The two men sat at a small table toward the back of the tea house, near a large window that looked out upon the slow and steady streets of the small village they’d come across on their travels. The two had been traveling nearly non-stop for three days and were in desperate need of a rest, and Lupo demanded that they needed to spend the night somewhere where their roof wasn't just the open night sky, though Ryn quite liked spending the nights outdoors by firelight. They had a scattering of papers laid out before them, each detailing a different job that needed to be done either in this village or the surrounding ones. Lupo sighed before his head dropped heavily onto the table, nearly toppling over the cup of tea that sat steaming right next to him. Ryn’s own hand reached out to steady it without a blink.
“I’m sick of meager work.” He complained without lifting his head, his forehead resting firmly on one of the notices for work, a request for strong bodies to assist in the nearby fields, as the village was short on able bodied young men due to the war in the north. “If I get kicked by one more ox I’m turning it into our next dinner.” Lupo threatened, though the words were a little muffled due to his face still being quite flat against the table, however Ryn had grown used to listening to his ranting.
Ryn plucked the parchment from under Lupo’s head, turning it to gaze at its wording. He really didn’t mind helping out the local farmers, especially since most of the farmers usually paid them in lodging or a warm meal, sometimes even fresh produce for the road, though he would admit, he had made far fewer enemies of the oxen and mules than Lupo had.
“Maybe if you stopped antagonizing the animals they would leave you alone, they don’t do anything to me.” Ryn said bluntly as he skimmed over a few more of the parchments scattered over the table. In fact, it had seemed like many of the farm animals they’d encountered seemed to have an odd affection for him, once they even met a cow who insisted on following him the entire three days they were there as they helped their employer fix up his farm sheds and plant crops; however that very same cow had landed quite the painful kick to Lupo’s chest when the young man happened to apparently be a little too close behind it.
“I DON’T ANTAGONIZE THEM!” Lupo shouted as he swung his head up from the table aggressively enough to toss some of the parchments to the floor, which Ryn quickly made a dash to pick up. “The stupid animals just don’t like me.” He crossed his arms over his chest and huffed as he gazed out the window toward the small village. Lupo was a young looking man of what appeared to be nineteen or twenty with long sleek pin straight black hair that he wore tied firmly at the crown of his head, some loose strands coming down to frame his sharp cheekbones and rest just above his near pitch black eyes. He was handsome, though he currently wore quite the sour expression on his face. He wore a deep blue ensemble, complete with a shirt that folded over itself and tied in the back and left his arms exposed, intended for people who did much of their work outside and needed a lot of freedom of movement, along with a pair of the same color trousers that stopped just above his ankles. He had a single golden teardrop shaped pendant that hung on a thin gold chain around his neck, and though Ryn had never asked where he’d gotten such a luxurious accessory, it was clear the pendant was quite important to him, as when he worked or fought, he always placed it under the v shaped neckline of his shirt. Ryn had only known Lupo for half a year at this point, but he’d truly grown to like the young man, the two having become fast friends after Lupo had stumbled into him during one of his odd jobs, offering to assist him. They’d been traveling together ever since, and despite Lupo’s temper, they got along well.
“You boys looking for work?” The elderly tea house owner asked as he approached the table of his only two guests. Lupo continued to stare out the window, seemingly having no intention of answering the old man’s question, so Ryn spoke up.
“Uh, yes we are, how could you tell?” He asked with as pleasant of a smile as he could, hoping that his friend’s attitude wouldn’t offend the older man. The tea house owner simply gestured toward the pile of paper covering the table with a smile.
“A guess.” He replied with a chuckle. “I couldn’t help but hear your conversation, and if you two are tired of farm work, I may have something that could interest you.”
This was when Lupo finally spoke up. “I’m not suited for work in a tea house.” He stated bluntly as he finally directed his attention away from the window and toward the elderly man. Ryn gave him a swift kick under the table to try and tell him to stop being rude, to which Lupo gave him an annoyed look, but shut his mouth anyway, instead moving to rest his chin in his hand as the tea house owner chuckled yet again.
“As much as my bustling tea house could use the extra hands,” He stated sarcastically, motioning toward the nearly empty room. “There is actually something that has been troubling the village for quite some time that perhaps two capable looking young men may take some interest in.” At this point both Ryn and Lupo were listening intently to the elderly man as he spoke. “There have been incidents of farmer’s cattle and oxen being taken in the night, with no signs of damage to gate locks or fences, like they just up and disappeared.”
