Two days passed in the blink of an eye. Faust, Leona, and the others made sure to rest properly and gain hints on how their hunt would be more successful. On the second night, the day before they would be dropped off Aquila called their squad together and sat down.

“Guys, there are a few things you all need to know before we head in. I’ve talked with the other trackers from the fort. They hunt them regularly and they have more experience. They’ve dropped a few hints.”

“Yeah? Were they useful?” Leona asked curiously. She was concerned for her team members.

‘I’m their group leader… if something happens to any of them it will be my responsibility… I have to make sure the hunt is as safe as possible. I couldn’t stand it if anything happened to any of them.’ She looked at her friends and smiled happily. She was glad she had trusted comrades with her on the hunt.

Aquila just nodded at Leona’s question. “Very. First, they told me that we needed to go at least a day’s march deep into the forest before encountering any stray orcs. They don’t wander that far out. Stray Orcs have very keen instincts. They may be less intelligent than the organized tribes to the south, but their survival instincts are superior.”

“That means?” Faust asked with a questioning gaze that made Aquila laugh.

“They won’t attack a group they feel they couldn’t beat. That means our smaller group has both an advantage and disadvantage. On one hand, we will be able to complete our mission faster than others since groups will be less likely to avoid us… on the other hand, it might spell trouble for the exact same reason.” The tracker explained without changing his expression.

‘That means more danger.’ Faust had a weird feeling. It wasn’t fear, but a sense of excitement spread through him. They had trained for so long and he yearned to finally get his hands on an orc.

Leona felt slightly nervous. She could feel the responsibility bearing down on her like a mountain.

“The mission says we need to hunt 8 Stray Orcs and bring their ears with us. If we are lucky then we will encounter 2 small groups and be able to leave without too much danger.” She pondered.

Cassius propped his hand on his fist and pondered before grunting. “The danger and the experience it brings might be only secondary in importance…” he paused and looked at his friends only to find their confused eyes on him, waiting for him to continue. “Secondary to our first kill.” He concluded and then they all fell silent.

‘First kill… I knew the time would arrive sooner or later… But its only orcs. Killing them is good. They pillaged Faust’s village…’ Leona felt a bit of hatred in herself, but when she looked at Faust she was taken aback.

His eyes peered out under his brows and showed a grim determination. His expression was cold.

‘I won’t leave a single one of them alive… I will do unto them what they did unto me!’ he roared in his head as the scenes from half a year ago played in his head.

His three friends only looked on silently and Leona had a concerned expression on her face before Faust snapped out of it and smiled at her a bit ruefully when he saw her worried face.

“It's all good I swear,” He put his hands up in defense. “I just can’t wait to get my hands on the orc's throats and strangle them…” hate had seeped into his voice and Cassius sighed.

“Just make sure you control your hatred… too much emotion on the battlefield might lead to disaster.” He mumbled.

Faust knew this, still, the scenes of the fateful night had played in his head ever since they had arrived in the fort. He could hear the screams of his mother even with open eyes during normal activities. He fetched some water and the surface of it had suddenly started replaying scenes from back then.

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When he laid in his bed, he heard his sister’s wails as if they were real. The first time he heard them he asked Aquila if he had heard it. Yet he soon figured out he was the only one hearing screams and wails. He recognized them and his feelings became a mess. Leona and the others had noticed something was wrong.

‘This hunt must really weigh down on him… I wish I could do something for him, but I have no idea how I could help him… I’m a bad leader.’ Leona blamed herself for being unable to help him with his troubles.

Aquila and Cassius pitied him, yet they didn’t have any experience in the area either. They had talked about it briefly and agreed that Faust had to face his issues. The sooner the better.

Faust couldn’t care less.

‘I want the voices to stop…’ He held his ears as he lay in his bed on the same night. He wanted to shut out the wails that were causing him to have sleepless nights.

It was for naught. The voices were not real. He knew it, yet that did little to help things.

The night before the hunt would commence Faust found himself completely unable to fall asleep.

‘Fuck this. I need fresh air. Now.’ He groaned and left the tent. Aquila and Cassius turned to face one another in the dark tent.

“Aquila?”

“Cassius?”

“Will you go and talk with him? I fear he might snap when we fight for the first time…” Cassius whispers.

“I already tried yesterday. He won’t open up at all. It must be related to the raid on his village… we can only hope that he won’t lose it when we fight the first batch of orcs…” Aquila replied.

“I know… it's scary. He’s like a ticking time bomb like this…” Cassius gulped.

“Maybe we should ask Leona to talk to him… she may be able to get through to him,” Aquila suggested.

“Not a chance. She’s not stupid. She has sensed something was wrong before us, I’m sure. She’s just as clueless as we are. We should ask Vitus when we get back. Something is wrong with Faust. The old man might know what. Now sleep. We need your tracking skills tomorrow.” Cassius brought an end to the matter and turned to the side to sleep. They would need every minute of it the next day.

A few tents away Leona sat on her bed. She couldn’t sleep either. She was too worried about Faust.

‘Mother told me about the day after he arrived here… the Flashes of Agony he had to face… maybe this is something similar…’ she was downtrodden. She wanted to hold him like her mother did. Without any sexual intentions. Purely out of camaraderie and empathy. Leona smiled sadly and after an hour or two lying awake, she drifted off to sleep.

Faust slapped himself as he left the tent and made his way to the walls to look into the distance a bit. Every few minutes he heard the screams, and he flinched every time. He made his way up the wooden palisades and leaned onto them, looking at an unending forest basked in bright moonlight. It was nearly full moon. Only a few more days should be missing.

His eyes were unfocused as he stared into the distance. He heard another scream that seemed to come out of the forest in front of him, far, far away. His heart clenched and he couldn’t hold back.

‘Why… why do I hear things? I’m sane!’ he tried to convince himself. He didn’t want to be crazy.

His chest felt as if someone sat on it, and he had trouble breathing. His mind raced and a sudden weakness assaulted him. He fell to one knee and the pictures returned, more vividly than ever.

He was fully immersed, reliving the past, until he was suddenly jolted awake by a heavy hand on his shoulder. The pictures disappeared and Faust noticed he had broken down on the ground.

‘Wha… what happened? Why is my face wet?’ he looked at his hands and felt that he had cried.

A calm, raspy voice that sounded like it had weathered countless storms resounded from behind him.

“You’re alright kid. It’s over. You’re safe.” The voice gave Faust a weird calming sensation.

‘Who is this? I can literally feel how much pain and suffering this man had endured… the kindness in this voice… is so genuine.’ Faust took deep breaths to calm himself down.

He turned around and he saw Trajan’s face in the moonlight. He had a sad smile on his face. The man patted his shoulder when he saw the young man looking at him.

“I know how you must feel. Trust me… why don’t we talk a bit?” he suggested and offered a hand.

Anger cooked up in Faust when he heard him. ‘How could you understand what I'm going through??’ he thought angrily, but reason prevailed.

‘May he be able to relate after all?’ Faust thought, unsure of what to do.

Trajan, the commander of Caurium, the wooden fort, was a tall, battle-hardened man. They had heard many stories about him from the stationed soldiers and rumors were quick to spread amongst the ranks of recruits.

He was a knight under Alexander Argorus and in command of this place on the very borders to the orc lands. They said he even refused better posts for the sake of staying on the borders.

Faust nodded and stood up, letting Trajan help him. The older man looked into the distance and sighed.

“What you’ve experienced is called a Flash of Agony.”