Jess paused in the wooded glade. The sound of a cracking twig ahead sounded like a whip in the hushed quiet of the woods and she staggered as she rushed to hide behind a tree.

The hunters were joking and laughing, and seemed unaware of her presence. It had only been two days since their last conversation at the pub and Jess had waited, confident each evening that catching them in the act was inevitable. This evening, she was thankful that the pair had come out before nightfall. The sun teetered on the edge of the horizon, casting orange hues that painted the landscape. The relative brightness made it easier to follow them at a safe distance.

As the pair of hunters hadn’t slowed down and the distance between them continued to grow, Jess peeked her head out. She was no adept stalker, but she hadn’t been made yet.

Jess had hoped that the pair would stick to the rough tracks that crisscrossed through the trees, but alas, they had almost immediately strayed into the thick green undergrowth instead. Something between stubbornness and pride pulled her onwards despite feeling that this was a fool's errand. Not on my watch, was her resounding thought. It steeled her will, dragging her forwards through the thickets and trees like a siren’s call.

She wasn’t sure what she would do when she caught them in the act, or if she could even keep up with them without being spotted. The consequences of a lone woman being caught after stalking two men in the darkening empty woods were frightening. Such unpleasant thoughts were cast aside before she was able to dwell on them. The needs of the many outweighed the needs of the few. Even if those lives were those of… toads.

If those toads were magical, what might happen to this land if they were hunted into extinction? All for what? Vanity?

Her thoughts cycled on an endless loop, powering her even when her quarry left the main track. She was forced the follow their footsteps through boggy terrain, jumping from rocks to shaggy tussocks that erupted from the grim depths of the sludge. The trees grew thicker and the floor, save for scant patches of dappled light, was cast in deepening shadows.

Her foot slipped, sinking into deep, oozing mud. A fetid stench rose from the displaced liquids and bile rose in the back of Jess’s throat. This is ridiculous. How can they possibly be tracking endangered toads in this?

She froze mid-extraction, leaning her weight against a large rock for balance as she heard a shout ahead of her. Muffled voices filtered through the vegetation. Jess hurried to free herself, before scurrying to a promising vantage point with all the wobbling grace of a newborn filly as she trotted through the clinging mud.

It was more than just eco-justice that weighed heavily on her mind. Jess needed to find a weakness before she could take on Master Darkhault. It would be easy to drop hints about her knowledge of his arrangement with the druidess, but if he accused her of lying or simply denied it, what then? She knew she’d be on the back foot with nowhere to go. Without evidence of the collusion, she didn’t have a leg to stand on. Hard, undeniable proof of toad poaching was her first step.

She peered over the edge of the rock pile to see the two men downstream. They were both armed with fine nets, peering into the water, and parting the vegetation that grew within.

The younger man shouted. “There! There!” He pointed at the waters just below the older man. A swift flick of the net and the older man withdrew his prize from the water.

“That’s a keeper,” he said, lifting the wriggling creature from the net in a cupped hand.

“I knew it!” she exclaimed, standing triumphant on the raised rocky ledge. The younger of the two men twisted in surprise, then yelped as he lost his footing and slipped backwards into the stream. The elder looked up, his fearful, wide-eyed expression quickly replaced by the scornful glower that Jess remembered so well.

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“What in the King’s name do you think you’re doing out here, Miss?” His tone suggested that he was attempting to rebuke her, yet the heightened pitch suggested that he was less confident than he was willing to let on.

“I should ask you the same thing, Sir,” Jess said as she hoisted up her mud-spattered skirts to skitter down the edge of the rock. “I distinctly remember you saying that you never hunt in these woods.”

The younger man was now standing knee deep in the unpleasant water, grimacing as he pulled twisted reeds and wet leaves from his clothing. It was hard to feel sorry for him, even though Jess was now sure that the elder gent was the one running the show.

“Ain’t none of your business,” the elder man said, then cursed as he lost his grip on the slippery quarry in his hand. The toad made a heavy slap as it struck the smooth exposed rock but recovered in an instant, hopping away from the men in haste.

Jess cocked her head to the side in confusion. “Blue skin seems a funny colour for fire toads.”

The toad disappeared into the water with a splash. The tension in the air felt thick enough to cut with a knife.

“You’ve been hustling him, haven’t you!” she said.

“Easy now. Ain’t no need to be throwing accusations around,” said the older of the two. He held his hands, palm out, towards Jess as though her barbed words were weapons in their own right.

Jess planted her hands on her hips. “I’d like to know what Master Darkhault would think if he found out about this little venture.”

“Here now, Missy,” the elder man said.

Jess cut him off. “Don’t you ‘Missy’ me! I’m not the one conning the alchemists with dodgy ingredients.”

“Wait,” the younger man said. His plaintive tone made Jess pause. “We can explain.”

“Don’t need to explain anything,” the older man said.

“Will you just cry off, Ralph!” the young man shouted. “She’s got us good and proper. If she tells the folk at the tower, it ent just our skins. Is it?”

The older man, Ralph, grumbled under his breath.

“It ent our fault, you see,” the young man explained. “It started off simple. Master Darkhault needed bits and pieces and we know the woods like the backs of our hands. Easy.”

He paused for a minute, stepping up onto the rocks and out of the stream. “We did as he asked at first. He asked for something. We caught it,” he said as he wrung some of the water from his jacket. “But then he starts asking for more. Fire toads. Fairy wings.”

“Ain’t no bother getting fairy wings,” Ralph interjected. “Bloody things are a menace.”

“He shouldn’t be needing fifty fairies though,” the younger man argued, “It ent right. Then asking for more two days later. It ent respectful.”

The young man sighed. “We told him no.”

Ralph interrupted again. “I told him, no.”

The man nodded sheepishly. “Yeah. But he starts with the threats then. He said we have to get him what he asks for or he’ll make sure we wish we had.”

“So how long have you been substituting his ingredients?” Jess asked. “He’s bound to notice, eventually.”

Ralph muttered something inaudible under his breath.

“That’s what we thought at first,” the young man said, ignoring him. “Figured we could blame it on the creatures being too young or something. Tell him it ent working so he’d have no choice but to back off. We been doing this for years now. He’s never said a word.”

“And the potions?” Jess asked, confused. “They can’t work without the right ingredients, can they?”

The young man shrugged. “Either they ent ever worked or he ent tested them yet.”

“All a farce, if you ask me,” Ralph said.

Jess was inclined to agree. If they were magical potions, how could they possibly work without the right ingredients? Surely, he’d just end up with a dud. Wouldn’t he?

“What’s your name?” Jess asked.

“Digger,” the young man said, and a hint of a blush spread across his cheeks. “Well. More of a nickname, really, but that’s what folk call me.” He stuck a thumb in Ralph’s direction. “That there’s Ralph.”

She held out a hand. “Jess.”

Digger wiped his hand on his jacket. Not that it would do much good when he was still sopping wet, before shaking Jess’s. “Pleased to meet you.”

“So, what now?” Ralph asked abruptly. He was still openly scowling at Jess.

Truthfully, she wasn’t sure. It would be rather difficult to prove that Digger and Ralph were providing Master Darkhault with fire toads when they were, in fact, definitely not catching fire toads. However, there might be another way to get what she wanted.

“I think I know a way that I might be able to benefit both of us,” she said.

Digger’s eyebrows raised at that.

A smile came to Jess’s face as the bare bones of a plan began to grow. “I think perhaps you should let me buy you those drinks I offered.”