Step after step, they both scanned the environment for anything that could give them a clue for what could've caused this. The report mentioned that abominations were nearby, but abominations have a tendency to make a bloody mess after themselves whenever they have had a meal. This was not nearly bloody enough. Hell, there wasn't a single drop of blood to be found at all, as if everyone had simply left after a light struggle.

The shorter one went up to a tree and examined its scars. They weren't all that deep, but whatever it was, it had used some sort of poison to make attack more deadly. The taller one walked over and pulled down his mask, revealing a mustache. With a sniff and a frown, he pulled the mask back on and thought for a second before speaking up.

"Rotcap poison, maybe something else." They walked away after carefully scooping some poison into a container, and they made sure to seal it multiple times. Rotcap is something no one wants on their skin, but the slight difference in its scent is worrying.

With the help of the little moonlight that shone through the trees, the two maneuvered around fallen branches and small rocks to minimize the sound they might've made. Following the tracks, both of them kept their daggers ready.

*Crack*

With the sudden sound, all three of them jumped up to the trees and waited for a reaction from whatever it was that made the sound. Yet nothing showed up. It was still dark, still silent. But their training has taught them better. As the seconds went by, feeling like hours, the taller one placed a hand on their temple and spoke out to their partner.

"Soy-sauce, do you copy?" He telepathically called out, but got no response back. Thinking what might be wrong, he thought shortly about the mission to freshen up.

There was himself, nicknamed Stalagmite, his partner Soy-sauce and... And?

Immediately, sweat started building up on his brow as he traced back his thoughts.

Three, including himself, individuals had jumped up to the treetops. But there was only meant to be the two of them on this mission, so why was there one too many. And he couldn't get in contact with Soy-sauce for some reason, but he knew that the message was received. Yet still no answer!

"Soy-sauce, do you copy?" He calmed himself for a moment when sending out the other message. A ping came through, a simple noise to confirm that Soy-sauce had heard the psychic message. Looking around, he could feel the return-ping from further east. The direction of where the supposed dungeon filled with abominations was located. Looking down at the ground, the tracks told a similar story, pointing towards the east.

The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

Now he could go and rush towards where his partner was, but he had to follow protocol and spend a few seconds to send a message back to his superior. The trees were much better for movement when compared to slowly walking on the ground, and it reduced the likelihood of actually running into something. The only drawback was that he wouldn't be able to control the sound he would make, but right now it was definitely worth it to make a tiny amount of noise.

With a sudden burst of movement, Stalagmite shot forward, which burned the branches that he landed on as he covered large amounts of ground in mere moments. The occasional wild animal would get a small spook by the quickly passing human, but there wasn't any time to worry about the health of others. He was sensing the position of Soy-sauce and was slowly gaining on wherever they were going.

But he had to stop moving eventually, as he noticed something very wrong with the forest.

It was different. Normally, such a difference in the World's Tongue meant that he had ventured too deeply into it and that there was more mana in the air, but this was different in a whole other way. The tree he was standing on was badly damaged on the side facing east, but he couldn't determine what had done so. All the trees in the vicinity seemed to be damaged in the same way. And the air had something, together with the mana, burning away at the protective filter surrounding his suit. It seems that he had found the area detailed in the report he read. And his partner was in there somewhere.

Circulating some extra mana through the suit to repair it, thank the crown for scientific magic, and prepared to venture forward through the nightmarish forest ahead. The ground was covered with holes of varying sizes, some smaller than a fist and others big enough to be called a small lake. The liquid was disgusting, filling the air with a stench strong enough to burn nose hairs. That was at least what Stalagmite reasoned, because even with the filter, the smell still managed to get to him. Even the trees had noticeably changed to such a degree that it was unnerving, like sharp teeth pointing to the invisible sky above. Even Stalagmite with enchanted vision couldn't see through the mist, almost like he was inside the mouth of a massive monster.

*Trtrtrtrtrtrt*

Both his dagger and a prepared spell were ready to attack whatever it was that made that sound. It was the sound a larger bug might have made, but the noise it made was too sharp. There wasn't much else to compare it too, other than that.

One of the puddles had ripples on it surface, a couple of meters away from him. He stared at it, the ripples slowly going away. Double-checking the filter, he took a deep breath before slowly walking towards Soy-sauces location. But the strange sound kept following behind him, and every time he turned to check, there was nothing there but a ripple in another puddle.

A little more of the crown-forsaken mist and the strange sound, then he would retreat, together with Soy-sauce.

...

But that never happened. Because all that was there was nothing more than another ripple in the puddles.