My fatigue and hunger smother any chance of solving this riddle. With more information and a rested mind, I will decipher the mystery and make a decision later.

“They probably got spooked by the Guardians or our party. Try deeper in the bush.” I suggest. Hoping to get Piia away for a moment.

“I see a fallen tree close by, I am sure there will be a nest underneath.” Piia wades away through the ferns. I slowly unsheath my sword, keeping it low to the ground, so as not to alert our vigilante guard or my Satyr friend. Cane raises his head, guarding and searching for danger.

“Calm my friend, this will just take a second.” I reassure my hippo.

I quickly nick my left thumb with the edge of the blade. A welt of dark red streaks down. I smear the fluid along the top of the sword, leaving a thin trail of crimson blood that almost instantly glows hot with Chaotic Will. I poke the hot end into the kindling, smoke trails lift to the heavens and a small fire is born.

No rampaging noises emerge from the ferns, I release a sigh of relief.

By the time Piia returns, empty handed, the fire was hot and ready for the meat.

“How in Mother’s great gaze did you manage to start a fire.” She says with surprise.

“You should never underestimate a shepherd, young Satyr.” I wink while holding two worn sticks, my blade now cool and resting in its sheath.

“I have never seen elders start a flame with sticks so quickly. You have hidden talents smoothskin.” She joked, the fire lifting her mood.

Piia passes me a sharp stick to skewer the meat with.

“Should we be eating the meat, so close to one of them?” I indicate out into the shadows. Nighttime has encroached, leaving the twinkling lights of Mother all around us. The beast sits in the darkness out there, invisible, but not forgotten.

“This is a wilderness Seth, even Guardians struggle and will eat their kin if need be.”

I recall a nature documentary I watched a few years ago. Bears are omnivores and in the harsh winters they annually suffer, food can be scarce. They will eat almost anything they can in a desperate situation. The sleuth of Guardians looked plump and healthy, hopefully no midnight snacking tonight for our remaining bear.

I pull the slither of bear meat out, sniffing the chunk of red flesh, I can tell the storage space has kept it fresh.

Unsheathing the extremely sharp imp knife, I slice the remaining slither of meat into bite size pieces and place them on skewers over the fire.

“That blade looks ominous, did you steal it from the camp?” Piia takes the offered dagger and inspects the bone structure.

“As I entered the camp, I looted an imp’s corpse. This was given to me, I actually wanted you to have it for protection.”

“I could not part you from such an impressive item.” Piia passes the blade back to me.

“No seriously, I can find another knife. You have no weapons or armour, and this world is getting more dangerous every day.” I return the imp dagger to my inventory space, simply to clean the bear meat juices off the sharp edges. I then offer the now clean blade to Piia. She thinks for a second before taking it.

“Thank you Seth, Satyrs fight with spears or bows mostly, a dagger can always be used when those fail.” She said with gratitude.

“You're telling me, that thing ended the Verox and saved my life.” Piia’s eyes lit up with intrigue.

“Enough teasing human, tell me the full tale of your battle with the beast, every detail this time.”

As the food cooked above the flames, I tell Piia the full version of my epic fight with the raptor. She listens with the silent composure of an attentive audience member. I see a glimpse of life in her tribe, telling stories around the campfire for evening entertainment.

By the end, we are eating our small feast and munching down water leaves for refreshment.

“Uku was on your side, you must retell my friends one night. Not many have defeated Mother’s hunters.”

“What is Uku?”

“A legendary warrior that shaped Silva, his chronicles are retold through generations of Satyrs. When all seems lost but you still come out victorious, we say you have Uku on your side.”

“Well, I had a lot of luck.”

“Exactly- she points at my wounds - Let us change the bark wrap for a real healing salve. Are you ready?” I look down at my tattered, grimy wooden scab, the flesh swollen and hot at the edges, I grimace in anticipation of the pain, and I nod.

Piia yanks off the old dressing in a quick motion, like pulling a plaster.

No adrenaline to dampen my senses, only tender flesh aggravated from the long crawl earlier today. The barks numbing qualities had all but run out at this stage. We both chewed healing salve throughout, keeping the material in a moist and practical form to use.

Ensuring all the old bark is removed first, we gently applied the salve, I continuously chewed more bark to mitigate further headaches.

“Sana is a powerful flower and your arm will be at full strength in less sun cycles than you think. But we are late in healing this injury, the scars that remain will be with you until your final rest.”

“Having the arm is plenty.” I smile with tears of pain.

“The burn on your hand will be the same.” I nod in understanding.

Removing the thick wrap on my right palm, unveiled a grotesque image of chaotic hieroglyphics. The Daemon symbol on my Xiphos pommel had been branded deep into the skin. Once fully healed, the scar tissue will need to be worked and massaged daily to allow my hand to flex properly.

Night had truly set in, the nocturnal forest orchestra had assembled and collaborated on a wondrous exotic background number.

My right arm was stiff from the hardening salve, with the help of Piia, I crawled into our small sheltered cave for the evening. Cane, too bulky in girth, slumbered outside the entrance.

Laying side by side with Piia, fatigue and the sandman strangled my consciousness into a dreamless sleep.