The tracking dogs found several recent tracks by the crystal castle. At least four of them disturbed the ashes that the wind had blown across the battle-field during the night. The knights ignored those, leaving them to other hunting parties to follow. They singled out the tracks left by the group of demons that escaped from them. They followed these tracks on horseback all the way to the Durnaldeen cliffs by the long, winding river that cascaded in multiple waterfalls down into the great valley. Many towns, villages, and planting fields lay along each plateau area.
The demons must not have known of the safe passes and bridges between the plateaus, because the knights caught up to them and spotted them climbing across the steep, rocky shore incline close to one of the waterfalls. They used roots of felled trees and tiny crevices as their hand-holds, and proceeded slowly, unaware that they were being hunted. Sir Tolen peered from a distance and counted three of larger size, one of them carrying a small demon clinging to its back, and two mid-size, climbing on their own.
The demons were far, but sir Tolen's sight was sharp and his hand strong. He took a good aim with his excellent bow and sent his arrow true, piercing the back of the largest demon, who, Tolen thought, was the one who attacked him inside the crystal castle. That demon lost hold and slipped, but grasped on to some twisting vines and hung on. The arrows of the other hunters merely grazed the rocks.
Lord Tolen noticed now that both of the remaining two larger demons carried little ones. One of them quickly surrendered its tiny hidden charge to the other, who carried the larger spawn Tolen spotted earlier clinging to its back. Unburdened, the demon came back to the injured, despite more arrows that struck rocks around it. The others deftly proceeded across the rocky face down to the ground and disappeared into the trees. One of the two midsized paused close to the end, shrinking tightly by the rocky protrusion that offered it some protection from the arrows, and hesitantly watched. Sir Tolen ignored that smaller demon, and carefully aimed his arrow at the larger, who persistently made its way lower to the one wounded by Tolen's first arrow. It was slightly slimmer, and smaller, than the one Tolen shot, and Tolen wondered if she was the wounded one's mate.
He was aiming his arrow straight at her heart, when she reached down her hand and Tolen saw another little demon suddenly leap to her from the fallen one, in an amazing feat of agility. She caught it and settled it on her side. Still, she looked down at her wounded mate, hesitating. She began to move down closer to him along a precarious route, as though determined to try to help him despite the danger.
Lord Tolen waivered in his aim. He never hunted animals carrying or tending their young. So he lowered his arrow to the already wounded demon below her. When sir Tolen's arrow struck him, he lost hold second time. Clawing desperately for another handhold, but failing to grasp anything, the demon's body fell along the rocky face, bounded off the sharp edges, and splashed heavily below.
The men could see deep blue stain the clear water, where he lay still, half submerged into the shallow edge of the stream. They were not at all surprised, by now familiar with these creatures' unnatural tenaciousness, when his limbs twitched again. With a great effort, the demon turned over and began to pull himself out of the stream. His lower limbs dragged behind him. He looked up at his mate, who yet waited where she was, the young spawn clutching to her side, both of them looking down at him. Only then, as though obeying an unspoken command, did she quickly follow after the others, until she reached the older spawn still waiting by the rocky protrusion. They disappeared into the dense green branches of trees on the other side of the stream.
"There is a safe passage across just a little farther. We will follow them..." Sir Raden pointed at the tree-line where the other demons disappeared. "Will you make sure that one doesn't escape?" He pointed at the injured one below to sir Tolen. The tall, blonde knight nodded. "Then we'll meet with you again on the other side." Sir Raden said firmly and hurried his men to guide their horses to the next path.
Sir Tolen led his hunters to the steep trail, which lead directly to the stream below. There, the hunters released their hounds. Only a short time later they followed the stream back to the point where they saw the demon fall. His body was no longer there. A trail of blood dripped across the stones leading up-stream for a few steps, and then faded away.
Turning the bend with his men, Tolen saw their dogs cornering a man against the rocks. At least, his head, face, and hands were man's. The rest of his body was a vague imitation of man, with no genitals or a navel. He stood with his back pressed against the wall and his breathing appeared strenuous. His body bore signs of recent bleeding from wounds in his back and side, where the broken shafts of arrows still protruded, their barbed heads anchored deep within the man's flesh. The man looked up at approach of the men. He seemed to recognize sir Tolen among them, and silently lifted his blood-stained hands toward him palms up with an imploring expression.
"You won't deceive me this time, foul beast!" Tolen challenged him. "We see you for what you really are. Fiend and a slayer! Whose innocent blood did you spill today? Whose face is that you've stolen?" Sir Tolen demanded in hot anger, drawing closer with his sword at the ready. He could yet feel this killer's hand gripped around his own throat. The other men followed Tolen, their weapons ready as well.
The demon didn't answer, nor appear to understand the words spoken to him. He beheld Tolen's angry face and the frowning, grim faces of the rest of the men. For a moment, his human face seemed to reflect despair. Then, he turned away from them and leaned his head back against the wall, his breathing quickening, as though preparing for an effort. A grimace of pain twisted his features, and then his body began to shiver and change. The men-at-arms paused, with repulsion and fearful fascination watching the man become a large gray wolf. The dogs slinked back from him uncertainly, then barked even more viciously. The wolf lowered his head and growled at them.
"We are protected by the holy symbols." Sir Tolen muttered uncertainly, grasping the rare black silver-gilded relic he now wore upon his chest. "He cannot harm you. Shoot him." He encouraged his men-at-arms.
The men quickly sent arrows at the great wolf. Many arrows sank into his flesh, yet did not appear to deter him. He snapped at the dogs around him, snatched one with his sharp, white teeth, and tossed it against the wall. The men heard bones snap, accompanied by pitiful whining. The wolf broke the neck of another. The dogs fell back before the wolf, their tails between their legs, and he took a step past them toward the men. The men watched the monster in fearful hesitation. A few of them unwillingly drew back a step. Knight Tolen noticed that the wolf's feet shook with strain.
"Shoot him again." He commanded the men. Encouraged, they bent their bows again and sent more arrows. This time, the wolf fell.
Tolen approached it cautiously, but the wolf did not attempt to rise, merely laying there and breathing with jagged effort. He noticed the demon's eyes lightening in color from black to brown, to familiar hazel flecked with green. The demon's eyes met him with recognition once more, and Tolen saw no fear or anger in those eyes, only calm acceptance of the inevitable. Perceiving thus disturbed the knight once more. Unwilling to be deceived a second time, though, Tolen met the demon's fading gaze with a bold glare of his own. Remembering his fight with the dragons, Tolen lifted his sword and with one mighty blow chopped off the wolf's head. Upon the remains, as earlier decreed by the priests, he then ordered his men to pour the holy liquid fire and burn it.
Excited by their success, the other knights continued to trail the fugitives for eleven days, out of sir Inkazi's estates, through Ruben's holdings, all the way to the next plateau, where the demon trail split in two. The knights disagreed on which direction to follow. Only one demon left tracks leading up, into woodlands that didn't belong to any lord. Three others had continued farther down into the lower valleys.
"The priest said that these demons thirst for human blood and kill whenever they can. This trail leads toward many villages not protected by anyone. I think that it now be best to go there and warn them, so their people know about all this and protect themselves." Wise Ruben said to Raden, pointing at the single trail. The other knight shrugged.
"You should ride to the villages, then. They are closest to your holdings, anyhow. We will take this trail and keep hunting after the larger group." He answered Sir Ruben. Ruben's stomach complained much more than his honor at this point. Agreeing to meet with Raden and Tolen in town of Coeur after the hunt, he took his men and followed the smaller trail.