I awoke in a start as someone let out a yelp. Struggling upright, I felt pain strike me. My eyes darted down only for me to remember my wounds. With a grunt I moved over to the tent flap and look out, readying a spell. Then I let out an annoyed grunt as I saw the cause. Mack sat there holding his foot and cursing lightly as Harmond profusely apologized. His shield lay in the snow at the spiky haired man’s other foot.

Calming myself, I checked myself. Thankfully, the wounds didn’t seem to reopen. It had been a few days since we had camped out at this spot. I carefully exited and the swordsman looked up. He asked, “O-oh. Good morning. How are you?”

“Where’s Veline?” I asked, scanning the camp. Neither my companion nor the two girls where there.

Mack rubbed his foot and check it for wounds as he said, “Yandakiva said something about ‘girl things time’ and dragged the two off.”

The notion of my Dreamuri dealing with ‘girl things’ rang a bit strange to me. Though I didn’t know exactly what that meant. Still, the things that came to mind never seemed to be an issue. The line of thought led me to some thoughts that made me ditch the entire pondering session. I grumbled, “I see.”

I made my way over to the fire and sat down on one of the logs. If that was a trap, the two girls would die anyways. Harmond said something to his friend, who merely waved him away. Then the swordsman asked, “I wouldn’t worry about them. It’s not like we found any traces of monsters yet anyways. Though…”

The short haired guy trailed off. A look of concern on his face. As much as it was safe, they had only brought so much food. Scavenging in the winter wasn’t so productive either. Nor had we even found any proper body of water to fish from. If not for the snow, then we’d have ran out of water long ago. Mack shrugged and said, “This forest is eerie. The trees get so tall and straight. I’ve not heard a bird recently. Seriously, do you think there is anything even alive out here?”

I turned my attention to the forest and listened carefully. He wasn’t wrong. The only sound I heard was that of the fire. Then an emotion came from Veline. My mouth twitched. It was embarrassment before she blocked the connection. Harmond got up and dug through a bag. Then he brought over three packs of rations and handed them out. While not so secure as the ones I had with the guard all that time ago, these still had decent covering. I asked, “Do you not have any better information on what you are even hunting?”

“These monsters have been attacking soldiers who pass along the road from Altdersburge and through the forest along the edges of the Greyribs. We were told they are particularly aggressive. Honestly, we thought we’d find some sort of tracks at the very least,” The swordsman said as he lathered a piece of cracker like bread with some sort of peanut butter like spread.

Noticing me stare, he offered some. For a moment I hesitated, but I decided to follow that try it. It wasn’t anywhere close to the sort of thing I was expecting. Whatever type of nut it was, it wasn’t the sort that I’d ever tried. I noticed Mack was once again giving me a strange look. It had been a consistent issue the entire time.

“I see,” I said, considering the situation. “Do you think some other group killed them all?”

“Well, that’s the thing. There is supposedly a good enough number to put bounties out on them. They aren’t particularly dangerous ones, but they are numerous,” Harmond said after taking a drink from his canteen.

As I chewed on a dried piece of meat, I considered it for a few moments. As much as I’d rather just rest, they seemed to be getting antsy about it. If they gave up, I’d at least be left alone. Yet, I was aware that I didn’t bring enough supplies to fully heal and move on.

Moving camp was likely in the next few days, at least. Then I began considering the difference between the two situations and why we wouldn’t be attacked. A moment was all it needed before I said, “Perhaps they attack the caravans because of the noise. All those armored men and carts must make a fair bit of it.”

The two stopped their eating and just looked at me. I just continued to eat as the spear man said, “I...kinda feel like an idiot now.”

Harmond sheepishly added, “I wish we had told you about all this a few days sooner.”

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“There is also the matter of the tracks not being anywhere around. The archer girl has searched the surrounding area thoroughly and found nothing still,” I said. The two seemed to deflate at that.

“Ah, but still, it’s not a terrible idea to try and lure them out with some racket,” the swordsman said. I merely shrugged as I ate. After a few seconds, he suddenly asked, “So...you are out here on research?”

I looked up at him with a glare and he flinched. “I’m not trying to pry, but I can’t help but to think of a few things.It’s certainly an odd, old place. Yandakiva babbled about it when we took this contract.”

I chewed slowly as I considered what exactly to say to him. I swallowed and said, “Cultists, monsters, and demons all are practically everywhere. The forest itself is no different.”

Mack glanced at me for a moment and then asked, “Hey, Grey, how are those wounds coming?”

The way he asked instantly set me fully on edge. I couldn’t put my finger on why, but the way he asked seemed to carry some intent. I gently tested them and grunted. While still aching and painful, they seemed to be healing. I was somewhat shocked at how well they were mending. I grunted, “Fine. Still not great. At least walking around isn’t awful now.”

