Roe was shocked to realize how close to her home the humans actually lived. She hadn’t been travelling, for much more than a week, although at high speed, before she could see the first humans’ settlements. She had never seen anything like it. Trees had been cut down so that there was very little forest left where the humans lived. Their houses were big like Elven houses but still very different.


The smell from the human settlements made her feel slightly sick. When she got closer she could see that it was true that animals were kept as prisoners. She also saw horses carrying humans on their back.


Roe discovered that humans seemed to live very close together as she approached the town. There were buildings everywhere. Suddenly an attack of laughter overwhelmed her. She had to bite her lip keep quiet. A male with his face full of hair passed under the tree that she was hiding in. It was hilarious and exactly as Thorundur had told her. Humans were really very funny looking.


Constantly aware of the extreme danger Roe enjoyed herself. This was the best adventure that she’d ever had.


It didn’t take her long to locate the castle that looked exactly like Ondina and Orm had described. It was a huge stone building almost resembling a small mountain. Inside the castle she would be likely to find the last ingredient but she would have to wait until darkness before she could go there. This would be the most dangerous part of the travel.



The castle was surrounded by water. A bridge over the water led to the main gate. Roe realized that the bridge would be a very dangerous route as Ondina and Orm had told her that the castle would be guarded and she could also smell the humans at the gate. She would have to swim over the water, which was not a very appealing thought because the water smelled really bad.


She tied back her hair with a leather strap and hesitantly she got into the water. The smell made her feel sick and she was very careful to not swallow any water as she swam to the other side.


She looked up at the walls of the castle and realized that it would be extremely difficult if not impossible to climb over the even wall. There had to be another way into the castle.


Suddenly her head exploded with pain and darkness overwhelmed her as she fell to the ground.


When Roe woke up again the smell of the humans filled her nose. Her head was aching really badly. It was with great difficulty she managed get on her knees. Her hand felt wet when she touched her head and she realized that she was bleeding. A stone on the ground that smelled of her blood made Roe realize that the humans must have thrown it at her from above. How could she have been so stupid to let this happen? The pain made her clinch her teeth when she lifted her head. With horror Roe realized that three humans where approaching her. She couldn’t see them very clearly because everything was blurry but it was no doubt that they were much too close. She rose on unsteady legs with pain thumping in her head. Her sight was starting to get clearer which at least must be a good sign. But it was too late. One of the humans was already close enough to take a grip on her arm. He made some sounds that didn’t make any sense.


Panic filled Roe when she couldn’t shake the man off her arm. She turned her head and slit the man’s cheek with one of her horns. A roar was heard before the grip on her arm loosened and she could see that blood was dribbling from a deep wound on the man’s cheek. But then her other arm was caught but another human. Roe turned around and dug her sharp teeth deep into the wrist of the man who hold her arm and the metallic taste of blood filled her mouth. The grip was released for a short moment but the humans just wouldn’t give up.


The fight was short. Roe was a hunter and not a fighter and three strong humans were too much for her to cope with. In addition her head ached and she felt dizzy. Her hands were tied so hard that her fingers felt numb. The humans pushed her roughly before them and soon Roe found herself to be on the inside of the castle walls.