“Jack! To your left!”

Jill screamed, even as she blocked the razor-sharp liquid “cloth” with an armored forearm. The blood-red liquid blade bounced off her gauntlets and gave her just the opening she needed. Jill took a step and swung her free fist up and into the wolf-like creature’s lower jaw. A sharp ice spike formed on her gauntlet and plunged deep into the beast’s skull like a knife through butter.

The wolf-life creature gave a startled yelp and fell to the ground, unmoving. Jill jumped back several feet, her armored fists raised, unwilling to let her guard down. They’d already fallen for this trap once. She’d not fall for it a second time. As soon as she was clear, the ground underneath the beast collapsed into a sinkhole.

The creature yelped again, still very much alive, and tried to escape. But before it could even stand, the ground slammed shut around it with surprising force. Slowly, dark red blood seeped to the surface through the loose soil.

A small Root Gopher popped its head out of the soil nearby and shook itself clean.

Jill lowered her fist and sighed before turning to observe the rest of the battlefield. Not that there was much left to see. The wolves that had targeted her during the ambush were long since dead, with only her brother struggling against the life-draining creatures. Even then, two had been impaled on wooden spears, then trapped in living wood when said spears sprouted and engulfed them. A third still struggled against the thorny, blood-drinking vines that pinned it to the ground. However, its life-draining power couldn’t keep up with the carefully cultivated Spirit Plant, and it was slowly weakening.

The one she had just killed had tried to ambush him after it found it couldn’t do anything to their flying metal friend. That strange creature had simply picked them up one by one and dropped them from a staggering height.

Jill walked toward her brother, who was panting on the ground. She stood over him, peering down with a frown. Jack looked up at her and smiled, holding out a hand. Jill reached down… and smacked him in the head with a gauntleted hand.

“When I tell you don’t approach the mysterious hooded figure surrounded by bodies and bones, you need to listen to me.”

Jill scolded her older brother. The man in question rolled on the ground a few times, clutching his head. Jack looked up at his younger twin sister and frowned, rubbing his head as he spoke.

“Hey! It’s not my fault! What the hell were those things, anyway?!”

Jill rubbed the bridge of her nose before answering.

“Blood-Cloaked Lykos. You should know this, Jack.”

Jack’s eyes went wide, and he jumped to his feet.

“Wait, really?! We’re rich! With this man, the bounty has to be huge!”

Jill sighed and shook her head.

“No, stupid. The Ashdales only pay for Lykos found inside their territory. Wolves don’t tolerate other packs on their land.”

Jack’s face fell in response.

“Oh… well, that sucks. At least we should get a decent price for their material. I’ve never seen a creature with such a strong life affinity yet appear so… vicious.”

The young man poked at the body of the nearby creature. The spirit beast had succumbed to the thorny vine’s grasp. Its job done, the vine retreated underground, then slithered up Jack’s leg, rustling the man’s robes. When it settled, Jack petted his forearm like he stroked a cat before kicking the body over.

Jill stared down and frowned. Even drained and shriveled as it was, the odd body plan on the creature was… strange to look at, almost unsettling. At a glance, one could tell it was a creature that preferred to move and run on all fours. Yet the prehensile digits of its front “hands” and the longer, more powerful back leg made it known the creature could just as easily walk bipedally and grab at its prey. However, the odd “cloak” each wore when alive was what truly set them apart.

From a distance, it appeared to be nothing more than a thick, blood-red hooded cloak made of some fine thread. But once prey approached, its true nature was relieved to be a grisly organ formed from blood vessels extending from the nape of their necks, dripping with fresh blood. The creatures had perfect control over this organ and could use it as a weapon or armor as they pleased. Once they died, these cloaks collapsed into a tangled mess of blood and gore.

Jack furrowed his brow and asked his sister.

“Are you sure these things aren’t… you know… people?”

It was one thing to harvest materials and core from non-sapient spirit beasts. But most civilized places abhorred or outright banned the sale of sapient body parts. Not that it didn’t happen, of course, especially to those Awakened Beasts with more… bestial forms. Even humans and other humanoid species couldn’t escape this. High-level Cultivator bones had many applications, while their blood could be used in pill refining, and their skin could be used for various scrolls and arrays.

Jack stared at the body, unsure.

“I don’t want to be stuck explaining myself to the guards why we’re bringing in contraband. Halirosa might not be as strict or… heavy-handed as the United Awakened Clans regarding sapient materials, but the fines would undo everything we’ve collected so far. Or worse, chased out. I don’t want to be labeled an Outcast.”

Jill shook her head and began skinning the body.

“No worries there. Blood-Cloaked Lykos are highly intelligent, but they’re not sapient. Otherwise, the Ashdales would have tried to extend diplomatic solutions to their constant intrusion into the Halirosa Valley, not set bounties for them.”

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Jack narrowed his eyes, not fully convinced.

“But what about the crying? The trap? Hell! That one was wearing armor and a weapon!”

Jack pointed to the splattered remains of the largest Lykos. It had been the first of their metal friend’s experiments in terminal velocity. Said friend now lay on the ground, endlessly chatting about something in that strange language as a plump root gopher patted her “head.”

Jill didn’t bother to look up from her work as she answered.

“Stolen from past victims, no doubt. I did say they’re highly intelligent. Think of them to the Ashdale and other Awakened Lycus, what Goblins are to the Orcs. Smart, resourceful, and adaptable, but not truly ‘aware’ in the same way we are. If the Ashdale mythos is correct, then the Blood-Cloaks are spirit beasts who were once on the verge of true sapience but ‘lost’ that race to the Ashdale’s Progenitor. The creatures they regressed to have had their potential totally cut off.”

Jack shook his head and shrugged, moving to begin work on one of the other Blood-Cloaks.

As he worked, he asked his sister.

