Slowly, they began their descent down the mountain — this time from the opposite side of the range, away from the path leading to their village. The trail was narrow and damp, roots coiling across the ground, each step echoed faintly in the night. Before long, the thick outline of the forest emerged ahead — vast, dark, and alive. The trees loomed tall and thick, their crowns merging into a ceiling that devoured most of the moonlight.
"Sir, are we going—" Aspen began to ask, his voice breaking the silence.
"Don't speak. Just listen," Matang said in a low, firm tone without turning around.
"O–okay, sir," Aspen replied quietly as they both walked quietly behind him. Matang nodded slightly "Yes… we're going inside the forest and it's not just you two — the rest of the Hunter Squad went inside the forest too" he continued, his eyes never leaving the path ahead. "The village rules forbid entering the forest… although we've only explored around thirty percent of the mountain— the rest remains untouched for a reason as the beast living there are better left untouched and most of the animals on the mountain have already been hunted. The mountain can no longer sustain us".
"The remaining seventy percent belongs to those monstrous beasts" Matang said quietly. "Beasts that even the elders don't speak of. It's better not to disturb them… unless you want our village to vanish" he said, his tone carried a hint of fear.
The three of them slowly stepped into the forest and the moment they crossed the threshold, the air seemed to change. The smell of wet earth and decaying leaves filled their lungs as every step sank slightly into the mossy soil.
"The forest around the village isn't dangerous as we patrol it regularly and most of the beast had been killed near the village boundary" Matang said quietly as they moved deeper, his tone calm but measured. "It's still full of small animals — the ones that keep us fed. They multiply fast, easy to track and easy to hunt"
He jumped down his horse, pat it thrice on its head and it stopped moving, then he stepped over a fallen log, brushing a hand along its mossy surface. "We tried bringing those animals up the mountain once, hoping they'd survive there. But they all died within a few days. We even tried raising them inside the base —but after 11 days they all started dying, not even one survived."
Vayu and Aspen exchanged glances, but said nothing.
"That's why we come here" Matang continued. "This forest… it's dangerous, yes, but it keeps us full, it keeps us alive."
He reached into his cloak and pulled out a worn-out map, its edges torn and stained with mud. Handing it to Vayu, he said, "Here, the traps are marked — from this point to the far edge near the river bend. Check the traps and note anything unusual."
Vayu took the map carefully, studying the faint red markings that led deeper into the darkness.
"After we reach halfway, I will turn back and leave" Matang added, tightening the reins of his horse, "and you two will be on your own. Check the traps and note anything unusual".
Matang showed them how to read the ground and how to inspect a trap, test the trigger, check the tension, replace the bait, and monitor quietly. He taught them how to clear debris without leaving a mark, how to retie a snapped loop, where to hide a spare stake so a trap could be fixed quickly under pressure. They moved slowly, checking each trap and pit one by one. By the time they'd gone halfway along the route they had inspected nearly sixty traps. Not a single one had held anything.
"Those were reset this morning," Matang said, watching them work. "The night is still young — within two or three days we should start seeing catches. It's your duty to collect them as they get trapped. Bring them dead or alive it upto you to decide" He looked at them long and hard. "Check every trap on the way back. Be careful. And—" his voice dropped, sharp and final, "stay alive"
With that he nudged his horse with his heel. The animal sprang forward, within moments Matang was a dark shape fading between the trees, leaving the two of them alone on the silent path. Vayu had been in the forest before, so the moment they stepped under the canopy, he felt a strange excitement stirring inside him. The scent of damp earth, the faint rustle of leaves, the whisper of wind through thick trees — it was all too familiar. But when he turned to look at Aspen, his eyes were fixed on the path where Matang had vanished; his hands fidgeted, his shoulders tight. He was scared and though Vayu wouldn't admit it aloud, he understood that fear very well because he had felt it too.
"Ahem," Vayu cleared his throat, straightening his back as if to shake off the unease. "Let's go," he said firmly, taking the lead. They moved through the undergrowth, checking the traps one by one. The forest around them was unnervingly silent except for the occasional crack of branches beneath their feet. The deeper they went, the heavier the air felt — thick, moist. When they reached the sixty-ninth trap, they finally found something moving — a low cry echoed through the trees. A boar was caught in the snare, struggling desperately. Its dark fur was streaked with mud, and its small eyes glimmered with panic. Vayu froze for a moment. It was a funny play by lady luck that it was the same young boar he had once mistaken for a monstrous beast — the one that had haunted his thoughts ever since that night.
Aspen gripped his dagger tightly. "It's trapped nicely, Let's finish it"
But Vayu stoped him and advanced towards the boar, the boar begun to jump franticly but Vayu instead of killing it, he crouched near the trap, his gaze softening. "Wait…" he murmured. He didn't know why, but something within him refused to let the creature die. Slowly, he loosened the rope and stepped back. The boar jerked free, limping a few steps away before turning to look at him — its eyes meeting Vayu's for a brief, strange moment — then it vanished into the forest.
"Why'd you let it go?" Aspen asked, still confused.
Vayu smiled faintly. "It's our first catch. Think of it as our last act of mercy"
Aspen hesitated, then nodded quietly. "Alright."
They continued their rounds, checking the remaining traps — ninety-two in total. Only three of the traps were malfunctioning. After fixing them and setting them back in place, Vayu and Aspen resumed their walk through the forest.
"We saw no boar today, okay?" Vayu said with a half-smile, glancing sideways at Aspen.
Aspen nodded obediently "Okay"
Since joining the hunter squad, Aspen had changed noticeably. He no longer argued or teased Vayu like before, instead he followed orders quietly and without hesitation. It was as if he had taken on the role of a perfect subordinate. At first, Vayu found it convenient — fewer arguments meant easier work — but as the silence grew, it began to unsettle him. Aspen's sudden discipline, his distant politeness… it didn't feel like the same person he used to know. Sometimes, Vayu even caught himself wishing the old, loud-mouthed Aspen would come back.After completing their work they turned back towards camp and around two hours later the base came into view again.