Christine hid in the reeds of the pond, running more on instinct than anything else. What little of her human mind there had been had faded a great deal. She spent days selectively eating prey, mostly small mammals supplemented by the occasional deer.
She didn't know how long it had been before she saw a few forms come up carefully to the pond. Dimly, she knew them as friends, an elf, a centaur and a dragon. But she was hungry. The centaur and the dragon were too large, but the elf would fit in her maw. She dared not move, no sense in warning her prey.
"She's around here somewhere," said the elf consulting a paper in his hand. "The wizard we talked with was sure of it."
"But he wouldn't come out here himself," pointed out the dragon. "I keep wondering why that is."
Brian chuckled, "Because he's scared of these woods, with good reason. This place is a deathtrap." He looked significantly at Mike, "How long were you stuck as that farmers cow?"
The centaur glared at the elf, "Long enough that I have a kid giving milk." He looked around. "If she's out here, she's changed. If she's still alive, she's either well hidden or a bigger monster than most of the things out here."
"Or both," pointed out the dragon.
Christine only dimly understood what they said, but it wasn't enough for her to take her mind off the elf as her next dinner.