The sun was finally setting over the village. The tense atmosphere was still present in all of the adults while the children went on about their day like nothing had happened.
The sun fell lower and lower in the sky as each moment passed by.
It wouldn’t be much longer until they began their plan. Egosum’s quiet musings were abruptly interrupted when an old, furred hand pushed back the tent flap and Morgal’s weathered face crouched inside.
She moved to sit in the short tent and addressed the silent toad.
“I just wanted to let you guys know that the village is truly grateful for everything you guys did. I know I’ve said this before, but we might already be gone without your help with food and protection.”
She fell quiet as she finished her thoughts before bowing lightly to Egosum.
“Please, stay for as long as you like if you will help us defend our village. It’s… I would appreciate it immensely.”
“I plan to stick around for a bit more. If I can, I will try to find some kind of fix to your people’s problems for good.” His voice was strong and confident in front of the older matriarch.
She looked ready to say something before biting her tongue back and simply nodding her head.
“Thank you.” Her solemn reply contained a shadow of something Egosum couldn’t put his finger on.
The conversation fell into a lull and the woman showed herself out for the day without another word spoken.
Night finally arrived as the moon poured its dense mana over the land, cascading and flooding the forest with energy and life.
Egosum slowly stuck his head out of the flap and checked to make sure everyone was in their own tents and no prying eyes were waiting for him in the open.
He saw movement in the distance as Thunkars tent flap slowly opened and the boy looked around for any stragglers.
The toad and beastman snuck around to rendezvous near the other amphibian’s tent to collect the last members of their party and began the start of the nightly foray.
The walk to the parasite’s resting place was uneventful and they quickly picked up the six human hosts.
With the whole group gathered, Thunkar grabbed their attention.
“Tonight, I plan to find the hunter's camp and do some reconnaissance to see what we are dealing with. There were four dozen hunters when my father passed away so that is the maximum we should be expecting.”
“That is way more than us. How will we deal with that?” Cinera voiced her concern.
“We will strike them during the day when they are mostly separate. They avoid hunting during the night since it is so much more dangerous, which means Punishe will be with far fewer pack members than If we catch them sleeping in their camp.” He looked between the members of the party for any more concerns.
“Once we know their numbers, we just need to either come back during daylight or wait overnight for the hunting parties to disseminate through the forest. After that, we follow Punishe and hit him while he isn’t expecting us.”
“So, we are killing this Punishe guy then?” The largest host spoke up, unaware of the happenings of the village the day prior.
Egosum nodded in confirmation before turning to the boy.
“Now we need to find their scents, right? Cover as much ground as possible and hope their scents are still identifiable in this cauldron of smells.” Thunkar cringed at the analogy before responding.
“Yes, that is the plan. It might take us a while to pick up the scent, but it will be worth it.” With his final piece said, he clapped his hands and turned to the woods around them. “Let’s do this!”
“Owah owah.” The boy flinched at the loud call before taking the first step of the night into the lesser-known parts of the forest.
Their path was abnormal and followed the flow of the breeze through the trees in hopes of picking up the faintest wisp of beastmen scent that they carried along.
The search ended abruptly as they came to a stop in front of an animal trail.
“I smell thick blood nearby. There is something else mixed in there too, but it’s muddled pretty well.” His nose scrunched up as his nostrils flared and his head swiveled from side to side to pick up an untainted hint of the other smell.
He froze suddenly as he took one final deep breath.
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“I think I smell beastmen nearby. It smells like it is in the same direction as all of the blood.”
“That’s good. Saves us a lot of time. Let’s check it out. Thunkar and I will go up ahead to scout it out and we will return if it works out.” Egosum hopped towards the boy to get a closer look.
“No, they shouldn’t be out fighting right now. My father would never have allowed something like that. Completely unnecessary and so much more dangerous.” The beastman looked to be deep in thought when the toad touched his calf to startle him from his silent musings.
“We won’t know until we check it out. Maybe we already found their camp and they are fighting something back. Lead the way.”
Thunkar looked in the scent's direction before finally deciding to move forward. The pair moved quietly through the underbrush, silently pushing aside the thickest of vegetation when the sounds of battle finally began to peak through the cacophony of insect and animal noises reverberating through the forest.
The boy got low to the ground and slowly opened a gap in the leaves for them to peek through.
A strange battle took place before their eyes. A group of four beastmen was locked in a tense battle for control with an obese bird.
Its legs were stubby and ended in flat claws meant for stabbing. Its stomach rippled with each hit and movement. The wings were small and clawed at the hinge for disemboweling.
