Hunting and foraging parties were still being managed by the elders of various tribes. Most tribes fielded their own parties, only mixing in powerful magic users from other tribes if they were planning to hunt big game. Only a few tribes, like the Imm and Nare, created joint parties. This was because hunters needed to be able to rely on each other, and it was dangerous to mix a bunch of strangers together in dangerous environments.

But leaving the tribes to create and manage their own parties meant that I had no idea who was in which party, where they went, and what they were supposed to be hunting. And so, I gathered the troubled tribesmen around my dying campfire, and re-lit it. I asked them a few questions, like when the party was supposed to return, and why they thought the hunters hadn’t just gotten delayed for some reason.

“That is not possible, teacher,” said elder Mann Imm. I hadn’t noticed the old man at first, but he was leading this delegation alongside elder Sommi. “The hunters were supposed to return before noon. Their destination wasn’t very far from here, and if they had found promising game, they would have sent someone back to let us know. They would not delay their return by a whole day unless something terrible had happened to them.”

I frowned. So far, none of the other tribes had had any serious issues while out hunting and foraging. This was mostly because of the magic that they had learned from me, as well as the new copper weaponns that we’d been making for everyone lately. I’d even told everyone to leave everything behind and run if any monster’s had red stars on their bodies, so unless they had met a catastrophically powerful monster like The Terrible or the five star mud monster, somebody should have returned by now.

I glanced at Kann Imm. Her purple hair was frazzled and her eyes were bloodshot. She was one of the most powerful magic users in the tribe and was usually full of confidence. She had the natural charisma of a great leader, and was someone that elder Mann frequently consulted for advice. It was very likely she had helped him form the hunting party that Kirs had been in, which meant she wasn’t just feeling worried, she was also probably full of guilt.

“I’ll lead a rescue party immediately,” I said. “I’ll take Kelser with me, since he knows motion magic and can keep up with me. Tell elder Kezler he should form another party to follow behind us at dawn, but that elder Kezler himself should stay behind at the encampment. I’m worried about this place too, since the hunting party didn’t go too far from here. Tell elder Kezler he’s in charge while I’m gone, and that he should gather the rest of the advanced class and the Roja tribe to defend the encampment. Don’t send out any other hunting and foraging parties tomorrow.” I looked at Kann. “Didn’t you learn motion magic too? You should come with me.”

Kann was about to agree, but elder Sommi held her back. “She cannot join you, teacher,” said elder Sommi.

“Why not?” I asked.

Elder Sommi pressed a hand to the young woman’s stomach. “She is with child.”

I frowned. Kann tried to insist, but elder Sommi was adamant. I decided to rely on the elder’s judgment, and told Kann she should help elder Kezler defend the encampment. Kann wasn’t pleased, but she bit her lip and walked away.

I told the group of concerned tribesmen to disperse, hoping that having something to do would take their minds off their loved ones’ absence. Only elders Sommi and Mann followed me towards Kelser’s tent, filling me in on the final details of the hunting party’s mission.

They had been headed to a relatively unexplored area to the southwest of the encampment. A few parties had been to the area before, but there had been nothing noteworthy to report before. However, as the winter had worn on, most hunting parties had been heading farther and farther in search of food, especially now that everyone was armed with powerful magic spells. The elders said they were sure the hunting party must have ventured deeper into the unexplored region in search of bigger game.

I recalled the map of the surrounding region that I had made so far. To the south, there were forests that led all the way to Bek Tepe. To the west, was the ocean. Southwest, therefore, must be where the forests met the oceanfront.

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I woke up Kelser, who replied groggily until I splashed him with some water magic. After complaining a little bit, he heard about the situation, and prepared to follow me. This was going to be a dangerous mission. A party of two trying to rescue a full hunting party in the dead of night; a lot could go wrong tonight. I had to seek his family’s permission, first.

The moon was bright tonight. And the red star was pulsing menacingly, like always. Kelser and I walked up to the edge of the encampment, followed by a small gathering of concerned tribesmen. Kann Imm walked up to me and almost fell to her knees. She began to pray to the elves; to me, for her husband’s safe return.

Usually, this would be when I would tell the humans to stop worshiping or deifying me. However, for some reason, hearing the usually headstrong Kann Imm breaking down like this, forced my mouth shut. All I could do was help her to her feet, put my hands on her shoulders, and squeeze.

Kelser ran in the front since he was slower than me and I didn’t want to accidentally leave him behind. The moonlight was just enough to let me see Kelser, but not enough for me to see our surroundings, so I had to use motion detection magic all around us to make sure we didn’t get pounced on by nocturnal monsters. Thankfully, the great speed at which we were traveling must have given most monsters pause.

On the other hand, not being able to see the landscape meant we also had to use balance magic to make sure we didn’t trip. This meant we were using a ton of energy just getting to our destination. But what could we do? Time was of the essence. We would just have to fight with what energy we had left.

By the time I saw the crest of the forest illuminated in the distance by the silver moonlight, we were both breathing heavily, and there was a nagging pain in my chest. My legs ached. I ran up to Kelser and tapped him on the shoulder. He slowed down. I grabbed my knees and faced the ground, panting heavily to catch my breath. Kelser collapsed to the ground.

Sweat dripped off my nose. I raised my head. I’d been casting motion detection magic all around us for the entire journey, but had to redouble my efforts now that we were resting. In the distance, I sensed a small monster darting towards us. I prepared to meet it with a spell, but the monster changed its trajectory and sped past. Soon, I sensed another monster coming up behind it. But this monster followed the former’s path, and did not come up to us either.

My eyes darted in every direction. This should have been where the hunting party had started their hunt for the day. I helped Kelser stand up, and motioned for him to follow after me. I debated lighting a fire, but decided against it. It was unlikely to give us a lot of visibility, but would definitely alert every monster in the vicinity. And getting into a loud fight right now was not going to help us track down the hunting party.

Instead, I searched the ground for any signs of human activity. This place was far enough from the wide open plains that most monsters would be of the solitary kind, rather than the type that ran around in herds. That meant only a human hunting party would leave a bunch of marks in a small area. However, I had underestimated the number of monsters that ran over this place, and couldn’t find any signs of human activity.

Kelser tapped my shoulder and pointed to the forest. I looked up and squinted. There was a long, clear scratch on one of the tree trunks. It was very straight and not very deep. Not a lot of monsters would leave a mark like that. I nodded to Kelser and we approached the forest.

The moonlight couldn’t penetrate the forest canopy, which meant the whole place was awash with darkness. This part of the forest was denser than the part that led to Bek Tepe. I could smell a faint, salty sea breeze. I shook my head. If another walking shark monster jumped out from behind a tree, I would burn this whole place down.

We found more marks on trees, and even some footprints and other markings. In a forest like this one, the hunters must have left some marks to help find their way back and to help them come back to the same place on any future hunts if they thought the place they’d gone to had good resources. And now, those marks might help us save their lives.

Deeper and deeper into the dense, dark forest. Leaves and grass crunched softly under my shoes. My eyes hurt from squinting into the impermeable darkness. My energy was being constantly depleted by the motion detection magic I had to lather around our surroundings, but I couldn’t stop casting it.

I turned around a large, thick tree trunk and flicked my head to the side. I grabbed Kelser by the shoulder and pulled him back towards me. A flock of birds chirped and squawked as the trees and branches were rent asunder and a massive hand crashed through the forest, landing with an echoing thump and making the ground shake underneath my feet.