The sun had now risen high above the clouds of the misty valley and shone down brightly upon the bountiful forest surrounding the town proper. From a bird eye view Leoris laid within a mountainous semi-circle and was set like a well crafted jewel upon a bed of lush vegetation. It spilled down the slopes into the countryside of the Dakken Union.

With his sword at the ready, Ensi had Yulsif close in tow behind him. Bringing up the flank were six of Keoma’s students. They were cautiously making their way while tracking the Fallen that had fled the dock earlier. All of them were looking for every unnatural sign in the woods they had been familiar with since birth.

Yulsif approached Ensi boyishly, “Why are we really out here? This is definitely outside of our job.”

With a grave demeanor, Ensi kneeled down to inspect impressions in the bent grass, trying to determine which way their assailants had fled. He answered Yulsif, “I am motivated for once. Nothing has happened in Leoris since we were children. Growing up we thought we'd go to war along with Allsin in the Farlands if it lasted that long, but even that didn’t interest me. I can sense the danger here now. The threat to our home. I hated it when these guys said I had talent because I didn’t feel like I could apply it to anything. But now, watching Desdin, I feel like I can change something for once.”

While taking a glance down at his hands and smirking uncertainly, Yulsif spoke honestly, “Ensi, when I got into that fight with Stokely last night, I didn’t like it. I just want to go home. With you. Let Keoma, Walstaff, and Desdin handle the heavy lifting. There are things we can do and change back in town. I really wish our hub didn’t suck. So that we could call for help out here.”

Ensi gave Yulsif a confident smile. “You did an amazing job last night. I was proud of you and inspired by you. Just as much as I was by Desdin. We will be careful here. If it is too much, we will retreat. No one knows these woods like we do.”

Yulsif took a hard swallow and breathed out. He looked back at the other hunters who were also looking for signs before speaking more with Ensi. “What do you believe so far? Do you think we’ll all be able to pull together to deal with this? Vilsin’s ranks far outweigh us and the forge by far. And his men have always had the luxury and popularity of the hunter’s guild because of Allsin. Keoma has always had the quality of men to step in and do the job right. And these travelers…they are capable.”

Ensi motioned for the other hunters to follow, as he had determined which direction the enemy had gone. As they moved, he talked, “I’m hoping Vilsin will do the right thing for the town. Keoma and Walstaff can stuff their pride down to let him take the spotlight for the good of Leoris. Same with Hobe. The clergy and the archives, though, are an entirely different story. Amise and Diapson will fall behind Vilsin and push him out on the stage to keep their lifestyle going. I’m shocked Ingrid is as enamored with the travelers as she is. She has kept that cold nature of hers under wraps. It is odd.”

He suddenly stopped while raising a hand at everyone. Ensi then whistled out into the forest. The brush stirred and rustled around them. Birds took flight. And the wildlife seemed to dart away in all directions. Ensi called out to everyone, “Quick, there is a clearing ahead! Move together and circle up there!” They made their way to a small meadow. Everyone except for Ensi were glaring ahead nervously in anticipation.

The sun dimmed the yellow glow in their eyes as four of them slowly emerged into the light of day from the shadows. They squinted as if averse to the brightness. The rags hung loosely over their thinly defined muscles. They carried no weapons, but their broken teeth were stained black as they opened their mouths hissing at the group with thick cloudy drool dribbling out. They had caked tarry blood on their nails, which were filed down to a jagged point.

Two hunters trembled slightly, which gave the feral Fallen all the courage they needed to rush the group from the town. They set upon them from the weakest side, first moving with haste and ravenous urgency, attacking one behind the other with bestial growls. The first hunter fell back as the other moved in to counterattack. The hunter’s strike was superficial, and the claws of his attackers impaled him. A third tracker drew out his rifle and skillfully, under pressure, fired upon one adversary. He fell with blue smoke emitting from a wound in his chest.

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Two of the attackers had each overpowered a hunter a piece. Beating them with their fists until there was no resistance so that they could drag them off into the woods. The remaining hunters carried their wounded backwards and the one remaining Fallen approached with more caution, hissing and crouching close to the ground.

Ensi stepped forward to face them. The Fallen that had lowered itself close to the ground rushed with aggression lashing its claws out. Ensi repelled the attacks with the edge of his sword, maneuvering to stay on the outside of its range. He had been adapting to his lessons from the past day. He began with superficial cuts to the hands and arms of the foe, who became more and more frustrated with his attacks. As the Fallen began losing the effectiveness of his attacks, Ensi stepped in more making bolder and more meaningful attacks to the body of his assailant.

However, in the mix of their scuffle, Ensi had failed to notice the sounds of something snaking towards him. The assailant who had been shot had crawled up behind him and suddenly pounced at him.

A dagger flung through the air stuck squarely in the skull of the Fallen. Ensi ran the one he was fighting through the chest without missing a beat, then violently withdrew his sword to pivot his stance and take out the one still reeling from the knife attack with a heavy strike to the side of its head.

Ensi sighed with relief and looked towards Desdin, who was walking past the other hunters. He called out to him, “I had that, you know.”

Desdin scratched his chin. “Sorry, I didn’t teach you about paying attention to your surroundings. I thought that was common sense.” He patted Ensi on the shoulder. “Good job, by the way.”

Huddling on the ground, the other hunters comforted the wounded one. After a few ragged, desperate breaths, he stopped moving. They held his hand and closed his eyes. Ensi touched Yulsif consolingly, telling him, “Please, return to town. Let others know what is going on. I’ll stay with Desdin while we try to find the two that were taken.”

Desdin smirked and nodded in approval. “Sure, why not? I was going alone but you’ve shown that you are more than capable. We’ll have to hurry if we have any hope of rescuing them. Leave the dead behind. They can’t warp or use corpses, and they aren’t scavengers. They need their prey alive.” Yulsif gave a concerned and questioning look towards Desdin, before nodding solemnly and gathering up all his things and the others.

Ensi and Desdin easily followed the trail where the hunters were dragged. The discovered the entrance to a system of caves connected to the small mountainous area on the utmost outskirts of the Leoris region. Desdin turned to Ensi. “How well do you know this area?”

Ensi shook his head. “Not very. Some hunters have it mapped out, but they try to keep as close to Leoris as possible. It is very rare that anyone ventures into the caves since people are superstitious about them. There are trees atop the mountain whose roots grow through the caves here. A couple of centuries back, maybe two descendants in the past, they would mine here. When the caves collapsed, killing many of the miners, they blamed it on the rage of a forest witch who caused the trees to shift when they encroached on her domain.”

Desdin scratched the back of his head. He said, “Well, if they weren’t superstitious before, they will be after this nightmare is over. The incident in the past and this current incident could be connected to the Fallen. As they age well beyond a normal lifespan, they start to lose their reason and sense of self. They find comfort in caves.

He then examined Ensi to check if he was ready. “If you want to turn back, now is the time. I’m going to try to save your people, but I’m also not going to die fighting the Fallen here. In an outright fight right now, she has me outmatched. I’m also going to warn you that what you may see in there, you won’t ever be able to forget.”

Ensi stared at the dark inside the cave for a moment while thinking it over. Calmy, he spoke, “I’m already here. This is my town and those are my people. If I don’t do something now, I will regret it.”

Desdin slapped him on the back. “Good man. I’m glad to have you here. You have come a long way in just a day of bringing out your natural gifts. There's only so much I can accomplish with lessons. My favorite teacher has always been experience. And you will get it here.” They gazed into the dark.