"Talk about good luck, eh Tamma?" Alson smacked the hunter on the shoulder, making her stagger forward. All three humans and Yalch stared at the freshly slain Insectus pinned to the trunk of the tree by Tamma's arrow. Its legs twitched slowly and sporadically as a bit of brown gunk dripped down from the point of puncture. "Looks like we'll get to go home early after all!"

The hunter stepped towards the tree and pulled the arrow out of the bug's body. It fell to the ground with a plop. She then reached down and using her thumb and pointer finger, carefully lifted up the Insectus by one of its squirming legs and dropped it inside the sack. Tamma then shook off the bit of gunk that had gotten on her hand before tightening the band to the pouch. "Don't know if I'd say that's good luck. This probably means the maggots have spread if we came across one of their victims so soon."

"This must mean the Governor will have to enact the Extermination Measure," Miwah replied. She stood next to Tamma and stared at the now full pouch. "I have a feeling that she will not be happy about this."

"Tell me about it. Chaston is going to have his work cut out for him." Tamma fastened the pouch to the side of her belt and clapped her hands together.

"What if the Governor chooses not to send the correspondence to the mainland of Remcroft? What will happen then?" Miwah asked.

"Let's take it one step at a time, lass. There's only so much we can do. Right now, our best bet is to hope that Chaston can work his magic and convince his aunt to get the needed actions taken. If she doesn’t, our best bet would be to hope that The Deity will protect us."

"What should we do with the cat?" Alson asked, giving the dead animal a sideways glance. A foul scent from the body overpowered the usual fresh and sweet aromas of nature. "Are we just going to leave it there?"

"I'll dispose of it." Tamma readied her knife. She sighed with disappointment as she looked at the motionless willow lion. "Don't want any other animals eating it and getting sick. I've got a feeling this could spread some serious diseases among the wildlife. Who knows what kind of nasty diseases those bugs brought along."

The hunter knelt; knife ready to begin skinning the cat from its side. As she lowered the edge of the blade into the skin, the flesh began to move underneath the fur once more. She paused, her hand that held the knife jumping back. "Did you see that? Either one of you?" Tamma called out to the others. Both looked at the dead cat from different angles, scanning the length of the body for any sudden movements.

"You think there's another one in there?" Miwah asked.

"Must be."

Miwah drew her sword again and got into the same fighting pose as before. Alson put his hand on his sheathed sword, ready to draw it. Tamma hovered over the body once more, her brow covered in sweat as she kept a close eye on every part of the animal. The flesh remained motionless for the next few moments, leaving everyone with bated breath as they waited for another Insectus to flee the corpse.

"Maybe... you were just seeing things," Alson whispered. "Your mind is just overreacting. Like your hunter’s instinct is just making you see things to be on the safe side."

"I've got a keen eye, Alson. I'm pretty sure I saw something move underneath—" As Tamma spoke, a small Insectus crawled out of the open mouth of the willow lion. It was the roughly the size of a thumbnail and moved swiftly onto the patch of dirt underneath the body. Miwah lifted her leg and stomped on the scurrying creature with the heel of her foot. The seamstress then ground her heel into the ground, the small insect crunching beneath the weight.

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"Quick work, lass. That one almost got away."

"Thank you." She carefully lifted her foot. The crushed creature lay half-buried in the small crater that Miwah made. "This lone maggot caused the movement you saw? Seems to be too small to make much of disturbance."

"There must be more in there. Bugs never lay only one egg."

"Look!" Yalch shouted. He pointed towards the willow lion's mouth. A swarm of bugs poured out of its jaw, moving across the ground like a small brown sea. All three stepped back, watching as the tiny creatures scattered out in all directions. All three jumped back at separate angles, making sure to stay out of range so that none of the creatures crawled up their legs.

"All of those were inside that cat?" Alson shouted out in horror. He lifted his feet up and down and looked at the ground beneath him to make sure that none of the bugs had gotten on him. "How are we supposed to kill them all?"

"It is too late now!" Miwah shouted back from her area of the forest. "There are too many of them and they are far too small to eliminate without getting them on us!"

The brown swarm continued to thin out as it spread across the forest floor. It a matter of moments, all the Insectus had disappeared into the depths of Abbus Forest. Once the coast was clear, all three convened together over the deceased animal.

"This problem just got a lot more serious," Tamma said with a sigh. She crossed her arms in front of her chest and looked around at the trees. "Normally, I'd cut up the willow lion and get rid of the tainted flesh, but right now I'm too scared to even touch it."

"Don't blame you," Alson replied. "We need to get that... thing... back to Chaston as soon as possible." Alson pointed to the pouch dangling from the hunter's hip.

"For once, I agree with you," Miwah added.

All three stayed close together and began heading back to where they came. Tamma led the party towards the exit of the woods, only to turn her head behind her and looking in the direction of the fallen willow lion. She slowed her walk, unable to completely free herself from the thought of the deceased animal.

"Everything all right Tamma?" Alson asked after walking past her, realizing that the hunter's movement had come to a halt.

"I shouldn't leave the body there like that. It needs to be disposed of properly. If those things used it as a host to lay eggs and multiply, I wouldn't be surprised if they'll use it again."

"Who knows how many other animals have been used as hosts, Tamma. You'll just be wasting your time!" Alson took hold of Tamma's arm and pulled her, making her catch up with the rest of the group.

"We will just have to ask Chaston to get the Governor to send that correspondence. Those small ones are too fast and too abundant for us to do anything effective," Miwah added. She stopped next to a tree and rested one hand on it to catch her breath. "We will just be putting ourselves at risk by staying here any longer than we have to."

"The entire forest has been compromised," Alson said. "Your friend is right. Our best bet now would be getting Farrowport evacuated." The guard rubbed his stomach and then his chest. "Just thinking about that scene is making my skin crawl. I don't want to end up like that willow lion and start having maggots feeding inside of me!"

Miwah shuddered. "That was one of the most disgusting things I have ever seen. Just the thought of that happening to a human makes me tremble."

Tamma tugged on her clothes, checking to see if any off the bugs had gotten onto her. "Looks like I'm clear. You two should make sure that nothing got on you, either. Last thing we need is to bring any of these maggots into town." The other two looked at their clothing, giving it a firm shake as they examined every crease.

"I'm clear," Alson said.

"As am I," Miwah replied.

"I think I managed to get away unscathed." Tamma put her hand onto the pouch that held the Insectus. "Once we're back in town, we'll have to—"

"What is it Tamma?" Alson lifted his eyes from the cloth over his tunic to look at the hunter. She looked forward, past him and Miwah. The hunter raised one finger, pointing towards something in the distance. They both turned around, staggering back at the sight of another willow lion in the distance. It carried the same crazed look as the dead one from moments prior. It stood up on a branch, peering down with wide open jaw and glowing yellow eyes with its back arched, ready to pounce.

“Looks like we’ve come across another victim,” Tamma said softly.