Chapter Three

Seath walked past the White Stone, into the forest led by Sarteaus. A few teams entered at the same time as Seath. They distanced themselves just at the edge of Seath's eyesight. They all wore cloaks, the same one as Seath's team were given, apart from a few. The few they didn't wore light leather armour with a few pieces metal gear, or they wore there own cloak like Kaerth. Sarteaus led a slow pace, he often checked behind him to see if everyone still followed him. Including his surrounding, which the whole team also did to spot any danger. As they ventured forth, the other teams faded out of eyesight. Consequently, the frequency of checks decreased; less movement from the corner of Seath's eyes. "How's your blister?" Kaerth asked. Seath itched the skin around his finger when she mentioned it. Seath forgot about the small burn that emerged at the edge of Seath's finger.

"A bit itchy. Nothing but annoying." Seath resisted the urge to relieve his itch. Sarteaus checks became less frequent in addition to only lasting, at most, a few moments. Only Hemlir kept his caution throughout.

The team continued to travel through the forest. The other teams spread out far enough that Seath couldn't spot nor hear any of them. The only noises heard and sights seen would be from natural wildlife or the wind. Hemlir, and to some degree Sarteaus, were cautious of almost every noise. The two reacted subtly or loudly, depending on the disturbance. Norbil didn't really care much unless the disturbance was to noisy to ignore. He was the most careless out of the five, a direct opposite to Hemlir. Despite his lax, he supplied himself well. Rarely drinking any water and mostly fed on natural foods rather than his provisions. Whenever Sarteaus took a break, Norbil scouted a short distance ahead to look for any danger. Neither ground or arboreal threat ever presented itself. Surprisingly, the greatest challenge consisted navigation through the forest. The tall trees blocked most of the sunlight and vision in any direction. The branches grew from bottom to top. Seath could reach the lowest branches of most trees, while the highest rarely could be seen. Occasionally Sarteaus used his knife to cut a path for himself and everyone else to walk through. Fortunately, Atlas's Foot was mostly visible. Eventually after an uneventful day filled with walking, night started to fall. The team rushed to set a camp before all the light disappeared from the sky. Kaerth along with Norbil ignited a fire. Hemlir and Seath gathered berries. "Don't pick those." Hemlir warned. Seath held a black berry, or he assumed so. The absence of light made it harder to distinct colours. The skin wrapped tightly around the berry, hiding the skin bursting juices held inside. The pressure from a pinch could cause the berry to explode splattering it juices all over.

"Whats wrong with those?"

"They're poisonous." Hemlir said. Seath slightly squeezed the fruit. Any harder, the fruit would burst.

"How bad are they?" Hemlir nervously watched as Seath toyed with the fruit in his hand.

"Three would cause fever and a light headedness. About five, or maybe four if all the juices are sucked would cause death. And not a pleasant one at that." Hemlir estimated.

"Is there any way to use this?" Seath rolled the berry in his palm.

"Sometimes we use it as a painkiller when mixed with other herbs. As a poison, well you'd have to use it on the spot. The berry spoils after a day and the smell would deter animals. Which would be ideal for travelling but considering our situation..."

"We want to hunt something rather than avoid encounters." Seath completed. He dropped the berry on the floor. Hemlir continued picking berries. "Well thats a shame. I hoped I'd use it at some point." Seath sighed. He stepped on the fruit, mentally noting the strength required to squash it.

"If I'd known that the Selection was earlier, then I would've prepared earlier."

"It's the first time the Knight's Selection has been held this early. No one would be able to expect a last minute change." Seath reasoned. He collected and stored berries in the pouch Hemlir gave him. "Will this be enough?" Seath asked. His fingers were stained with multiple colours. The berries filled the pouch beyond half-way but not till its full. Hemlir approached Seath. He took the pouch into his hand.

