August and Lyka spent the next two days trying to figure out where Arthur really was.
"Okay," Lyka said, spreading both her map and August's across their campsite. "If we've been following fake trail markers, then we need to figure out what the real pattern should look like."
She started marking zones with different colored ink - red for zones with evidence of actual combat, blue for mysteriously empty zones, and green for zones they hadn't visited yet.
"Look at this," she said, connecting the marks with lines. "The fake trail has been leading us in a very specific direction."
August studied the pattern. "Southeast, toward the deep zones."
"Exactly. But here's the thing - if Arthur was really clearing zones systematically, he'd work in expanding circles or follow threat-priority protocols. This route skips high-priority zones and targets specific locations."
August pulled out his journal and reviewed their encounters.
"The human Forsaken said Arthur hasn't been in this region for quite some time," he said. "But these trail markers are recent. Some of them looked like they'd been carved within days of us finding them."
"Which means whoever's impersonating Arthur has been staying ahead of us," Lyka said. "Creating fresh markers to keep us following the trail."
"But why? What's the point of leading us deeper into the zones?"
Lyka traced the projected path on her map. "Maybe it's not about us specifically. Maybe it's about creating a false trail that leads to a specific destination."
She pointed to an area marked in black on both their maps - a cluster of deep zones that even the research facility had marked as "LOST - NO CONTACT."
"What if someone wants people to think Arthur is heading there?"
August felt a chill of understanding.
"You think Arthur is already there. And someone's trying to draw others to the same location."
"Or someone's trying to make sure that when Arthur finally does show up there, he'll be walking into exactly the situation they want."
Lyka rolled up her map with decisive motions.
"Either way, we've been played. The question is whether we keep following this fake trail knowing it's fake, or whether we try to find the real Arthur."
"How would we even find the real Arthur?"
"By thinking like Arthur instead of thinking like whoever's been impersonating him."
Lyka pulled out a different map - one that showed zone threat levels and population densities.
"Arthur's real job is containing zone threats, right? So where would he actually be working?"
She pointed to several areas marked in red. "High-threat zones with large Forsaken populations that pose immediate danger to human settlements."
August compared this to the route they'd been following. "We've been avoiding all of those."
"Exactly. Whoever's been leaving those trail markers doesn't want us anywhere near where Arthur would actually be."
The implications were sobering. While they'd been chasing shadows through empty zones and collection sites, Arthur had been somewhere else entirely, probably dealing with real threats.
"So we've wasted weeks following a lie," August said.
"Not wasted," Lyka corrected. "We've learned something important. Someone with detailed knowledge of Arthur's methods has been running a sophisticated deception operation."
They were packing up their camp when August's Foundation monitor started flickering green.
"Dimensional contamination," August said, checking the readout. "But we're not near any of the fracture zones."
Lyka drew her sonic daggers, testing their resonance. "Something's coming."
The contamination grew stronger, and August felt his immunity system adapting to threats that seemed familiar but subtly different. Like encountering a variation on something he'd experienced before.
"It's not the same signature as the dimensional fractures," August said. "This feels more… controlled."
That's when they heard the footsteps.
Multiple sets of footsteps, moving with coordination through the landscape around their campsite.
"Human Forsaken," Lyka whispered. "More than one."
August's Foundation monitor was now pulsing red. His immunity system was identifying multiple distinct threats, all variations on the human Forsaken template he'd encountered in Zone 41-C.
"How many?" August asked.
"At least five," Lyka said, listening to the footstep patterns. "Probably more. They're surrounding us."
The first one stepped into view - tall, composed, with the same reality-bending presence as the previous human Forsaken. But this one was different. Where the other had seemed nervous, this one projected confidence.
"Travelers," it said in a voice that harmonized with itself. "You have strayed from the intended path."
More human Forsaken emerged from concealment.
August counted seven of them, all with the same unnatural composure and reality-distorting presence. His Foundation was adapting frantically, building immunity to multiple types of existence manipulation simultaneously.
"Intended path?" Lyka asked, keeping her weapons ready.
"The trail you have been following leads to a specific destination," the lead Forsaken said. "Deviating from this path serves no constructive purpose."
"And if we don't want to go to your specific destination?"
The Forsaken tilted its head, considering the question.
"That would be… inadvisable. There are forces at work that require your presence at the designated location."
August's Foundation monitor was flashing critical warnings. Seven human Forsaken simultaneously was more than his immunity system could handle effectively.
"What forces?" August asked, trying to buy time for his Foundation to finish adapting.
