The next few days were some nice Sundays for Mochi. Wake up nice and late, go to a random bush and eat breakfast, feed the crows, enjoy the forest and life and everything else, then try hunting. Go home before the sun fully sets. Go to sleep.
Over time, she notes a few areas of interest in terms of hunting. A clearing in the forest with lots of flowers, a river with plenty of footprints, and that big briar patch. Each consistently had more prey then anywhere else, though they all came with their own challenges.
The flower field attracted many animals. Some were good prey, like mice or rabbits. Others were ignorable, like the many bugs that buzzed around. But a few competing predators, like snakes and giant mantises, were quite threatening for a fox.
The river, on the other hand, held a necessity; clean water. Plenty of animals went to the river. However, the river was too big. While not too deep, crossing it still took a few seconds, which meant when hunting, one could only target the side of the river they were on. Even worse, sometimes prey would drink further up or down river, making Mochi wait for nothing.
The briar patch was the opposite. No sizable animal could go through the dense thorny briars, and so only small creatures like rabbits and mice could be found in it. Additionally, it's nearly impossible to chase anything safely. For most prey, this was a fairly safe area. But for Mochi, who had the intelligence and patience to set up a trap and wait, this was the safest hunting ground.
By the end of the day though, it didn't matter whether or not Mochi's hunting was successful. Every time Mochi failed a hunt, when she returned home, there would be an already dead animal lying nearby. At first, Mochi worried there was something dangerous around her home. But eventually, after being unable to find anything, she reluctantly assumed it was intentional. And it was quite easy figuring out who's responsible; wolves have a distinct smell.
Now, there was still the questions of how the wolf(s) found Mochi's home, or why they're doing this, but at this point Mochi doesn't really care. As long as it doesn't impact her simple easy life, she'll let the wolves do whatever they want. And so, she enjoyed the ongoing Sundays.
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The prime wolf spent the last few days watching that savior fox. During that time, he learned more about how the fox lived each day. Eating berries or nuts or other fruits, giving some to the crows, and then seemingly resting and exploring, before finally going hunting.
The prime wolf had to admit that the fox was pretty smart. It determined the best hunting spots, and compensated for any weaknesses it had. It proved quite patient, willing to wait hours for prey to not only show up, but even get so close the prime wolf could see individual hairs.
Though, rarely the fox failed its hunt. Those days, the prime wolf obtained and delivered prey to its home. After all, the fox fed him when he was at his most vulnerable state. The prime wolf's honor refused to do any less than the same, if not more.
The prime wolf's feelings on the fox was a lot more complicated than simple honorable repayment. There were many questions, such as why the fox even saved him, or how it was able to do it so effectively. The fox's closeness with the crows also raised some suspicion, especially with Wisteria waking up recently. Though he doubted Wisteria would choose to save him through a fox.
The prime wolf also felt envious of the fox's relationship with the crows. One that held no fear, no threats, and no competition. Unlike his relationship with the other wolves, who he believed only followed him out of fear or to benefit off of his hunts. Stalking the fox was just a convenient excuse to not have to spend time with the wolves.
But there was another part of the fox which raised curiosity. No matter how many times he tried, he couldn't use 'Analysis' on the fox. It was as if the fox didn't exist.
...
Tomorrow he will try talking with the fox. He practiced a lot. And Wisteria will be busy. But for today, well, he found who left those apples.
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Leitnir and Mottle were in trouble. Despite following the map as best they could, it was clearly outdated. Old landmarks weren't visible due to new trees, rivers were much larger and wider due to the recent storms, and old footpaths have long since become overrun by vines.
It was undeniable at this point. The two were completely lost. Every tree looked the same, yet they could never tell if they've gone in a circle. They once tried climbing a tree to look for any landmarks, but all they could see was more leaves.
Even worse, they were running out of food. Earlier, they tried eating the apples, but after cutting them in half to share, they found the insides were already rotten. It must've been the blight, though they still couldn't agree on whether or not it'd affect them.
As a last resort, the two began following the sun East. While it won't lead them to the village, it'd at least get them out of the forest.
Hiking towards the edge of the forest, the knights feel a gradual sense of unease. A natural, instinctual feeling of being watched. Glancing around, they're unable to notice anything out of the ordinary. Then, remembering their training, Mottle looks up. Ambushers liked to hide in leaves.
He doesn't see the shadowy wolf dive out of his shadow. Nor does he see Leitnir get dragged down into a tree's shadow by that wolf. All Mottle hears is a quick, uncharacteristic yelp from Leitnir, and then absolute silence. Looking over at where his ally once stood, Mottle only sees a dark residue on the ground.
Mottle unsheathes his machete and begins looking around for any sign of the attacker. Usage of 'Appraisal' requires seeing the target, and until then Mottle is fighting with minimal information. Slowly, he backs up to a nearby tree, blocking off his blind spot.
Now that he was just a tiny bit safer, he looked over at the dark residue, the only remains from the first attack. It is a deep black, and looks slightly fuzzy. Mottle realizes that its actually fur, though he doesn't know of any beast with fur that black. Leitnir was the one who read monster guides, not him!
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A stick snaps ahead. Mottle tenses up and points the machete towards the sound. He just needed to see it, even for a moment.
Mottle feels a drop of water hit his shoulder. His immediate thought was "Oh, it's going to rain. Not again!"
His next thought was "There's no clouds."
From above, a shadowy wolf dives down and bites through armor, dragging Mottle down into the tree's shadow. He swings the machete wildly, as the result from his 'Appraisal' floats above.
The prime wolf Nikola
lv 68
STR: 9
DEX: 7
CON: 7
INT: 4
WIS: 3
CHA: 1
HP: 163/164
SP: 157/164
MP: 81/100
???
???
Honor 5
[...]
???
???
