Arnack led his pony into the depth of the Dufair, it’s darkness anything but fair. He’d passed through here once before on his Proving first trying to go through Olc Cairn after killing the third Orc band he took to the jungle and only got chewed on by two man-eating plants. Turns out they didn’t like the taste of dwarven steel. As the canopy got thicker he reached into his saddlebags and found a torch which he lit with a flint and steel the oilsoaked rags took the flames greedily and he raised it high above his head, axe ready in the other hand. 

The light it gave didn’t seem to penetrate far into the thick jungle foliage but it would be enough to scare away any beast looking for a tasty dwarf or pony snack, he hoped. Luckily by this time of night most the man-eating plants were set upon dissolving their kills as he strolled through the jungle eyes and ears alert for any signs of life. 

Aside from a few distant roars and a few noises from the trees above nothing seemed to interested in them. He picked up the pace as his pony trailed behind. A roar closer by drew his attention and he threw the torch down and turned even as the first pair of eyes came into view, followed by a lithe body nearly as tall as him. He uttered a few curses and drew back toward the pony as another pair of eyes came into view behind them. 

Arnack fainted at the first seeming to give it all his attention, the second leaped behind him silent as a cat can be. He spun round to contfront it axe following through with the momentum from his feint severing the jaguar’s ear clean off. It growlled and pounced at him but he rolled to the side as it’s claws passed through the air he’d stood in moments ago. 

Unfortunately there was two of them and the other pounced on him before he could stand, raking it’s claws across his chest tearing through his leather armour and found the flesh beneath. It pinned him to the ground with one paw as it’s teeth went for his exposed face. Arnack’s grip tightened on the axe he still held and shoved the haft down it’s maw unable to bring the weapon to bear on the beast from the jungle floor. It recoiled, choking , giving him precious seconds to stand and before it had time to recover he hefted the axe up and brought it down on it’s neck executioner style, cleaving the beasts head off. 

The second one had disappeared into the forest with a whimper off to lick its wound. Arnack wondered if he would see Earless again if it came to avenge its dead friend. He picked up the cats ear off the jungle debris placing it in a pocket then cleaned off his blade on the dead jaguar’s fur.

He picked up the torch which had now turned a patch of ground beneath it to embers, he stamped it out and gathred his pony’s lead once more off into the jungle singing a dwarven diddy.