"That should be enough." Hemlir hesitantly said. Hemlir combined the berries he gathered in the pouch he held. He tied both pouched to his belt, the one with berries hung on his right hip. By the time they returned, night had completely fallen. Wildlife became hard to spot. Navigating through the forest was impossible. Even the mountain mountain hid from sight. Sarteaus and Norbil begun eating their provisions which the Selection host provided for every team. Some bread and jerky. The fire exaggerated Norbil's long red hair. Hemlir poured some berries out for himself on his hand before he passed the pouch to Kaerth. She sat against a tree, the light from the fire almost missed her. She did the same, except that she controlled which berries came out. She passed on the pouch once she had a handful of berries, mostly cherries. Norbil, Sarteaus and ending with Seath, each took some berries from the pouch until there were only a few left.

"We have to start hunting from tomorrow." Norbil said.

"And we have to start hunting our trophy from tomorrow as well." Kaerth mentioned.

"How far are we from Atlas's Foot." Hemir asked.

"Hmm, about two days I think. If we travel through the night then we'll get there by one day and night sunset. Its faster to travel at night." Norbil answered.

"I'm not looking to get lost or run into something wild." Kaerth complained

"We could try get a trophy of an nocturnal animals. That would be more valuable." Norbil suggested.

"Travelling at night might be better, but hunting. There are to many things that could go wrong. Let alone the lack of light." Hemlir pointed out. The leaves blocked the little moonlight that shedded through. Even the stars were difficult to see.

"Nor do we have the time and resources to do so." Sarteaus said. "Hemlir, were you reading a beastiary this morning?"

"Yes, why do you ask?"

"Then Seath, Hemlir and I will scout for a trophy while Norbil and Kaerth will hunt for food. We should set out by tomorrow sunrise. You two should return at least before sunset. Use your compass to find us." Seath and Hemlir checked their compass. The arrow pointed to Sarteaus, more accurately the Focus on his belt.

"It would be better if I went with you and Seath went with Norbil." Kaerth suggested to Sarteaus. She took out a copper rod that was attached to her belt. The fire reflected against the other rods on attached to her belt. "I can track any anything if I combine this with my bow. If we do find something I can fire an arrow at it so we can track it for later." She also had a hilt but with no blade on her belt. The gemstone on its cross guard shined brighter than the rods.

"How many creatures can you track?" Sarteaus asked.

"I've only brought five. But it'll be hard to distinguish between the targets especially their constantly moving about."

"How long do they last for?" Sarteaus continued to ask.

"Three days."

"Good amount of time." Sarteaus noted. Sarteaus lost himself in thought for a moment. "Seath will go with Norbil and Kaerth will go with us."

"Are you fine with that?" Norbil asked Seath.

"Whatever works out for the better." Seath answered.

"We should get some rest." Sarteaus said. He stood up and gathered some branches and twigs.

"I'll go night guard first." Norbil announced. Seath copied Sarteaus. After Seath gathered enough, he piled them up then wrapped in a cloth attached to his belt. Using the branches and twigs wrapped in cloth as pillow, he fell asleep. His cloak covered him as a blanket. Except Norbil, everyone fell asleep.

Kaerth woke up Seath. A light shake was enough to wake up him, though he felt sluggish from head to toe. Seath rubbed his eyes, he felt salt shifting its way out. He felt somewhat more awake. Some water quenched his thirst, though he drank more than he needed should've. He wiped the water that dribbled over his mouth. Hemlir woke up Norbil. Similarly, a light shake woke him up. Norbil slowly sat up. His arms pushed him to sit up. He, too, seemed sluggish. A smile crept on his face which rejuvenated him. Norbil forced himself up. He sneaked towards Sarteaus. Hemlir stopped himself from interfering. Kaerth and Seath watched. Norbil stoof in front of Sarteaus for a few seconds. Then he kick Sarteaus. Only this time, Sarteaus clutched on to his foot. Sarteaus tugged on Norbil's foot. Naturally, Norbil tumbled to the floor. Norbil winced. "Not twice." Sarteaus firmly said. Sarteaus stood up with a smile. A smirk escaped from Kaerth. Sarteaus untied the cloth on his pillow and tied it to his belt. The cluster of branches and twigs dropped all over the floor. Norbil, still, laid on the ground. Sarteaus observed his peripherals. "We'll start heading out soon; the sun's coming up." Sarteaus sat against a tree. He moved his spear and shield with him. His spear sat to his right. His shield to his left. Seath untied the cloth holding twigs in the pillow. One of the branches poked a hole through his cloth. He tied the cloth to his belt then threw his cloak over his shoulder and a hood over his head. Like everyone else, Seath had breakfast. A bit of bread with some berries. With some help from Hemlir, Norbil stood up. Norbil picked up Seath's bow.

