The Hunting Grounds

4E 201 | Late Hearthfire | Thirty-Two Days Since Arrival

The chase ended at a cave hidden beneath an ancient cliff.

Inside, the stone opened into a moonlit grove that could not have existed beneath the earth. Silver mist drifted over shallow water. Roots coiled through the walls. A great white stag stood beneath impossible light, antlers branching like winter trees.

"Hold, girl," it said. "You stand upon the Hunting Grounds of Hircine."

Tsukihana's hand rested on her sword. "What do you want?"

The stag circled her. "You pursued prey without invitation. You protected the weak. You followed the scent into another hunter's domain."

"Sinding is not prey."

"Everything is prey to something."

"Then you are wasting my time."

The stag laughed with a voice too large for its body. "Most mortals kneel."

"I do not."

"I noticed."

It told her that Sinding had broken the rules of Hircine's game and that hunters had been sent to claim his hide. Tsukihana refused the role offered to her.

"I am not part of your hunt."

"You entered it the moment you chose to follow."

The stag stepped aside.

"Go, Moon Swordswoman. Show me whether mercy can survive the teeth of the world."