They had been working non-stop for more than five hours. This was normal since the busiest time at the inn was during the morning when many villagers came for breakfast. Mana and Elia were used to handling everything on their own. Aiacos was still asleep, having arrived late the night before, and Elia preferred to let him rest. Not that he would have been much help anyway.

Mana moved swiftly from one place to another, carrying all the dishes and drinks while Elia prepared them behind the counter. They switched places occasionally to give their feet a rest from marching all over the hall with more than twenty tables, even the long ones were occupied.

"Mother, Igro's order," Mana requested. She didn't need to provide more details; her mother knew very well the particular tastes of many of their regular customers.

"Right away." Elia looked under the counter to check the pair of barrels placed just at her feet. She grabbed them to see if any still had something left. She tried the first one and nothing, the second one the same.

She grabbed both to take them to the back room, passing through the fabric curtain that covered the passage from the counter to the kitchen.

Mana waited with her hands on the counter. She couldn't say she was completely exhausted, but an extra hand wouldn't hurt now and then.

Elia soon returned with a new barrel. She placed it where the empty ones had been and grabbed one of the metal taps on top of the low counter where she kept everything she needed.

"Is Dad going to the grove again today?" Mana asked while Elia replaced the barrel's cap with the tap and quickly filled a jug with its contents.

"Yes," Elia simply confirmed while placing the jug on the counter.

Mana grabbed it. *He's a fool*, she thought as her fingers dug into the wooden container.

"Mana," Elia inquired, tilting her head, guessing what her daughter was thinking.

Mana sighed and walked away, having no other choice. There was no point in dwelling on it; once her father set his mind on something, he wouldn't stop until he achieved it. She wished he would use that same determination for other things, not just hunting.

She moved to one of the long tables, to the right of the counter. A couple of villagers passed by her, and she bid them farewell with a smile.

"Don't forget..."

"To leave a tip," they finished simultaneously, amused, as they headed to the counter to pay Elia.

Mana smiled and nodded several times, watching them over her shoulder. She stopped abruptly when she bumped into something, or someone. She squeezed her eyes shut and said a prayer to all the gods she knew. If a single drop of the drink had spilled, they would not have enough forest to run away.

She looked back at the jug in her left hand. It was fine, she was safe. Then she looked up, the person was enormous. A man with no hair on his head and a scar running diagonally across his face from his right eyebrow to his jaw, passing over his nose. He looked very dangerous and unfamiliar. He didn't seem like anyone she knew, surely some adventurer.

"Watch where you're going, brat," the man said, clearly offended.

Mana frowned and raised her chin. "You should watch where you're going, old man," she replied, emphasizing her last word.

"I didn't think you were that stupid. I was going to let you go quietly after you cleaned my boots with your tongue, but now I think you'll clean something else." He grabbed Mana's hands roughly, and in the struggle, some liquid spilled onto the floor.

Mana watched it fall and twisted her face in anger. No one wasted anything at the inn. If a single sip of beer remained in a jug or a crumb of bread on a plate, Mana would make them finish it.

"Now you've really done it," Mana threatened.

"And what are you going to do, brat?" the adventurer mocked in the same tone she had used, without letting her go.

She gave him a haughty half-smile and indicated with her head to look behind him.

The man furrowed his brow a bit and slowly checked what the girl was pointing at. A hunter with black hair behind him was already aiming a bow at him.

"This isn't your problem, kid. Better stay out of it," he spat.

"I think you're looking in the wrong direction, old man. The one on your left will pierce your temple first," the girl mocked with a malicious smile.

The villagers began to cheer, betting on which one would hit him first.

The man growled and slowly released her wrists while she watched him with clear superiority, raising an eyebrow.

"You've come to the wrong inn, old man," the hunter on his left said, using the same nickname as the girl.

Mana walked past him, pretending to ignore him.

"Don't forget to leave a tip before you leave."

The man grunted and headed for the exit, ignoring her comment. He stifled an exclamation when he felt cold steel stab into his right buttock. He quickly put his hand to the area and did his best not to move too much. He turned around, ready to kill the culprit.

The hunter in the back had loosed his arrow.

"The girl told you to leave a tip before you left," he reminded seriously while loading his next arrow.

The man limped to the counter as best he could and left some coins where Elia was standing, watching as if these situations were something natural. He gave the hunter a fearful look and left, humiliated by the laughter that followed him.

"Thanks, Hendrik," Mana thanked, reaching where the hunter in the back was.

The boy blushed almost instantly and turned his head while placing a hand behind his head. "It...it was nothing."

Mana approached the table where he had been sitting earlier, along with Igro and his brother Eric.

"Come on, brother, when are you going to realize she doesn't give a damn about you," Eric mocked from his seat.