"Here." Norbil handed back Seath's bow. "We'll head out now, is that fine with you?"

"I need a little walk to wake up anyways." Seath felt the small weights under his eyes. He rubbed his eyes again, ignoring the itch from his blister.

"Sarteaus, we're heading out." Norbil told Sarteaus. Sarteaus swallowed the bread.

"Find something good."

"Anything for you."

An hour of walking pulled Seath out of his sleep at the expense of some tiredness in his legs. The weight underneath his eyes had mostly gone as well as the salt build up. Norbil ate his breakfast during the venture. The more he eat, the more lively he became. Upping his pace after he completely finished. However, it all still turned out to be fruitless. Barring the critters such as any insects and squirrels, which they ignored. Nothing eye-catching had caught their sights despite the distance covered. The forest oddly vacated itself. "Do you always wake up Sarteaus like that?"

"Hmm, I try to mix it up. Drop a bucket of water, throw some berries or toss his little brother at him. Whatever I think will drop that serious face of his. It really does make me feel weird. Plus, it lets me get him back from the time he tossed me. I'm sure I told you about that."

"You also told me you've already got him back."

"Well, I'm in the process of doing so. I can't exactly pick him up myself; I'd probably break my back if I did try." Norbil quickly excused himself. "In any case, we've been here for a while and haven't seen anything worthwhile."

"I've seen a few squirrels and foxes." Seath gave a short pause before replying. He didn't pry about the sudden change of topic.

"Unless we come back with a ten of them, I'd rather not come back at all."

"It'd be that embarrassing?"

"That's needless to say. Come I want to find something before zenith." Norbil picked up his pace in their fruitless venture. Seath followed, slightly worried that they might get lost. Even though he knew the compass will lead back to Sarteaus. Norbil's calm impatience continued to rise in tandem with the sun. It never showed in face but in his actions. Seath had to keep up with Norbil's steadily increasing pace. Fortunately his desperation subsided in a short amount of time. He spotted some prey from afar. "Stay close to me." Norbil whispered. Norbil helped Seath stalk their prey. Avoiding any branches or twigs scattered about. The closer Seath got, the clearer their target became. A herd of rabbits, precisely four. They innocently wandered tightly packed to each other. "Can you shoot them?" Norbil asked.

"If they keep still like that." Seath answered.

"Try to aim for a second one." Norbil asked. Seath pulled an arrow, silently. The arrow stretched bowstring until the arrowhead just came just ahead of the riser. Seath took a deep breath, reducing the shaking in his hands. Despite his frequent practice with longer distances, he still felt a quite nervous. Norbil impatiently waited, repeatedly glancing at Seath. He aimed for the head of the rabbit that strayed the most. After a few silent moments, a few glances from Norbil, Seath fired the arrow. The arrow pierced the rabbit's neck. While the arrow was lodged inside the rabbit, it tried to escape. Its attempt ended with it collapsed on the ground. The other rabbits in the herd who took no less than a few moments to flee. Seath immediately drew and fired another arrow. The shot struck the foot of another rabbit causing a break in speed. However the rabbit didn't stop, it continued to flee. "We'll find that one later." Norbil said as he launched himself in the direction on the half dead rabbit. Seath followed, also trying to keep track of the rabbit he just shot through the number of obstructions. Norbil dropped himself to his knees next to the rabbits. He threw a cloth over the head of the rabbit. Using his knife, he made a fine cut at the creatures neck right above where Seath's arrow landed. "That should do it." The rabbit's blood flowed from the open neck. It's kicks rapidly slumped especially as the blood flowed out. "Did you keep track of the other one?"

"Sorta. By the time we got here, I lost it. But it went in that direction." Seath pointed to his right.

"Let's go before we lose it." Norbil picked up the rabbit. Its blood oozed out of it cut. Norbil rushed in the direction Seath pointed at. Seath followed. "But I do have to say that you got a good shot." Norbil tugged at the arrow lodged in the rabbit neck.

