From below it, the tree was like a house, forming a green roof that curved to the ground. They didn’t need to worry about getting wet, but unlike their previous two spots, it didn’t provide any protection from danger. Both Edwin and Salissa sat with their backs to the tree, their sleeping teammates between them. Edwin had considered telling the mage not to practice, but it turned out to be unnecessary. They couldn’t see through the leaves, but anything trying to enter their shelter would need to push its way inside, so they listened intently for rustling, jumping at every little sound.
Despite the tense atmosphere, the first watch ended without incident. Salissa was replaced by Bordan, and again they sat in silence. Having spent several hours listening for danger to no avail as well as having the experienced Bordan at his back made Edwin feel a little safer, so to pass the time, and partly to dispel the nervous atmosphere, he half-turned to whisper to the former soldier.
“Next is the Direboar, right?”
“Yep. Village is called Leshing.” Bordan answered just as quietly.
“What do you know about it?”
“The village?” Bordan asked.
“The boar. I don’t think Mennick talked about those while I was there.”
“Big. Heavy. Thick hide. Very strong.”
Edwin scratched his chin. “Sounds tough. Any weaknesses?”
Bordan was quiet for a moment, probably trying to remember the lesson.
“Bad eyesight.” He finally said. “They can only see what’s right next to them, so if the marksmen keep their distance, it probably won’t attack them. It’s going to be really hard though. It’ll be the most dangerous thing we’ll fight on this trip.”
“Great.” Edwin whispered sarcastically. “I assume you’ve got some kind of plan?”
“Well…“ Bordan started to say when a rustling of leaves in the low branches of their tree caught both of their attention. Edwin grasped his already unsheathed dagger and turned his head in the direction of the sound. There was basically no light under the tree, the moon unable to reach through the thick canopy. The dome-like branches muted the sounds of the outside forest somewhat however, which made noises inside them that much louder. The rustling returned, and Edwin imagined something carefully pushing its way through the leaves. He slowly sat up and carefully moved towards the noise, his ears extremely sensitive in the darkness. He heard the breathing of all three of his companions, two of them slow and rhythmic and the third picking up in speed. He heard his own breath as well as his heartbeat which was also quickening. And he heard the source of the rustling. Whatever it was had stilled when he moved, and as he stood, he heard a sniffling. It knew that something was in here, and it was trying to figure out what. He couldn’t see it, but he knew the direction and he was fairly certain that it was still just within the tree’s branches, so he decided not to give it time to work out what to do. Edwin jumped towards the sound, flailing his arms low to the ground to find the intruder. His right hand found only empty air, but his left landed on fur. And thick, bony plates.
The direbeast squeaked loudly, and something bit into Edwin’s hand before he could retract it. The monster wasn’t very large, so while he shouted in pain at the sharp teeth grinding against the bones in his palm, he pinned it to the ground with his knee and brought down his right hand that was still holding the dagger. He stabbed again and again, often missing, sometimes glancing off the bone shield, once even lightly cutting his own arm. Behind him the sleepers were waking up with alarmed shouts, but he didn’t have time to worry about them. The creature was wiggling under his leg, contorting wildly to get free while still holding onto his hand with its teeth. The pain seemed to be getting worse, as the sharp incisors cut up more and more of his flesh, and Edwin realized that he wouldn’t kill the direbeast quickly enough this way. Growling through gritted teeth he shifted his knees, freeing the side of the creature that was holding onto his hand. He gripped its snout tightly with his left, giving him a good idea of the location and shape of its head. He used his tortured hand as a guide to carefully line up the tip of his dagger, then forced it down. There was resistance, but it wasn’t the unyielding resistance of the thick bone plates of the direshield, and Edwin pushed through it. The creature’s squeaks grew angrier, then panicked, and finally they stopped. For a moment, Edwin felt like he sat in perfect silence, alone with his labored breathing.
