Ghelfunn stumbled forward as the wound in his right thigh pulsated with pain. The bleeding had slowed but he was losing strength with each step. The path he chose leaving the battlefield led to a forested area. He knew the tree cover was his best chance to escape the queen's assassins. I've got to find cover, he thought. Those men will not stop until they have killed me.
The forest was unknown to Ghelfunn, he had never been this far east. The sun was low in the sky, the light getting dimmer as he walked deeper into the trees. He looked up at the dark blue sky, the moons beginning to arise overhead, and he winced in pain. With each passing moment the shadows were fading into darkness. Having no lightstick or supplies of any kind, he knew he was in trouble. Twelve assassins were not far behind him, sworn to kill him for what he had witnessed. Fatigue was beginning to seep into his bones. After all, he spent the day fighting the Nprudi. Yes, the day was won...but at what cost? Now he was on the run for his life. Did I escape the Nprudi only to die in this forest?
Ghelfunn noticed to the right of his current path a huge tree which had been torn from its roots by an Icewind. Icewind can do a lot of damage in a short period of time, especially this time of year. The tree was spread out over a large area in at least five separate pieces. Ghelfunn saw few leaves--the tree had been stripped, pealed apart by the savage winds. Each piece of the tree looked old and grey, like it had been dead for many years. A huge chunk of the tree had fallen just off to the side and now looked almost black in the approaching darkness. The limbs were coiled about the trunk and twisted in all directions; it looked like a great spool of wire used for mending fences. Could it be? Ghelfunn walked to examine the huge trunk, at least fifteen feet long and wide as a lumberman's wagon, he thought. I see it! A hole in the trunk! Ghelfunn reached the nearest side of the tree trunk and removed a few twisted branches. A huge gape in the side of the tree had been torn and ripped open. It was large enough for a man.
Ghelfunn squeezed his body into the gaping hole of the tree. He crawled a few feet upward into the hollowed-out trunk. He made sure to cover the opening with rotted branches strewn about the base of the dead tree. Praise the Almighty! Ghelfunn stretched out and quickly passed out.
He slept until the noise of men's voices awoke him. The assassins were in camp, their fire burning nearby. He could see the light from their lightsticks flickering through the gaping hole of the tree in which he had climbed to safety. The queen's henchmen had decided to use the area around Ghelfunn's treehouse to set up camp.
