A faraway, incessant beeping gently brought him back from the darkness. Akin to an alarm clock, the beeps awoke Sigurd from his incidental slumber.

Despite his best efforts during the ambush, Sigurd found himself defeated and weakened. Every muscle in his body ached, but he felt full mobility returning to his limbs.

His body lay resting against a broken tree, covered by a blanket; as the morning light filtered through his eyelids, the world came into focus. More than his surroundings, though, a window pop-up met his gaze.

[Time until ‘Seek and Destroy' cooldown is available again: 00:00], it read.

As soon as he dismissed the notification, the beeping stopped. “What a way to advise you of that...” he whispered, still groggy.

Recollection slapped him across the face, as his eyes bolted open and he stood in a jolt. “Mia, Nia!" Sigurd yelled, an almost delayed reaction on his part.

Only the howling wind replied. The merchants, still reeling from their losses, murmured from a few feet away. Other than that, the forest was quiet.

A chill went down his spine as he recalled those final moments before blacking out. “Not good, I have to find them," Sigurd said aloud.

He started to sprint towards the merchants but was stopped by a burning pain in his abdomen.

Lifting his undershirt, Sigurd saw his bruised six-pack and rubbed them lightly. ‘That asshole of a brute,' he thought. ‘One hit was all it took? I definitely will be avoiding “Seek and Destroy” in the future.’

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Rage boiled beneath the surface, both at his defeat and also at the bandits' actions, but Sigurd calmed himself.

He lowered his undershirt and slowly walked towards the group. The merchants were huddled together by one of the ravaged carriages. Their guards stood apart from them, on the opposite side of the road. Of the six guards that had accompanied the group, four were injured, while the remaining two lay on the ground with white tarps covering them from head to toe.

As he approached, the merchant who had lent his services to Sigurd met with him.

“You're awake, good. I must apologize, we entertained the thought of having to leave you behind," he said. Holding his flat cap against his chest, he continued, “Those damned bandits... they took everything, our livelihoods. We thought we'd be safe with the hired guards, but we were mistaken.”

With a calming wave of the hand, Sigurd dismissed the merchant's concerns. “No need to apologize. You all acted accordingly," he replied, his eyes wandering to the fallen warriors. “If anything, I'm sorry I was unable to be of more assistance.”

“In that regard, you can rest easy. My fellows and I are grateful for your valiant efforts. However," the merchant paused, at a loss for words. “They took those two girls you were traveling with. I fear for their safety.”

“I know," Sigurd clenched his fist and tightened his jaw.

He turned to his right, to face the forest, and scanned it from left to right. It was lush with trees and bushes. Scant, beady eyes met him from shaded corners. Nothing seemed out of place, though there were signs the bandits had passed through the area.

‘It doesn't matter how good I am at spotting disturbances,' Joyce lamented. ‘There's no way I'd be able to accurately track them down in such a dense forest.’

Sigurd turned to face the merchant again, and asked, “With your network of information, would you happen to know where they might've gone?”

The merchant hesitated for a moment, looking back at his peers, before replying, “They've been known to attack travelers in this forest for some time. Rumor has it they've holed up in an abandoned fortress. If it proves true, the path leading to it should be further along.”

“Good,” Sigurd muttered, stepping forth and past the merchant. “Let's get going then. We're wasting time.”

“Wait, wait, wait," flabbergasted, the merchant followed along. “You're not suggesting you're going to face up to them, are you?”

Sigurd nodded silently as he approached the rest of the group.

“You'll be killed if you do that! There's too many of them…”

Resolute, Sigurd stopped and met eyes with the merchant, “I'm not abandoning those girls.”

He then faced the rest of the group and explained the situation. They all protested in their own way, but the choice was made: since he had awakened, they could depart.