Blackfeather Woods fight fire with fire

Tulimaq was unsure if he should follow the advice of the stranger he'd encountered, but he left the tarn in good spirits regardless of what the information would unfurl for him. It took a few hours of careful, cautious hiking to get through the rest of the wallow-like mud flats, and then he began his hunt for the river that would point him in the right direction.

He wondered all the while if he was making the right decision. It was not like him to doubt himself, and truthfully it wasn't his own abilities that he doubted — his mind was still stuck on the boy from Easthollow and what might unfold for him should he be left behind. Perhaps he would return to the standing stones, offer him a choice. He also thought of the rage that might bring out of the behemoth that protects the stones (Greyback) and it warms him to the core to consider the possible fight that would transpire; how mighty he would feel if he felled that beast!

Before long Tulimaq could smell water in the air, and within an hour or so he could hear it. He came upon the creek and followed it as it coursed its way, not even pausing to drink or to recover after his long trek through the foothills of the mountains; he only paused when he caught site of a black cloud overhead, but it was moving with more speed than he'd seen from any cloud before. It was erratic. He sniffed at the air, expecting that the wind would have summoned a petrichor, but there was no sign of rain or snow, the air was clear. The cloud was a solitary mass overtop of a distant forest, itself a black smudge on the horizon.

It seemed as if the traveler had told him the truth, Tulimaq mused. He did not linger there for long, choosing instead to head straight for the forest over yonder — and when he finally came upon its borders, he made sure to investigate the area as he went for clues of habitation. There weren't many, or if he'd found anything it was vague and difficult to detect. Either the pack had dissolved or it hadn't been here in the first place, and that brought some ire to Tulimaq, his blood running hot.

Then again, perhaps these warriors were more duplicitious than others. They might've been more skilled in hiding than in fighting, which meant they were useless to him even if they were present.