Monster Menagerie Entry #46021:

Zengos are epic-tiered monsters capable of short range teleportation. It is believed that this can only be accomplished via line of sight, as the Zengo is not blindly transporting to another location so much as they are ripping space between them and their target, then temporarily stitching it back together so that their one step may be the equivalent of a thousand. For this power alone, they are considered one of the most sought after, yet dangerous, creatures in the Wilds.

- Sir Sire’s Encyclopedia Vol 17

“It’s not there!” Gwyn screamed as we rushed through the forest. She had the pack she’d take from the guard pulled over her chest so that she could rummage through it. “We have to go back.” The auburn-haired dwarf started to turn back the way we came.

“What are you doing? Are you insane?!” Lizzy yelled.

“What’s not there?” I asked my friend, doing my best to sound level-headed even if I shared the elf’s sentiment a bit. Gwyn, normally so stoic, appeared truly mortified for the first time since knowing her.

“The scale. I—I saw them put it in this pack, but it must be in that görnaching bastard’s pack. They must’ve switched it. They must’ve—” she continued to mutter, stuck between walking back and rummaging through the bag in her arms.

“The wyvern scale?” I clarified. Elio uttered a short curse under his breath while Lizzy froze mid-motion.

“They have it? How much time is left on it?” Elio asked, his voice as bitter as Gwyn looked right then.

“Twenty-five hours, by my estimates,” Azuris chimed in.

“We can’t go back, Gwyn,” I said, hating myself for it. She stared up at me, eyes wet with tears. Betrayal welled up there, but I didn’t back down. “We go back there, we die. We’ll find another amazing beast and slay that for you, I promise.”

Gwyn scoffed at me, rubbing her runny nose with the sleeve of her Orion’s jacket. “You don’t know that,” she said softly. Then, with a casual throw, she tossed out several items at me, Elio, and Azuris. I caught it instinctively and immediately recognized it as another healing cloth. Gwyn stormed past us, clearly not wanting to discuss it further besides adding, “those are all the ones we’ve got.” I hesitated slightly with the precious healing resource in my hands, glancing around to Lizzy.

“Do you—do you need one?” I asked her, not sure how to broach what might’ve happened in that tent before we arrived. She seemed to catch on, and shook her head. Her face drooped in shame.

“Hey, none of that. What happened wasn’t your fault, alright?” I told her, walking over to place a hand lightly on her shoulder. “You are here now. You survived. You are strong, Lysandra.” She began to sob softly, unwilling to lean forward into an embrace. I didn’t force it. If she wanted that sort of contact, I would let her initiate it.

“Thea—I” Lizzy began, before she cut herself off. “Nevermind.” She walked quickly past me, brushing off the hand on her shoulder.

“Thea’s right,” Azuris stated in a level tone. “We will find more beasts to slay in these woods, but right now, we need to get as far from those cruel pricks before they start to coordinate a search for us.”

I nodded, a silent sign of gratitude for his help and support. Azuris nodded back and then gestured for all of us to follow him. Before I followed, I took in a sharp breath before placing the healing cloth on my abdomen where James had cut me the worst. Warmth slipped through the cauterized wounds there, and I immediately felt like I could relax again. I still had over a dozen narrow gashes across my body, but that one was the worst by far.

“Here,” Elio said softly, handing me his jacket.

“No, then you’ll be cold,” I protested.

“Trust me. It’ll help me and Az both if you put this on,” he answered with a cheeky grin before practically shoving the oversized outer garment into my arms. He extricated his shawl from the uniform and put it over his body in a smooth motion. I tilted my head in confusion as his statement caught up with me.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

“Help you and Az? How?” I asked, but he only chuckled and started to jog after our guide. I buttoned it up over my tattered clothes and bare skin, and only then did a wave of red heat enter my cheeks.

I buttoned it up all the way, convinced I was going to die from embarrassment.

We trudged through the forest for the next several days, all the while using every trick Azuris knew to disguise our path. He instructed us in how to avoid breaking the branches of bushes or stepping into thin pockets of mud, as well forcing us through nearly two miles down a creek. By the fifth day, I knew that if anyone were able to follow us, they deserved to find us. Every night was spent in the cold, as we were too suspicious of the forest dwellers discovering us if we started a fire, and we lacked any of our normal supplies to create wards. We foraged what we ate, as Azuris stated that most creatures in the second fold needed to be prepared properly before eaten. Once again, I had to admit that if we didn’t have Azuris, we would’ve been dead nearly a dozen times over.

