Raid (7)

Carefully stepping over the bundles of leaves and twigs that had been placed around the area, I frowned slightly as I continued to creep forwards, slinking through the undergrowth and continuing my search for the next Lair that we would need to raid, or looking for any signs of some large monster that has taken to the area.

Those of us with the skills and magics to be stealthy were told to scout further ahead whilst the others swept the areas behind us, double checking and trying to act as bait to lure in whatever it was that might be lingering inside the heart of Yngrave.

And clearly, whatever it was had a modicum of intelligence and at the very least, a cleverness that made it a scary opponent to face since there were those bundles of leaves and twigs lying around - things that would make really loud, noticeable noises inside of this serene and quiet forest.

Sure, there were still animals wandering around, but the amount was incredibly low, meaning whatever stepped on one of these bundles was likely going to be located quickly and hunted with prejudice, and the lack of monsters just wandering around was also rather telling.

That was why I was currently wearing a cloak of shadows as I drifted around the forest, my body shrouded in darkness that blended in with the dim undergrowth, the wonders of [Mirage] making itself known whilst the silence of my movements only made me fall further in love with [Illusion] as I quieted down my noise as much as I could.

I was practically a ghost at this point as I drifted through the forest, going from tree to tree with soft steps and wariness as I scanned the area around me, making sure I avoided any of the noise traps or any of the obvious holes and other traps that the monsters had put up, all while searching for the various signs of monster activity and checking the map that remained inside my system... even if it had a tiny search radius.

The red and purple leaves of the forest made it rather eery the deeper we went, the darkness of the sun gradually setting causing the shadows of the tall trees to twist and warp as they caused the already dark foliage to get even darker, with some of the reds turning into bloody reds that only made me do double takes as I looked around the area.

Keeping my senses as tuned as I could, I continued heading towards the center of the forest and combed over the ground, until the loud shout to my right caused my head to snap to the side, which was followed by cursing and a pained scream as whoever it was began to run back towards the main group, crashing through the forest without a care in the world.

I started to rush over to that side as well, remaining as hidden and quiet as I could whilst also picking up speed as I tried to locate the source of the screaming, wondering who it was on this side and what they had run into.

Following the screams, I wove through the trees and grit my teeth as the screams faded, before silence descended over the forest once more, the soft rustling of the wind against the foliage returning like nothing had happened, but...

As I took a sniff of the air, the metallic tang of blood and a sickly sweet scent wafted into my nose, and I felt my heart palpitate as I continued forwards, slightly afraid of what I would find... and to no ones surprise, I moved around a small copse of trees and shrubs to find the dead body of one of the Valrock soldiers, only in a state that wasn't... easy on the eyes.

Hanging from the trunk of a tree, the soldier was dangling from his arms - which were pulled back and above his head - and completely eviscerated from the sternum down to his loins, but that wasn't even the most disgusting part about this.

Roots and vines grasped at his body and held him in the air, whilst that large brutal cut down the center of his body was being slowly stitched together with smaller vines, some of which were budding and blossoming into beautiful pinkish red flowers that had wide petals and an external pistil, which was already dripping with nectar.

Instead of golden nectar though - or the slightly colorless nectar - it was instead a dark, cloudy red, and considering where it was growing from, well... it wasn't difficult to imagine what that nectar was made from; the flesh of the dead man dangling from the tree.

The stomping of boots stole my attention away from the man, and I shouted "Over here! He's... He's over here!"

Within moments, the raiding party emerged into the area around me, and the Young Master cast a glance at me before focusing on the man, his expression turning grim the moment he saw the soldier's corpse.

"I... heard the screams like the rest of you, and when I found him, he was like this... So whatever killed him wasn't-"

"Whatever killed him..? You mean 'who' killed him?"

Stepping forwards, one of the Valrock soldiers glared at me and hissed "Nature Magic is the cause of death; roots in particular. Who was here first, and who here has-!"

"Oh shut the fuck up. You think someone's dumb enough to murder a soldier and then stand next to the fucking corpse?!"

To my surprise, it was Hildrai who snapped at the soldier, making him flinch as she added "Yes, it's Nature Magic, but use your fucking brain Charlie! Let's not start pointing fingers at an innocent woman. Your brother is dead, I get it, but direct that anger at the thing responsible, got it?"

She sneered at the soldier, who flinched again before backing down, though he still glared at me as he did so, with a few of the other soldiers staring at me warily, only to ease up as one of the Animus Wardens stepped forwards and inspected the body, saying "It's not something she could do... besides, these are the tells it was a monster, and not a mortal. These are Caro Flowers; they sap mana and protein from the corpse they grow on and produce this nectar, which is like a drug to monsters... specifically, to those intimately attuned with Nature Magic. So unless she is a monster wearing a mortal's skin, this wasn't her..."

The raspy, flat voice of the Warden made the soldiers nod, and I blinked as the Warden turned to me and asked "Did you see it? The monster that did this."

"No, it was already gone when I got here."

Grunting, the Warden turned back to the corpse and continued inspecting it, while the Young Master gathered everyone around and had us keep an eye out for whatever it was that had struck first.

Something that lived within the woods, for the woods, was now hunting us... and we were now in the heart of its domain.