If Trees Had Ears...

Having left town the group were headed in the same general direction as Kace had been before he was distracted by the town. They stopped at the edge of the forest which was situated at the base of the mountain.

"I think we should talk about positions before we go any further," Jason said. "Hey, Kace, mind showing us your card so I can understand where to put you?"

It was a reasonable request, though Kace was reluctant. Since Jason was the leader of the party it made sense for him to know so that he could plan better. However, this would also reveal a couple of abilities. Allowing them to plan their ambush for later better. He was not too fussed about the other things on the card since they were all fake.

"No problem," Kace replied, handing over his card with a smile.

Jason took it gently and gave it a look over. Seemingly quite intrigued by what was on it. He rubbed the stubble on his chin as he thought things through. He handed the guild card back after he was done inspecting it.

"Well, it's mostly as expected since you're still new to this. Though it's pretty fortunate and lucky for you that you already have two skills. It's even better in some sense since they're passives." Jason sighed, showing his jealousy. "Only I and Yasmin have skills amongst our group so it's nice to have a new reliable comrade. "Connor doesn't worry about scouting anymore. This guy here is far better for it."

"Sounds good!" Connor replied, seemingly happy about the arrangement. Noticing that Kace had glanced at him he continued. "Now I don't need to worry so much. As the scout, you're responsible for spotting dangers before they reach the party. Not just that but the nerves get to you since you have to keep a distance otherwise there's no point."

Kace understood now. This guy did not have any abilities, so he had no way of making the role easier on himself.

"I have no problems with that," Kace said.

Jason pulled a map from his backpack. Unrolling it carefully, he laid it on the ground. The map showed the local area. They were in Halvars Province, the name of the local Lord was written on the corner. 'Territory of Viscount Halvars' it read.

'Oh, another interesting piece of information.' Kace thought as he studied the map. Jason pointed to one of the mountains in the territory.

"This is our current location. Mount Garden. This is where we need to get to and this will be our route." Jason said as he traced his finger across the parchment. "You'll stay ahead of us and alert us if you find anything unusual. If you don't then we'll meet back up here before we enter the Salamanders territory."

Kace calmly studied the proposed route. memorizing landmarks and noticeable terrain. It helped a lot since the goblins had just given him a direction.

"Ok, if it's just that distance we should make it before nightfall right?" Kace asked.

"Yeah, that's the idea anyway. You see Salamanders get weaker at night since they need the sun to keep them warm. They'll still use fire but it won't be near the level of during the day. So it makes night time the best choice to hunt these things." Paul replied. He was the one in their group with a vast array of knowledge on monsters.

Kace gave a simple nod in the understanding of these words.

"Well, I'll be setting off first then. Hopefully, I won't have to see you again until we get there eh?" Kace said in general. After all, if they had to see each other before then that meant something had gone wrong. Kace pulled his hood further down over his face before setting off into the woods.

He ran a good distance between the trees while doing his best to minimise the telltale signs of passing he was leaving behind. After a while, he looked up at a sturdy tree in front of himself. 'This'll do.' he thought as he quickly scaled its branches to a good height. Then he positioned himself in a blind spot to the direction he had just come from. 'This should be good enough to listen in.'

***

"You know Jason, I'm against doing this. This one could be useful for the long term." Yasmin threw out to the group.

Jason sighed. He had known Yasmin for seven years now. Although the rest did not know it they were a married couple. Yeah, a couple who were playing a long game scam on these suckers. They were planning on getting married and settling down soon to a good and easy life. With their joint income, they almost had enough to make their dream come true. Jason was sure that after this job and if they killed and looted the kid then all that would be left would be taking out the other party members. This would put them on a retired life starting from the very next day instead of waiting around for what could be months.

"Yeah he could be but this is a golden opportunity for us. I'm sure everyone could use the extra coin." He replied to which Paul and Conner keenly agreed.

"Tch, why can't you guys see the bigger picture? We could make far more by adding him to the team!" Yasmin yelled, almost screaming with the building anger over their block headedness.

"And why don't you understand! If we let Jim join then how long would it be 'till he becomes strong enough to possibly do the same thing to us? Those skills of his are tailored for assassinations!" Jason yelled back furiously. "Do you want to be sleeping with one eye open? 'Cause that's exactly what you'll be doing if you want to spare him."

Yasmin fell silent in contemplation over this. She sighed and leaned against a particularly thick tree.

"I need to rest a bit. Can we wait here for ten minutes or so? My feet are killing me."

"Huh, fine, fine," Jason replied, his face growing softer as he watched Yasmin. A sudden movement caught his eye causing him to look up. There was nothing to be seen though.

"What's the wrong boss?" Connor asked, a little worried.

"Nothing, just thought something moved in the trees. Probably just a bird." He said while scratching his head. "Let's not keep Kace waiting too long."

***

Kace had heard all he needed to as he dashed from his spot above the group. His suspicions had been confirmed which left him wondering if it was a good or bad thing. It was good because now he would not have a guilty conscience just acting on a hunch. Bad because this group could have been helpful to him for a while. He sighed to himself as he leapt from one branch to another. The problem he had now though was that he was outnumbered. How could he deal with all of them? Knife to the throat while they slept? No, they might act before he got a chance. Taking them head-on was not an option either. He had to be clever about this. The only other thing he could think of was to escape right after dealing with the Salamanders. Then again what if they acted during the fight to make it look like an unfortunate accident?

Kace pondered over the matter for a few hours as he danced amongst the trees. Before he even realised it he had come to where the Salamanders territory began. Bypassing the rendezvous point. He felt depressed. During the journey here he had still not come up with a viable solution.

A pained, animalistic cry rang out through the darkening sky. Kace tilted his head trying to pinpoint the origin of it. The sound came again and he was certain of its direction. Being the curious guy he was he nimbly set off across the barren rocky ground. A far cry from the lush forest it bordered. It only took a few minutes of following the cries that came in regular interval for him to come face to face with the culprit.

As he looked out from behind a big rock he could see a large, red-scaled lizard. By his estimate, it was about 4 metres in length. It had bright yellow eyes and ridges along its brow and chin. Its red scales seemed a bit duller than he had expected but there was no doubt. This was one of the Salamanders he had come to hunt.

As the cries continued he realised that no others were co.ing to investigate. 'Perhaps it's been abandoned? Old? Maybe sick?' this was his thought on the matter. 'Well, that just makes this easier.'

He crept towards but this was futile. It spotted him immediately. As Kace stared into its eyes he could not discern the slightest trace of fear! The big creature simply let out a clear tear and closed its eyes. Never to open them again.

Kace stared in disbelief at it. Unwilling to believe it had just up and died on him. It was a very sad moment at the end of life for another creature. All Kace could think was, 'FUCK! My exp!'