On the evening of the fifth day, nearly seven days out of our allotted seventeen finished, Azuris approached me.

“Hey.” His voice was terse, yet didn’t contain the usual barb I expected from him.

“Hi,” I replied, currently in a squatted position so that I could pick a few berries from the lower part of this bush. The seedless fruits were purple and yellow and tasted like citrusy blend of honeysuckle and mangoes. I popped one into my mouth unrepentantly. Standing to face him, I waited as he shuffled uncomfortably on his feet.

“What is it?” I asked. “I’m incredibly busy right now, as you can see.” I popped another berry into my mouth with a wide grin. He smiled sheepishly before his face returned to its usual brooding scowl.

“I have a way to remove those siphoners,” he admitted in a rush. His voice was barely above a whisper, and he even checked around us to see if any of the others were listening in.

“Wait, what? You’ve waited this long to tell me? You trying to get us killed?” I questioned, my attention now fully on him. He shifted again.

“I needed you to be alone. This—this has to remain between us, alright?” He seemed almost…scared.

“Okay,” I drew out the final vowel and reached for another ripe berry. He snatched my hand with a firm grasp.

“No one can know, Thea. No one.” I resisted the urge to pull my hand out of his. Uncertainty formed a knot out of my intestines, but I eventually nodded. It was selfish, in the end. I had no idea what he was so concerned about, but at the end of the day, I felt entirely defenseless without access to my gauntlets.

“Fine,” I stated, and his shoulders relaxed.

“Alright. But I need you to wear this.” He let go of my hand and brief pang of disappointment washed over me. Azuris held up a strip of cloth. “Put it on.”

“Court me a little, first,” I teased but grabbed the cloth. I pulled it close to my eyes, but snuck in a final glance. “You sure? I could just close my eyes, you know.”

“I don’t trust you enough not to peek at what comes next,” he admitted bluntly. Some of my enjoyment soured.

“Fine,” I muttered before I tied the cloth around my eyes. For good measure, and partially to prove him wrong, I also closed my eyes shut. “Ready?” I asked him.

If this is all some elaborate trick to make me bait for a monster, I am going to kill this stupid tiefling, I promised myself.

A strange sound started up just ahead of me. I immediately opened my eyes, and silently cursed at my weakness. Azuris grunted with pain and exertion, though I had no idea why. The touch of icy wind licked across my skin and the faint sound of hissing air was followed by a loud pop. I jumped involuntarily at the loud sound. Then, as soft as silk, a cold blade touched my wrists were the thin chains squeezed. Relief washed over me instantly as the pressure I’d grown used to there evaporated all at once, first on my right hand then my left.

I nearly tore the blindfold off to thank my friend, but just barely restrained myself. The hissing sound returned for a brief moment, then was gone. Calloused fingers tentatively tugged at the knot of my vision impairment. I helped it off and stared at Azuris. Though I was no expect on the subject, his face appeared gaunt and a cold sweat had formed across his brow and neck.

“Thank you,” I stammered out, unsure of what to make of what just happened. He turned away from me retreating into the woods and toward our makeshift camp.

“No one,” he repeated to me before he walked out of sight. I stared down at my wrists, then the two thin chains that now lay dormant on the ground. I picked them up, curious to see what he had done to them. Where once silver and a faint aura of power resonated across each link of the insidious jewelry, now grayish husks remained. The chain snapped and cracked under my touch.

“What in the seven hells did he do to these things?” I asked the forest. To no one’s surprise, the forest didn’t offer any satisfying answer.

A scream interrupted my thoughts, and I sprinted toward the direction where I heard it. It sounded far off, so I put on as much speed as I could muster. With a jolt of realization, I activated my gauntlets, their power and strength a welcome addition to my mad dash. I jumped over a fallen log and raced around the maze of flora to where I heard the commotion. Elio and Azuris raced soon join me, their steps soon surpassing mine. There was a steady incline of the terrain before the trees cleared away to reveal a large stony outcropping that preceded a cliff. The sight beyond would’ve been marvelous if not for two details:

Lizzy crying as Gwyn clutched a bleeding wound on her left shoulder, and a one-eyed Zengo growling before them.