“It's a flabby dodo.” Thunkar whispered to the toad who watched with wide eyes, the movements of the creature's fat mesmerized him as it fought back against the attackers.
The beastmen rushed in only to be battered back by a surprisingly agile sweeping kick by the bird. It failed to retreat from the attack in time as they rushed back in with their claws at the ready, slashing into the bird's backside with dozens of nails.
Blood painted the ground around it as the bird turned to fend off the attacks again. They slowly encircled the creature, taking quick punches, jabs, and swipes.
The fight’s outcome became obvious after a minute of watching. The bird had landed no hits and the beastmen were barely winded from their efforts.
Despite the danger present, it refused to give up. It threw a hail marry barrage of attacks at the leading beastmen, staggering him onto his butt. The razor-like claws on the wing cut through the air toward the beastman’s face only for him to fall all of the way to the ground to avoid it.
The bird followed up with another air-slicing swipe, only to be tackled by two of the fighters.
The attack flew by without hitting any hunters while the bird tumbled to its side. They took this opportunity to rush the beast and attack its vital areas.
The beast's head took a rain of blows while it struggled to protect itself to no avail.
It finally stopped moving as the largest of the hunters tore at its throat with his long and sharp nails, bleeding it out in seconds.
“No weapons other than their bodies?” Egosum whispered his question to the kid.
“Our people grow weaker the more they use weapons. It is a racial trait of ours. That is why the women do not fight much. They use knives constantly and stay as weak as a normal human laborour since they can’t take breaks from it.”
“That makes the upcoming fight easier.” Thunkar scoffed at the assumption before turning to address him.
“With weapons, we are dangerous. With no weapons, we are deadly. Do not make the same mistakes the humans did the first time they came.”
They watched the men lift the bird on their backs and begin to walk away, unaware of the onlookers.
The pair walked back to their companions and the group followed the beastmen’s scent trail for an hour before Thunkar stopped them.
“I am smelling a lot of different beastmen now. I say we stop and me and Egosum go check it out.” He turned to leave when Cinera waddled forward.
“I'll come along as well. I want to get a better understanding of what we are dealing with.” The pair looked at each other before shrugging.
The trio slowly crawled their way forward when the sounds of motion and talking finally broke through the other noises.
“Not much further.” They continued ahead with tension slowly building.
The familiar shouts of the hunter’s leader became more and more obvious as they approached. The harsh tone was apparent without being able to hear the words.
They snuck closer and closer when they finally got a clear view of the camp.
Small leather tents sat around an old clearing with piles of bones and trash thrown about haphazardly. The mess was obvious to all of the onlookers as they got a closer look at the crowd that was forming in front of the creaming man.
Their faces were painted with anguish and sadness. Not a single one of the hunters was spared from the distraught looks as they listened to Punishe’s speech.
“We are going back to the village and, this time, we will get some more kids. I don’t know how they are lasting this long but I am tired of waiting. I know Rolthlar has a kid. He will sneak inside and get his brat to come out and we will drag him back here to question him on what is going on in the village.” He looked around at the souring faces, hoping for some sign of dissent beyond dissatisfaction.
Some sick and twisted desire in him hopped for dissent amongst his group.
“Last time, I was too rough with the kid. I will not have a repeat of that event. This time, he will grab his son. Bring the old swords just in case and don’t forget the human rags. I don’t want another fuck up but we need to cover our bases.”
The other hunters visibly shook with anger at the commands. Their feelings were barely disguised.
“Say something if you don’t like my plan!” He spoke with a sneer as the crowd rustled with hatred for their leader. “That's what I thought, you pussies.”
The sound of gritting teeth and deep breaths were the only noise left.
“What are you idiots doing? Let’s get going!”
Punishe and a dozen of the other hunters stood up and left the camp.
Thunkar was deep in thought when Egosum grabbed his attention.
“Did he say what I think he said? Was he responsible for the child’s murder?” Cinera scoffed before the boy finally spoke up to answer him.
“I had my suspicions, but I didn’t have any way to confirm them. I was hoping I was wrong and Punishe wouldn’t stoop that low, but I guess he is more depraved than I could have ever imagined.” He fell silent as Cinera turned around to leave in obvious annoyance.
“They have a slight head start already. Let's get back to the village quickly. I am sure we can stop them before they manage to take anyone.”
Thunkar looked at the salamander and then back down to his feet.
His heart was pounding in his chest as adrenaline started to race through him.
“Let’s go.”