"Forces that understand the true value of Arthur Solvain's gifts," the Forsaken replied. "Forces that recognize the waste inherent in his current… employment."
"You're working for whoever's been impersonating Arthur," Lyka said.
"We are working for someone who understands that Arthur Solvain has been… misguided in his approach to Forsaken relations."
The way it said "Forsaken relations" made August's skin crawl. These weren't random encounters - this was an organized operation with specific goals.
"And what approach would be better?" August asked.
The human Forsaken smiled, showing teeth that were too perfect to be entirely human.
"Cooperation instead of elimination. Understanding instead of violence. Evolution instead of stagnation."
Lyka and August exchanged glances.
"You want Arthur to stop hunting Forsaken," Lyka said.
"We want Arthur to recognize that his gifts could serve a greater purpose than mindless destruction," the Forsaken corrected. "He has the ability to communicate with all forms of Forsaken life. This is a bridge, not a weapon."
"And if Arthur doesn't want to be a bridge?"
The Forsaken's expression didn't change, but the air around it grew colder.
"Then arrangements will be made to… relocate his gifts to someone who better understands their potential."
August felt his Foundation finally complete its adaptations to multiple human Forsaken. But the process had deleted almost everything else - he was now specialized for this specific threat and vulnerable to everything else.
"We're not interested in your arrangements," Lyka said.
"Your interest is not required," the Forsaken replied. "Only your compliance."
They moved without warning.
Seven human Forsaken attacking simultaneously was like being caught in a reality storm. August felt existence trying to rewrite itself from multiple directions - his identity questioned, his memories edited, his physical form suggested into new configurations.
His Foundation held, but barely. The immunities he'd built were stretched to their absolute limit.
Lyka fought with desperate precision, her sonic daggers screaming against Forsaken defenses. But seven against two was impossible odds, even with August's immunity keeping him functional.
That's when the first human Forsaken stopped mid-attack.
Like their encounter in Zone 41-C, it suddenly looked up and behind them, its confident expression replaced by something that might have been fear.
"Not here," it said quietly. "The schedule has been altered."
The other Forsaken immediately disengaged, backing away from August and Lyka with the same sudden wariness.
"What schedule?" Lyka demanded.
But the human Forsaken were already retreating, moving with coordinated precision back into the landscape.
"Continue following the trail," the lead Forsaken said as they withdrew. "The destination remains unchanged. Only the timing has been… adjusted."
August and Lyka stood in the sudden silence, both breathing hard.
"Okay," August said, checking his Foundation monitor as it faded back to blue. "That's the second time human Forsaken have just… left when something spooked them."
"Something they can see that we can't," Lyka added. "Something that makes them abandon their mission and retreat."
"Their handler?"
"Or something their handler is afraid of."
Lyka gathered their scattered equipment, her movements quick and efficient.
"Sparkles, we need to make a decision. Do we keep following this fake trail knowing it leads to a trap, or do we try to find Arthur before whoever's orchestrating this can spring whatever they're planning?"
August thought about the human Forsaken's words.
"Cooperation instead of elimination. Understanding instead of violence." It sounded almost reasonable, if you ignored the part about forcibly relocating Arthur's gifts to someone else.
"They want to convert Arthur," August realized. "Or steal his abilities if he won't cooperate."
"Either way, Arthur's in danger. Real danger, not the fake dimensional crisis we've been chasing."
August looked at the fake trail markers leading deeper into the zones, then at Lyka's map showing where Arthur would actually be working.
"We find Arthur first," August said. "Warn him about what's really happening. Then maybe we can help him deal with whoever's been running this operation."
"Good choice," Lyka said. "Because I have a feeling that if we keep following fake trails, we're going to end up as bargaining chips in someone else's game."
They left the campsite behind and started toward the high-threat zones where Arthur would actually be working.
Behind them, the fake trail continued toward the deep zones and whatever trap had been carefully prepared there. But ahead of them lay the real zones - the places where Arthur was probably fighting actual threats while believing he was working alone.
"Question," August said as they walked. "What if Arthur doesn't believe us when we tell him about the deception?"
"Then we'll have to prove it," Lyka said. "Show him evidence of the fake trail markers, the collection operations, the human Forsaken recruitment attempts."
"And if that's not enough?"
Lyka's grin was sharp. "Then we follow him back to his fake trail and watch what happens when he confronts whoever's been impersonating him."
August felt a mix of anticipation and dread. They were finally going to find the real Arthur, but they were also walking toward a confrontation between forces they didn't fully understand.
At least now they knew they were on the right side.
Even if they still had no idea how powerful the enemy really was.