The clearing was silent as the few remaining souls watched the scene before them come to an end.

The boy fell back on his butt as he fully returned to his senses. The wounds earned in the vicious brawl transferred over to his normal form as bloody gashes leaked their life essence all over his body.

Nothing serious enough to warrant an intense reaction right away was visible. The amphibians walked over to Thunkar to get a better read on him and to ensure that the bastard was dead.

Blood continued to pump out of his neck as the grievous injury rapidly emptied his life all around him.

Egosum nodded his head in appreciation at the sight. Their goal was certainly completed. Punishe would not be able to continue abusing the connection as he had been and it was hard to imagine the next in line could be as bad as the bastard himself.

“Thunkar, how do you feel? Any particularly bad wounds?” Cinera inspected him with a close eye.

His chest rose and fell with each tense breath. He worked up the energy to speak after a few moments of rest.

“It’s done, isn't it?” His voice was quiet and hopeful.

Egosum turned to the rapidly cooling corpse before answering.

“Definitely.” The boy let the tension leave his body. His shoulders fell down and his head drooped.

“Good. Um, I don’t know. A lot of stuff hurts, but that is the nature of slashing wounds.” He winced as he moved his arms to his side.

“I am going to head over to get some help from the women nearby. Then I will head out to the actual village to get Morgal and then bring her here to deal with the wounded.” Egosum turned to leave.

“Hold on. I don't want her seeing me like this.” He spoke through clenched teeth.

The toad huffed before speaking up.

“Yeah, I don’t think we will be giving you the choice. Sit tight. You did a great job. Now just let the village take care of you.” He launched over to where the women and children were hiding before the boy could voice his dissent.

The forest quickly gave way to the crowd.

It was completely silent to the point Egosum feared something tragic had happened.

As he got closer, he saw the beastmen were all staring intently toward the same spot.

He peaked around the side to see what they were entranced by and blanked at the sight.

Coyotl sat balanced on his back legs with his hands grasped together in a praying motion.

A light ephemeral glow radiated off his body like a dusky saint. The vision was enchanting even to Egosum’s iron will.

He shook his head to throw the thoughts out of his mind before hopping over to the frog.

“What in Hekate’s name are you doing?” The question roused the stationary frog from his trance. The black eyes opened briefly to show off the crystal clear void that sat deep within them.

Coyotl blinked and the clarity disappeared instantly at the same moment. He fell forward, landing on his hands, and looked up at the other amphibian.

“I saw that. You can’t hide from me forever.” His attempt at scolding earned him a tilted head.

“Owah.” The flat reply caused Egosum to scoff before turning his attention to the rapidly stirring beastmen behind him.

“I am glad you are back amongst the land of the living. I am happy to announce that Punishe is officially dead!” He shouted the last part in hopes of some cheers.

The awkward silence that draped over the crowd left him with nothing bud down turned stares

“Alright then, thought that would make you guys happy, but whatever. In other news, I need two things. I need a guide back to the village so I can bring some help back and also a few people to go help tend to Thunkar’s wounds.”

A small girl wormed her way out of her mother's grip and over to the toad. The child stood at eye level with him and was the skinniest of the children he had seen. She made eye contact before bowing slightly.

“I can guide you back.” The common was impressively clear and strong for her age.

“I guess this works if you can guide me. Now, do I have any takers to help Thunkar?” Nearly the entire group stood up to offer their services.

“Wow. I guess we can see who the favorite is. Not that I don’t get it. Coyotl you should follow them to the clearing to meet up with Cinera.” The crowd began shuffling their way to the camp as he turned to the child.

“What’s your name?” He nodded in the child’s direction.

“Erooka.” She whispered to him as she began shrinking under his gaze.

“That is a great. Rolls off the tongue. Well, no better time than the present. Let’s get going.” He turned to the forest as a feeling on his back startled him. “What are you doing?”

Out of the corner of his eyes, he watched the girl climbing onto his back. Her diminutive size made it just barely possible.

“I have small legs. Do you expect me to walked all the way there and back? How barbaric.”

