If she had been able to see herself, she would have realized she was more than a mad rushing spectacle, she was an attraction for anything within shouting distance. But even if blessed with a moment of clarity, she wouldn't have ceased her ravings.
She did not care about what might discover her, gave no thought to the dangers in the forest. If something wished to attack her, she actually welcomed the challenge. Perhaps it was the foreign emotions that clouded her judgment, or perhaps it was a way to release the tidal wave of fury, but she had no desire to avoid any confrontation.
Her antics did not go undetected… they couldn't for long. Even as the ordinary animal inhabitants of the forest took flight from her path, creatures more inclined, even attracted to fitful outbursts, gave quick notice. They did not regard the raging clamor as a signal to make a hasty retreat. Quite the opposite, they were hostile beasts often looking for a fight.
Initially, clusters of goblins sensed easy prey. The screams were somewhat odd, but also recognizable. They knew of humans, knew they still entered the forest. They had seen convoys passing through the woods, but they were usually well guarded. Goblins would attack supply lines only if desperate or if their packs had reached numbers enough to overwhelm the escorting guards.
Smaller groups of goblins waited for easier prey, and over time, they tended to uncover the hapless adventurer or the lost straggler. Even human scouts that were well trained in surviving the forest often fell to goblins, either through momentary carelessness or some ill-timed misfortune that left them unprepared and on indefensible ground.
As for Linda, several goblins watched her intently, even if they couldn't understand her intentions. She stood out like a burning arrow sailing across an open night sky. Her actions were beyond lunacy. They were suicidal.
Something beyond her rage, however, gave the goblins pause, kept them from immediately falling upon the deranged human screaming so near their meager camps. Even as the female called out in anger and disgust, they sensed a confrontation should be avoided, many even raced away.
It was not her insane rage, and certainly not her physical presence that raised the goblin anxiety. It was not even her immunity to magic. In fact, that was something they might have sensed, and if so, would have attacked as a dangerous anomaly.
Immunity to magic was not something dark creatures could accept or even understand. When the land was without magic, they were shut out from Uton, forced to remain in the dark realm. Magic was the key to escaping the desperate breeding grounds of their origin. The total absence of magic was something dangerous to them, something they abhorred.
They never got close enough to sense Linda's magical immunity for there was a haze of another sort drifting off of the cursing human. Goblins were not adept in forms of spell casting, and nearly all lacked sensible judgment, but they instinctively understood power.
The woman might have been a vulnerable target, an easy victim for even a few goblins with paltry weapons, but every goblin could feel the obvious force that seemed to drip off the woman like water from melting icicles. And so, each diminutive fiend gave her a wide berth and let her pass further into the forest without incident.
With a protective emanation of which she was not even aware, Linda continued her unyielding march through Dark Spruce. She was oblivious to the goblins. If she had noticed them, she might have even challenged them. She also failed to notice the tracks of a much larger beast, a creature that had previously claimed the territory she carelessly invaded.
The shag heard the human long before it spotted her. At first, the clamor annoyed the monster. It wondered if it was yet one more predator trying to stake a claim to its lands. Such instances had increased over the past few days, and the creature was growing weary of the conflict.
Though not terribly intelligent and certainly not passive, the beast had been able to avoid such clashes in the past. It had done so due to its fortune in finding a territory frequented by elves. The shag had learned to coexist with the elves, mostly by avoiding the slender and nimble tree walkers, but when the elves mysteriously abandoned the area, other monsters brazenly filled the gap.
Rather than avoid the encroaching dark creatures as it had done with the elves, the beast decided to fight them off. The river rogues were the most difficult, but even the larger goblin packs were becoming a nuisance. The new invader, one that was exceedingly loud, was another such irritation.
Upon closing in on Linda, the fur laden beast also sensed an ominous aura spilling out from the woman. It smelled of something the monster could not quite identify-not death, not even evil-but something that offered a message of its own. There was nothing truly sinister about the interloper, but there was something around her that exuded more than just danger. It was a warning, one the large shag could not dismiss.
The creature lacked the intelligence to pinpoint the sensation, but it was reminded of the moment it crossed over from the dark realm. It was a suffocating blankness, a stirring absence of reality. It was very much a sensation the creature wished to avoid.
Initially, the shag backed away from the intruder. The lingering cloud of peril surrounding the invader removed the monster's instinct to defend its territory, but only temporarily. As the beast retreated toward its den, its small mind swam with an even greater influence; a desire for dominance.
The shag could not fully comprehend the scope of the aura around Linda. It found it repulsive, even terrifying, but it was not ready to concede to a simple sensation. While it normally acted more on instinct than on critical considerations, the choice it faced became surprisingly clear. It could run from the strange trespasser or it could assert its claim over the territory.
Ultimately, the creature decided to turn around. It had fought off too many intruders to simply skulk back into its den. The shag stalked toward the sound of harsh curses with renewed courage.
#
Ryson went first to the Borderline Inn. He was disappointed to hear that Linda had not shown up for work, even concerned, but not completely surprised. He recalled her previous state of emotional detachment. If she had remained in such a condition, skipping work would have been understandable. He would have even suggested it.
He rushed to their home, expecting to find her there, wondering if she was still lying in bed. He passed through the front door hoping she would rush to him with joy in her eyes as she had done so many times in the past.
Nothing.
There was no sign of trouble. Everything in their home remained in order. Linda simply wasn't there. There was no note, no indication at all of where she might have gone.
His concern began to grow. He wanted to find her as soon as possible, and to that end, it was imperative to get more information. After his last conversation with Sy, Ryson wasn't sure it was the best idea to see the guard captain, but based on the circumstances, it was the only place to go.
Ryson didn't always appreciate the level of control in Burbon-the level at which the town guard maintained order and the reciprocating attitude of its citizens-but there were times it worked to his advantage. Ryson might have enjoyed the freedom of spirit that allowed him to race off into the hills for days at a time, but the rest of the town's citizens normally restrained any great urges of wild independence. Burbon thrived on order, it embraced it. Unusual behavior was noted immediately. If something was going on in Burbon, Sy would know about it.
After sprinting to the center of town, Ryson knocked on the guard headquarters door and waited respectfully to be allowed to enter. Despite his growing distress, he patiently asked to see the guard captain as opposed to simply rushing into his office. He was very happy to see Sy come out to greet him, until he heard what the guard captain had to say.