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Then the shouts of his teammates broke through the fog that lay over his mind and a light sprang up behind him. Salissa was finally awake enough to use her magic and ignite a torch. Edwin let go of his dagger and carefully pulled the monster’s jaws apart to free his left hand. His companions crowded around him, weapons at the ready, but when they saw the bloody mess he’d turned his assailant into, they relaxed a little, although they still eyed the green walls around them suspiciously. Bordan knelt down and inspected the direbeast. Edwin’s furious stabbing had turned the side facing up into minced meat, and the dagger that had pierced its head and pinned it to the forest floor made it almost unrecognizable. The former soldier carefully pulled the blade out and turned the creature over.
“Direrat.” He finally gave his verdict.
The direbeast was as big as a very large cat, with thick and coarse brown fur. Its naked tail was quite long, and the direshield ran from its base all the way to the horn above its eyes. Edwin’s dagger had pierced its head sideways, sliding just under the shield and through the regular bone of the skull, cleaving its brain. Edwin staggered over to the tree, poured half of his waterskin over the hand that was beginning to go numb and fumbled his backpack open one-handed to search for a bandage. The rat had done a number on him, almost completely ripping free the meat of his palm. He pushed the loose flap of skin back together and clumsily started placing a bandage onto it when Bordan appeared next to him.
“You alright?” He asked, then noticed the bandage.
“Got bit.” Edwin grumbled while trying to wrap the cloth around his hand.
“Is it bad? Here, let me.” Bordan took the bandage from him and tried to unwrap it to take a look.
Edwin grabbed his hand and stopped him. “It’s fine, just need pressure to stop the bleeding.”
Bordan looked at him with narrowed eyes, then relented and started wrapping.
“Good thing you managed to grab it, I couldn’t make out what was going on and help you until we had light. I think this tree was a bad idea after all, now that it’s fully dark and we can’t see. How did you find it anyway?”
“I heard it. You did too, didn’t you?”
“Sure, but not well enough to go and attack it.”
Edwin shrugged. “I’ve got good ears.”
Bordan gave him another long look. “I suppose you do.”
Leodin approached from behind, peering over Edwin’s shoulder at his hand.
“You alright?”
“I will be.” Edwin grunted. “Everything quiet?”
The young man shrugged. “I guess. Not like we could tell if there was anything out there. What do we do with the carcass, Bordan?”
The former soldier tied off the end of the bandage and turned to look at the rat.
“Take it with us, I guess. Maybe the people in the next village want it. If not, we can take the time to skin and butcher it there.”
He looked at each of them, then sighed. “There’s probably no point in trying to get more sleep tonight, is there?”
Edwin looked around. The fight had certainly woken them up quite effectively, and now that they knew how perilous their campsite was, finding the peace of mind to sleep seemed unlikely at least for a while.
“I’m thinking we just head south and hope that Leodin is right, and we’ll find the next village soon. Thoughts?”
Nobody looked particularly happy with the situation, but no one argued either. Ten minutes later they were packed up, wrapped in their cloaks against the cool night air and back on the road. It was the middle of the night, and the fight had made them more cautious than usual, but soon the adrenaline faded. In those who had been robbed of sleep it was replaced by a longing for the comfort of their bedroll, and Edwin resolved to be extra vigilant as he didn’t expect the others to spot a threat in time. Any movement he detected ended up being animals that fled from the two-legged intruders, however. In fact, walking through the cool night, the forest dark and quiet around them with a myriad of stars shining down from a cloudless sky was calming and beautiful, despite the danger they had just witnessed. Knowing that they were possibly the only humans out on the road in the entire duchy, maybe the entire New World, made Edwin feel strangely special. Like he’d found a secret place nobody else knew of.
Dawn came and the world woke. Shortly after the sun crested the horizon, the adventurers stepped out from the forest to the sight of a wooden palisade, a few thin trails of smoke rising from behind its protective curtain. They approached and rapped against the gate, which was opened by a bewildered guard a short while later.
“Ya were out at night?” The man asked, looking at the tired adventurers with incredulity. “Ya mad?”
“Yes.” Bordan replied wearily. “And yes.”
The perplexed guard pointed them to where they could find accommodations and they left him behind. Especially Salissa, who had gotten almost no sleep, looked worse for wear, and without discussing it in the least they had unanimously decided to take a nap before they did anything else. The innkeeper was just as flabbergasted as the gate guard, but she provided them with rooms all the same. They had adventuring to do. Later.