The clearing was quiet when they returned.
The jungle hadn't followed them, but Mira carried it in her shoulders. Every step she took was measured, efficient, but tense, like a spring held taut. Her boots were clean of blood, save for a smear across the ankle that wasn't hers. She kept half a step ahead of Naera, who bore the bark sling across her chest, and stayed within reach of Kael. Kael said nothing. He hadn't said a word since the fight. His side was still stiff, one hand pressed protectively near the bandage, but he moved with purpose, eyes alert. When Raif glanced his way, Kael didn't flinch, he simply nodded, a silent signal that he was still useful, still present.
Raif spotted them before they crossed the clearing's edge. He set down the dried stalk he'd been whittling and stood. The moment his eyes met Mira's, he saw the tightness in her jaw, the way her fingers refused to unclench even when empty. She wasn't panicking. But she wasn't calm either.
He walked out to meet them. "How bad?"
Naera answered first. "Clean cut. Missed the bone."
Kael sank to one knee without prompting. Mira was already beside him, steadying his arm as he settled. Her movements were precise, almost too precise, like someone still in battle rhythm.
Raif looked at Mira next.
She held his gaze for a second too long. "Something new," she said. "Bigger than anything we've seen, not long like the bark wolf, but tall. And not alone."
Raif's brow furrowed. "Not alone?"
Mira nodded once. "There were two. The smaller one retreated after the first dropped. They knew what they were doing."
Naera stepped forward and untied the sling. "We brought back parts, torn from the one we killed. Thought Eloin or Goss could make use of them."
Mira unwrapped it carefully and laid the contents down, two broad plates of chitin, etched with faint spirals that shimmered in the firelight, a curved claw thick as a forearm, and strips of vine soaked through with something still wet and faintly luminous.
She didn't explain them. She just stepped back and watched, arms crossed tightly across her chest.
Raif crouched, inspecting the chitin. It wasn't like bark or bone. The spirals seemed to catch the firelight in ways that bent slightly wrong, almost as if they shimmered with memory. He hesitated a breath, then reached for the orb.
[System Update: Hostile Identified – Category: Predator]
[Designation: Veilback – Tier 2]
[Kill Type: First Elimination] – Reward: +3 KE]
The orb pulsed once, a soft white that faded into blue. Raif let out a slow breath. He hadn't known what to expect, only that something new had crossed a line.
He glanced at Mira again. She hadn't moved. She watched the orb like she was waiting for something worse.
"You did good," he said quietly.
Mira's eyes flicked to his. "We're not dead."
That was all she said.
Before he could speak again, a rustling at the southern tree line drew their attention.
Lira and Rix emerged, both coated in mud and bark sap. Lira had blood on one arm, her own, from a glancing wound, but she moved strong and steady. Rix carried something wrapped in cloth.
"Third root's gone," Lira said, breath short. "We torched it and watched it die. Smoked like rotwood."
Rix held up the clay shard. "Found this near it. Another fragment."
Raif stood and reached for the orb. As his palm settled against its surface, it pulsed again, brighter than before, and the ground beneath him seemed to shift slightly with the change in energy.
[System Update: Spore Root Threat Neutralised – 3/3 Destroyed]
[Reward: +5 KE]
[Blueprint Fragment Registered – Clay Kiln (1/2)]
[Quest Complete – "Rot Beneath"]
[Total KE: 79 / 200]
[New Quest Available – "Sporebound Secrets"]
Investigate the origin of the Spore Root network. Progress: 0/1
Reward: KE + Unknown Bonus
[New Quest Available – "Claim the Territory"]
Begin reclaiming the jungle. Establish control. Progress: 2%
Reward: Zone Benefits + KE Scaling
No one spoke for a long moment.
The orb's glow lingered on their faces. Lira, crouched with one hand braced on her knee, stared at the shifting text without blinking. Rix let out a low whistle and sat heavily on an overturned crate, unwrapping a length of dried root to chew. "Claim the territory? What does that even mean?" he said, glancing at the others.
