-----He could not stay still, and he would need those fire-arrows after all. His hand blurred, sending two shafts at the wolf creature, before dashing off for deliberately difficult looking undergrowth, intending to make a circuit back to his camp.
-----Two arrows leave his bow and Whisper is off as if racing for his life. One smacking thud is heard followed by another hellish howl of pain and the wood elf knows that at least one of his arrows found its mark. Whisper feels his muscles burns as he charges through the brush as he looks for places in the wood that seem shadowed with vegetation. So far he knows that his legs will not fail him and even with the danger looming, he may have a chance of surviving.
-----Behind him, maybe tens of yards behind, a fierce roar is heard along with the dashing scramble of the wolf thing. This thing is coming on and it is coming on angry!
-----Suddenly, ahead Whisper spies some bushes that are clumped together and overhead the branches even seem to thicken. Just beyond the clumped brush, a few vines hang down from the boughs.
-----Gritting his teeth from the exertion, Whisper tried to get more speed out of his muscles. Plans of evasion, and even of trapping the creature flashed through his mind as he continued on towards the thick brush, and the vines.
-----Once Whisper gets past the clumped bushes, and to within a within a few yards of the vines, he precariously shoulders his bow, changes the rhythm of his steps, and launches himself upwards in a running jump, hands grasping for the vines.
-----Whisper quickly shoulders his bow and as the vines’ position approaches, he leaps. His hands quickly close on a thick vine and the wood elf scrambles upward, thrusting his body past the tangle of other vines as he ascends. His feet find a sturdy branch and as he looks down, he sees he is twenty feet above the ground. The thick tree he stands on provides little cover and he can hear the horrid beast thing snarling as it lopes toward his tree.
-----Now that he was up here, Whisper reflected that he had had seen people chased up a tree by bears before. The imagery brought a tight smile to his lips as he shrugged his shoulder to get his bow into his hands again.
-----He drew forth a single arrow, nocked it, and waited for a clear shot at the beast.
-----Suddenly the wolf thing roars into view and stops short a few feet from the vines, raising its nose to the air. As it does, it spots Whisper on the branch above. Baring its teeth, the creature raises up on its legs letting loose with a hellish growl. With one huge clawed hand, it reaches for an arrow protruding from its abdomen and rips the missile from its shaggy body.
-----Whisper fires, but his arrow widely misses its mark. The monster seems to notice the attack and snarls viciously as it begins to stalk closer. Suddenly it lunges at the hanging vines, trying to scramble up to the wood elf.
-----Whisper did not flinch.
-----Calmly, as the monster lunged, his hand flashed to the quiver, withdrew an arrow, nocked it, and let fly. As the arrow left the bow, he had another shaft out, and loosed it, too.
-----Just a moment after the creature grabbed a bunch of vines and began hoisting itself up, Whisper’s arrow struck it in the left shoulder. His second shot hit a furry arm. The beast simply snarled and bared its teeth. Its clawed hands continued reaching one over the other as it continued to climb!
-----Whisper thought about putting another two arrows into the creature, but instead drew his shortsword. Going into a balanced crouch, he sent the blade at the cluster of vines this wolf monster was using to climb up.
-----With a couple of quick slashes, Whisper cuts through the vines. The beast claws the air as he drops, but quickly gains his balance as he lands on his feet. The monster then races around the trunk of the tree, roaring in frustration and looking for other ways to get at the wood elf.
-----Apparently, it finds the situation hopeless, for after a moment at snarling at the elf, the monster looks toward the south where the road would lie. It then races off, loping through the vegetation.
-----He watched it go, mulling over its choice of direction. It seemed quite cunning, so it might be circling around behind, waiting for Whisper to climb down before attacking again. Or it could be going off to bring back this Minner.
-----What Whisper did know, was that he needed something more puissant than his current arrows to bring this wolf beast down. Which meant hazarding the fire arrows. The Wood Elf spent a moment looking around, trying to pierce any hiding spots ahead or behind.
-----Seeing the tree limbs reaching into the next tree over, Whisper sheathed his blade, and shouldered his bow properly before moving across, and over.
-----Carefully, Whisper makes it across the tree branches and climbs into the tree next to the one he sought shelter in. He finds the effort easy, although he keeps his senses sharp in case there was any sign of the monster. All seems quiet in the immediate vicinity.