“They were probably bullying well meaning young men and got what they deserved.” Lupo said under his breath, earning another kick from Ryn, but he hardly winced.
“Was there any indication that the animals may have been slaughtered and moved in pieces over the fences?” Ryn inquired.
“None, no blood or bone anywhere, not even any sign that a cow or ox had been there in the first place.” The elderly man supplied, paying no more attention to the black haired youth across from Ryn. “I know the local farmers were interested in finding someone to investigate the strange mystery, and with all of them coming together to look for help, I imagine the reward to be quite hefty.” This got Lupo’s attention back and he slammed on the table as he stood up, nearly knocking over his tea if Ryn hadn’t scrambled to catch it in time once again.
“We’ll take it!”
~
Lupo and Ryn struggled to traverse the thick tall grass that had overtaken parts of the local farmland, taking high steps and listening for the tell tale sounds of snakes slithering through the knee high grass, that combined with the heat of the midday sun beating down on them, both men were properly miserable as they made their way toward a modest house in the center of the property where one of the farmers who’d had some of his working animals stollen resided.
Ryn felt sweat dripping down his back as they walked and considered removing his outer coat to stave off some of the heat. His long dark brown hair was pulled high up onto his head, his white outer layer feeling far too heavy despite the fact that it was rather light.
“I thought this was supposed to be an active farm, with the state of it, it looks abandoned.” Lupo complained as he stepped over a large log that had fallen from a nearby tree that was clearly in its last few days, kicking it over lightly to check for snakes before moving forward.
“Perhaps he just hasn’t made it to this part of the pasture yet, summer heat slows everyone down.” Ryn supplied as he too checked under logs as they slowly but surely made their way forward. The pasture was vast and Ryn could see what appeared to be small plots of planted crops to the west of them and a puzzled look overtook his features. “This is a major farm right?” He inquired.
“Yeah, it supplies over forty percent of the village’s produce, why?” Lupo gazed over to where Ryn was looking at the crops of various types of vegetables.
“You would think a farm that was working at such a high volume would have large plots of vegetables planted.” Ryn answered. “That hardly looks like it’s enough to supply even ten percent of the village’s needs.” Lupo hummed in acknowledgement as they reached the edge of the field, finally approaching the run down farmhouse toward the property’s center. The house was certainly old, most likely having been unchanged and in the family for several generations; several farm tools were leaning up against the side of the house near the front door and a wheelbarrow sat half full of radishes near the front porch. Sat on the edge of the porch, shaking out a pair of workboots was a middle aged man, his hair was inky black, tied into a neat bun on the top of his head, his clothing thin and loose fitting to accommodate for the sweltering heat, though looking at him, he hardly seemed to notice the sun beating down on his back. After shaking out one boot, he looked up, seeing the two travelers approaching his home. Setting the boot down, he stood, dusted off his trousers and approached the pair, a friendly, albeit tired smile on his face.
“I’m afraid if you’ve come looking to buy produce gentlemen, I don’t have any for sale yet.” He said tiredly. “Come back in a few weeks and I may be able to spare some.”
Ryn waved his hands in front of his body while he shook his head, “We haven’t come for produce sir, we are simply travelers passing through the village and learned of your recent troubles, if you don’t mind me asking, you have all of this land, why do you only plant crops on the western quadrant?” The fact that the two hadn’t come to inquire about purchasing produce seemed to put the farmer at ease, and the tension in his shoulders released a little bit, before a dejected expression crossed his sun tanned face.
“If you two had passed through just a year ago, you probably would have seen this entire property lush with produce, but with every ox I buy to help with the farm work, I lose it just as fast with whoever is taking them, it’s nearly impossible to manage a farm this big by just myself and a few workers, and I can’t buy a new ox if I know it’s just gonna disappear again.”
“How many have you purchased and had stolen?” Lupo inquired, shielding his eyes from the sun with his hand.
“Seems to be about five now, if you two could tell me where they’re going, I’d be happy to compensate you for your troubles.” The farmer said, a look of hope in his tired eyes.
“We will do everything we can to find out what’s happening sir,” Ryn assured him, shielding his own eyes. “Do you mind if we come in and ask you a few questions?”
