Talax stood up, clutching his sword in one hand while the other was raised and ready to cast a spell. Everyone fell silent. Qalo wore a serious expression, holding his hammer, and Gormak had his crossbow at the ready, all waiting for the beast circling them to make its appearance. Even Patch had stopped his insane muttering.

Talax sensed something lurking in the shadows of the nearby forest, sizing them up. The howls had abruptly stopped, but the mushroom continued whistling as if possessed.

“Can’t you make this thing shut up? At this point, all it’s doing is making us a target,” Talax muttered, barely audible over the mushroom’s racket.

Gormak seemed oblivious, focused on the forest, attempting to spot the lurking beast. “There’s definitely something there, watching us…”

Gormak tightened his grip on the crossbow, eyes darting from shadow to shadow. “It’s circling us, testing our defenses,” he murmured more to himself than to the others.

Suddenly, a rustling sound emerged from the bushes to their right. Instinctively, everyone tensed, weapons poised for action. Instead of a beast, however, a small rabbit darted out briefly and vanished.

Talax exhaled and chuckled nervously, feeling the tension dissipating. "Let's keep moving," Gormak said firmly, his voice cutting through the tension. "The Sticks isn't far.” Talax agreed, “We'll find shelter there for the night."

Qalo nodded, adjusting his grip on the hammer, while Gormak glanced around warily, his crossbow at the ready. Patch had resumed his muttering, though it sounded more anxious now.

As they pressed forward, the forest seemed to close in around them, casting elongated shadows that danced eerily amidst the trees. The air grew cooler as the night settled around them.

"We should pick up the pace," Gormak suggested, glancing over his shoulder. "The beast might be lurking nearby." Talax felt calmer; the unsettling feeling of being watched had stopped when they started moving.

Gormak gave a low whistle, and the war hog picked up its pace in a light canter. Thankfully, the mushroom had stopped sounding the alarm, signaling they had avoided danger, at least for now. Everyone felt a little relieved, even if they threw occasional glances into the impenetrable darkness surrounding them.

Talax retrieved his helmet from his bag and reluctantly put it on, despite its uncomfortable metal weight. The Luminescent Visor provided a 30% boost to his night vision, a trade-off for comfort. Once it was on, the surroundings brightened, offering him a clearer view. He scanned the forest patches on either side, leveraging his enhanced vision but found no signs of movement.

They journeyed in tense silence for over an hour, expecting lurking shadows to reveal a bloodthirsty monster at any moment. Yet, nothing happened. The forest remained eerily quiet until they heard the first signs of life, indicating they had finally reached the Sticks.

The name fittingly described the hamlet. A mere dozen worn-out wooden structures lined the dirt road, showing signs of disrepair with holes in walls, missing windows, and everyday things strewn all over the ground.

The people, however, were in a worse condition. The remaining villagers, a haggard group, gathered around a flickering bonfire, most of them carrying sacks and small chests on their backs, ready to leave. They appeared worn and downtrodden, their eyes reflecting the despair that had settled upon them.

They were clustered together tending to a wounded woman. One of the village children spotted them and started shouting, pointing at their wagon. Heads turned, and the few men took fighting positions holding pitchforks, scythes and whatever they had in hand.

“I’ll talk to them. They are more likely to talk to a merchant than two strange warriors.” Gormak whispered, while Talax tried to shrink into his seat, attempting to remain inconspicuous. However, Qalo had different thoughts, boldly approaching the villagers, causing them to raise their weapons threateningly.

“Good people!” Gormak announced, standing on the wagon's bench for better visibility. “I am Gormak the great merchant, I am here to grant your heart’s desire. Whatever you may want, I have it among the vast collection of items in my wagon!” His words didn’t have the anticipated effect; instead, the villagers booed and hurled insults.

“Leave us be!” one man shouted, while another gripped his pitchfork, yelling, “We just want to escape this cursed place!” The men were agitated, with the women behind them, consoling the battered woman, who sat in silence, gazing listlessly at the dying embers of the fire.

“I'm done,” Gormak whispered, hopping from the bench. “It’s your turn now.” Talax looked at the dwarf, wide-eyed. “That’s it?” he demanded. Gormak shrugged. “What do you expect? Normally, people flock to see my wares, but these poor souls have other worries. Just get them to clear the road, so we can move on.”

Talax was about to give it a try when Qalo took matters into his own hands. He approached the men, effortlessly clearing a path to the women behind them. Some men grumbled and tried to resist, but Qalo remained resolute, pushing them away.

Crouching next to the woman, Qalo faced the gathered villagers. “What's wrong with her?” The villagers murmured until a woman next to the catatonic figure spoke up.