Eloin stepped forward slowly, brushing the dirt from his palms as he approached. "It's escalating," he said. "Or watching us escalate. Either way, it's reacting."
Naera shifted from her seat against the crate. "Sporebound Secrets... sounds like the roots are more than just hazards."
"A network," Goss murmured. He stood near the fire, arms crossed. "Maybe it's how the jungle sees us. Knows where to send its worst."
Raif said nothing at first. He crouched beside the orb and touched its surface again, just for a moment. It felt warmer now. More awake.
He stood. "Whatever it means, we're not just passengers anymore. If we're being asked to claim something, we better understand what we're claiming."
"And what might try to take it back," Mira added from the side.
Rix tapped the shard of clay he'd retrieved. "Kiln fragment's one piece. If the jungle's leaving these around, maybe it's daring us to build."
Lira glanced up sharply. "Or baiting us."
"Same thing, if it works," Rix said, cracking a grin.
The fire popped. For a moment, that was the only sound.
Then Goss leaned over the salvaged creature parts, turning one of the chitin plates in his hands. "This stuff's strange. Light but dense. You could line a shield with it , maybe even a chestplate."
Naera nodded. "It took a few hits without cracking. That claw almost went through Kael. It's strong."
"We'd need proper tools to shape it," Eloin said, kneeling beside the plate. "But if it's this reactive under heat, it might soften just enough to bind."
Hennick ran his thumb along the edge of the claw. "Feels like it could be worked into spearheads, maybe barbed tips for the fence traps."
Raif stood over them, arms folded. "Put together a test. One piece, just to see what we can do."
Mira didn't say anything, but her eyes stayed locked on the broken claw. Her arms were folded again, one finger tapping against her opposite elbow. When no one was watching, her gaze drifted toward Kael for the briefest moment, as if confirming he was still breathing. Then her eyes returned to the claw, sharper now. She was already thinking of how to use it.
Near the fire, Eloin shifted his gaze toward the shelter. "Syl's fever hasn't broken," he said quietly. "She's stable, but she's not improving."
Raif's expression darkened. "How long do we have?"
"Hard to say," Eloin replied. "The infection's not spreading fast, but it's rooted deep. If it turns, it could take her quickly."
Hennick rubbed his forehead, eyes tight. "She's tougher than she looks. But she won't hold out forever."
Naera glanced toward the shelter's shadowed entrance. "She needs more than just time. We all do."
"She will be okay. I believe in her." Lira spoke, closing the discussion.
Kael sat with his eyes closed. Naera rested against a crate, breathing evenly. Mira stood with her arms folded, watching Raif as the orb's glow faded.
Raif looked over the group, then back at the clay fragment. "The jungle's forcing us to decide who we want to be," he said. "And if we don't act with purpose, we'll lose the chance to shape any of this."
Mira followed Raif as he walked the fence perimeter just after dusk.
"I didn't think we'd get this far," she said. "Not after that first week."
Raif didn't reply immediately. The jungle hummed softly, and he waited until they were clear of the others.
"You held the line," he said. "Back there."
Mira shrugged. "So did Kael. Naera too. We didn't have a choice."
He looked at her. "But you didn't run."
Mira didn't answer. Not right away.
Then, "You keep showing up for them. That's not nothing."
Raif exhaled. "I don't know if that's enough."
"It is," Mira said.
They stood in silence. Then Mira added, quieter this time, "For now."
They didn't linger. Raif turned and began walking the edge of the clearing again, boots brushing through moss and root clusters that glowed faintly in the growing dark. Mira followed at his side for a few paces longer, then broke off toward the shelter without a word.
Raif watched her go, then turned toward the shelter. Kael had leaned back against a log, his eyes half-closed but still open to the world. Raif gave him a small nod, one the boy returned with barely a movement.
Only then did Raif look back toward the orb, still dimly pulsing near the centre of camp.
The night crept in without sound.
[Loyalty Increase Detected. +1 KE]