Shadow Step [B]
[...]
All that remains is a few cut tufts of fur.
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To the south of the forest spreads a wide, unending desert. To the east there are frozen mountains. And sitting right between all three is a nice little village by the name of Panace.
Though surrounded by harsh terrain, the village itself is on a small fertile hill. Its residents enjoy a slow yet relatively safe life, far from most conflicts or disasters. The worst event to happen here is the periodic accident, or a lone monster attack.
In this calm little village, there lives a hunter of great skill. Dorlin is a Merthene, yet he had mastered archery by 13, and could identify any forest plant or beast in a single glance. In any other city, he would've been a great ranger or scout. But here, in a village with no need for those, he is a simple hunter.
Every morning he wakes up in his wool bed, makes and eats porridge with a side of orange, and packs up his gear for some hunting. An ebony bow, a gift from the whole village, and a quiver of seven bone arrows, all he needs for hunting.
Every day, right before he leaves his home, a little Belmthene child runs up and hugs him goodbye. Pom, nicknamed after the yellow fuzzy fur around her hands, was an orphan he saved from the blighted forest a few years ago. Since then, she stayed in his house, always waking up just in time to hug him goodbye. And every day, she silently wishes he'll come back safely.
Walking through the village, Dorlin makes sure to greet everyone he passes as he makes his way to that day's hunting ground. Sometimes its the dessert, looking for shrewd reptiles. Other days the mountains are his grounds, a goat his bounty. And sometimes, when the weather is ideal and the trees are quiet, he ventures into the forest.
Of course, that was what Dorlin did under normal circumstances. When the desert was dry yet calm. When the mountains were steady and visible. And when the forest wasn't lying.
Yet recently, there's been a slight interruption. A week ago, a messenger pigeon came to the village with news that the Kormilian Empire intends to send troops to claim part of the mountains nearby. Likely an attempt to grab more resources.
While the Panace village itself won't be affected, a few soldiers will likely arrive to ensure the message was properly conveyed. And obviously, no one wants to cause any unnecessary incidents. And so, most of the children, Pom included, had to stay indoors, while only Dorlin was allowed into the forest to act as first contact.
Which is why Dorlin was currently sitting in a tree, cursing to himself, as he really didn't want to be in the forest so soon after a storm. Yet, the damned under-maintained roads were ruined again, making the forest the only real route where any outsider may arrive from.
Dorlin lets out a sigh, calming himself down. He'd make it up to Pom once this whole situation was over. If he remembered correctly, Pom said they wanted to see some living animals. While Dorlin approved of her curiosity, he believed she was too young to accompany him to his hunts. So instead, Dorlin will try to capture something and bring it home in a cage.
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Wisteria chewed a branch in frustration. The two lost knights seemed to have disappeared while she was busy watching the cute fox sleep. It was a major problem that she wanted to keep absolute track of, yet somehow they vanished entirely, without any tracks.
She could think of a dozen possible ways this could have happened, but ultimately, all of them were bad. Most involved high ranking magic or skills from a third party who either helped or evicted the knights. And of course, there was the prime wolf, though he wasn't one to attack unprompted (no matter what he claims).
On a related note, the prime wolf has been acting odd these past few days. They've been hunting alone without any other wolves, and some prey he hunted were far too small for him. Granted, he almost died recently, and Wisteria wasn't that good at understanding the thought process of a wolf.
She closes her eyes and breathes deeply for a few moments. Calming down, she discards the chewed up branch and begins flying above the forest. While the knights bothered her, she couldn't let her worries distract her from her duties.
Today was the summer solstice. The longest day of the year. The ideal, and possibly only, time for the ritual of prosperity to take place. Sunlight was valuable for a forest after all.
After a while, Wisteria reaches an odd clearing in the forest. 18 stones placed in an approximation of a triangle. A pile of dried fruits and berries on one side, an old copper bucket full of some alchemical mixture by another side, and charcoal scavenged from trees hit by lightning in the recent storm.
Landing in the middle, Wisteria waits for the sun to rise. She reviews the process one final time, checks all of the prepared ingredients, and when no further preparation remains, she hums a faint song.
The sun peeks over the trees, and so the ritual begins. A morsel of food is pulled from the pile and placed in the center. A piece of charcoal is placed on top. Then, the liquids in the bucket is spilled into the center.
The center ignites a small green flame. It's begun, and now Wisteria needs to maintain it for as long as possible. Periodically, she pulls another piece of food and throws it into the flames, fueling it. When the flames get too big, a piece of charcoal is thrown in. With careful control, the flame persists as it bathes in the sunlight.
This kind of ritual normally has a whole village or city maintain it. But Wisteria trusts only herself in this forest. And so, with great effort, she alone shall give this forest prosperity. She just hopes nothing bad happens while she was busy.
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Mochi was currently sitting on a nice warm rock she found, relaxing in the sun. For some reason the crows didn't accept her gift today. Maybe they weren't hungry? The crows were flying around in a rush it seemed.
Not Mochi though. She had no need to be so active today. If she counted her days right, today should be the summer solstice! (or maybe it was yesterday or tomorrow?) Which meant an extra long day, and so no point in being fast!
And so, as she lazed around, she felt something soft next to her. Looking over, a mound of black regal fur with slight grey underfur had appeared next to her. It was that wolf!
Mochi almost jumps back in surprise, but manages to keep herself still. The wolf was currently lying next to her, in a surprisingly passive position. Despite that, it still maintained a confident, almost overbearing posture. Mochi silently curses her lack of knowledge on wolf body language.
At the very least though, neither of the two display any aggression for the other. And so, Mochi and the prime wolf sit together silently, enjoying the warm sun. Though the prime wolf wasn't able to say anything out of shyness, he accepts the silent company instead. Maybe he'll talk in the future.