“I have something that might help.” Nick ran his gaze across the nervous duo standing in front of him. “What exactly is the problem?”
“Our companion was seriously wounded,” the older man replied, offering Nick a smile that was intended to be reassuring. “We were able to slow the bleeding, but her injury is beyond our ability to tend, and she doesn’t have enough health to recover. Our only chance was to find someone on the road before it’s too late.”
Nick was surprised that they hadn’t mentioned their friend right away. Maybe they were worried that I would take advantage of their weakness. Regardless, if there was someone out there who needed his help, there wasn’t any time to waste.
“Lead the way,” Nick gestured. “Wasn’t it dangerous to leave her alone? The bog is full of beasts and other predatory animals.”
“Yes. Thank you for your kindness,” the red-haired man chimed in. “Leaving her was risky, but she should be able to hold on for a bit longer. We set her up in a shallow cave after wrapping her wounds, then rolled a boulder over the entrance to keep any predators from being able to reach her. It should be enough to keep Aya safe for at least a few hours.”
“We should hurry and make our way back to her,” the older man added. “She might succumb to the poison at any moment, so time is of the essence. Let’s head over to the cave where we left her, it’s only a fifteen-minute hike from here. By the way, my name is Greg, and this is Shaun.”
Poison? I thought they were worried about her bleeding out. Something isn’t right. Nick wasn’t sure what was going on, but he decided to see this through to the end. He wasn’t willing to leave someone to die just because their friends were a little flaky.
“Nick,” he exchanged a pair of handshakes, then followed the men along a path that led them away from the road and deeper into the bog. They looked nervous when Nick drew his sword from his pack, in case they ran into whatever had attacked their friend, then gave the bag an appraising look. Shaun and Greg said nothing as they set a brisk pace, leaving their own swords sheathed for now.
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“You know,” Nick said as they wove a path across the tall grass, avoiding the streams and ponds whenever possible. “You still haven’t told me what attacked you. Could you describe the beast and its powers now, so that I know what to expect? Try to remember every detail that you can. It will help me prepare if we’re forced to fight it on the way.”
“A flying…” the younger man, Shaun, spoke at the same time as his companion.
“Mole,” finished Greg, shooting a glare at his friend.
“You were attacked by a venomous, flying mole?” Nick raised one eyebrow at the exchange.
“Weird right?” Greg let loose a nervous chuckle. “This fucking place.” Shaun kept his mouth shut while Greg filled in more of the details. According to his account, the beast in question could both burrow and fly, and was armed with long claws as well as its venomous bite.
Here too, their story didn’t quite add up. After all, if the beast could burrow through the ground, hiding their friend in a cave wouldn’t be enough to keep her safe, even if the entrance was blocked.
By now, they had arrived at the outskirts of a modest grove, featuring the first tall trees that Nick had seen since climbing down to the level of the bog. There weren’t any hills in sight, meaning that the chances of a cave being anywhere in the area were vanishingly slim.
As they entered the shadow-studded growth, the tension began congealing by the footfall. Both men looked incredibly nervous, jumping at every creaking branch and shifting shadow. It felt like they were walking toward danger, instead of arriving with much needed help.
I suppose that they could be afraid of the beast, Nick mused, although he already knew that it wasn’t the true cause of their distress.
He started scanning the terrain while keeping one eye on his guides, unable to stop himself from sighing deeply in disappointment. While he was genuinely on the lookout for any unpleasant surprises, most of his attention was devoted to deciding how he wanted to handle this situation.
He didn’t much like his choices. The joy of running into other people had long since been soured by their suspicious behavior.
Nick wasn’t stupid. It had been clear for some time that Greg and Shaun were lying to him. Although he had been hoping that he was reading their tells wrong, it had become appallingly obvious over the last few minutes that they intended to harm him. That instead of leading a rescue operation, they were planning to rob Nick, perhaps even kill him.