After nearly a day and night of stalking her through the swampy marsh, wading through pools brimming with shadow, decay, and even the occasional nondescript corpse, the water hag had grown bolder and less cautious.   She had grown lax in her vigilance.  He would make his move soon; perhaps when the moon is obscured behind the dark clouds drifting overhead, or when the thick layer of fog fully envelopes the marsh.  

Yes, then.  He would be ready for her.

Dawn is not far off; he can see ribbons of light unfurling through the haze.  He braces himself for his attack of the water nymph, preparing to throw either throw a magic sign her way, or meet her head-on in a physical attack. From the sound of the splashing of water, she has found a place to relax, a quiet sanctuary.  It's a shame he won't have the time to bring her head as a trophy back to the Wood to receive a reward. 

He watched her, entranced.

To be honest, he was not entirely sure she was, in fact, a she, or even what manner of creature she was.  In all his expansive travels and wayward wanderings, he had never encountered such a unique specimen.  A cousin of the siren or water nymph, perhaps.  Indeed, she certainly had the beauty of her cousins; the same beauty that a deep, still pool possess: a hypnotizing, dangerous effect.  And no doubt, she must be dangerous.  He wondered if her eyes had similar powers.  With one glance, would he be drowned in a bottomless abyss? 

Despite tracking her for the past few days, he was still at battle with himself; mostly trying to discern if she was a hunting, carnivorous creature, or a peaceful, sentient being.  Helovians seemed to come in such a wide variety of appearances, it was sometimes difficult to recognize monsters from simple civilians.  If she was not some sort of ravenous, water dwelling demon, he was rather inclined to ask for directions and the certain whereabouts of a missing person.  

It was against the nature of his mutant kind to seek out the company of others, but when the situation arose, he somehow mustered enough social grace to navigate through the simpler of interactions.   Raistlyn hadn't interacted with Helovians yet; he had managed to avoid them until now.  But his Path remained uncertain and he lacked all knowledge of this place, he desperately needed answers, and the quicker he approached a resident that did not turn out to be some sort of monster, the quicker he could get those answers and find Ultima and return with her in tow to the Rift. 

If she was even in Helovia, and not worlds away, transported Elsewhere by that loathsome portal she had conjured.

The strange, beautiful creature sank into the frigid water, obviously relishing the quiet moment in the still before dawn.  In his frustration, he made a hasty decision, quite out of character for his more usual calculated and thoughtful approaches. Instead, he broke cover without the silence that usually accompanied his predatory grace; he did not wish to startle her by sneaking up while she was in a vulnerable state, and so he readily made his presence known at the edge of the water with an awkward snort to announce his presence.  He also prepared himself for a fight, if the creature did turn out to be in fact some odd variant of a horrible water hag that was intent on drowning him.

“I'm trying to decide whether I should slay you,” he admitted, "Or ask you for directions."