's staff killed it.... Enzo fliched and his hand instinctivly grasped at his sword. The skelleton then turned and killed spider that was nearby.... this puzzled Enzo even more... Before he had a time to think about it the skelleton turned again and killed the second of the 3 panthers. At this Enzo creeped froward sligtly, and as the Skelleton approached the final Panther Enzo lept forth from the shadows and met the skelletons staff with his sword just before the skelleton struck down the panther. Enzo had not fully prepared himself for the balltle that he had just started and he was taking a beating from this powerfull skelleton when he looked back and saw the Panther leap forward and strike at the skelleton as well.... This seemed to help Enzo draw upon an inner strength and he put all the might he had behind his sword and finally he bested the skelleton.

Enzo's sword fell to the ground and his hand gasped at a gapping wound on his side. He appleid what bandages he had to stop the bleeding, then he saw that Panther was still standing there watching him.


Enzo spoke to the panther in a deep saddned voice.... "Im sorry I could not save your freinds sleek one."


The Panther looked up at him and nodded it's head then streaked off into the thick forest cover and vanished


Enzo headed back the way he came looking for a place to rest and fully recover from the wounds he suffered in battle.


As he walked he had a sense he was being watch from the dense wooded region beside him... as he continued his watcher followed as well.


He found a quiet spot a few undred yards away frrm the swamp and settled down to rest and recoup his injurues.... all the while he could still sense his watcher was still there.

[Guardian 452]

As Enzo relaxes by the small fire he has set and slowly nods off into a light sleep.

A twig snaps behing him, he hears it as clear as anything but doesnt act just yet.

A few seconds pass and another twig snaps closer behind him than the last one.

Enzos hand sublty slides down to his sword next to him.

Another stick snaps behind him, this one couldn't have been more than 5 feet away

Enzo waits a few seconds more, then in a flash he whips around, sword in hand and there standing inches from the tip of his blade is the panther.


It stares at him with unblinking eyes that glimmer a spooky green when the fire light catches them at the right angle.


Enzo lowers his sword and extends his hand.


Slowly the panther approaches and sniffs his hand. The panther then comes right up next to him and lays down between him and the fire.


Well I'm glad to see you made it out of that swamp, looks like your as good as me at hiding in the shadows. *he scrathces the Panther on the head and stokes its fur down it's back*



Enzo cuts off a shank of meat that he had over the fire and sets it down in front of the panther.

The panther sniffs it and eats it. He begins to purr loudly as he eats the meat.


Enzo and the Panther sit by the fire for a few hours.


When the sun began to crest over the tree line that morning, Enzo got up, covered the fire with sand, gathered his things and set out on his way.

He looked back and said.... Well come on Shadow.... are you coming?


The Panther lept to it's feet, walked up to Enzo and stroked against his legs nearly knocking him over.

Enzo chuckled and scratched Shadow on the back of the head.


Come on now, you and I have allot to get done....


The two of them enter the forest and each of them vansih a few yards in.

[Leanthar]

That is one of the best stories I have ever seen/heard about changing companions.  Well done!