Taking a breather after narrowly escaping from coming face to face with a dryad, Ashwin had many questions. He voiced a few of them to his patrolling companions, but the apes were feeling down and answered unwillingly. The boy's head was about to burst when they finally returned to the village. Normally, trying to avoid it, this time, Ashwin searched for Ngu-gu. Odd One was busy making some kind of amulet with feathers and claws when the boy found him. Just like Ashwin expected, Ngu-gu was much more talkative than others. When the short encounter was briefly retold, the ape had already forgotten all about the work he had been doing.

"Scaled Ones are nasty creatures. Good, you weren't found."

"Yes, but what was the nymph doing here in the first place? Is their settlement nearby? If so, why are you living here?" The same thought had been bothering Ashwin for a while. If Virat captured Scarface and the males of this village, he could return knowing their original location. It shouldn’t be too hard to move a troop to a much safer place.

His obvious questions puzzled Ngu-gu.

"Hmmm," mumbled the ape before answering, "there is a settlement, on other side of Second Eye. We don't go there, and Scaled Ones don't usually wander on our land either. Hmmm... I think Main One likes this place."

Ashwin wasn't impressed by this explanation. It was hard to believe that Scarface, who was usually collected and rational, would put his troop in danger due to sentimental feelings for the beautiful scenery. The boy asked Ngu-gu some more questions. Alas, the ape did not know how many dryads there were, whether they had a leader or an army. All he could say was the obvious, like "you shouldn't go there" and "they are dangerous". In the end, Ashwin was left with feelings of uncertainty and worry. This wasn't the first time he had felt like this, but this time, he decided to get more answers.

Going straight into the nymphs' territory without a gun would be suicide. So, the boy decided to first investigate the nearby areas. He prepared a torch in case he returned after sunset. The pouches on his belt had enough food. The flask made from rocky tree fruit was filled with water. He took a knife, spear and matchbox. In the early morning, Ashwin left his hut and headed for the forest. He had no map in his hands, but he remembered the road they had taken yesterday quite well. There were a few areas that he hadn't visited before, including the borderline with the nymphs' territory forest. 'I might end up not getting much information about the nymph settlement and their plans, but it's still worth trying.'

He covered the first half of his path in fast pace, only slowing down for a short break. Moving closer to the area, where the patrol met the nymph, Ashwin became more careful. The forest was full of sounds, and he was especially cautious of anything that resembled the footsteps but met no dryads. Encouraged by the lack of difficulties, the boy went deep into the woods.

He was thinking about how he could use whatever he could learn about the dryads' settlement. Any information regarding nymphs was important to the military of every country. It would be even more valuable if there were a significant number of enemy soldiers aiming to create another breach in the wall. This kind of knowledge was crucial for humans’ survival. But it could also give Ashwin something to trade for shelter in the South-East territory.

Becoming lost in thought was a mistake. The boy noticed that he had reached the edge of the forest too late. Movement behind the trees and the crunching of branches - all of these were signals that he should have been wary of. He reacted to them too late. He froze in his tracks as the loud stomping caused the earth to tremble. There was only one creature large enough to cause this kind of effect. It also preferred the borderline regions between grassland and forest, and liked to cut down trees…

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Ashwin jumped to the side just in time - the young Umbrella tree fell with a roar, breaking nearby branches and crushing bushes. One glance was enough to see the culprit behind it - a grown-up oakwalker, a seven-meter-tall beast towered above smaller trees. With a mountain-like body, its head and front legs resemble those of a praying mantis. Its compound eyes were fixed on the boy. Ashwin slowly began to back away. Usually not aggressive, oakwalkers could decide to attack first if they sensed danger or were in a bad mood. The creature shrieked. Ashwin winced and closed his ears from the obnoxious sound. The moment the shriek stopped the boy ran.

The countless thoughts swarmed in his mind. A spear would be useless against such a beast, but perhaps fire could scare it away? Should he light a torch? Outrunning it seemed like an impossible idea. But not moving at all was even more stupid. Ashwin ran to the side, just in time to avoid another tree falling onto the ground. He wanted to speed up, but a saw-like leg pierced the ground right in front of him. Avoiding the lumps of earth and falling branches, the boy tried to escape deep into the forest. Yet another tree trunk was cut down and thrown to block his way. Ashwin turned around only to face a saw-like leg raised above his head.

Just a second before the beast could pierce the boy through, someone pushed him aside. Ashwin fell down, feeling a tight grip around his waist. He stood up, the grip became weaker. Hegat was standing beside him still holding the boy by the waist. Ashwin wanted to say that they needed to run, but the animal's shriek interrupted him. He looked back.

The oakwalker was spinning around, trying to slice and cut the ape beneath it. Scarface could barely reach the oakwalker's knee but moved too fast for him to be caught. The ape pulled out the metal knife from his belt. This slowed him down for a moment, but not enough for the saw-like legs to overtake him. Scarface's bellow mingled with the beast's shriek. The ape raised a knife and slashed the oakwalker's hind leg. Striking a blow, he jumped to the side, avoiding being trampled. Then he leaped forward and struck again.

At first, Ashwin thought that Scarface was trying to distract the beast so they could escape. But he didn't toss about without a purpose. Scarface's precise cuts reached their goal. He aimed for the arteries. The raging oakwalker lost a lot of blood in mere minutes, its movements became slow and heavy until it swung from side to side, finally falling down on the ground. The grass beneath the beast was soaked with its blood, as was Scarface's fur. The ape's leader was breathing heavily. He shook himself off and then lifted his gaze. Ashwin flinched at the intense stare of the red eyes.

"Are you crazy or just plain stupid? The trees around Scaled Ones' houses literally have eyes."

The boy glanced at Hegat. The ape avoided his discontent by looking at the ground. He only lifted his head when Scarface addressed him.

"Bring the help. We need to cut up the carcass before it attracts attention."

"Yes, Main One."

Hegat used this opportunity to escape from the tension and unpleasant talk that would surely follow. 'Traitor' thought Ashwin, following the ape with his gaze. 'First he gave me away and now he just runs.' He flinched when Scarface spoke in a voice that did not bode well.

"As for you..."