Chapter B2C33 – On the Trail
The wind cut cold across the foothills.
Laurel crouched low, her fingers brushing lightly over the earth. The soil was dry, but not undisturbed. There—just barely visible—an imprint.
Not animal.
Not kin.
Human.
And sothing else.
She narrowed her eyes.
“…He’s been here.”
Behind her, Rufus shifted impatiently, resting his sword against his shoulder.
“Well? Don’t keep guessing.”
Laurel didn’t answer imdiately. Instead, she inhaled deeply.
The scent lingered faintly in the air.
Death.
Rot.
And sothing unnatural.
“…Not long ago,” she finally said. “A few hours, maybe less.”
Craic, standing a few paces behind, let out a low whistle.
“Damn. He’s closer than I thought.”
The Hunt Begins
They weren’t alone.
Around them, small groups moved through the terrain:
Trainees
Junior Slayers
A few instructors
All drawn by the sa thing.
Two hundred sovereigns.
And the na:
Necromancer.
Brun’s voice echoed in Laurel’s mind:
“If you want the money, you earn it. No sharing.”
Rufus grinned.
“We’re close. I can feel it.”
Laurel shot him a look.
“You can’t feel shit. Stay quiet and let work.”
He chuckled, but said nothing more.
Signs of a Fight
They found it not long after.
The clearing.
Laurel froze the mont she saw it.
“…Stop.”
Rufus halted.
Craic moved to higher ground, scanning.
“What is it?”
Laurel stepped forward slowly.
Bodies.
Three of them.
Dead.
Clean kills.
No hesitation.
No rcy.
Rufus’s grin faded.
“…Shit.”
Craic crouched beside one of the corpses.
“No signs of struggle.”
Laurel shook her head.
“No. There was a fight.”
She pointed.
“Look at the ground. Movent patterns. Positioning.”
Her voice tightened.
“He controlled the battlefield.”
Reality Hits
Rufus clenched his jaw.
“That… doesn’t make sense.”
Laurel turned to him.
“It does now.”
She gestured at the corpses.
“He’s not the sa as before.”
Craic stood up slowly.
“And we’re not the only ones hunting him.”
He pointed to the edge of the clearing.
More tracks.
Different direction.
Different group.
“Others passed through. Not long after the fight.”
Laurel exhaled.
“Then we’re racing.”
Tension Builds
They moved faster now.
No more casual tracking.
No more conversation.
Only focus.
Laurel pushed herself harder than before.
Her senses sharpened.
The Unseen whispered.
Every detail beca clearer:
Broken twigs
Shifted stones
Residual scent
She was close.
Too close.
Uneasy Feeling
Sothing felt wrong.
Not fear.
Not quite.
But—
Pressure.
Like sothing ahead of them was watching.
Waiting.
Laurel slowed.
“…Stop.”
Rufus frowned.
“What now?”
She didn’t answer.
Her eyes scanned the area.
Too quiet.
No birds.
No wind.
Nothing.
Craic raised his bow slowly.
“I don’t like this.”
Ambush
It ca without warning.
The ground exploded.
Bones erupted upward.
Skeletons.
But not like any they had seen before.
They moved fast.
Too fast.
“Contact!” Craic shouted.
Rufus drew his blade instantly.
“Finally!”
Combat
Steel t bone.
But—
The skeletons didn’t just attack blindly.
They:
Flanked
Blocked
Retreated strategically
Rufus’s expression shifted mid-swing.
“…What the hell?!”
Laurel reacted instantly.
“Fall back! These aren’t normal!”
One skeleton ducked under Rufus’s strike.
Another moved to intercept Craic’s arrow.
Coordination.
Real coordination.
The Reveal
Then—
It stepped forward.
The revenant.
Flas burning faintly in its chest.
Laurel’s breath caught.
“…What is that?”
Craic didn’t answer.
He didn’t need to.
They both knew.
This wasn’t just undead.
This was sothing else.
He Appears
From the shadows—
Tyron stepped out.
Calm.
Quiet.
Watching them.
Rufus’s eyes widened.
“…You.”
Tyron tilted his head slightly.
“Rufus.”
Laurel’s grip tightened.
“You know him?”
Rufus didn’t take his eyes off Tyron.
“Yeah.”
His voice darkened.
“I do.”
Tension Between Them
For a mont—
Everything paused.
The skeletons stopped advancing.
The revenant stood still.
Only the wind moved.
Rufus stepped forward.
“You killed one of ours.”
Tyron didn’t deny it.
“Yes.”
No hesitation.
No guilt.
That answer alone changed everything.
Laurel Realizes
Laurel watched him carefully.
This wasn’t the boy Rufus described.
This wasn’t so weak, harmless nobody.
This was—
Controlled.
Focused.
Dangerous.
Cliff Before Clash
Rufus raised his sword.
“Good.”
A grin spread across his face.
“Because I’m going to kill you.”
Tyron’s expression didn’t change.
But the fire in the revenant’s chest flared brighter.
And around them—
More bones began to stir.
End of Chapter
Laurel took a slow step back.
Her instincts scread at her.
This wasn’t a hunt anymore.
This was a battlefield.
And they had just stepped into the center of it.
User Comments
0 comments from readers