The Plains of Purinn

Vexana's day started like any other. She awoke deep within the cavern she had come to call home and ate what little food she had left over from the night before. The dry season had always made food scarce. The herds had all migrated and to make matters worse, there had been a locust problem this year. She sighed as she checked her humble inventory. She was dangerously low on hapid root and ambrex moss. There was barely enough to make one dose of medicine. Venturing out on such a miserable day wasn't something she was looking forward to. The sound of heavy rain grew more intense as she reached the mouth of the cave. Fortunately, she knew the best spot to find the herbs she needed. She thanked the gods that her grandfather had often taken her along with him when he went foraging. If he hadn't she surely would of died long ago. She slowly walked past the scorched remains of her village. Being just one person, she wasn't able to give the dead a proper burial. She had only been ten at the time of the attack upon her tribe. Never before had she seen so much bloodshed. Her village had been naive in thinking that they were protected from outsiders by the steep mountain ranges and the haunted swamp that encircled them. The slave traders had come and although their tribe had fierce warriors, they had been taken by complete surprise in the dead of night. Fire was set to their huts and arrows descended from the darkness. The strong were slain and the weak rounded up like cattle to be sold at market. When all was said and done, the humans had burned her village to the ground, leaving nothing but scattered corpses behind. She took some comfort in the fact that she never found the bodies of her grandfather and older brother. Yet she feared that what awaited them may have been an even worse fate. Early in the afternoon the storm finally began to clear enough for the sun to come out from behind the clouds. As she headed towards the large oak tree she used to climb as a child, she noticed a figure propped up against it. Without a sound, she unsheathed her dagger and crept closer. She was shocked to discover what appeared to be an unconscious human male. Never in her life had she been this close to a human. She lowered her dagger and began to inspect the strange being in front of her. His clothes were damp with blood and his face covered in bruises. Something or someone had beaten him nearly to death. Vexana knew that she should leave him, that humans were vile creatures who cared nothing of other races, only their insatiable greed. Yet there was something about him that drew her to him. He seemed so helpless and alone. She knew all to well how that felt. Besides, it had been years since she had seen another person. Up until now, companionship seemed like a distant dream. Should she try and save him knowing what he is? She had to make up her mind soon, there was no telling what would become of her if she did not return to safety before the predators of the night awoke.