"All that practice didn't go to waste." Seath admired his shot and luck.

By the time they found the second rabbit, the sun had past its zenith. The rabbit had mostly bled out. The blood trail directly led Norbil to it. It was keeled over panting its last. Norbil covered its eyes, sliced its neck. Not as much of blood poured out of the neck. But this time, the spasms completely stopped. Norbil looked in the general direction of the sun. After some thought Norbil picked up the rabbit, one in each hand. "Let's head back." Norbil reluctantly said.

"We spent to long hunting." Norbil nodded. He wanted to hunt for bit longer. Instead they decided to return to Sarteaus; unsure of how long it will take to find a new target. Similar to his desperation, Norbil's dissatisfaction didn't emerge on face, rather it emerged demeanour. Seath frequently checked his compass, worried he would stray in a wrong direction. Seath periodically checked with Norbil's compass, to confirm neither are broken. Seath took Norbil's compass from him as both his hands held rabbits. Sometimes, a few drops of blood leaked from the cut. Though, nowhere near enough blood leaked to cause a mess except for a slightly stained hand. While Seath checked his compass, Norbil pulled Seath back. Norbil gripped Seath's cloak, dragging it Seath down with himself. Norbil dropped the rabbit on the ground. Seath's compass almost slipped off his hamd.

"What's wrong?" Seath whispered. He poked his head out to find find what worried Norbil. Norbil pointed his finger, Seath followed the direction. After a rapid search, Seath spotted a lone tebar. Long flat tail, tall ears, small curled horns, hooves, the size of foal, a mix of grey and brown fur. Norbil silently laid the other rabbit to the ground. He gently tapped Seath's bow a couple of times, his excitement showed in his face. Seath handed over his bow to Norbil. Norbil stole an arrow from Seath's quiver. He drew an arrow. Took a deep breath. Aimed his shot. A few focussed moments passed. Seath stayed mute, slightly anxious of Norbil missing his target. Norbil fire his shot. Norbil released the arrow. It streaked through the air. The arrow struck the tebar's chest. It instantly dropped onto the floor. Norbil rushed over to the over. Seath picked up the rabbits before chasing after Norbil.

"Thanks for the bow." Norbil thanked. He returned the bow.

"Cleaner hands would be preferable." Seath dropped rabbits on the ground. He rubbed the flakes of blood on the bow.

"Sorry. Kind of forgot in the spur of the moment." Norbil kneeled over the tebar, he took care of avoiding the flailing tail. He covered the tebar's eyes with a cloth. "Right here." He pressed his finger on the neck of the tebar. A faint vein popped of the skin. "Make a cut here." Seath hesitantly stood on his knees. His curiosity overtook his guilt. He took his knife and gently laid right below Norbil's nail. "Preferably, the blade shouldn't the animal until the actual cut." Norbil advised. Seath lifted the knife. Seath pressed his knife. It easily cut through the vein. Blood gushed out through the cut. Norbil let go off the tebar. "Since I stole your shot, you should at least have the honour killing it."

"Do you hunt often?"

"My family often go hunting competitions, both in the public annual competition and private ones with other families."

"So you have a lot of experience in this."

"Not really. Normally its my brothers and my father who hunt and kill prey. They just show me where to cut and how to hunt. It wasn't until a few years ago since they allowed me to hunt and kill smaller prey." The tebar tail tired itself out. Norbil cupped his hand around the arrow. "But still, I really do hope this arrow didn't breaks its stomach or a bile sac."

"It looks like it hit the lung. We'll find out when we cut it up." Seath lightly flicked the tail of the arrow.

"It's what I get for not practicing the bow."

"Do you not like it?"

"I don't like sitting at the backline. I'd rather go face to face." Norbil huffed as he picked the tebar by its legs. Blood drooled from the neck as it stood upside down. Norbil shifted is his foot to avoid the blood. "Can you take the rabbits?" Most of the blood had drained from the rabbit. Most of the drained blood dyed its white fur red. Seath picked up the rabbits. Some of the blood squeezed out of the fur when Seath grabbed it. The two waited for the tebar to lose some more blood before moving again.

