The Splitjaw Stalker landed inside the clearing with a heavy, wet thud. The ground vibrated under its weight. For a moment, no one moved. Rain trickled down the grooves in its bark-textured hide as it crouched low, legs splayed wide. Raif's breath caught in his throat. The creature didn't snarl or growl, it simply stared. Kael had frozen mid-step. Naera's knuckles whitened on her spear.
Then its jaw slowly unhinged down the middle, splitting open in a gnarled row of teeth.
Naera took one step back. "That's not a wolf."
It didn't attack immediately. Instead, it lowered its head, twitching, sniffing? Listening? Its split jaw clicked once, then twice. Kael had frozen, one foot pressed into the earth, blade held back. Raif moved slowly to the right, angling to draw its attention.
The creature's head snapped toward him, then flicked to Kael. Then to Naera.
Raif felt it, the recognition. It wasn't sizing them up like prey. It was calculating.
A gust of rain pelted the clearing as the creature finally moved. Not forward, not at them, but sideways, toward the mud-slick edge where the ground dipped low from drainage. It circled wide, cutting its body into the terrain like a practiced predator. Its claws barely made a sound.
"Kael," Raif said low. "Don't move. Let it pick."
The stalker's shoulder blades rippled. Its tongue flicked out, not forked like a snake, but split in half, twitching independently. A mimic of its jaw.
Then it leapt.
Kael dove sideways. The creature snapped at the space he'd just left, whirling mid-air. Its tail lashed. Naera stepped in and thrust her spear, the tip struck, but only scraped across its hide.
The stalker landed and skidded back with shocking grace. It hadn't just missed. It had anticipated Kael's dodge.
Raif moved fast, circling opposite Naera, hoping to split its attention.
"Try to flank it!" he shouted. "But don't chase!"
The Splitjaw suddenly bolted, not at them, but toward a support beam that had been jammed into the mud for stabilising the inner barricade. It struck the post with its shoulder, then leapt back again. The wood cracked slightly. Raif's eyes widened. It's not trying to kill us. It's trying to destabilise the clearing.
Kael moved, fast and silent, attempting to slash its side. The beast pivoted, claws scraping along the bark, using the wetness to slide sideways out of range. Kael pressed, but its tail snapped out, catching Kael's leg. The scout stumbled and rolled, kicking back to regain distance.
Naera engaged again, lunging in and sweeping her spear upward. The stalker dropped low and rolled beneath the strike, its motion more like a snake than a wolf. It came up inside her guard. Raif yelled, too far to help.
Naera fell backward, landing hard as the creature swiped, tearing cloth and drawing a shallow line across her thigh. She gritted her teeth but kept her spear between them.
Raif didn't wait. He rushed in from behind, trying to catch it off-guard.
The stalker spun before he even reached it. Its jaws opened impossibly wide, that split, unnatural maw clacking like bone dice, and it lashed out. Raif raised his arm in time to block but was thrown back. He hit the mud hard. A burn bloomed across his forearm. He didn't look at it.
"Pull back," he said, staggering up. "This isn't random, it's testing us."
Kael was already on his feet, blade reversed in hand. He pointed toward the creature's flank, then flicked his hand in a signal, corner it.
They began to move. Slowly. Deliberately. They formed a triangle, each holding distance, never crowding, never giving the stalker just one target. The creature circled, breathing hard, saliva dripping into the rain-dark mud.
A burst of thunder cracked above. In the flash of light, Raif saw its eyes, two slits, deep and black. Watching. Learning.
The moment stretched.
Then Naera slipped. Just slightly. Her back foot slid in the soft mud.
The creature exploded toward her.
She barely recovered in time. Her spear thrust up, catching its chest, it didn't pierce deep, but enough to make it recoil. Still, it came forward, jaws wide. Naera shouted and dropped low, sacrificing her stance to roll left.
Raif and Kael converged.
Kael came in low, slicing a gash down the beast's flank. Raif slammed his spear into its ribs. It twisted and kicked, driving both men back.
Mud sprayed. Rain pounded. It backed toward the stakes, toward the patch of wall where jagged bone had been embedded days ago. The trap.
Raif's breath caught. Maybe.
He gave Naera a sharp look, then shifted sideways, exposing his flank deliberately.
The Splitjaw paused. Watched him. Then lunged.