The farmer’s home was modest, the first floor serving as all the same room, a bed in the back right corner, near a window that Ryn presumed was for him and his wife, next to it sat a large fireplace and stove, a pot of some kind of stew sitting over the fire, a woman who appeared to be only in her mid to late thirties stirring slowly, she turned to greet her guests with a warm smile. “Good afternoon, have you come searching for produce? I'm afraid what we have isn’t quite ready yet, but we’d be happy to supply you with some stew for the road.” Ryn’s heart ached for the woman, despite their difficult situation, she was still so kind and warm toward two strangers who’d come into her home, offering them what he presumed was the little they had for themselves.
“There is no need for such a kindness,” Ryn gave a warm smile of his own toward the woman. “We came to investigate the missing oxen.” At his words, the woman’s eyes lit up, pulling the wooden spoon from the pot and tapping it on its edge before setting it to the side and dusting her hands off on her dress before approaching the two to stand next to her husband.
“Is this true, Panu?” She looked to her husband, who presumably was named Panu, Ryn then realized it was probably quite rude that they hadn’t inquired about his name sooner, though the farmer didn’t seem in the least bit offended by it, much to Ryn’s relief.
“About when did your oxen first start going missing?” Lupo asked as the group moved to sit at the large dining table, it was large enough to seat at least ten people, and from the sounds of laughter and running coming from upstairs, Ryn determined that they must have quite a few children. It must have been a real strain on them to keep enough food to feed their own family while also trying to supply food to the rest of the village. Ryn hoped the rest of the farmers in the area were also able to supply produce to make up for the deficit.
“About nine months ago, just before my wife gave birth to our last child, a son. Unfortunately after the farm started to deteriorate, he became sickly, we lost him three months ago.” Both Ryn and Lupo felt a pang in their hearts for the farmer’s loss, and his wife looked away, a disheartened look on her fair face. It wasn’t uncommon for children to die within their first year, but it didn’t make it hurt any less when it happened, and Ryn could tell that the couple were still in mourning for their son. “One day the ox was there, pulling the plow as normal, and the next he was gone, no traces that he’d ever even been there.”
“Did anything strange occur in the village leading up to the first disappearance?” Ryn asked as the farmer’s wife rose from her seat to seemingly go over to the stove and prepare some tea for their guests. Ryn wanted to tell her she had no obligation to offer their resources so courteously, but he had a feeling she would do it anyway, so he didn’t halt her.
The farmer seemed to think hard for a few moments, a hand coming up to stroke his chin as he recalled what had happened in the village in the weeks leading up to his first ox’s disappearance, but he seemed to come up empty handed. “Not that I’m aware of, a traveling merchant set up a small store in the village, but he’s hardly one to start trouble.” However, Ryn could imagine a merchant sabotaging local farms to convince the local shops to purchase his produce instead, but to supply enough of it to support the entire village was quite the stretch, especially for a village of this size, which could easily house over five hundred people.
“What about on your property?” Lupo questioned. “Anything out of place in the days leading up to the theft, any problems with your gate’s locks or the stability of your fences?”
“The fences had just been reinforced the week before,” The farmer confirmed. “And the gates were sturdy as ever, not a splinter out of place.” Not to mention that the fence and the gate were well over a meter high, it would be quite difficult for someone to lift something as heavy as an ox over it, not to mention an ox that was wide awake and capable of fighting back with a well placed kick.
“Is your farm completely fenced in?” Lupo asked.
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“Yes, it borders right up against another farmer's land, so the fence is there to distinguish between properties, the fencing goes all the way around the perimeter.”
“Did you purchase each ox from the same supplier?” Ryn inquired, casting a glance out the window toward the meager crops, it appeared that they had just been planted not even a few weeks ago and were just starting to properly sprout.
The farmer nodded. “A rancher in the next village over in Unisu, the first ox I bought from him lasted me two years before it disappeared, the kids really loved to ride on his back when he wasn’t working the fields, they were devastated when he vanished.”
“And this rancher is trustworthy?” Lupo inquired as a small cup of tea was placed in front of him before the farmer's wife also placed one in front of Ryn, then her husband and finally sat back down with her own cup.
“Very,” She said before her husband could. “He’s my brother, Panu has been purchasing animals from him for well over twenty years, even before we got married.” Ryn couldn’t argue with that and he was willing to toss that rancher out as a suspect, then a thought crossed his mind.
“Is the phenomenon exclusive to this village, or has it reached other villages as well?” He asked.
