6. Return to the ground
Dref clambered back down the trunk of the tree and came across a long trailing piece of ivy. He tugged and it seemed quite sturdy, so he decided to test it out and try to swing to the next tree like he had seen the other creatures doing. He took a firm hold of it, kicked himself off from the trunk and glided through the air. He easily made it to the next tree but forgot to let go and crashed into the trunk with a sickening thud. Keeping a tight grip, he swung back out again and coming in for the second time, let go at the last moment and grabbed the trunk. Dref was feeling quite chuffed with himself although it must have looked quite clumsy and he was feeling a little sore from the first attempt, he was quite confident that with practice it would become a lot easier.
Looking around he could see no danger in the immediate area, so decided to slide down to ground level, change back into himself and do a little exploring. Dref was fascinated by the multitude and colours of all the different birds, but most importantly he wanted to try and find some of the humanoid creatures that Olaban had asked him to look out for.The further he walked, the harder it became to make progress as the undergrowth was getting denser and there were hardly any clearings which he was told would be the most likely place to find what he was looking for.
Suddenly he heard a rustling and a growling close by, which startled him a little as he couldn’t immediately see anything. He took a few more steps then was confronted by a small furry four-legged creature spitting and snarling at him. Straightaway Dref formalized as he thought that would calm the angry fellow down.Unfortunately, doing so had the opposite effect, and the next moment it leapt on Dref and pinned him to the ground which took him by surprise and definitely wasn’t part of the plan.