Egosum sighed before resigning himself to his fate.

“Fine. Do you think you can hold on?” Her furry face peaked around the size as she wrapped her legs around him. She rapidly shook up and down as a look of expectant glee poured over her. “ Keep your hands and feet tucked in tight. It will be jarring.”

His legs launched the pair forward with increasing intensity as Egosum made sure his passenger didn't go flying into the distance if her grip failed.

The added weight did little to his abilities. Her guidance let them reach the wooden walls in a few dozen minutes. A powerful hop carried him over and into the moonlit village.

The normal quiet of the tent-filled clearing was replaced with a bustling air of work.

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Beastmen scrambled in all directions with various herb bundles, tools, and bowls.

The cacophony of noises and movement startled him into inaction when one of the women shouted out at his arrival.

“That toad is back.” The same phrase echoed all around as they parroted her.

Soon enough, Morgal’s hunched figure burst from a tent. She rushed over to greet the amphibian and beastman pair.

“How did things go? Did you get him? Where is everyone else? What about-” She fired off question after question before Egosum cut her off.

“Meep! *cough* We did get him, but I would like it if you could get some of your salves together to help treat the wounded on both sides. Erooka and I can help guide you over to their camp with the aide and I can get you filled in on the way there.”

Her gaze was intense. She watched the toad before her for a few seconds before nodding her head and whistling to get the other people's attention.

“Get the medicine ready and let's get moving girls. Remember your roles and stay safe.

The villagers rushed around like a mound of disturbed ants. Eventually, a small ground of the largest women stood around Egosum. They carried a variety of gourds and baskets with a mixture of many of the things he had seen being moved around town.

They appeared ready for anything they could encounter in the camp and had been preparing since they left.

“We are ready to get a move on.”

“Fantastic.” Egosum turned to the forest.

With the group in tow, they traveled through the woods with the small girl’s guidance. The old woman and the other villagers ran with a speed that he had only seen when he had first disturbed them many nights ago. They avoided a few areas like Thunkar would have done thanks to Morgal’s warnings and made impeccable time.

He skillfully dodged any questions she leveraged his way about Thunkar’s injuries, and they quickly found themselves breaking through the trees and into the hunter’s camp.

The beastmen that had been rescued earlier were in various states of tears and joy as some of the hunters had come to in their absence.

“Stupid boy!” The scream came from his side as Morgal’s frail-looking figure shot toward the warbeast in humanoid form.

A few of the women backed away from their places beside him as the matriarch began to administer care.

“What did I say? I know I made it very clear that you weren’t to get hurt and look at you. You look like shredded boar. What would I have done if you died?!” She turned to look at the toad. “And you! I told you to keep him safe. I said-” She stopped speaking as Thunkar reached over and pulled her into a hug.

Egosum looked away from the touching scene with an indifferent heart. He felt for the qi that was welling up inside of him after his period of rest.

His body finally began to return to a sense of normalcy that the saturation gave him.

The other women walked around the camp to help awaken more and more of the hunters that had been knocked unconscious.

They came to in varying states of confusion and worry before their attendees could explain what happened.

‘I would consider this a pretty great success. No casualties on our side and none that I know of on the hunter's side either. It was about as perfect as could be.’

"Um, excuse me?” A quiet voice grabbed his attention. A short villager was waving over to beckon him to her side.

“Yes?” He stood beside a pair of feet sticking straight to the sky with the rest of the body entirely entombed.

“Well, do you think you could unearth the other hunters for us? I am not sure we will e able to do that ourselves.” Egosum looked back and forth between her and the feet before realizing her concerns.

He flexed his Qi core and willed the earth to move to his command. The hunters slowly floated to the surface in various states of mind. Some panicked at the abrupt freedom, accustomed to the tight embrace of the earth, while others were entirely unconscious from earlier hits or air deprivation.

By the time the dozen trapped hunters had been excavated, Thunkar had been nearly encased in the salves that had worked wonders on Egosum’s back.

“Did you like my application of mana in the magic I showcased?” Cinera waddled over to speak to the toad with a smug smile on her face.