“I’m unsure,” Panu supplied as Ryn and Lupo simultaneously took sips of their tea, each struck with how watered down it was, they hid their reactions well and let nothing slip, though they eyed each other. “As far as I’m aware, it’s only this village.” Ryn contemplated for a moment, if the missing oxen were exclusive to this village, that meant that the perpetrator was in or around the village themselves, and was likely someone who resided inside of it, but what kind of person would take away the livelihoods of their own neighbors? A terrible person surely.
“Are there any difficult characters in the village, someone who might wish to do harm to it?” Ryn asked, taking another strained sip of his tea, gulping down what was essentially just hot water with a few tea leaves sprinkled in. Both Panu and his wife seemed to think for a moment before coming up empty handed, apparently no such person that they were aware of matched that description. This case may be more difficult than Ryn had initially expected it to be. He gave a quiet sigh before speaking once more. “Thank you both for your information, we hope to solve this mystery quickly so you may return to your normal lives.”
“Thank you for looking into it, we know it won’t be an easy case to solve, but your willingness to try is greatly appreciated,” Panu’s wife stated, taking a sip of her own tea before making a face, clearly aware that the tea was nowhere near as strong as it should be, but swallowing nonetheless and placing the cup back down onto the table. “Could we offer you a seat at our dinner table, the stew is just about ready.”
Ryn shook his head wildly before exclaiming. “We couldn’t intrude on your family like that, truly there is not need for such hospitalit–” Ryn explained as he and Lupo made to stand from their seats, but before they could get far, the farmer’s wife was stood behind them, a hand on either of their shoulders before shoving them back down into their seats with a surprising amount of strength for a woman of her stature, it was clear the invitation was less of an offer and more of a demand.
“Nonsense!” She exclaimed as she dusted her hands, both Ryn and Lupo confined to their seats as if they were glued to them. “Children! Supper!” The woman shouted up the stairs and before long the sound of small footsteps stumbling down the old wooden stairs echoed through the house, the sound of laughter quickly following it. All at once, at least six children emerged into the modest lower level, the oldest appearing to be a boy of at least twelve, the remaining five all following behind him, two girls and three boys.The youngest of the group was a small girl, only appearing to be maybe five or six with long black hair and inky black eyes. Her face was covered in dirt and her mother stared at her, even as she stood behind her siblings who all eagerly started taking their seats at the table.
“Toro,” her mother scolded, hands crossed over her chest as the child looked down shyly, hands held behind her back. “Did I not tell you to wash up before supper, you’re covered in dirt.”
“She refused to wash.” The oldest girl supplied, a girl of probably eight or nine who sat next to her eldest brother by the window. Her mother raised an eyebrow at her youngest daughter.
“The water was cold by the time it was my turn, I would have frozen to death!” The girl cried dramatically. Finally her mother lamented and knelt down, using her apron to wipe the girl's face, a kind but exhausted look on her own as she sighed.
“I’ll make a bath for you after supper so we can get you all cleaned up, no child of mine will go to bed filthy.” The little girl smiled before dashing over to the table to take her seat in between Lupo and her youngest brother, a boy of about seven. The girl looked up at Lupo, then at Ryn.
“Who are you?” She asked, her tone wasn’t particularly accusing, but her mother still scolded from her place in front of the stove as she poured bowls of soup.
“Toro!” The girl sank down a little further into her seat at her name being called. Ryn merely gave her a warm smile.
“My name is Ryn, and this is my friend Lupo, we’re traveler’s here to help find your father’s ox.” At his explanation all the children’s eyes lit up.
“You guys are gonna find Bano?!” One of the middle boys exclaimed, Bano presumably being what they called the ox. Ryn gave another warm smile before looking to Lupo to provide the answer as Ryn rose from his seat to assist the farmer's wife in carrying bowls to the table.
“Please, allow me to help.” He said kindly as he took two bowls from her hands.
“What a kind young man, thank you.” She smiled as they approached the hungry family.
Ryn saw Lupo scrambling to try and find answers to all the children’s questions, overwhelmed with the cacophony of voices, looking to Ryn pleadingly.
“Do you know who took Bano?” One child asked.
“How did they take him?”
“I bet they used magic!” The littlest girl exclaimed.
“Yeah right, Toro, what kind of magic lifts a giant ox into the air?”
“Do you guys solve crimes?”
“Do you guys solve murders?!”