“The past few months, the forest has changed. We lived in peace, tending to our gardens and animals. The only threat was the occasional wolf or bear, but nothing more. All that changed suddenly, and creatures born out of nightmares started knocking on our doors. First, they took our animals, then our elderly and children and now no one is safe, when darkness comes, we fear who will be missing once the sun comes up again. Lida, had it the worst. Her daughter was the first to go missing, then her mother, then her son and tonight her husband was taken by the monsters. The poor thing can’t take it anymore!” The woman hugged her friend while another spoke.

“We're leaving at dawn! If we stay, we'll all die!” There was a murmur of unsettled agreement, and everyone rushed to pack their meager belongings.

Qalo frowned at the listless woman. “Maybe we can help,” he suggested, drawing the villagers' attention. “What?” Both Talax and Gormak exclaimed.

“We could track down and kill those beasts. If we're lucky, we might find this woman's husband.” At his words everyone stilled, everyone but one, that seemed to come out of a long sleep. The woman, who hadn’t shown emotion before, suddenly came to life, hope shining in her eyes.

She grabbed Qalo's vest, pleading in a hoarse voice, “Save my husband! He's all I have left!” Qalo gave her a soft smile and patted her hand, the woman didn’t seem put out by his tusks or large frame, she just clung to him in desperation.

“We'll do our best. If he's alive, we'll bring him back.” The woman broke into uncontrollable sobs, her frail psyche unable to contain her emotions. Her friend comforted her, and pried the crying woman’s hands from Qalo as she enveloped her in a comforting hug.

This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

“Did he say ‘we’?” Talax whispered to Gormak. “I hope ‘we’ means you, because I'm not risking my life for strangers,” declared the dwarf, arms folded.

“Damn it,” muttered Talax. “We don't have much, but if you slay those beasts and bring proof, we can scrape together a few silvers.” One of the men addressed Qalo, who nodded in agreement. Turning to Gormak, he called, “Give the woman a health potion, she's injured.”

The merchant sprang into action, diving into the back of the wagon, his little feet wiggling as he rummaged through a crate. He retrieved a bottle with red liquid, extending an open palm. “That’ll be five silvers,” he told Talax in a businesslike tone.

“What? Why am I paying for the potion?” Talax demanded, aghast. Gormak shrugged and replied, “Someone has to; besides, I already gave you the discount we agreed upon.” Talax gritted his teeth and handed over the coins. Upon inspecting the health potion, he discovered it had minor potency, healing 50 health points over a minute.

He leaped down from the wagon and approached the woman. Giving the potion to her friend, who administered it to the crying woman, Talax then grabbed Qalo’s arm, leading him to a secluded part of the hamlet to speak privately.

“Did you hit your head while playing with the war hog? Haven't you had enough fights in the dungeon to seek more?” Qalo stared at the woman.

“Look at her! She’s broken, without hope. We can help her, at least we can try.” Qalo sighed, while Talax stared at him with wide eyes.

“Are you kidding me? I’m supposed to be the reckless one getting us into trouble! If I think this is a bad idea, it must really be!” Qalo turned to Talax. “I'm always by your side, I don’t often ask questions. Please, I need you; I can’t do it alone. I need your tracking skill.”

Talax sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. He felt like he was being manipulated and yet, he couldn’t deny Qalo, because just as he said, he always supported and defended him.

“Fine!” he declared through gritted teeth, prompting a smile of relief from the half-orc. “I'll inform Gormak the exciting news...” Talax left Qalo, while the half-orc returned to the grieving woman, and announced to Gormak, “We're going to hunt those beasts, because it’s such a fantastic idea to search the dark forest filled with monsters...” The dwarf glanced at him.

“I hope you don’t expect me to wait!” Talax rolled his eyes. “Nah, who knows how long it'll take. You better go before the villagers ask you for a ride.” Gormak’s eyes widened in horror, and he nodded.

He heard Patch muttering, “patch, patch, patch…” and waved goodbye. Qalo awaited him at the edge of the settlement, just shy of the forest's boundaries. “Ready?” he inquired, and Talax sighed dejectedly.

“Yes,” he muttered, activating his tracking skill. His vision filled with lights and for a moment he felt disoriented and overwhelmed. He saw hundreds of human tracks, signs of the everyday activities of the villagers, some new while others were old and faded. Curiously, he spotted a lot of different tracks, meaning that not long ago there were many more people in the small hamlet than the few they had met that night.

Thankfully, finding the monster's tracks was easy. He saw big, clawed feet all over the hamlet that shone with varying intensity, indicating that the creature had come more than once. However, he couldn’t spot another pair of feet.

He frowned in confusion, the villagers had said there were many beasts, but all he could see was a single pair of tracks. Besides, how did no one see that huge thing? When he put his foot on top of the track, it was at least twice his size. A monster of this size should be easily spotted.

“Well? Did you find it?” Qalo asked. Talax nodded. “Then why are you frowning?” Qalo questioned, confused. “There’s only one?” Talax tried to find the freshest set of tracks.

