The pattern repeated itself for the next half a week.

Fade and I would keep pace with the host of the Uprising, scouting beyond the edges in search of monsters. In that time, we would need to range farther and farther from the army in order to find more. However, I was still returning to the wagon at night. I wasn’t meant to be going out too far after all. I could range far enough under my own power in the space of a day that it was no problem in venturing out and making it back. I’d long discovered that my talent Leafwhisper Step seemed to have a component to it that helped in forest navigation, beyond just masking the noise I made.

However, I’d also found that there was something odd about the density of monsters we were encountering. I’d been on this planet for just over half a year now, and in my time I had done my fair share of monster hunting. It was one of the most common duties that Grey had assigned to me on all of my travels.

I had never seen such a dearth of monsters in all that time.

Still, what we did find was a relatively high level. What we tracked down seemed to range from around level fifty at the lowest, all the way up to the question mark range. I was lucky that Fade was with me and seemed to sense whenever a monster was too strong for us was in the vicinity. Every time that something fifty levels or so stronger than I was wandered by, he would direct us away from it or find a hiding spot for us. Still, it was only one question mark that Observe would display for me. To my understanding, that meant that the upper end of this zone was capping out at around level one twenty.

I might, might be able to take something like that. The Scintillant Blade was absurdly powerful, after all. But it was better to be safe than sorry.

Besides, other scouts out here were able to take something like that.

In fact, I had met a few of them. Either by choice, or by coincidence.

After all, I had been given a method of contacting the main scout force. Even though I had no idea where they were.

The golden communication coin that had been given to me as part of my field kit was something that Hook had introduced me to, in the scant few days of introductory training I’d been given. They worked as a sort of rudimentary magical signaling device.

The way they worked was like this.

Each individual coin that was issued to agents was bound to another coin back at headquarters. When either face was tapped, the coin it was linked to would flip to show the indicated surface. Hook had briefly shown me the receiving room in that underground bunker, filled with coins suspended in glass jars and watched over by Nocturne Division clerks. There were certain code sequences of heads or tails to inform headquarters of what was going on.

I didn't know much about computers from back home, but even I had heard of binary code. This reminded me of that, in a way.

For example, heads head tails heads heads meant I’d encountered a monster beyond what I was capable of taking. Following that up with heads tails tails after a pause of five seconds meant I was requesting backup at my location.

There was no way that I was going to be able to remember all of the codes any time soon, of course. There were hundreds of different combinations to memorize.

I’d been given a cheat sheet in my field kit to help with that.

Unfortunately, the coins were only one way. I could only signal back to them, and they couldn’t signal back to me. Hook had told me they had enchanters who were trying to break that barrier on contact.

However, what might be just as important was the other coin that I had been given. The silver location coin. These coins were bound to the large map back at headquarters that I had initially only glanced at. The location of every issued coin was tracked on that map by a pin that moved with it, which I had noticed after Hook had pointed it out to me. Each pin could be linked to another, which would link the silver coins. When linked, the coins could lead one to another with small nudges in different directions. Unfortunately, again, I couldn’t link my coin to another preemptively. Only headquarters could do so.

For all its faults, it was a surprisingly effective system. At the very least, it was better than nothing.

Curious to see it in action, I’d used my messaging coin for the first time upon encountering a strange mass of writhing, meaty tentacles that returned a list of question marks with Observe. A little over a minute after sending the message, I’d felt that faint tugging sensation from the silver coin held in my other hand.

I waited at that position in the trees over the monster for maybe fifteen minutes, before I was startled by a barrage of arrows leaping out at the abomination. They sprang from the opposite treeline from where I was positioned. Despite being stronger than I was, the monster died in seconds from the rain of pointed death, exploding into a cloud of Miasma.

Moments later, another Nocturne Division member appeared above the resulting Monster Core left behind. After picking it up, I was able to get a better look at them.

You know, I actually recognized this guy. It wasn’t any of my trainers, and it wasn’t someone important like Hook.

It was the guy who had briefly poked his head out of the hatch when I was introduced to headquarters. Finch, I believe his codename was. I’d seen the guy around a few times, but I had never had a conversation with him. He’d always been super busy, rushing to and fro.

Right now, though, he was looking directly at my hiding spot and waving enthusiastically. Guess it was no use trying to hide from someone who was so much higher level than I was.

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I dropped from my hiding spot, Fade emerging from his own a few moments later. I raised my own hand in greeting as I approached the man.

Surprisingly, he crossed the distance first, clapping me on the back with one hand and enthusiastically clasping my forearm with the other. I just barely managed to keep myself from jerking in surprise at the unexpectedly friendly greeting.

“Hey, nice to meet you!” Finch said eagerly. Behind his avian-themed mask, I got the impression that the man was smiling widely. “I’m Finch! I don’t think we’ve talked yet? Your codename was…Executioner, I think?”

I repressed a wince. “Ah, no,” I said awkwardly. “It’s Hangman, actually.”

Not that there was much of a difference.

“Nice!” Finch said encouragingly. “Very intimidating. I like it!”

Strangely, I was getting Aurum vibes from this guy. You know, back before I soured that relationship and was never able to mend it before he died.

Wow. Nice depressing thought there, core ring.

“Thanks for coming so quickly,” I said. “I…hope I didn’t take you away from anything more important.” I laughed a little sheepishly. “I kinda called this one in just to see what it was like.”

