“I think it’s time for a break, you two.”

The next time any of the three talked was when Mognog recommended Ritzy and Gerhart rest a little. It was still raining, but it had temporarily turned to a drizzle, so it was a good opportunity to take a short pause from their trekking.

Ritzy and Gerhart didn’t even think of objecting and instantly found something to sit on or lean against.

“You’ve done well, both of you. So, relax for a few minutes and let your minds and bodies rest a little. I’ll keep a watch out and shout if anything happens.”

Ritzy and Gerhart hummed and nodded in response to Mognog’s words.

“But it will be bad if you actually fall asleep, so don’t do that, please. It’s also about time we start looking for something you two can eat. This forest seems to be pretty bountiful, and I’ve seen a few berries here and there. When you start walking again, keep an eye out for those.”

Ritzy and Gerhart hummed and nodded their heads a little. It was a weak answer to Mognog’s words since it didn’t seem like they had heard him, but he didn’t mind as long as they didn’t nod off.

Mognog let the two young men rest as he watched the direction from which he had last sensed someone watching them. The feeling was gone now, but Mognog didn’t know if the source was gone or if it was better at concealing itself when unmoving.

But it didn’t feel like it was going to attack Ritzy and Gerhart while they were sitting still with closed eyes. So, it was either overly cautious, waiting for companions, or not hostile. It could be something like a scout that tracked possible prey and reported to a larger group of similar whatever it was. But Mognog was more inclined to believe it simply had no intentions of attacking them.

That he hadn’t lied to Ritzy and Gerhart when he said it was simply some kind of forest creature that had developed an interest in them and decided to watch them until that curiosity was satisfied.

If it were true, it would be the easiest on Ritzy and Gerhart since they wouldn’t have to do anything. And since they listened to Mognog, they didn’t have to overtax their minds by being on constant alert while marching and sleeping. As tired as they were already, another source adding to their steadily increasing fatigue would break them before they left the forest.

“Break time over, guys. I’ll let you take a break and set up some traps in an hour.”

“Mmm.”

Gerhart grunted as he rubbed his eyes slightly before opening them and standing up with a groan.

“Kiddo…?”

“Ritzy!”

“Yep! I’m awake!”

Ritzy shouted to convince both himself and Gerhart and Mognog that he was awake as he shot up.

“Didn’t doubt you for a second, kiddo.”

Mognog let out a chuckle as Ritzy had been on the verge of actually sleeping if he hadn’t really nodded off.

“Let’s go.”

Gerhart was too tired to deal with Ritzy’s behavior, and he wasn’t in the mood to fool around. So, after confirming the direction, he turned and started walking without waiting for Ritzy to respond.

Ritzy and Mognog exchanged a glance before following without saying anything. Gerhart’s mood was understandable. If anything, it was a little surprising how well he was enduring. Ritzy, too, for that matter. After all, both of them had lost their hometown and childhood friend and then proceeded to march through a troublesome forest with minimal amounts of sleep and food.

This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

That was something that would get most people down in the dumps.

But since experiencing those feelings of loss and letting anger and frustration take control would exhaust them and increase their odds of dying, Gerhart forced himself to remain calm and focused on what he had to do, which was to lead the way through Banta Forest and to Chitron.

Compared to Gerhart, Ritzy wasn’t as much of an emotional mess since he was the one who had set fire to Vestor, a town he hated. He also hadn’t given up hope on Talia by refusing to accept the permanence of her death. But he was tired, wet, cold, and hungry. So, if Mognog hadn’t been there to calm or comfort him, Ritzy might have snapped at Gerhart for walking so fast or something.

As they began balking again, Mognog started pointing out the berries he saw to Ritzy and Gerhart since they weren’t really paying attention other than where to put their feet and in which direction to walk. Mognog also had another point of view, so he saw the colorful berries hiding below green leaves that blended in with the forest’s foliage.

Mognog swept his eyes around with the occasional help of Ritzy, who twisted him and was about to point out a berry on a bush only a few steps to the side. But the round, red thing wasn’t a berry.

It was an eye.

“Watch out!”

Mognog shouted as soon as he realized what it was he had seen. The startled Ritzy dropped Mognog on the ground and rushed to grab the dagger at his hip while whipping his head around and back and forth, trying to catch sight of what had made Mognog shout like that.

Gerhart instantly threw his bags to the ground and unsheathed his dagger as he also searched for the source of Mognog’s alarm while backing and retracing his steps to create a secure perimeter with Ritzy.

Ritzy and Gerhart had each other’s backs as they watched their surroundings, waiting for something to happen, whether that be a bush rustling and something leaping at them or Mognog saying anything.

“Fleh!”

Mognog sputtered out an unintelligible curse as his mouth and face were pressed to the ground, which made it difficult for him to speak and see.

“In the bushes. A meter up. Three o’clock.”

Mognog didn’t see how Ritzy and Gerhart had repositioned themselves. So, even if he heard that they had moved, he could only tell them what he saw and where he saw it when he saw it. He hoped they would check the direction based on his position when they were walking and looking for berries to snack on.

Both of them spun around and looked in all directions as they searched the bushes for what Ritzy saw, and after a second or two, they figured out where Mognog meant when he said ‘three o’clock.’

“Pick him up, Ritzy.”

Ritzy didn’t hesitate as he listened to Gerhart’s order and slowly bent down with his gaze fixed on the bushes in front of him, one hand holding a dagger and the other scrambling over the leaf and root-covered ground to find Mognog.

“Over here.”

Mognog’s voice guided Ritzy until his hand found the smooth and cool skulle that was Mognog.

Even when he bent down, Ritzy didn’t see anything except for the berries that Mognog had seen.

However, he had a strange feeling when he looked at one of the berries further away, the one that appeared to be hanging on a different kind of bush. Ritzy realized what Mognog had seen and shouted for. But before he could fully process what it was, he had already instinctively thrown Mognog at it.

“Hup?!”

“Sorry!”

When he realized what he had done, Ritzy apologized, but he didn’t move from his spot to chase after Mognog.

Although he had figured out what it was that followed them, something had obviously gone wrong.

Otherwise, Lenny’s corpse shouldn’t have been able to come so close to them without Ritzy sensing it. It shouldn’t even have been able to break free from his control without him sensing it.

So, the fact that it hid in the bushes and followed them without Ritzy noticing that it was Lenny’s corpse and whatever had taken the place of Lenny’s soul if it wasn’t Lenny inside meant that something had gone terribly wrong.

Ritzy didn’t dare approach the undead, even if it was supposed to be his undead. The only thing he could do after throwing Mognog was to watch what would happen and hope Mognog would remain intact should Lenny react negatively.

But Lenny’s reaction was not within Ritzy’s or Gerhart’s expectations, and it certainly wasn’t something Mognog had thought would happen.

Lenny’s one-eyed corpse, with its burnt and mummified skin, stretched taut over its flesh-less skeleton, leaped out of the bushes in Ritzy’s general direction. To that, both Ritzy and Gerhart thrust out their daggers and were ready to intercept the leap and kill or incapacitate it.

Gerhart’s eyes widened in surprise as he realized it was Lenny’s corpse, but that didn’t affect his actions. If anything, it made him more eager to stab it.

However, Lenny didn’t attack Ritzy or Gerhart. It simply leaped in Ritzy’s direction because that was the same place Mognog’s skull came flying from.

Lenny jumped in a way that made it seem like he was imitating a frog as his legs and arms hung behind him while he shot into the air. Then, his mouth opened further than Lenny’s jaw joints could move. After breaking his own jaw, Lenny managed to bite and somehow force Mognog’s skull into his mouth.