“One what?” Qalo asked. “Monster, Qalo! This way. I think these are from tonight.” Among the clawed marks, drops of blood and signs of something being dragged were visible.

Almost hypnotized, Talax followed the trail, the world around him fading while the tracks shone like guiding stars.

Congratulations! Your tracking skill has reached level 5!

Aria's voice momentarily pierced his concentration, but he didn’t let it distract him. He followed the path until Qalo whispered, “The forest, it’s quiet, too quiet.” Talax strained his ears and realized that he couldn’t hear any of the usual nighttime sounds of the forest, no hoots from birds, no buzz from insects or any calls from other animals.

That reminded him the Corrupted Forest Gurdian’s lair, where no signs of life were left after he had desecrated the forest. “Yeah, that’s no good,” Talax agreed, unsheathing his sword. The tracks led deeper into dense undergrowth, but thanks to his helmet’s enchantment he could see that the trail would end sometime soon, because not far from them, the forest gave way to a high rock formation.

“Be ready, I think we're about to step into its lair.” He took a step, a branch cracking under his boot. A low growl was all the warning he got before something crashed into him with such force that he felt his bones break and was shot into the air, hurling him backward.

You have suffered 96 points of blunt damage!

You have 194/290 health points left!

Crashing to the ground, pain spread through his side as he struggled for breath. Qalo called his name, but all he could manage was to breathe through the agony. Rushed steps approached, and he blindly raised his arms in defense.

“It’s me. Are you okay?” Talax struggled through shallow breaths, the pain slowly ebbing to a more manageable level as he attempted to stand. “Where is it?” he asked, looking around wildly.

“It left. As soon as it attacked you, it fled. It moved so fast that I couldn't get a good look,” Qalo explained, hammer tightly gripped. Talax blinked, grimacing and holding his pained side.

“Where did it go?” he inquired. Qalo shrugged in response. His question was quickly answered by his tracking skill, he saw new clawed marks, leading back towards the rock formation. “Let’s go.” He murmured. He considered taking a health potion, but he didn’t want to exhaust his limited supply.

Before too long, they were facing a cave entrance. He could see a myriad of marks going back and forth through the dark hole, meaning they had finally found the monster’s lair. “It’s here,” he murmured softly. Even his hushed words stirred the beast, a low growl emanating from the cave's depths.

“It knows, we are here.” Qalo murmured slightly panicked. Talax nodded, feeling adrenaline course through his body, and the pain of his wounded side no longer bothering him.

With a bracing step he entered the cave. He expected an expansive cave system, but all he got was a shallow hollow, which made the sight before him even more gruesome. The cave floor was littered with bodies, slashed and shredded to pieces by massive claws.

Talax had to breathe through his mouth to stave off the overwhelming stench and he heard Qalo's shocked gasp by his side. Among the bodies he spotted small children and he had to avert his eyes, not being able to stomach the sight.

A faint whimper made Talax look up and his breath caught in his throat. At the back of the cave there was a mountain of fur, and two blood red eyes stared at them with menace. At first, he thought it was a giant wolf but when he analyzed the beast, things became clearer.

Race: DeathMarked Werewolf

Health points: 177/180

Mana: 30/30

Level: 15

The DeathMarked, a subset within the werewolf lineage, have forsaken their human consciousness, forever trapped in their wolf forms. Driven purely by primal instincts, they are elusive and nearly impossible to reason with. Infected by death-magic-corrupted wolves, they have become undead creatures, highly contagious through a simple bite or scratch, spreading their curse swiftly.

The werewolf was staring at them with two blood red eyes, and its fangs bared. A low, menacing growl was coming from deep within it, making Talax shiver.

When he took a closer look, he realized that the creature was curled around two bodies. One was of a man in his late forties, full of bite marks and scratches while the other was a young boy whose decayed form hinted at a horrifying tale of days gone by.

The growling abruptly stopped, and the werewolf cocked its head as the man moved and whimpered, the scene was unsettling and reminded Talax of a mother nursing her pups. The man appeared to regain his conscience and after a few lethargic blinks he opened his eyes.

When he registered the werewolf’s presence his body froze, and with slow, deliberate movements he turned his head. When he caught sight of Talax and Qalo, a faint whimper escaped his lips and whispered, “please.”

Qalo took a step forward, his hammer grasped tightly in his hands. “Your wife sent us; we are here to kill the beast.” Qalo’s words had an unexpected reaction.

The man exclaimed, “no!” and the werewolf grew agitated and started growling in earnest. The man petted the large werewolf, trying to appease the creature and with pleading eyes turned to them.

“Please leave. She is my daughter; you can’t hurt her!”

Talax froze. He was ready to unleash a spell when the man’s words registered in his mind. He turned accusing eyes on Qalo and muttered through gritted teeth.

“Great, Qalo, that’s just great! Remind me to never do a good deed again!”