The pair blindly followed the compass. During the the return, Norbil juggled the tebar between his hands. Taking a few short breaks in between to stretch his red hands. Shortly picking the teabr, to resume walking. Unlike Seath who hardly the noticed the rabbits in his hand, except for when it would slip from his fingers. Otherwise Seath was more occupied with his compass, double checking with Norbil's compass from time to time for reassurance. Until the pointer rotated to face him. Seath stopped in his tracks. Norbil did the same. The tebar swung in his hand. Seath swapped his compass with Norbil's compass on Seath's belt. It pointed in the same direction. "Whats wrong?" Norbil asked. Seath didn't respond. Seath walked backwards. He kept his eyes glued to the compass. The compass quickly unwinded to point in the opposite direction. Seath took small steps forward. He stopped moving when the compass begun to move. Seath looked up to see nothing but leaves and trees. "Did it break?"

"Apparently he's supposed to be right here."

"Did he drop his Focus?"

"I would be standing on it." Seath lightly swept his foot above the grass.

"Maybe he's six feet under?" Norbil jested. Seath pondered on that jest.

"Maybe he's in a underground inside a cave or something. You said it yourself six-feet under." Seath suggested.

"Not what I meant but close enough." Norbil muttered. He begun to aimlessly walk onwards.

"Where are you going?" Seath asked. Seath stayed in place.

"No point standing around waiting for nothing. Might as well try to find an entrance or hole to the cave." After a little hesitation, Seath followed Norbil. Seath repeatedly check his compass, hoping for a sudden change. Fortunately for both of them, they didn't have travel far before they spotted Hemlir.

"You're back. That's quite a catch." Hemlir noticeably impressed. The tebar swayed in Norbil's hand.

"Sarteaus did say to bring something good." Norbil pride exuded off of him.

"Where did you go?" Seath asked.

"While we were hunting, we found a cave. We explored it and found some camp equipment and a freshwater supply. So we decided to sleep rest there for tonight. I'll show you it." Hemlir headed in a slightly different direction then Norbil. Seath and Norbil followed.

"That's a nice find."

"Well there are multiple caves like this in this forest, so we were bound to run into one at some point. Kaerth left one of her tracking arrows here so we can return it during our hunt." Hemlir looked at the tebars. Norbil's hands were red from the strain. "Do you want me to carry that?"

"It's fine. I've carried it all the way here, I might as well carry it to the end. More importantly, did you find anything?" Norbil asked.

"Kaerth and Sarteaus wanted to find something more valuable."

"So you didn't found find anything of worth." Seath said.

"Unfortunately, yes." Norbil smirked. "Which is odd, this forest is normally brimming with life."

"Here I thought we were just unlucky. For the most part we've only seen rabbits, foxes and squirrels. We found the tebar by chance."

"You've had more luck than us. Even when we went into different predator territories and we've only found a pack of twin-tailed wolves and cebore. Eventually, we returned to the cave. When we got there we thought you were returning, so I came out to guide you to the entrance. I assumed you would follow your compass, so I followed mine above ground." The cave entrance stood partially hidden amongst the side of the hill.

"That was smart of you." Norbil praised.

"Thank you." Hemlir thanked. The entrance became clearer became once they stood in-front of it. The entrance held one lit torch. "It's still alight." Hemlir relievedly said. He took the torch in his hand. They cave grew dark as they travelled deeper into it. "I should mention that another team had joined us."

"Who's in there?" Seath asked.

"Hemlain, Kran, Luth, Bayhon and Krelon." As soon as the sunlight no longer illuminated the cave, another fire blazed in an opening. "Only Bayhon and Hemlain are here now." Five people sat at the end of the small opening. All gathered around the campfire. They all turned their heads to face Seath, Norbil and Hemlir. Bayhon whistled. His spiky orange hair matched with the fire.

"That's a catch, Norbil. Did your partner shoot it?" His eyes immediately caught Seath's bow.

"Seath graciously gave me his bow so I can take the honour to shoot it. And he had the honour of killing." Norbil had a wide smile.