“Since your servant isn’t here, I can help change the bandages once you are done,” He said. Harmond eyed his friend. The two where staring at each other like they were having an entire telepathic argument. If this was a trap, it seemed so clumsy. One I would snap their hands in. There was a tension for a moment as I sat there. I looked him directly in the eye and nodded. We ate in silence then. Once done, Harmond reluctantly stood up and walked to the edge of the camp to keep watch, glancing at the two of us.

In my tent, I sat down and motion to the bag with the bandages. Quietly, I prepared myself to kill him. Calmly, the spiky haired man began to carefully remove the old ones after I removed my shirt. He asked sternly, “Who are you?”

I huffed dismissively at that and said, “We’ve already been over this.”

Mack paused a moment as he looked at the wound on my arm. He held my arm gently, with one hand, and stared at the closed up puncture wound. The spear man said, “These wounds of yours seem to heal faster than any should. You were using your arm while you ate.”

My eyes narrowed at him as he slowly began to bandage it. He was tense as he sat there. I quietly said, “Answer my questions carefully. If you try anything, you die.”

He froze up instantly at the statement and I stared him directly in the eyes. A fear formed on his face as I glared. It seemed as if I could hear his heart beating. A paleness form on his face as I stared at the man. In as calm and even a tone as I could, I asked, “Are you actually trying to get me killed or working with people trying to capture me?”

Mack’s mouth opened slight for a moment. His eyebrows furrowed and he looked from me to my arm. I realized then as I stared at his face as he stared at me. Clearly confused, he said, “No.”

“Then you have no reason to be afraid of me. I tried to make you leave me alone. I understand that I’m a disturbing looking person, but you lot decided to feel sympathy for me. You could all pack up and leave whenever you want,” I said, a more friendly tone having crept into. He sat there for a moment and let out his breath. Shame begin to filtered through his expression and looked down at my arm again.

“I...I guess I shoul-” he began.

“Don’t apologize to me. I’d probably react the same way,” I interrupted and shrugged. He, undoubtedly, didn’t know that a since of relief had fallen over me.

He quietly returned to bandaging me. Half way through reapplying the ones around my chest, he asked, “Are there people trying to hunt you down?”

I considered how to answer that. If nothing else, this talk had reassured me fully that they truly weren’t after me. It was almost a weight off my shoulders. Yet I still knew they might turn on me if they somehow found out. I lied, “Not anymore.”

“Ah. I know you said don’t apologize. A lot. But I do kind of feel like a massive dick,” he said. Now it was just getting awkward.

I gave a small chuckle at that. Then I asked, “It’s because you want to protect your friends right? I can’t fault you for that. That said, it might have been smarter to just all leave in the middle of the night than to confront me. I won’t tell you my name, but I’m out here to try and avoid attention. People see my eyes and get all sorts of ideas.”

“I guess I proved that all the more,” He said, halfheartedly joking. With that Mack finished the bandages and I redressed. We helped me stand up and we went back out. Harmond was off on the other edge of the camp still. At the sight of us, he visibly relax. Veline, Yinla, and Yandakiva had returned. Each now eating.

Once they saw us, Yinla said, “Oh, hey. Found some tracks by accident. Figures that would totally happen when we weren’t even trying.”

Veline floated over and stared at me for a moment. She was clearly staring at my bandage and reopened the emotional connection. Behind her blank face was a confusing mess of feelings that I had no way to begin unraveling then. I merely patted her on the head. Yandakiva excited stated, “Like five or six of them. Oh this will be so interesting. Monsters that travel in packs are usually more fascinating and-”

“Cool. Yinla?” Mack asked loudly. Yinla physically relaxed after tensing up when the mage began babbling. I noticed Yinla was carefully running a finger up and down her bow string, as she eyed the forest. Her eyes flicked to me and she jumped slightly.

“Ah don’t worry, thought I heard something. Seems some snow fell from the canopy. Anyways, they were not there yesterday. Not sure if they are moving through or just came out of a nest. For all I know? They could totally have been hiding from the snow in some den. I want to follow them, but that many? No way I’ll do that alone,” She said. Veline leaned on my shoulder and I could feel some excitement from her. Then they turned my attention to me.

“Go on then. You are here for your hunt. Veline is here with me,” I said. My only goal at that point was to heal up so I could return to my original plan. While I no longer held any concerns these adventurers were against me, it made them a bigger problem.

That entire camping stent put them in far more danger than Mack had realized. I As I considered them, I was reminded of similar peaceful times. Of how they ended. The screaming. The red light that bathed the carnage and blood. The look of glee on the demon’s face as he crushed Anna in his hand.

I stared a them as they began discussing there plan. An odd sensation seemed to form in my body as I sat there staring at them. It was strange and nothing like what I had ever felt before. They payed me no mind as Veline held me in the air. Yet the long it went on, the stronger the feeling got. Then, my entire body was assaulted by a horrible chill. There, staring from behind one, was a man holding the mangled part of some animal. His eyes were milky and his skin withered. His expression was one of utter and absolute rage. It’s entire body was covered in rotted wounds. My heart dropped when I noticed something else. He wasn’t alone.