The little orange shard of stone darted through the air, propelled by the good doctor's newly minted throwing-arm. It struck the ugly little scrabbling creature square between its wide alarmed eyes -- and the stone passed neatly through into the creature's skull.

The beasts sharp bitey mouth opened wide: [i]"RrrryyyEEEEEEAAAAAAAAKKKK!"[/i] The screech sent all the other creatures scattering for the forest, though among the humans only Doctor Howell was able to hear it.

The creature dropped immediately off the woman's back. As it fell, its body became translucent, shimmering like a foggy vapor.

The orange shard of stone landed in the dirt at the woman's feet, bright with an orange glow that pulsed deep inside. The creature was gone.

After an alarmed glance at the stone she thought at first had been aimed at [i]her[/i], the woman peered up at the strange man who had thrown it, who now held her in an awkward and extremely inappropriate embrace. The moment her mind had caught up to what had just happened, she pounded a fist on his chest.

[b]"Don't touch me, let go!"[/b] She ripped away from him, stumbled back, smoothed her hair out of her annoyed and uncertain face. The glow of the gemstone caught her attention; she kept an eye on Howell while she bent to pick it up, and she examined the warm glowing stone before she held it out to return it to him, her eyes daring him to step any closer.

[b]"You can see them."[/b] It was a bold statement, but she knew it to be true as soon as she'd said it. His eyes had been tracking things that shouldn't exist -- not to mention he'd just stepped out of a temple that was rumored to be inhabited by Echoes. Her mouth formed a thin line. [b]"I'm Rin. My sister Mia was taken by those things. You can help us find her, can't you?"[/b] she demanded, and refused to accept any answer she didn't want to hear.

Behind her, the chaos had abated. The caravan was in shambles, and the merchants had begun to clean up and right the spilled barrels and crates. In the forest, a small troupe of the merchants still called out Mia's name, searching the trees fruitlessly for signs of the taken child.

Rin moved back toward the caravan and gestured Howell to follow. [b]"Please, take anything and everything you might need -- we have clothes and weapons, food if you're hungry. If you really can see and fight those things, if you can really get Mia back, everything we have is yours. Please hurry."[/b]