The morning finally came. As Misha opens his eyes, he finds a squirrel with a rolled piece of paper in its mouth, waiting patiently outside the barrier.

“Huh, a message…?”

He opens a small part of the barrier, allowing the squirrel to pass through. He takes the paper from its mouth. Reading it, his brow furrows.

***

As they leave the camp, Icar notices that Misha is more silent than usual.

“Anything the matter, captain?”

“We’ll be taking a detour before heading back to the main camp.” Misha responds. “Stal’s group was supposed to return to the base last night, but they haven’t made it there yet. We’ll go towards their last known location to see if anything happened to them, and report back to camp. However, we are only to gather intel and reconnaissance. We are not to engage in combat.”

“Could something bad have happened to them?”

“I really hope not…” Nina says, worried. “Stal was really nice to me when I was younger. He used to give me candy and tell me stories…”

“Now, it’s too early to jump to conclusions. We’ll go and find out what happened.” Misha says. After a bit, he turns to Ililith, thoughtfully. “You don’t need to do anything. Just follow us and don’t make too much noise. These matters do not concern you.”

Ili nods, not digging any deeper into the matter.

“Now that I think about it, Stal’s group should be towards the Northern Plateau, right? Why doesn’t Grundsom’s team go instead?” Pol asks. “They should be closer.”. 

“Grundsom’s team has already returned to the main camp, and they were sent further north already, toward—”

“Should we really discuss these things with her here?” Pol intervenes, signaling towards Ili.

“I think it’s quite alright. Even if she is a spy, we could simply feed her false information that would work to our advantage. But I guess you’re right about revealing too much about locations, fake or not.”

Entering a clearing, the group halts as a massive cliff comes into sight, spanning for hundreds of miles across the horizon. The imposing structure seems like an endless wall of stone, impossible in its height.

“The Northern Plateau…” Nina says, breathless.

“You say it as if it’s your first time seeing it, Nina.” Icar says.

“It is… I’ve never seen it before. I used to live in a small village in the eastern part of the kingdom, so it’s my first time here.”

“I-I see… stupid remark, sorry…”

“Sorry for what—”

“Anyway~, it’s still a long way until we reach the top! We better hurry!”

“It’s only morning, geez… What’s gotten you so riled up all of a sudden?” Castor yawns, rubbing his eyes half-asleep. He stretches his back, when suddenly, everyone goes tense.

The leaves nearby ruffle.

The wind blows through the forest.

Everyone reaches for their weapons, prepared for the incoming danger.

Castor approaches the dense forest, before suddenly springing off into the unknown.

“Castor!” Pol screams, ready to rush after him, but Misha stops him, grabbing his arm.

“Wait.”

Suddenly, the leaves nearby shake, stronger than before, approaching them.

“Icar…” Nina says frightened, taking a step back. Icar nocks an arrow, stepping in front of her, ready to shoot.

Suddenly…

“RAAAH!”

Nina screams audibly, as a monster… ahem, as Castor jumps out of the bushes, holding a large  hare by the ears. “Quite the demon, huh?”

“You jerk!” Nina says, throwing a rock after him.

Castor chuckles, blocking the rock with his sword. “Oh, come on! Everyone got so tense, I couldn’t resist!” With a satisfied sigh, he stops laughing, letting go of the hare’s ears, which springs back into the bushes. “Well, as Icar said, we should get go—”

It took but an instant. If Misha hadn’t launched himself in the way of the attack, Castor’s head would have fallen then and there. A large tree, sharpened in the shape of a spear, now lay on the ground, cut in two by Misha’s dagger.

“A demon…”

Castor is stunned for a moment, but then, his eyes narrow, fixing his grip on his sword. “Thanks, leader…”

In the forest, a massive creature stands on two legs, looking at the group. A loud growl echoes through the trees. The creature lets itself back down on all fours, the ground trembling as he lands. It has the malformed shape of a bear, but with black, rotted skin. Its growl was like that of a dying deer, echoing through the group’s bones.

Ili reaches for her sword, but Misha signals for her to stop.

“No need. We can handle this on our own.”