It took a day of travel to reach the Silverleaf region. The travel was slow going with the people and the supplies. During the traveling I could feel Ashers eyes on me. When I looked at him, I could see him glaring at me. In the glare I could see Anger and Desire fighting for control. During the travel I spent most of my time scouting ahead of the company or talking with Garrett. It was when we entered the region that an air of oppression became apparent.

  I was scouting ahead when I saw the guard tower. The silverleaf forest and it town were in a valley that was almost fully enclosed. The guard tower was set on a hill in the open region and protected the approach to the valley. I decided to go to the tower and see if any guards were present. As I approached the tower, I could see something was wrong. I entered the tower courtyard, and I got off my horse and pulled out my sword and slowly approached the tower. There were no guards in evident, and the tower doors were hanging open. I entered the tower, and I could see signs that something happened in that place. The place was ransacked, and I could see sprays of dried blood on the wall. I investigated but could find no evident of bodies just broken furniture and dried blood. I traveled up to the tower and looked around I could see the town in the distance and the forest itself. The forest looked wrong a red tint as though the leaves were changing color though the leaves of this forest did not turn red, and it was out of season. I came down out of the tower and exited the building. I was mounting my horse when I my eyes caught the movement. I looked around and saw it. It was standing near a stand of trees, and it was in the shape of a large stag. The creature looked like a stag, but it could not be. The creature had the look of having been skinned. It had no visible hide, and it skin was shining and red as though coated in blood. The creature was staring at me it eyes black. We stared at each other, and I got a sense of perversion from the creature. The creature pulled back its muzzle, and I can only say it smiled. It showed a mouth full of sharp teeth. I was frozen in shock and dread when I saw whatever that thing was. It was the wind coming from the direction of the creature carrying the smell of death and decay that broke me out of my shock. I almost immediately went for my bow but by the time I got it out the creature was gone. I saw it running in the direction of the forest.

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  I returned to the company and reported to Garrett what I experienced. He considered what I had told him. “It is going to get dark soon and if there are more of these creatures and they are inhabiting the forest. Then we don’t need to be out in dark. Can the tower be made defensible” Asked Garrett. “Yes, it can there is a lot of broken furniture but there should be enough room for everyone” I replied. So, we traveled back to the guard tower. The tower was easy enough to set back in order and make the tower defensible. We set up ward and put up barriers. I watched the others settle in as I made my way to the top of the tower. I set up my watch on the top of the tower. As the night began, I stared out into the valley there was only darkness and silence. The town remained dark not a single light shining out and there were no forest sounds to be heard. I did note movement in the dark as though something was there. On occasion I could points of red as though eyes shining out in the darkness. This was how I passed the watches of the night.