The morning arrived covered by a light fog that spread between the houses of Briarwood. The village was still waking up when we left. Some chimneys were already releasing smoke and the distant sound of an axe striking wood mixed with the first steps of people beginning their day.
The cold was still present, but it no longer had the harshness of midwinter. Even so, the air bit a little at the face when breathing.
Daren walked at the front with an energy that was impossible to ignore. He carried the spear resting on his shoulder as if he were going out for a walk.
Claire walked beside him, adjusting the straps of her backpack for the third time since we had left.
"If you keep touching that it's going to break," I commented behind her.
"It's not going to break," Claire replied without looking at me. "I'm just making sure it's fine."
"You already did it five times."
"Four."
I didn't respond.
When we reached the edge of the village, Daren stopped for a moment. The forest began right there. The trees stretched eastward forming a dark mass of trunks and bare branches. Snow still covered parts of the ground, although in some places the damp earth could already be seen.
"Well," he finally said, looking back. "I guess there's no turning back now."
Claire raised an eyebrow, "we can go back if you want, and besides don't be so dramatic, 'there's no turning back', we're just going to hunt some big rats."
"Very funny."
Rowan simply kept walking and passed beside him, "if we keep arguing here, the grimrats will die of old age before we get there."
Daren let out a small laugh and started moving again.
The sound of the village disappeared almost immediately, replaced by the crunch of snow under our boots and the soft movement of the wind through the branches. For a while we walked without talking too much.
We walked for a few hours toward the east, talking about trivial things we had done in the last few days, nothing important. Until Rowan spoke, who had remained rather quiet as usual, "if there really is a colony nearby, we should start seeing tracks."
Daren nodded, "the hunters said they were near a stream to the east."
Claire looked around attentively, "then first we find the stream."
I kept walking behind them, watching the ground between patches of snow. Edric had repeated several times that grimrats leave easy-to-recognize marks, if they were really around here… it wouldn't take long to find them.
The forest became denser as we advanced, the trees grew closer together and the sunlight barely managed to pass through the bare branches. The ground alternated between hardened snow and damp earth where the thaw had already begun.
Daren walked constantly looking around, too attentive for someone who normally seemed so relaxed.
After a while, Rowan raised a hand.
We stopped.
He crouched near a patch of dark earth where the snow had melted. For a few seconds he said nothing, simply observing the ground.
The three of us approached slowly, "What do you see?" Claire asked.
He didn't respond. After a few seconds he stood up and looked at us, "honestly nothing, I have no idea about hunting and tracking."
I stayed with my mouth slightly open for two seconds, "are you an idiot? why create so much suspense?"
He shrugged, "I thought I had seen a track, but it wasn't."
Daren burst out laughing, "let's continue then."
We kept walking, although now with a little less confidence than before. Rowan returned to his place a few steps ahead, as if nothing had happened.
Claire shook her head while walking, "I thought you didn't have a sense of humor."
"It was an interesting way to break the silence," he replied calmly.
Daren was still smiling, "don't worry, Rowan. If we find something real, this time warn us when you're sure."
The forest remained just as silent, the crunch of our boots on the snow was almost the only constant sound. From time to time a branch moved with the wind or a small pile of snow fell from the top of a tree.
After several more minutes of walking, I started to hear something different, a soft sound, like water moving. I raised my head slightly, "do you hear that?"
Claire stopped for a moment and listened, "…yes."
Daren looked forward between the trees, "I bet that must be the stream."
That made us speed up a little, if the hunters had told the truth, grimrats tended to move near water. It didn't take long before we saw it.
The stream wasn't very big, just a narrow current that wound between dark stones and patches of snow. Part of the shore was covered with damp mud where the ice had already melted.
Rowan was the first to approach.
This time he crouched again… but without saying anything.
Claire crossed her arms behind him, "this better be real this time."
Rowan pointed at the ground, we leaned down slightly to look. The marks were clear, rounded tracks, deep in the mud, with small claw marks at the front.
Daren smiled instinctively, "good, now yes."
Rowan followed the direction of the tracks with his gaze, "there are several… but not all together."
That matched what we had heard, grimrats separate into small groups when they search for food. I followed the trail with my eyes until it disappeared among some bushes near the stream.
I swallowed a little.
Well, we had come exactly for this.
Daren adjusted the spear in his hand, "so… shall we?"
No one answered with words, but the four of us began following the tracks. They guided us along the stream, the mud on the shore made them easy to follow, at least for now. We walked slower than before, watching the ground and the surroundings at the same time.
Daren went first, the spear already in his hands, Claire walked beside him, more attentive to the forest than to the ground. Rowan and I followed behind.
The sound of the water ran constantly to our left, after a few minutes, the tracks left the stream and went deeper into the trees again.
Daren raised a hand for us to slow down, this time nobody made any comments. We moved more carefully, trying not to make too much noise stepping on the snow or the damp leaves. The forest was quiet, but it no longer felt as empty as before.
Suddenly, Claire stopped, she crouched slightly and pointed forward, "there.", between some low bushes, something moved.
Daren stepped to the side of a trunk to look better. I also tried to see between the branches.
The creature slowly came out from behind a bush. It had a thick body, covered in dark and dirty fur. Its elongated snout moved constantly while it sniffed the ground.
It was about the size of a medium dog, a grimrat, then another appeared a few meters behind it.
"Two," Claire whispered.
Rowan shook his head and pointed to the right. A third body moved among the roots of a fallen tree.
"Three…", I murmured.
Daren smiled slightly, "perfect."
Claire looked at him sideways, "lower your voice."
Rowan spoke almost without moving his lips, "if we attack quickly we can separate them."
I looked at the creatures again. Yellowish fangs protruded from their snouts when they opened their mouths to sniff, their long tails dragged damp leaves as they moved.
They didn't seem particularly intelligent, but they were fast.
Daren planted the spear against the ground and held it with both hands, "I'll take the one on the left."
Claire nodded, "I'll take the one in the middle."
Rowan looked at me, "you and I will take the one that's left."
I clenched my fist tightly and nodded.