He turned and ran, three steps, enough to bait it. Behind him, he heard Kael hiss low and move. Naera repositioned.
The stalker pounced.
Raif dropped into a slide. The creature leapt over him.
Straight into the bone trap.
The scream was unnatural. It hit the mudwall hard, and the embedded shards punched into its belly and shoulder. Not fatal, not even close, but enough.
It twisted in pain, thrashing. Kael was there again, slashing deep. Naera jabbed into its side.
Then it turned and retreated, leaping clean over a low brace, slamming into the jungle undergrowth. Gone.
Not dead.
Not finished.
Raif bent forward, hands on knees. Blood ran down his arm.
Kael stood still, breathing through his nose. His blade was red.
Naera limped slightly, but stood straight. "We didn't kill it."
"No," Raif said. "But it learned something."
He turned toward the centre of camp, jaw clenched.
"And so did we."
At the east wall, chaos reigned.
The Barkwolf was already inside the clearing, pacing near Syl's shelter. Its growls were low, deliberate, almost smug. Mira's chest tightened. She wasn't thinking about tactics, she was thinking about Syl's pale face behind the curtain of bark. She pictured Naera's expression the last time they spoke, too. If she failed now, who would be next? Mira and Goss circled the creature, each waiting for an opening. Goss's shield was raised. Mira's hands gripped her spear so tightly her knuckles had gone pale.
"Keep it away from her," Mira hissed. "I mean it."
"I've got her, girl," Goss growled. "Let it try me."
The wolf snarled and lunged. Mira thrust her spear forward, but it deflected the point with its shoulder, barreling into her. She stumbled back, gasping. Goss slammed his club into its ribs, forcing it to retreat a step, but it didn't break off. It circled again.
Meanwhile, at the wall, the Veilback Mantis had reached the upper edge. Its long arms folded like scythes, its head twitching unnaturally. Rain shimmered along its back as it rose to its full height. Lira cursed and launched a stone at it. It bounced harmlessly off its plating.
"Nothing soft to hit!" she shouted.
Two Splinterhounds pressed at a break in the wall's base. One snapped, wriggling halfway through. Rix hurled a short spear, piercing it in the side. It howled but kept coming.
"We need to split!" Rix called. "Goss, Mira, keep the Barkwolf occupied! Lira, you're with me!"
"I'm always with you when it's awful," Lira muttered.
The rain picked up, washing streaks of blood into the mud. Mira twisted and thrust again, trying to corral the Barkwolf toward the wall. The beast ducked low, then suddenly surged sideways, heading straight for the shelter.
"NO!" Mira shouted.
She flung herself in front of it. The wolf collided with her side, sending her skidding, but she stabbed upward as she fell. The point tore through its neck. It reeled.
Goss took the chance. He swung hard, club cracking across the beast's skull. It yelped, dazed.
Then the wall shook.
Eloin arrived, soaked and out of breath, with a wooden brace slung over his shoulder. For a moment, he looked uncertain. Then, with a grim set to his jaw, he charged. He had spent days reinforcing walls, but today, he would hold one himself.
"You're late," Rix snapped.
"I was busy," Eloin replied. He lifted the brace and drove it into the gap where another Splinterhound clawed. It cried out, stuck halfway.
The Mantis descended.
It moved fast, too fast, slicing at Lira. She ducked, rolled, and came up beneath it, slicing at its underbelly. Rix hurled another spear, this one hit. The Mantis shrieked, twisted, and slammed against the fence. It pulled itself up.
Goss screamed.
The Barkwolf, still half-conscious, had bitten into his leg.
Mira stabbed again, this time with fury. The spear plunged into the wolf's chest. Goss wrenched his leg free, blood pouring. The Barkwolf collapsed, still twitching.
"I'm fine," he growled. "I'm always fine."
The Mantis shrieked and lunged one last time. Lira leapt, planted her foot on a brace, and stabbed upward with both hands.
The blade sank into its thorax. The creature convulsed.
Rix slammed another stake into a third Splinterhound trying to force its way in. Eloin ripped down a support beam and crushed a fourth under the weight.
The east wall held.
The orb pulsed, red and fast.
Raif saw the flicker from across the camp and turned sharply. His stomach sank.
[System Status: Assault Continues]
[Threat Escalation: Alpha Signature Detected]
[Designation Pending]
From both sides of the camp, those who still stood tightened their grips.
The jungle wasn't done.