On the fox like shadows moved about.
In the night sky the moon hung quietly while on the grassy ground Valthar slept crookedly.
In his noble youth such a thing would have never crossed his mind, but now he slept in the open air hoping it would appease his nightmares.
Of course, Valthar himself didn't see the connection between sleeping in the open and not having nightmares, but a new friend and recent recruit at the caravan had given such a ludicrous idea.
And after more than two weeks of poorly slept nights any idea seemed like a good idea, even sleeping on the ground.
By this point of the journey he still wore the banishment cloak, but having crossed into the Outlands his face was now free from its mask.
Clear skin untainted by sunlight spoke volumes about his nobility, his messy brown hair clean only thanks to a basic cleaning spell and his tired brown eyes that shook behind his eyelids.
Only a few dozen meters away from his squirming nightmare trapped body a firepit burned brightly.
Around it a few people chatted as they watched the forest with cautious eyes.
Though not yet deep into the Outlands, Lionel made sure to have at least one full party awake in case of a night attack.
"I was talking to a few villagers on our stop yesterday and I heard some bad rumors, apparently they haven't seen a merchant caravan in two months before ours and the adventurers guild is filled with missing posts." Kassia commented, her body tense as she gripped a short bow in her hands.
"You think there are demons in the forest?" Hector asked outloud, in his face a serious look that hid the fear he felt below.
Hector is one of the new recruits going to Deep Bonfire and also the one who gave Valthar the idea to sleep on the grass.
Raised in a farming family his body already reached E rank strength though not once had he fought for his life.
Lionel chuckled at the mention of demons, such beings didn't appear without rhyme or reason and the church of burning light made sure none survived more than a couple weeks..
"Calm down young man demons though strong and weird are land locked to their place of birth. What Kassia worries about are beasts, the Outlands are simply too large so even the Empire can't cull them all."
Such words did not calm Hector down, though he was built like an ox, his heart was still soft and gentle like a flower.
Had it not been for a terrible season this last few years, he would never take the deal to go hunt beasts in Deep Bonfire.
Seeing the young man's face still frozen like a stone Lionel decided to explain a little more to try and calm the young man's heart.
"Kassia had been our team's scout for more than a decade, if a beast let out even the faintest of mana signatures in a radius of kilometers she will know in seconds." Lionel said proudly, his confidence in his team's skills as solid as a mountain.
Of course he knew there were some beasts capable of evading her detection, but those were both rare and so skilled at hiding they simply had no way to prevent an ambush.
As the group chatted near the firepit Valthar stopped squirming on the ground.
His nightmare had started like normal, at the bottom of the well with a rainstorm up above.
Like always, the rain grew thick and red before it flooded the well.
Like always Valthar struggled for his life before a person covered his hopes with a lid.
This time however as he sunk into darkness he didn't awake back to the real world.
Instead he felt a strange green light illuminate his body.
Instinctually he knew it wasn't mana, but also knew the light had always been with him for as long as he had been alive.
The light pulsed in a song, echoing around him, resonating with numerous lights that did not belong to himself.
In an instant the darkness gained features.
Valthar was no longer at the bottom of the well, instead he found himself laid down on the ground.
His body didn't move and his eyes didn't open yet he still could see everything around him that contained even the smallest bit of light.
Under him the grass was small and weak but its vast numbers stretched far into the distance.
Close by he could see people, their lights varied in size and shape.
Lionel was one of them, his hands moving as he sharpened his sword though Valthar couldn't see the blade itself.
Another he recognised was Hector, his shoulders were tense and his light abnormally strong.
A few more were nearby, all of which Valthar knew were part of tonight's night watch.
'What is this?' he questioned himself, as his mind started to awaken in this strange new place.
His senses shift further, he could feel dozens of human lights humming with the same pattern as his own.
'The sleeping caravan members?' He wondered confused, both by what was happening and how he knew their state.
Further out trees appeared as well, forming the scene of a clearing uncannily similar to the one the caravan had stopped for the night.
For a moment Valthar was immersed as life itself pulsed around him, in a series of unorganized notes that seemed to sync under an invisible hand.
Then movements caught his mind at the edge of the clearing, more lights to the beautiful symphony.
Those were not of plants or humans this time, but beasts.
Their sizes were not big, similar to medium dogs, but their number ranged in the low hundreds.
Their moves were slow, their eyes locked on the sleeping caravan members as they edged closer and closer to the clearing.
'Foxes and they are hunting.' He concluded in seconds as their lights' intent echoed within his own.
This thought brought clarity to Valthar's sleepy consciousness.
'I need to warn the others!' his mind screamed as eyes shot open.
But just as he sat up and was about to warn the caravan members nearby a strong headache assaulted him.
Once awake his normal senses had returned but the lights had not gone away.
In his head both this new sense and old ones mingled, the smells, images and lights overwhelming his body.
A grunt escaped his lips as he gathered himself with deep breaths.
Thankfully he had felt something similar once before when at six the family awakened his mana senses.
"What happened Valthar?" Hector's voice reached his ear.
His headache intensified as he felt Hector's hand on his shoulder and his friend's light grow even tenser by the second.
"We're surrounded, a pack of beasts is on their way to the tents!" Valtar screamed through gritted teeth.