"War for the Throne" Chapter1 origin ver.(10)
It was quiet.All was still.Thane looked around,sensing something was wrong.The circle was tainted;strange runes and sigils marked some of the stones,some roughly carved,others daubed in blood.Several smaller stones,or ones that had fallen over,had been used as alters to display symbols of dark magic.He saw skulls,horns and cracked bones,mounds of worms,some dried out in the sun others still fresh and wriggling,woven wreaths of bramble,thorns speckled with blood,and eviscerated crows,their entrails glistening wetly against the stone.
Thane's eyes narrowed as he heard a constant,low muttering.He slowly rounded another stone,hand reaching for his sword.The robed figure was there,knelt in the middle of a half dismantled camp,mumbling to himself as he frantically stuffed items into a pack.He stopped suddenly,sniffing at the air,and then as if sensing Thane's presence his head snapped around with a snarl.Thane could see the poppet clutched in one of the figure's hands,an unassuming doll made from twigs and tinder.In a split second the figure had swung the pack onto his back and sprinted for the treeline on the opposite side of the circle.