Chương 106: Chapter 10: Into the Wild- Part I

"This one's more your pace." He hands it over. I read the parchment carefully. Monster Extermination Request: Copper Rank Location: Southern woodland, three miles east of Fallowspire. Objective: Eliminate a Veyrakh responsible for repeated attacks upon hunters and lumber crews. Reward: Two silver crowns. The report is brief; several injured but no deaths.

The creature has grown increasingly territorial over the past fortnight, forcing both woodcutters and hunters to abandon an otherwise productive stretch of forest. I lower the parchment.

"A Veyrakh?" Darran nods.

"Normally they're unpleasant."

"Apparently this one has decided to become ambitious."

"I take it no one's claimed it."

"Three tried."

"And?"

"They came back. Mostly in one piece." I can't help smiling, "That bad?" Darran shrugs.

"Depends who you ask. The Veyrakh probably had a wonderful day." A quiet laugh escapes me, "I'll take it."

"I suspected you would." He reaches for the ledger before pausing.

"I assume you'll be bringing back the beaststone?" I shake my head, "If it has one, I'll leave it."

"I thought you might." There isn't the slightest hint of disappointment in his voice. Only understanding, "I'll have one of the local hunters verify the carcass afterwards. That'll satisfy the Guild."

"Thank you." He waves the gratitude away, "Just don't flatten half the forest while you're at it."

"I'll do my best."

"I've heard druids make that promise before." ….. The following morning arrives quietly. By the time I leave the Garden, the first light of dawn has already begun spreading across the eastern sky, turning the tops of the old estate walls pale gold. Fallowspire is only beginning to stir around me. A few merchants are opening the shutters of their stalls, while the smell of fresh bread drifts through the narrow streets from one of the bakeries near the central square.

Somewhere farther away, I hear the dull ringing of a hammer as one of the smiths begins his day's work. The Hollowmane cub walks beside me. For once, it isn't perched across my shoulders. It seems to have decided that following on four legs is preferable while we are outside the Garden, though it stays close enough that its flank occasionally brushes against my leg whenever the street narrows. Several people stop to stare as we pass. The cub pays them no attention.

I am beginning to suspect it considers itself far more important than the rest of us. The southern gate comes into view shortly afterward. Two guards recognize me immediately, and one of them glances down at the cub before looking back toward me with a poorly concealed smile.

"Heading out early, Grovekeeper?" This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.

"I have a contract." The guard nods toward the parchment tucked into my belt, "Guild work?"

"Monster extermination." His expression changes slightly, "Anything dangerous?"

"That's what I'm going to find out." The second guard looks at the Hollowmane, "And you're taking that with you?" I glance down. The cub looks up at me. It blinks.

"I suppose I am." The first guard laughs quietly, "Good luck."

"Thank you." The gates open, and I step beyond them. The change is immediate. Fallowspire's sounds fade behind me as the road descends gently toward the southern woodland. The city remains visible for several minutes, its walls rising above the surrounding fields, but the farther I walk, the more the forest begins to reclaim the world around me. The smell of worked earth gives way to damp soil and pine. Birds call from somewhere among the branches, and insects hum lazily through the tall grass beside the road.

The Hollowmane stops. I take another few steps before realizing it isn't beside me anymore. I turn. It stands at the edge of the road, staring into the forest.

"What is it?" Its ears twitch. Then it walks into the trees. I follow. The contract says the Veyrakh has been attacking hunters and lumber crews along the southern woodland, but the Guild's description leaves out everything I actually need to know. How often has it attacked? Where? Does it return to the same area? Is it defending a territory, hunting, or simply becoming aggressive for reasons no one has recognized? Those questions matter more than the reward. A creature rarely changes its behaviour without reason.

The forest floor is soft beneath my boots. Fallen needles and damp leaves cover most of the ground, though the occasional patch of exposed earth shows where animals have passed through recently. I slow my pace and let the forest settle around me. There are signs everywhere but most are meaningless. A rabbit has crossed the path during the night. A fox passed through earlier, judging by the faint tracks near a fallen log. Several deer moved through the undergrowth farther west. I don't need to see them.

I can feel the subtle disturbance they leave behind. Elarion has taught me to pay attention to things I otherwise would have walked past without noticing. The forest speaks constantly. Not with words, but through patterns. Broken branches, bent grass, changes in scent. The absence of birdsong in one place and its abundance in another. I crouch beside a patch of disturbed earth. The Hollowmane sits beside me.

"You see anything?" The cub sniffs the ground, then sneezes. I smile, "Very helpful." Its tail flicks once, I place my palm against the soil, the familiar warmth of mana answers from the land itself. It is fainter here, more scattered but still present. I let my awareness spread through the ground without forcing it too far. Roots brush against the edge of my perception. Small creatures move through tunnels beneath the soil.

Water travels slowly beneath the surface, following paths carved long before Fallowspire ever existed. And then I feel something else. A disturbance. Old enough that the trail has begun to fade, but recent enough to matter. I open my eyes. The earth beside my hand bears a deep impression partially obscured by fallen leaves. A large one. I brush the leaves aside. The Hollowmane leans closer.

"Looks like we're going the right way." The cub gives a quiet chirp. I rise and follow the trail deeper into the woodland. The tracks appear again after perhaps fifty paces, then disappear beneath a patch of exposed roots. I don't bother searching for them immediately. Instead, I close my eyes and reach outward once more. There, something has passed through this section of forest repeatedly. Not recently enough for me to sense its presence directly, but the plants remember.

A low branch has been broken more than once. A cluster of shrubs has been flattened. One of the larger trees bears several fresh scratches along its lower trunk. I approach it slowly. The marks are deep enough that whatever made them possesses considerable strength. I run my fingers along the damaged bark. The tree responds faintly through the land. Pain, fear, memory. Something large has been moving through this area. Something the trees don't recognize. The Hollowmane suddenly moves ahead.

It pauses beside another tree, then looks back at me.

"Wait." It doesn't. Of course it doesn't. I sigh and follow behind it. The forest gradually grows denser as we leave the main road behind. Sunlight reaches the ground only in scattered patches now, and the air carries a cooler dampness beneath the canopy. I begin noticing more signs of the Veyrakh's presence as we continue. A broken sapling, deep tracks, a discarded section of torn leather caught against a thorn bush. I stop at the last one. The leather is stained with dried blood. A Hunter.

I crouch and examine it carefully. The injury isn't recent, neither is the blood, perhaps two days old. The contract mentioned several injured hunters, so that fits. I stand again. The Hollowmane is staring farther ahead. Its posture has changed. The playful curiosity is gone. Its ears remain forward, and its tail hangs low behind it.

"You sense something?" The cub doesn't answer, instead, it begins walking; slowly; quietly. I follow. We move another hundred paces before the trees begin to thin. Beyond them lies a small clearing. At its center, the ground has been churned into mud. Broken branches litter the edges. Something has been feeding here. I stop at the boundary. The Hollowmane crouches beside me. For a few moments, neither of us moves. Then I feel it, a presence. Somewhere beyond the clearing, hidden among the trees, watching us.

I reach instinctively toward my second blade. The familiar weight settles into my hand. The Hollowmane's ears flatten. I take one slow breath. Whatever has been terrorizing the hunters is close and this time… it knows we're here.