Finch literally waved me off, stepping back. “Nah, don’t worry about it. You did me a favor, anyway. I’m out here doing the same thing you are, hunting monsters. That Tubular Ripper was just about in my range, so it was perfect for me. Hook sent me out here because I’m getting close to my one-fifty.”

I guess it was a common practice. I'd grown to level sixty-nine from all the hunting I'd done so far. I understood the desire to be just on the precipice of another skill.

I nodded, a little relieved. So, Finch was more than double my level. I wasn’t surprised, considering how quickly he had taken out the monster that was apparently some kind of Ripper variant. I paused, though, figuring I might as well him something that was on my mind.

“So…” I trailed off, eyes lingering on the spot where the Ripper had died. “What have you seen out here?” At Finch’s curious tilt of his head, I elaborated. “I’ve heard from some of the higher-ups that they’re suspicious about the monster density. Have you seen anything?”

Finch crossed his arms, humming. “Well…” He drawled. “Maybe. I’ll admit, this isn’t my first time ranging in hill country. The number of beasties that I’ve encountered lately has been low. But, maybe the tribes have just been hunting more?”

Tribes?

Wait. I remembered now. Months and months ago, Grey had referred to Bleddyn’s people as the ‘Hill Tribes’. Did that mean my old friend’s family was somewhere in this area? Suddenly, I was struck by a nearly overwhelming desire to find Clan Thunderheart and reassure them he wasn’t dead or enslaved any longer. I suppressed the feeling though, figuring I could just ask Hook or Grey about it later.

“But that’s not all,” Finch continued, an audible frown in his voice. “I…look. Do you mind coming with me?”

I raised an unseen eyebrow at my senior in the Nocturne Division. “Sure? I don’t mind. I doubt Fade does, either.” I said, glancing down at my companion. He just chuffed at me, uncaring. “But what’s up?”

“When you signaled for backup,” Finch said slowly. “I had just found some tracks. Suspicious ones. And…not monster tracks. I think they were human.”

I suddenly felt much more alert. “Loyalist, do you think?”

Finch shrugged. “I have no idea. I didn’t get a chance to look at them closer before I came running. I remember where they are, though. And, look. It could just be nothing. This stretch of the continent isn’t exactly uninhabited, ya know? Even with the monsters.”

“Lead the way, then.” Exchanging one last set of nods, Finch, Fade, and I broke out into a sprint through the sparse forest.

………………………………………………………

Finch was faster than I was, which I was entirely unsurprised by. Even running Sylvan Vigor at three-fourths strength, I was barely able to keep up with him as we dashed through the underbrush. After about ten minutes of sustained sprinting at high speed though, Finch suddenly came to a stop.

When he did, I couldn’t stop myself from doubling over in exhaustion. Fade was a bit tired himself, audibly panting next to me. Looking up after a brief rest, I found Finch kneeling in the dirt of the small clearing he had led us to, closely inspecting something. Wandering over to join him and crouching down, I tried to see what he had been talking about. I nearly didn’t, until Fade joined me and started sniffing a certain patch of grass. Looking closer, I was just barely able to see the slightest impression of a footprint in the compressed leafage below.

God, even with the tracking experience that I’d gained, I could barely make it out. I was instantly both suspicious of the track, and amazed at Finch’s own tracking ability. I would never have noticed this out here on my own.

Only someone that was trying to mask their trail would leave something like this.

Finch and I stood up and exchanged a glance through our masks. “That’s the only one, though,” Finch said, his concern clear. “I can’t find anything else. I’m thinking this was a momentary mistake they didn’t notice.”

I frowned, glancing around. “Did you check the whole clearing?”

Finch nodded. “Yeah, I did. I had even started checking the surrounding area when I was called away.” He spread his hands, shaking his head at the same time. “I was hoping your wolf could pick up a scent trail since it doesn’t look like they left a physical one.”

Both of us looked down at Fade then, who was still snuffling around in the dirt. After a moment though, he looked up and shook his head from side to side.

I could see Finch blink in surprise at the surprisingly human gesture before he cursed. “Well,” He sighed. “Damn. Sorry, but we can’t just let this one go. We’re going to need to scour this entire area for miles, now. It might take days, but I don’t think we can afford to let even a single leaf go unturned. I’m going to call this in.” He reached behind him for his own pouch of field supplies, presumably for his communication coin.

I sighed but nodded. It was going to be grueling work, but it was what we were out here for.

Finch stopped mid-movement, though, jerking in surprise at something behind me. I almost got the impression his jaw had dropped. Curious, I turned around myself, only to feel a smile grow on my face.

Fade’s horns were glowing with the green and blue of concentrated Aether once again, in a way that I had only seen a few times in the past. The young wolf was visibly concentrating on something, with the glow on his horns growing brighter every moment. Finally, with a loud bark that echoed oddly through the barren trees around us, the Aether…

Fizzled out?

However, something did happen.

Before Finch and I’s astonished gaze, footprints outlined in dimly glowing Aether appeared in the grass and dirt, leading away from the now faintly glowing original one.

“Ah…,” Finch trailed off. “Or we could follow that. That works too.”

I kneeled down to scratch Fade’s head, as he panted in renewed exhaustion. “Thanks, boy,” I murmured. He licked my hand in return.

I stood back up and exchanged a glance with Finch. In unspoken agreement, we took back off into the forest, following the faintly glowing footprints, with Fade following behind us.

Deeper into the forest.