"At least you didn't hog all the glory. But looks like you shot its stomach. Your archery has gotten worse since last we went hunting." Norbil tossed him the tebar. He flailed his arms to catch it. The force almost sent caused him to sit on his back.

"You can take a look yourself where the arrow landed yourself." Bayhon straightened up with the tebar on his lap. "Also, you can have the leather. Just make sure you don't cut the bile sac like last time."

"This is to savoury to mess up on." Norbil lightly nodded his head. He threw the tebar on an old table on the edge of the fire light. "Hemlir can you light this candle." Hemlir lit the candle he stuck out. After he set candle on the table, he carefully extracted the arrow. "Do you want the arrow back?"

"If it's still intact." Seath took the arrow. He tested the sharpness and the strength of the shaft. Seath returned the arrow in his quiver after the wiping the blood off it.

"Is he one of the families that go hunts with yours?" Seath asked.

"Yeah. Our families are close with each other. We worked on annual hunting expeditions together. I know he'll be able to curve that tebar better than any of us." He used a different knife than what was given. It was darker and had a curve to it. It easily cut through the the tebars skin. Norbil reached out his hand. "He might as well carve up those rabbits as well." Seath gave Norbil the rabbit. Norbil tossed the rabbit on the floor next to Bayhon. "Do those as well." Bayhon stopped his skinning.

"At least throw it on the table."

"Its close enough." Bayhon sighed. He carried on skinning. Seath sat by fire next Sarteaus. He was talking with Hemlain. Kaerth sat inside a tent, Hemlir joined her. "What happened to your arm Hemlain?"

"Scarlet wolf." His tunic had a tear. A number of turquoise leaves covered his arm underneath the tear. "Your mage stuck some leaves on to the wound." The fire just about shed some light on his green eyes.

"Kaerth." Norbil corrected.

"She said it'll recover faster." Hemlain continued. "Did you find anything useful?" Hemlain asked Sarteaus. He ignored Norbil's noticeable smirk.

"A cebore and a twin tailed wolves." Sarteaus depressingly said.

"Here I thought you'd try to get something better." Hemlain commented.

"He probably couldn't." Bayhon joined in while curving the tebar. "Hemlain pass me your whet." Hemlain tossed the whet at Bayhon. He failed to catch it. "When the teachers and knights tested the forest grounds, they hunted many of the stronger beasts." Bayhon picked up the whet. "Apparently there's a giant here, so they either tried to bait it out or let it starve." Bayhon run his knife along the whet.

"If there was a giant here we would've seen it." Hemlain mockingly mentioned. Bayhon continued to sharpen his knife.

"Its only just a rumour. Personally I think the demonic beasts are the bigger cause than anything else. The same thing has happened to other territories when the demonic beasts invaded."

"The closest demonic beast territory is much further south." Seath retorted.

"No one expected an outbreak in Ruthald's territory to the east. Something similar could be happening. In any case, I'd suggest you take multiple trophies to compensate. Well as long your able to find something within the next two days you should be fine. Though you may have to fight other teams for a trophy. There are probably so few targets."

"Sounds like a drag." Hemlain exhaled.

"It sure is." Bayhon agreed.

"If we don't find anything significant by tomorrow, then we'll go with your suggestion." Sarteaus said.

"Here's your whetstone." Hemlain caught his whetstone. Bayhon picked the knife and the rabbits, dumping them on the table.

"I'm keeping this fur as well." Bayhon said. He picked the rabbits from the floor.

"Why do you have so many people from the Haeen family." Hemlain mentioned.

"Who do you mean?" Norbil asked.

"These two." Hemlain pointed at Seath and Hemlir. "Seath and Hemlir." Hemlain quickly corrected before Norbil could say anything. "He has greener eyes than my cousin."

"I'm surprised you know I come from the Haeen family." Hemlir responded.

"We have this big stupid tree that runs through our. After seeing it for so long, I feel like burning it down."

"You might as well as burn your house down at that point. But I'm surprised you've memorised all those names."

"I blame that tree for me not being able to remember any new names."

"I didn't even know Hemlir was related to me." Seath mentioned.

"At some point my grandfather annexed his great grandfather... or my great grandfather annexed his grandfather all the names are mixed in my head. So they then changed their name to Atseol. That's how the story goes, or something like that."