“How do you know so much about them, anyway? Blood-Cloaked Lykos rarely come near Halirosa anymore, and the bounty is so high when they do, they’re wiped out almost instantly.”

Jill paused, but soon returned to work before speaking.

“The bounty is exactly why. If we could have collected even just a few heads during an incursion, then…”

Then maybe they could have paid off that bastard Coldfinger, and none of this would have been a problem. Of course, he’d have never allowed that. While Coldfinger was “retired” as an adventurer himself, he still “sponsored” several powerful teams. They were often among the first on the scene at the very hint of a bounty. Both to reap the rewards… and prevent any “competitors” from doing so themselves.

Riiiip!

Jill stared down at the small hole in the hide she’d inadvertently caused. Jack looked over at his sister but said nothing. They still had a lot of work to do.

— — —

It only took a few hours to dismantle all the bodies. Blood-Cloaked Lykos might have been higher-ranked spirit beasts, but they hadn’t much value overall. Mostly the blood, their “cloak,” and the hides, all of which contained powerful Life-affinity.

They’d discussed collecting some of the meat to stock their supplies, but decided against it. There was something offputting about eating something so close to sapience. Besides, their people were primarily vegetarians, even if Jill enjoyed a good roast when she had the chance.

Once they were finished, the gathered materials were stored in their metal friend’s shell. Jill was still somewhat skeptical of the new companions who’d joined them on their trip, but the metal one at least seemed oddly attached to Jack. While it was obviously sapient, Jill had never seen an Awakened quite like it before, nor did she recognize the language it spoke. Where it had come from, or why it seemed insistence on following them, she didn’t know.

Yet, it had quickly shown its worth. Jack and Jill’s own special storage items were small and already filled to the brim with the necessary supplies for a long journey. They expected to spend months, maybe years, in these mountains, searching for clues to the [Pure Water Spring]. So the seemingly endless space within the creature’s shell had allowed them to collect material and treasures they would have either had to pass on otherwise or sacrifice supplies for.

Even when the creature inevitably demanded its own cut, the haul from this trip alone would pit a massive dent into the sibling’s debts, regardless of whether or not they actually found the spring. As for their other companion…

Jill still wasn’t sure what to make of that one either. All of her scenes and knowledge told her it should be just a typical Root Gopher. But reality had a funny habit of proving her wrong. The first obvious difference was the creature’s intelligence. Root Gophers were nothing more than big gophers. They were not stupid animals but still very much animals at heart. This creature almost acted sapient at times and had proven to be devious, cunning, and deceptively powerful.

During the fight with the Blood-Cloaked Lykos, she’d thought the creature had escaped underground to hide, but she’d been wrong. Instead, it harassed the wolf creatures by digging small pits and holes to trip the creatures off and throw off their rhythm and coordination. More than once, a Lykos had tried to attack her from a blind spot, only to suddenly find the ground under its feet collapsing, causing it to trip.

The Root Gopher’s final move against the Lykos that had jumped Jack had been a display of earth manipulation far exceeding anything of its species should have been capable of.

Of course, she had her theories as well. The most likely being the scene playing out in front of her. As she watched, the Root Gopher stuffed the rest of the Lykos materials into the metal creature’s shell like a squirrel hoarding nuts. When that was done, it reached in and pulled out a large orange root that glowed with Spirit Energy in her sight. She’d recognized the root as one the gopher had dug up a few days ago.

As if sensing her stare, the gopher turned and looked at her. It then bit into the root, never breaking eye contact, as if daring her to stop it.

Jills sighed and shook her head.

Whatever the truth, be it some kind of unusual partnership, symbiosis, or something deeper, she had no way of knowing.

Once everyone was finished, the group gathered back together and turned down the mountain path. They still had a lot of ground to cover before night fell.

Yet, as they did, an elderly, feminine voice called out to them, echoing off the rocky walls.

“Ho! Travelers! Are you doing well?”

Jill tensed, unsure of what or who had spoken. Jack did as well, his robes billowing as something writhed underneath.

The sound of something clicking on stone slowly approached, then from around a bend in the path appeared an… old woman?

An old human woman, her face wrinkled and suntanned, walked down the path toward them. Her slight frame was hunched over, bent by the weight of the herb-filled wicker basket on her back, her gait supported only by the gnarled staff she carried.

Click…

Click…

Click…

Almost hypnotically, the staff tapped against the stone path as she approached, and before Jill could process what was happening, the old woman stood before them, smiling up at her with a crooked grin. Her voice was wizen and dry, but soft and comforting when she spoke, reminding Jill of her grandmother.

“That was quite impressive, deary. I have to thank you for dealing with those mutts. They’ve been such trouble lately. Why, I’ve barely gotten any visitors because of them. If I was 100 years younger, I’d have taken care of them myself, but…”

The old woman paused and gestured to herself with her free hand before continuing.

“Such is the way of the world, I suppose.”

Jill stared down at the old woman, her brow slightly furrowed.

“I… You’re… welcome? I guess?”

The young woman tilted her head. The old woman, on the other hand, simply chuckled, her laugh sounding like both the cackling of a crow and the chime of a bell at the same time.

“Yes, yes. Don’t mind me, young lady, just an old woman reminiscing about a time long past. Now come, come! My home is just down this path. You lot have done me a great service. At least let me treat you to tea. Let it never be said I let any good deed go unpunished, hahaha!”

Again, the old woman cackled, turned, and began walking the way she’d come. Jill turned to look at Jack, but the young man simply smiled and followed the old woman. Jill sighed, followed shortly after. They weren’t ones to turn down a free meal.

As the two walked after their new host, Mr. Gopher and Grim stared. They turned and shared a long look before Mr. Gopher shrugged and dipped into the ground. Grim turned around and quickly flew to catch up with the group.