Mana placed the jug in front of Igro and smacked Eric on the head, making him writhe and cover up. She raised an eyebrow and lifted her fist as a warning. In case he hadn't had enough.

Eric raised his hands open in front of him and scratched where he had been hit. Mana could be a bit rough sometimes.

"Is it just you three today?" Mana asked, seeing that the table was practically empty.

"The old folks are sleeping today," Eric responded, bored.

They were the youngest in Aiacos' group, Hendrik was 27 years old, and Eric was 26, the same as Igro. The brothers looked like twins, with dark hair and almost the same shade of eyes. Hendrik had a scar on his clean-shaven chin while Eric had grown a small patch of hair, which he claimed made him look tougher.

"We have another hunt today, so it's best if they rest. Maybe they'll come later," Igro added before taking a long swig from his jug, downing it in one go. Elia's malt was undoubtedly unique.

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Mana smiled slightly as she watched him devour it as usual. She had already asked him several times if he didn't choke, but he assured her that once he tasted it, he couldn't stop until he finished.

Hendrik squinted as he saw the girl not taking her eyes off Igro. He cleared his throat to get her attention.

"Mana, do you want to spend the afternoon with me? There's a really cool place in the grove south of the village. I'm sure you'll love it," he suggested, puffing out his chest.

"Sorry, Hendrik, but I have other tasks to do later. Maybe another day," Mana rejected as delicately as possible.

She wasn't attracted to him at all, and he never tired of trying to get close to her. It wasn't that he wasn't attractive, both brothers were. They could easily win over any girl they wanted, especially being hunters. But she already had her eyes set on the gray-eyed boy sitting to her left, the one who made her heart race just by looking at him.

They had been very close since they were kids. They spent so much time together that they were practically family, like siblings, but she didn't see him that way and had never been able to tell him everything she felt for him. What was the point? He surely wouldn't reciprocate, and she would risk driving him away. He didn't spend enough time around for it to be worth it anyway.

"Are you okay?" Igro asked, feeling the girl's gaze on him.

"Huh?" Mana was daydreaming.

"Your finger, is it okay?" Igro repeated, indicating with his head.

"Oh, yes, it's better now," she replied hastily while lifting her finger wrapped in a piece of cloth and feeling it with the fingers of her other hand. "It still hurts a bit when I touch it, but I'll be fine."

Not even an injured finger would prevent her from helping her mother at the inn, it just meant she could carry two fewer jugs.

"Don't humiliate yourself any further, Hendrik," Eric teased and earned another smack from his brother.

"Hey! Could you stop hitting my head? You're going to make me stupid."

"More?" Mana inquired with raised eyebrows as if unaware.

Igro stood up and grabbed his leather bag, ready to leave.

"See you later. If Aiacos wakes up, tell him I'll be back in time for the hunt. I need to buy some things to leave for my brother in case it lasts several days." He stood in front of Mana, looking at her for a few seconds, she didn't realize she was blocking his way.

"What's the matter? Don't worry, I'll leave a tip," he clarified to leave no doubt.

Mana reacted and stepped back. Igro could be so absent-minded sometimes, even though he was one of the sharpest hunters in the village. Normally, nothing escaped him.

—"You better," said Mana, forcing a smile.

That night they would also go to the grove. She wasn't just worried about her father; she also had her place in the tumult of nightmares that haunted her every time they went hunting.

She sighed without remedy; she had to keep working. The inn wouldn't attend to itself, and she had already left her mother alone long enough.

—"Hey..." Hendrik tried to get her attention.

—"See you later, guys," Mana said, cutting him off to attend to some customers who were calling her loudly.

Hendrik lowered his head defeatedly, and Eric stopped to sit beside him while giving him a couple of pats on the back.

—"Take it easy, brother, later we're going to see Selia and Tami. I finally convinced them to join us, the four of us," he said with a mischievous smile to cheer him up, and it worked.

Hendrik lifted his head almost immediately upon hearing him; he had already forgotten about Mana.

---

Finally, she had a break. As soon as the clientele in the inn calmed down a bit, she took the opportunity to go to the grove to gather some resources they needed, mainly mushrooms and berries.

She always felt very comfortable walking among the wild. She adored animals and couldn't deny that she had been very curious about the creatures that inhabited the dark forest. Aiacos had always warned her to respect the grove and never to cross the boundary into the most dangerous part, although there was no need to even warn her; it was well known by all.

She crouched to pick some red berries that adorned a low bush with green leaves, plucking them gently. She subtly turned when she thought she heard some movement behind her, but there was nothing.

For a while now, she had felt like she was being watched; she thought she might be imagining it. She was very nervous about everything that had happened lately. Just thinking that her father and Igro would go hunting the creature again made her heart shrink. Her chest was tight with a mixture of worry and anger, but no matter how hard she tried not to think about it, the bad feeling she had wouldn't go away.