“I believe the question of magic is one you can answer, Lupo.” Ryn said as he once again took his seat next to his friend. Lupo thought for a moment as he lifted a spoon full of stew to his lips, the portions were small, but neither man complained, they already felt slightly guilty that this family was spoiling them with any of the food that they clearly needed more than the two of them did.
“It’s possible magic could have been involved, it would certainly be the easiest way to lift an ox of that size.” Lupo had an adept knowledge of magic and sorcery, something that had surprised Ryn when they’d first met, though Ryn supposed they were both a little strange then.
“You seem to know quite a bit about magic,” Panu stated as he took a sip of his own bowl of stew. “Are you two monks by any chance?”
Ryn looked puzzled for a moment. “Why would you think that?” At that, the entire family turned to look at him and stared at his attire. He looked down and realized they must have meant how he dressed in all white, as all of the monks of the six kingdoms did. He smiled and laughed nervously scratching the back of neck. “Oh, no I’m no monk, it’s just I’m actually really terrible at laundry it would appear and any time I wash fabric it inexplicably turns white like this, believe it or not but these clothes were originally tan.” He heard Lupo snort a laugh beside him and he gave a subtle jab of his elbow into his ribs, causing the man to give a slight cough, which he played off as swallowing his stew wrong.
At Ryn’s confession all eyes of the family were on him once again, though instead of looks of mild amusement as they were when he’d asked why they thought he was a monk, now their faces all had the look of bewilderment. “Is that true?” The farmer’s wife asked, who’s name they learned through the course of supper was Meva.
“True as it could be.” Ryn assured her. “Peculiar isn’t it?”
Panu was silent for a moment before an amused smile graced his thin lips. “Malong must smile upon you then.” He stated matter of factly. Ryn only looked puzzled, Lupo noticing the expression on his face and taking the moment to explain.
“Malong is the God of Virtue, his signature color is white, he is worshiped throughout the six kingdoms.” Ryn gave a look of understanding.
“You don’t know about the gods of this region?” Meva inquired, surprised.
“I’m not much for knowledge about the gods, I’ve been a little out of touch over the years.” He explained, and it was true, of the hundreds of people he’s met in his travels, he’d never spoken to them about any kind of gods, and between jobs he spent much of his time alone as he traveled from place to place. .
“Do you think Buomun took our oxen?” One of the middle boys inquired, his name was Fiko.
“Why would you think that?” Meva asked, looking toward her son. Once again Ryn shot an inquisitive glance toward Lupo, who whispered to him.
“Buomun is a god of agriculture, he’s particularly popular in this area.” That made sense, in a farming village like this, it was to be expected that they would worship a god of agriculture.
“What if we made him mad and he took our oxen away to punish us?” The child explained.
“Why would he be angry with you?” Ryn inquired, suddenly interested in what this young child had to say.
Fiko looked bashful for a moment, looking down at his stew before looking back up. “Well, we all used to ride on Bano’s back when he wasn’t working, what if Buomun didn’t like that and took him away?”
Ryn observed the child for a moment, trying to form the best answer in his head, but before he could get a word in, Lupo chimed in. “Buomun isn’t the vengeful type, and he’d hardly be upset about some kids having fun, I don’t think that’s a worry you need to have, if anything, he’d be trying to get your ox back for you, he’s nice like that.” Ryn stared at Lupo for a moment, speaking as if he knew this God of Agriculture personally, though he probably only said it to ease the child's fears, and the next time Ryn glanced at Fiko, his eyes were bright and lit up like the night sky as he stared at Lupo.
“You really think he’s working to get our ox back?!” He exclaimed.
“Of course, he’s softhearted, especially when it comes to kids.” Lupo gave Fiko a small smile and the boy went back to devouring his supper with a new enthusiasm.
“Fiko don’t eat so fast, you’ll make yourself sick!” Meva scolded from across the table.
After supper Ryn helped Meva clean the dishes as Lupo stood with Panu after all of the children had retreated upstairs for bed. Ryn and Lupo both had been surprised to look outside and see it was already dusk, how long had they been there already?
“By the way, do you know of any inns in the village we could find lodging in for the night?” Lupo asked.
“There is one, near the center of the village, big building, you can’t miss it.” Panu replied as he pushed in all of the chairs around the table, he then seemed to think for a moment before adding. “However, the way back there is a ways from here, and it must have been difficult for you two the first time you traveled here, I’ve got an old shed about thirty meters behind the house that has a small bed in it, it was originally meant for any workers I had on the farm to help me, but with the dip in income, I can’t afford to pay anyone to come out here, so it’s been vacant for a few months, you two are welcome to it for the night.”