"More or less." Hemlir confirmed.

"Spare me the details." Hemlain flung his right arm. He winced.

"What about the rest of your team?" Norbil asked.

"I've only just met them two days ago but so far they've been reliable."

"Do you know who Krelon is?"

"Hell if I know, I can barely the names of my own family."

"Remember Duke Nyxol." Norbil nodded. "Krelon it is his nephew from his half-brother. Duke Nyxol's half-brother asked him to keep Krelon as his student." Sarteaus informed. Bayhon informed.

"Did he become one?" Bayhon asked. Half of tebar's skin had been skinned off.

"Through a lot reluctance. Nonetheless, your lucky that he's on your team."

"That'll make life easier." Hemlain relieved.

"Norbil you'd really want to practice your archery. You shot so closely to the tebar stomach."

"That's only a testament to my skill." Norbil proudly remarked. "Where's is your team?" Norbil asked Hemlain.

"There out gathering." Hemlain checked his compass. It didn't point at Bayhon. "They said they will be back before sunset." Hemlain didn't have a hint of worry about them.

Bayhon lit a fire using firewood gathered by Hemlir, Kaerth and the leftover firewood in the tents which was mostly rotten. Bayhon prepared a fire and the cooking utensils outside the cave. The fire had already heated the cave to a considerable degree. Bayhon seared the strips of meat he cut from the tebar and rabbits. The carcasses were thrown further into the forest despite having much meat still left on them. While Bayhon cooked the meat, the rest of the team returned. Tired and worn. Kran immediately fell asleep without a word to say. He held the Focus. Luth greeted Seath but soon fell asleep. Krelon sat around the dwindling fire. He shared the berries he had gathered. Once half of the meat was cooked, Bayhon entered the cave. He handed out a mixture of cooked, bloody and burnt meat in bowls. If not for there hunger, no one would willingly it. Despite the number of people, much of the meat was left untouched. As were the berries, though not as much the excess meat; the berries were much more flavoursome than the chewy meat. Not much occurred after everyone finished the meal. Both tried to plan for the next day, however sleep steadily consumed them. Norbil succumbed first. He started of other people to begin their sleep. Soon Sarteaus stamped out the fire, he too succumbed to sleep. "We'll tomorrow morning." He declared before falling asleep. Bayhon decided to be first on night-watch. He sat outside watching the fire smoke the remaining left uncooked. Whoever took night guard, also took in charge of watching the smoked meat. The night guard ended with Seath. By the time he guarded, the smoked meat just about finished. To help pass the boring night, he tested the different weapons laid around the cave. Quietly slashing with a sword or thrusting with a spear. He wanted to test with the Kaerth's constructs, but she'd definitely wake if Seath tried to steal it from belt. His testing, guarding and peckish eating didn't last long. Between the numerous number of people and the short nights, night guarding lasted for a short duration. Seath returned the weapons to where he remembered them to be. Though he knew some of them were not in the right places they originally occupied. Seath woke up Hemlir first. He woke easily, just a light shake pulled him out of his sleep. Despite being forcibly woken, he remained calm. Unlike Kaerth which Hemlir woke. She caused a small commotion when she awoke. Norbil woke peacefully, albeit not as peacefully as Hemlir. Nonetheless, he excitedly woke up. He tossed a wooden bowl at Sarteaus's head. Sarteaus, without any wait, sat up. His arm tensed, presumingly gripped around his dagger. "Is all the meat smoked?" Norbil asked, after smirking at Sarteaus's reaction. Sarteaus sighed.

"Most of it." Seath answered. Norbil drunk from his waterskin till only drops came out. He wiped his mouth from excess water.

"That's good." Seath waited for his team to prepare. Hemlir finished first, Sarteaus finished last. He occasionally massaged his head where Norbil's threw the bowl. Their team took half of the meat. Leaving the half to other team who had yet to wake. Sarteaus took the largest share while Kaerth took the lowest, though the difference was only few strips of meat. They refilled in the water in the cave. Once they ensured nothing was left behind in the cave they headed out to hunt a target. On the third day they found nothing. The day came and went by with nothing to show.