The morning fog clung heavily to the ground as Shin and Laverna made their way toward the Alden Woods, their new mission scroll tucked securely in Laverna's satchel. The city's noise faded behind them, replaced by the distant caws of crows and the occasional whisper of wind through skeletal branches, as if the very forest itself was alive and watching. Every step away from the city felt like slipping into another world, one shrouded in secrets and ancient whispers.
They traveled swiftly on foot, the landscape growing increasingly wild and untamed the farther they moved from the main road. Mist curled around their legs like living phantoms, making every cautious step feel uncertain, the damp earth softening their footfalls into silence. Even the trees seemed to close in around them, their gnarled branches forming grotesque shapes in the half-light.
"You ready?" Shin asked, glancing sideways at Laverna, his tone casual but his crimson eyes sharp and watchful, scanning every shadow.
"Born ready," she replied, adjusting the bracers on her wrists, her violet eyes already scanning the dim woods ahead for the slightest hint of movement. There was a fire in her gaze, a quiet confidence that had been developed during her training.
The mission was simple on paper: investigate a string of missing caravans and eliminate any threats. But Shin knew better than to trust anything labeled "simple," especially when the Guild started whispering about "oddities" appearing on the job boards. Simple missions had a way of turning deadly in a heartbeat.
They reached the designated meeting point, a clearing cloaked in mist where three other Hunters waited, already looking restless and on edge. Two men and one woman—all roughly mid-twenties, dressed in standard leathers reinforced with bits of hardened metal, their eyes wary and alert.
One of them, a wiry archer with sandy hair and sharp eyes, gave a curt nod. "Name's Corrin. That's Misha," he said, pointing to the female mage adjusting her staff, "and that's Grant." He motioned toward a brooding swordsman leaning against a crooked tree with his arms folded.
"Shin," Shin said simply, giving a polite nod, and gestured toward Laverna. "And this is Laverna."
Corrin looked them over with a hint of skepticism clear in his narrowed gaze. "Heard you two are… special."
"Depends who you ask," Laverna said with a shrug, flashing a sly, confident grin that made Misha chuckle and Grant grunt noncommittally. There was a charged energy in the air, as if everyone was sizing each other up, judging who would be the first to falter.
Without wasting more time, they set off into the mist-drenched woods, weapons at the ready and senses sharpened. The deeper they ventured, the more the oppressive mist seemed to swallow them whole, muffling every sound and distorting every shadow.
As they trekked deeper, Shin intentionally slowed his pace, subtly motioning for Laverna to take point. He wanted to see her instincts in action.
"You lead," he said casually, a glint of challenge dancing in his crimson eyes. "Consider it a little test."
Laverna blinked at him in brief surprise, then straightened her posture and nodded firmly, understanding what he intended. He was testing her instincts, her ability to lead, and her readiness to think on her feet. She felt the weight of his expectations, but also the thrill of rising to meet them.
The air grew thicker, heavier, every sound muffled and distorted as if they walked through a dream. Shadows stretched longer, and shapes twisted at the edges of vision, giving the forest an otherworldly, menacing quality.
Suddenly, Laverna raised a fist, signaling them to halt. Everyone froze, the tension snapping taut in an instant.
Ahead of them, broken pieces of a cart lay strewn across the narrow path, blood staining the shattered wood. There were no bodies, only the eerie silence of something unfinished and abandoned, as if the forest itself had swallowed the victims whole.
"Stay sharp," Laverna whispered, crouching low to inspect the wreckage. Her movements were careful, deliberate.
Shin observed her carefully, noting how she checked for traps first before moving closer to the site. Smart. She was adapting fast, and he couldn't help but feel a flicker of pride.
Corrin nocked an arrow, eyes darting nervously across the thick mist. "Feels wrong," he muttered under his breath, his knuckles whitening around his bow.
It was more than wrong. It was unnatural.
A guttural growl echoed faintly through the mist, vibrating in their bones. Pale shapes flickered at the edges of their vision—howlers, corrupted beasts of the woods, twisted by some malevolent force.
But Shin noticed something stranger still: glyphs, etched and burned into the trees, faintly glowing with a malevolent, sickly light like ghostly scars from some forgotten ritual. The runes pulsed faintly, as if alive.
"Magical traps," Shin muttered grimly, narrowing his eyes as he traced the runes with his gaze. The designs were foreign, unlike anything he had studied before.
Before he could warn the others, a nearby glyph pulsed—and a net of spectral energy shot outward like a striking serpent, seeking to ensnare them.
"MOVE!" Shin barked, his voice cutting through the mist like a blade.
They scattered just in time, the trap snapping shut in the space they'd occupied only seconds before. Corrin cursed under his breath, and Misha quickly erected a shimmering defensive ward that deflected lingering energy.
Heart pounding, Laverna spun toward Shin. "Those markings… They're not natural."
"No," Shin replied grimly, studying the sinister, intricate runes. "They're not. Someone made them. Someone skilled."
Corrin stared at him wide-eyed. "What the hell does that mean?! Are we dealing with a sorcerer?"
Before Shin could answer, something gleamed near the wreckage, catching his eye. He signaled to Laverna, and together they crept closer, stepping over splintered wood and half-buried crates.
There, half-buried under the debris, was an iron crest—an emblem caked with grime but unmistakable, even through the blood and dirt.
The Imperial Crown's sigil.
Shin's eyes darkened with realization. "This was no ordinary attack," he said quietly, his voice heavy with suspicion. "This carriage belonged to the Crown. This might be connected to the rot we've been sensing."
Grant scowled, his hand tightening on his sword. "You're telling me the Royal Family's mixed up in this mess?"
"I'm saying," Shin said coolly, "that there's a bigger game at play. And we need more proof before we accuse anyone. First, we survive this."
A howl—deeper, angrier, unnatural—shook the mist, rattling leaves and sending a shiver down every spine.
From the gloom, something massive and grotesque emerged, its body stitched with arcane sigils, its eyes burning with eerie, malevolent light that pierced the fog like a predator's gaze. It was a corrupted howler, but larger, more terrifying than any they had ever seen.
"Stay together!" Laverna commanded, her voice slicing through the fear, trying to root them in place. Her blade gleamed in the shifting mist, a beacon of defiance.
They readied their weapons, tightening their formation, the swirling mists closing in around them until the world became nothing more than shadows, bloodlust, and steel.
The hunt had only just begun—and this time, they were the prey.