“Many thanks, Panu,” Ryn chimed in after he and Meva finished with the dishes and she ventured upstairs to check on the children and to finally get Toro into that bath. “Your family’s hospitality is never ending.” Panu grinned.
“It’s just how we do things here.”
The trek to the small shed behind the farmhouse was a cautious one as Ryn and Lupo once again traversed through the tall grasses of the farm, but they reached the door to the building without trouble. Ryn pushed the door open with a squeak and stale air flooded out of the small space. The shed was modest, a small room with a simple bed, just big enough to fit two people and a small bedside table with a worn candle near the building’s only window; it was clearly only meant for temporary housing.
“Beats sleeping out in the open.” Lupo stated bluntly before walking past Ryn into the small shed and collapsing onto the bed, which seemed to struggle with the sudden weight. Ryn took one step inside the shed before remembering their trek to the farm earlier that day, and he felt the need to wash all of the dried sweat from his body.
“I wanna bathe.” He said plainly as he turned to walk right back out of the building.
“Where? You think this place has a bath house?” Lupo asked sarcastically as he turned to face the wall on one side of the bed.
“I saw a shallow river on our way up here, I’m gonna go wash up before bed.”
Lupo simply waved his hand dismissively as Ryn made his way out of the shed and toward where he’d seen the river earlier that day. The night was quiet on this particular one, only the sound of crickets and some other small insects disrupting the silence as Ryn retraced his steps and approached the fence that surrounded the farm’s perimeter. He vaulted over the fence with ease, landing smoothly on his feet on the other side. The river wasn’t hard to find, the sound of its flowing water traveling easily through the sleepy night air. The river was surrounded on either side by thickets of trees, making it just the right amount of secluded for a quick washing up as Ryn began to discard his outer layers, folding them neatly on the bank of the river before ever so gently stepping into the cool water, once he was submerged at the waist, he dipped to dunk his head under the water, his hair, which he’d released from it’s ties, flowing loosely at the river’s surface. He burst from under the water with a gasp, pushing the hair that clung to his face back as he worked to try and wash off the grime of the day. He scrubbed down his arms and over his shoulders as he cleaned himself, making sure to not miss a single spot, scratching his nails over his scalp and carding his fingers through his hair, loosening the tangles that had developed over the day.
Ryn was nearly done when he felt the hair on the back of his neck prickle and his senses perked up, there were eyes on him. Ryn’s senses were sharp, sharper than the average person’s, he supposed it came from being alive for so long, when you’ve wandered around for three hundred years, you learn to detect danger fairly well. Quietly, he moved through the water toward his clothes, where he swiftly grasped at the hilt of his trusted sword, unsheathing it and standing at the ready to defend himself should someone attempt to ambush him, thieves perhaps? But Ryn had nothing of particular value on him, besides his sword, but he’d like to see someone try and take that from him. He stared into the thicket of trees ahead of him, looking for any sign of movement, and he couldn't help but feel slightly unnerved, it wasn't that he was frightened in any capacity, he was perfectly capable at defending himself… he’d just never done it while nude. After he determined the threat had left or was simply not interested in attacking him, he made his way out of the water, quickly drying his skin before donning his clothes once again, his sword never far away as he did so. Once he was fully dressed, he turned to leave, but before he did, he gave one last scan of the river bank just to be sure. If there were thieves in the area, he certainly didn’t want them anywhere near Panu or his family, and it was possible that those very same thieves were responsible for the missing oxen.
Ryn was just about to turn around when he saw them, eyes, staring at him from the darkness across the river. They were at least two meters off the ground and the deepest darkest red Ryn had ever seen, and they stared at him with a murderous aura, whoever those eyes belonged to, clearly had no friendly intentions. The second he saw them Ryn leapt across the river, charging into the thicket after them, and at his sudden approach, the owner of the eyes made a hasty exit, sprinting away from Ryn. Listening to their retreat, Ryn could tell the thing that owned those eyes was massive and heavy, the sound of it breaking down small trees as it ran echoing through the forest. Ryn didn’t give chase, it was too dark and he didn’t want to stray too far from the farm and get lost. Swiftly he sheathed his sword and lept back over the river to the other side, making his way back to the shed where he settled in beside a now fast asleep Lupo for the night.