He thought back to the fight and realized his enhanced vision had played almost no role and he had neglected to watch for any magic she had thrown out. The only use it saw was at the start and to check if the sloth was a host.

“Um…It was spectacular. Really impressive stuff. Especially the perfectly timed stun on the bastard as he was escaping. That was great.” She turned her head up in superiority and thanked him for the praise. Her pleased attitude was quickly startled by a startled shout from one of the villagers.

“Oh, what the fuck is that?! Ah! AH! It is crawling toward me!” Her panicked voice echoed across the cam,p drawing every person’s attention. A one-armed corpse missing its legs slowly pulled itself forward.

A trail of sticky blood leaked out from behind it as the beastmen ran in panic and a few hunters stood at attention.

“Relax! He’s one of the things that helped rescue the captives!” They glanced over to Egosum but refused to approach the strange sight or calm down to a point of normalcy.

He hopped over to the struggling body. The old human host raised its head with shaking muscles as most of them had been shredded beyond use.

“Hello there! I am glad that things look to be going well. After getting thrown to the trees, I had a whole mess of problems trying to get out.” The words were interlaced with girgles of blood stuck in its throat.

“I see… What would you like to talk about?”

The corpse hacked up the thick liquid before responding.

“Leaves a coating in the throat. Nasty stuff. Anyway, I would like to say that our debts have been officially paid and I thank you for the opportunity. You saved us from that shit hole and there isn’t much else we could have asked for. You really helped a bunch of boney boys out and that is more than most can say.”

It let a strange, repeated laugh roll out.

“You’re welcome. I am glad to have helped. I hope you guys can live out your lives in freedom.”

“What kind words. With this, I must bid you all a fine passing.” The life drained from its eyes as the corpse went limp.

Egosum turned to get back to business when a rapid tapping on his back foot startled him so greatly, he went airborne.

“Hahaha. Got you. If you stick around the forest, don’t be a stranger, you hear?” The upper body balanced itself on one arm and quickly hopped into the dark forest.

“Fuck that.” His heartbeat intensely at the fright before returning to Thunkar.

“It really got you good. Hehe-ugh.” The boy began to laugh before pain racked his body. He doubled over as his granny reapplied some of the medicine.

“I thought you didn’t like them.” The boy breathed a sigh of relief at the cooling sensation.

“I didn’t, but I figure that they did help save the villagers and spent a lot of effort to fight that bastard.”

Morgal slapped his side at the swear, eliciting a small grunt from him.

“Sorry. I am just glad this dark period is over. He can’t abuse the connection anymore and the village can finally be reunited.” His tone was much more grown than they had ever heard from him.

The other beastmen began to crowd around the hunched-over kid with only a small bit of room separating them.

“True. I can see the appeal. Very efficient and I am sure they are happy to have whole families again. It does make me curious though, who is going to be the new pack leader? It was traditionally the strongest warbeast, right?” The question threw the kid for a loop.

The hunters that stood around all crouched down to their knees before bowing their heads forward.

Egosum’s enhanced vision came to life as he felt a stream of power flowing toward Thunkar. A grey and red aura poured from every hunter around and funneled into the injured boy. He saw feelings of devotion, thanks, and happiness floating around within the intent.

“I don’t- I can’t. I don’t have the experience. It doesn’t make sense.” He struggled to find a response when one of the only hunters spoke up.

“Your father always supported us and kept our families safe. I think it is only fair that we do the same with his son. We made this decision the first time we saw you fight back Punishe at the village. Nothing will change our minds.”

Thunkar felt something in his hand and looked down to the trophy necklace that sat in his grasp. Morgal had tears in her eyes as she put it back over his neck and squeezed his shoulder.

The young man squeaked out tired and touching thanks before turning to his amphibian friends.

“I guess I am the pack leader.” He sucked snot up his nose as tears leaked out. “What, um, what are you guys gonna do now? Stay in the village?” His hopeful tone caused all the eyes to turn to them.

Egosum looked back to Cinera and Coyotl who merely shrugged in deference to his wishes.

“I am gonna go get my damn hook back.”