Rough Start

During the night, the team took turns to keep the watch. Due to the new surroundings and people, Alex slept lightly.

So, he was wide awake when someone touched his bow beside him. Alex swiftly took out the Glock from under his pillow and pointed it at the person's head.

Simon, who touched the bow, was surprised at the sudden turn of events and was puzzled why a metal tube pointed at him.

"Alex, It's your turn to watch. After an hour, you..." talked Simon casually.

"Why are you touching my stuff?" asked Alex, cutting him off.

"No, I did not. You must be dreaming," said Simon.

Alex had a strong impulse to pull the trigger, but he controlled himself. For one, he signed a magic contract. Second, he would be kicked out of the team or worse.

He sat up, still pointing his gun at Simon, and looked at his watch. It was 5 o'clock in the morning. It was his turn to watch.

"Isn't Declan the one supposed to be waking me up?"

"I could not wake up for my shift. So we exchanged our shifts."

Alex saw the black hooded wizard sleeping in the corner.

"What is the thing you are pointing at me?" asked Simon.

"Nothing. Go back to sleep," said Alex as he put the gun in his jacket.

At 6.30 am, Alex began to wake everyone up. Miss Rose was the last to wake up, followed by Varis.

After eating breakfast, people got ready for the journey ahead. Varis flew off to scout ahead.

Outside the cave, Miss Rose discussed the upcoming journey details with others. These guys traveled the route once, so Alex did not meddle and quietly watched from the sidelines.

"We should avoid the former route. The fire jackals territory was a fiasco. That leaves us with the territory of Stone monkeys." said Miss Rose as she pointed the map.

Alex saw the map and his mind involuntarily thought of ways to get it. Soon the discussion was over. Alex saw Simon act as a scout and took the lead.

Alex became intrigued as Declan opened his grimoire. The grimoire glowed dark, and an eyeball the size of lemon floated above it. Soon the eyeball zoomed into the forest.

Alex looked at the eyeball, fascinated until it disappeared when he heard from Varis.

[The wolf guy is moving in the wrong direction.]

'What do you mean?'

[He is entering the territory of the Stone Monkey clan.] said Varis.

'Is he not sticking to the edge?' asked Alex confusedly.

[No. He entered the outer region.]

Alex kept silent as he watched Simon saunter into the Stone Monkey region on his wolf. The rest of them followed in. After ten minutes, Alex heard from Varis.

[There is movement. The monkeys found out.]

Alex also noticed the trees shaking in the distance and saw the Stone Monkeys swinging on the trees. The monkeys' skin was petrified as if made out of thick rock. Interestingly, they wore a belt made of vines, like batman's utility belt.

The great wolf in the front also stopped and sniffed the air. Simon became tense.

'This scout must be a quack,' thought Alex.

[Why?] asked Varis.

'First, the scout did not find the right path to lead. Second, he got caught within few minutes. Last and more importantly, he could not find the enemies until they are standing in front of him. He is a far cry from you. He is not even worthy to carry your shoes.'

[I don't wear shoes]

'It's a figure of speech. It means you are way better than him.'

[I am the best.] said Varis happily.

'Yes, you are!'

"There are enemies," yelled Simon from ahead, finally discovering the Stone monkeys. The rest of the group long entered a defensive formation. The Knights held their shields while Declan, Rose, and himself stood behind them.

The group cautiously moved forward. But soon saw the large group of monkeys on the trees. Without wasting any time, the monkeys took out a stone from their utility belts and threw it at the group.

At first, Alex was a little relaxed as he dodged the stones, but the stones landed near his feet with a bang, creating small pits. Alex was instantly attentive.

What an incredible ability! A single stone may not be much of a threat, but Alex saw the monkeys taking more stones out of their utility belts. There should be fifty monkeys throwing the stones. It's no exaggeration to say the stones were falling like rain.

Alex shivered slightly.

"Varis, what is the way out of their territory?" asked Alex as he saw the situation around.

Simon was the first to counter. He used his archery skill to kill a few stone monkeys. The wizard also launched few fireballs, ready to burn the forest.

The knights stood there like steel pillars raising the shields to protect themselves. Miss Rose dodged few stones, took a magic bow from her Space bag, ready to shoot.

[5 Km to the right,] said Varis.

"We need to leave right now!" yelled Alex while running to his right. Miss Rose and others were confused but promptly followed.

The stones kept falling, and Alex dodged them as if he got eyes on his back. His Master of speed ability could accurately guess the direction of the falling stones based on sound.

Fortunately, Simon attracted most of the firepower, as he killed a lot of Stone monkeys when he countered. After five minutes, the team was out of their territory, and the monkeys stopped following.

Alex gasped for breath lightly. Alex observed the team, and Miss Rose looked fine. The two knights got battered, but the shields kept them from harm. The wizard was fine except for slightly out of breath.

When Alex saw Simon, he smiled involuntarily. The guy was bloody. He also had few lumps on his head. Simon looked at the smiling Alex and was immediately furious.

"You... you..., it is your fault," said Simon gritting in pain.

"How is it my fault? Maybe you got your head bashed too hard," said Alex nonchalantly.

Simon took a pill from his bag and started chewing it.

"You knew something was wrong, and you did not warn us," said Simon, while wiping his forehead.

"I thought it's your job to warn others. After all, you are the scout."

"You..."

"And, why didn't you move at the edge of the territories."

"Do you think everyone is a Master Adventurer?"

However, Miss Rose cut him off.

"Alex, can you take us through the edge of the territory?" asked Miss Rose.

"I can try, but I need to take a look at the map first," said Alex, and Miss Rose immediately handed it over.

With the old map in his hand, Alex promptly implemented his plan. He raised the map, blocking others' sight, and opened his smartphone, and took few pictures of it.

Alex did not notice a dark eyeball the size of a lemon looking over his shoulder.

"Miss Rose, What is this place marked on the map?"

"It is our destination. Trident mountains. It is the territory of the Moon Fox tribe."

"Got it."

After discussing the general route, Alex took the lead, and Varis acted as a scout. The team moved at the edge of the territories. They met a few wandering beasts, which were not their match.

They took a brief lunch break and were once again on course. By 4 pm, the team reached the Trident mountains. Alex was shocked at the scene.