We did not return to the city.
We followed the narrower trail that cut through the forest toward the east. The distant sound we had heard earlier did not leave my mind. It wasn't wind. It wasn't a common animal. It was movement in mass.
I walked in front, clearing the way between low branches and exposed roots. The terrain began to grow uneven, full of recent marks on the ground. The earth was churned as if something heavy had passed through in large numbers.
"Look at this," Elara said, pointing to the ground.
The footprints overlapped. Large, medium, small. All heading in the same direction.
"They're spreading out," I said.
Liriel observed the path carefully. "They're not going back into the forest. They're coming out of it."
Vespera touched the trunk of a tree with scraped bark. "They moved fast."
Rai'kanna and Lyannis followed close behind, alert to the strange silence of the place. There were no birds. No insects.
The forest felt emptied.
After nearly forty minutes of walking, we began to hear screams in the distance. Not many, but urgent.
We sped up.
We emerged from the trees and found a dirt road where a small caravan stood in disorder. Two wagons overturned. People trying to pull sacks and chests out of the way.
And scattered around them, monsters circling without pause.
They weren't attacking all at once. They were surrounding. Forcing the people to move where they wanted.
"They're pushing them the wrong way," Vespera said.
I understood immediately. If they kept going in that direction, the caravan would be driven back into the forest.
"Let's open a corridor," I said.
I ran along the side and brought down the first one closest to the people. Elara cast magic right behind me, driving back two others.
Liriel illuminated the road, forcing some to retreat. Rai'kanna and Lyannis advanced through the rear, preventing the monsters from closing the circle again.
Vespera positioned herself between the caravan and the forest, blocking any attempt to push the group back.
"Head south," I shouted to the people. "Don't stop."
They began to move as soon as they saw the opening.
The monsters reacted quickly, trying to close the gap, but we were already among them.
I brought down two in sequence. A third tried to grab me from behind, but Lyannis struck first. Rai'kanna advanced steadily, keeping the line secure.
Elara maintained constant pressure with magic, not allowing them to get too close.
Gradually, the road became clear.
The last monsters retreated into the brush when they realized they could no longer control the caravan's direction.
I watched until the last civilians disappeared around the bend in the road.
I took a deep breath.
"That was different," Elara said.
"Yes," I replied. "They were guiding."
Liriel agreed. "It wasn't an attack. It was direction."
Vespera looked toward the dense forest. "They're spreading chaos and pushing people."
Rai'kanna adjusted her weapon on her shoulder. "Creating disordered movement."
Lyannis finished. "The more people running, the harder it is to protect."
We remained silent for a few seconds.
I had seen this kind of pattern before. It wasn't brute force. It was strategy.
We followed the road for a few more minutes until we found another scene.
A small wooden bridge broken in the middle of the path. Not from wear. From impact.
Deep marks in the wood indicated that something heavy had passed over it.
"They're using multiple routes," Elara said.
"It's not a single horde," I said.
Liriel nodded. "It's several groups spread out."
Vespera took a deep breath. "This will last for days."
The sun was already beginning to lower slightly when we heard another noise coming from a nearby hill. Not screams this time.
It was the sound of something large moving in a group.
We climbed the rise carefully and, from the top, saw in the distance more monsters crossing an open field toward another small village.
They weren't running.
They were walking in an irregular line, but in the same direction.
"They don't stop," Lyannis murmured.
"Nor do they hurry," Rai'kanna added.
I measured the distance to the village.
"If we cut through the forest, we'll get there first."
Elara nodded. "Then let's go."
We descended the hill and entered the forest again.
Fatigue was beginning to show in our legs, but no one commented. The pace remained steady.
As we ran between the trees, I realized something that unsettled me.
They weren't reacting to our presence.
No matter how many groups we brought down, others kept appearing in different directions.
That meant one thing.
It didn't matter to whoever was commanding.
We reached the forest's edge before the monsters reached the village.
This time, we stopped for a second.
The village had not yet realized what was coming.
I looked at the group.
"Same strategy," I said. "Before they enter."
Everyone nodded.
We advanced together.
The battle began in the open field, far from the houses.
And as I brought down the first monster coming at the front, I felt a certainty forming inside me.
This wasn't an attack meant to destroy a village.
It was a long hunt.
And we were chasing something that still hadn't decided to appear.