The stag looked at my arm and huffed, shaking its head. At least it wasn't running away. But when I got closer, it turned and started walking off. Not fleeing exactly. Just moving away at a calm trot.

Then it stopped and looked back at me. Waiting.

My breath caught. It wanted me to follow it.

I tried to remember what the satyr children used to say about golden stags. There were stories, I knew that much. I could picture them running around the orchard, laughing and shrieking about something. The golden stag, they'd call out. But what did the stories actually say? What happened to people who followed it?

Nothing came to mind. Just the image of kids playing and Meli laughing at their games.

[hider=History Check]
https://www.roleplayerguild.com/rolls/29591
Total: 4 (rolled 2 + 2 modifier)
Apparently the Guild's dice roller has decided it hates me today.
[/hider]

[i]I shouldn't[/i], I thought. This was stupid. I was lost, Meli was upset, and now I was thinking about following some impossible creature deeper into the woods.

But then the dream came back to me. That voice in the darkness. [i]Resurrection or Destruction.[/i] The feeling of something watching me, something bigger than I understood.

And now this. A golden stag with fur the same color as my draconic arm, appearing right after I'd gotten lost trying to do the right thing.

I made a decision.

[b]"Alright,"[/b] I said quietly to the stag. [b]"I'll follow. But just for an hour. If I'm just walking in circles, I'm heading back toward the Gathering."[/b]

It was still morning. I had time. And maybe, just maybe, this meant something.

I started walking after the golden stag.