She heard a noise again, this time to her right, and she stopped to scrutinize in that direction more carefully. She clutched the basket full of berries with both hands in front of her long beige skirt.

—"Hello?" she called out to check if anyone was nearby.

There was no response. She must have been imagining it.

She hadn't been able to find any mushrooms, at least none that were edible. But with the berries she had, it would have to be enough. It was starting to get dark soon, and it wasn't convenient to stay there any longer, as she was somewhat close to where the dark forest began.

She turned around as her vision was covered in black. The basket she was holding fell to the ground with a thud as a pair of strange hands grabbed her wrists. The berries she had collected scattered.

Desperation escaped her mouth along with the scarce breath she could get through the fabric covering her head, unable to contain it, as her breathing became more erratic with each passing second.

She tried to struggle in vain with a knot in her throat of fear that ran through her entire body, preventing her from making any sensible decision that could help her. She couldn't resist when her wrists were tied in front of her with a thick rope. They had tightened it so much that she was starting to lose feeling in the tips of her fingers.

She managed to loosen the knot in her throat a bit.

—"Who is it? I don't know what you want, but I don't have anything valuable on me." Who could it be? Her mind was mapping out all the possible culprits, undoubtedly, it was a long list.

She wasn't exactly the most polite person in the village, and it was possible that she had made a couple of enemies over the years, but no one from Cepir would be stupid enough to try something like this. Aiacos would hunt them down and skin them like a rabbit. So, who? Someone from outside? Her mind clicked connecting the dots.

—"Old man?" she said, trembling. It had to be him. She didn't know his name, and she knew that maybe calling him that had only made things worse.

The struggle stopped. Mana thought that maybe that confirmed it. She was tied and devoid of any visibility.

—"I don't know what you're up to, but you won't get away with this," she tried to keep her voice as firm as she could, with false bravery.

—"Are you listening?"

There was no warning. She was pulled from the rope that tied her hands, and she had to take a couple of steps to avoid falling to the ground. Her heart was pounding wildly on the verge of bursting out of her chest.

She moved almost running, guided only by the rope, which rubbed against her wrists. She was getting exhausted; she didn't know how much longer she could keep up that pace.

She stopped for a moment to catch her breath.

—"Wait, let's talk," she said almost drowned, her voice distorted through the fabric.

She fell forward onto the ground with a tug from the rope. She had to get up as fast as she could, or she would be dragged. She tried to straighten up, but her captor didn't wait. He pulled the rope again, and she fell once more to the hard forest floor, on her elbows.

She felt something pierce her right elbow and stifled a painful groan as she was forcibly dragged, taking down any branch or stone in her path.

Her body was being lacerated everywhere, and she had long since stopped feeling her hands. She had no more strength to resist; she had become dead weight. The fabric covering her face was now wet from the tears she had been holding back for several minutes. She tried to stay strong, but she couldn't see a way out of this.

It had to be him; he was dragging her as if she were nothing. She was finished, thinking that he wouldn't stop dragging her until death, although she preferred that to the other option. It would be more dignified to die like this than with her body defiled.

He stopped.

She heard footsteps running away; she thought she heard more than one pair. Although after all that, she could easily be delusional. She waited a few minutes before confirming that indeed, her hands were no longer being pulled. The rope was still there, but no one was holding it.

She rested her elbows on the ground and felt a pinch in her right one as if something had pierced her skin. She lifted it out of reflex and put all her weight on the left one.

She sat as best she could, as her body didn't respond as she would have liked, sore in every part equally. She panted from exhaustion and tried to free herself from her bindings, to no avail.

She forced herself to breathe more calmly; she couldn't continue like this, or she would end up having a panic attack. She had to calm down. Maybe something scared whoever was dragging her, and they fled, but they could come back, so she had to

take advantage. She tried to make as little noise as possible while folding her arms towards the fabric on her head, even something as simple as that seemed like a challenge. She grabbed the fabric and removed it.

For a second, she thought something still obscured her vision. She opened her eyes wide when she realized it had become dark. Her eyes were beginning to adjust a bit, and she scanned the surroundings. She didn't recognize this area at all. And she knew the grove by heart.

The trees were just as tall, but their trunks were darker, and they had many more leaves, almost as if they were trying to prevent the moonlight from passing through. The ground beneath her was damp and cold. A thin layer of mist danced over it, giving it a sinister appearance.

*Damn it*. She was in the dark forest. They couldn't have left her in a worse place. They didn't release her by mistake or because they were fleeing from something. They planned to leave her there from the beginning.

—"This isn't funny, you better pray to the gods that I don't find you," her threats echoed among the treetops.

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