Ch.37

And for the next few days, Evander learned to travel with the beast, marching along behind it as it marched through the forest. The man never spoke again, remaining silent while the creature explained what was going on, and occasionally giving the human glances.

It took them longer than usual to get to their destination. There were too many things to worry about now‌—including the fact that it would take longer to find a new place to settle down in. And although they'd already been traveling for several days, Evander doubted whether or not the creature was taking the right path.

For the first couple of hours after they started running, the forest was quiet. No one would get close enough to try and attack, so the dark elf assumed that the creature had finished with its raid. But he still hadn't spotted the beast, which gave him hope that it might simply be looking for somewhere else to go.

Then, suddenly, he saw a few men begin to move ahead of the group. They marched through the trees, striding toward the orcs who'd left the forest. The men also had a lot of supplies with them, which suggested that they had also decided to move ahead, to try and avoid an attack from the beast.

Evander watched as the men drew near to their destination, following behind them as the creature led the way. Once he reached the encampment, the men began to unload their belongings out of the carts‌—pack mules that had carried them the rest of the way‌—and set up camp for the night. Evander couldn't help but be curious‌—was this where the monster planned to stay? Was the beast finally going to choose to remain in the same spot?

He paused for a moment, watching as a group of half-orcs continued to gather near the campsite. And although Evander could tell that they didn't look pleased by the other human's presence, it seemed like they had no choice but to let the man follow along.

But why are there so many of them?

Evander tilted his head to the side, trying to understand what he was seeing. Were the half-orcs some kind of mercenary band, or were they part of the city government? It would be nice if that were the case‌—they may have actually been able to offer the man a helping hand.

Still, something about their armor and weapons told him otherwise. Those were hardly the sort of items that the guards inside the walls would wear. That meant the orcs had to be armed for protection, not battle.

Then the dark elf turned away, figuring that he'd learn more about their situation when he came across them‌—and any others who might come with them. So instead of getting too close, Evander settled for following the creature deeper into the forest‌—out of sight of the men.

It felt good to be out of the open, even if it meant that Evander could only see the creature ahead of him. At least this way, there was one less person watching him, making him feel somewhat more comfortable. After all, if someone caught sight of the man walking among the trees, they might get suspicious‌—especially since the last group of people Evander had passed hadn't been in a very good mood.

Eventually, Evander thought he heard the creature moving behind him, and he turned around to see it moving toward him with purpose. It carried what looked to be the same type of spear as the first time he'd seen the creature, which had left a deep burn on Evander's face.

That thing burned me!

The dark elf hadn't been sure whether to be impressed or scared when the creature had used its weapon to strike him. He knew the beast had a powerful fire magic, which explained how the creature had managed to light the campsite for them that night. But Evander couldn't imagine the pain he must have gone through when the creature had fired the burning tip of its spear at him.

Evander's mouth fell open slightly, but no words came out. The pain had been almost unbearable, and the dark elf had begun to bleed profusely before he'd finally gotten away.

After that, the man had followed the beast for several days, waiting until he could move again. It didn't hurt that the wound was already beginning to heal on its own, as well. So whenever the creature slowed down, Evander kept going, following after it like some kind of shadow.

Then one day, he thought he caught sight of a large group of orcs moving along the edges of the forest. They were carrying swords and spears, weapons that suggested they would soon attack their enemies. And when Evander saw them, he figured he could finally hunt the beast once and for all.

But before he could follow the men, he caught a glimpse of another group of half-orcs ahead of him, passing by while he was distracted. Then he recognized one of their faces.

Rozalia!

Evander closed his eyes as he stood in place, unsure if he should head toward her or try to hide from the other creatures. Why is she here? What do they want with Rozalia?

He held himself back, staying hidden in the trees, watching as the orc passed by. He didn't see anything suspicious about any of it‌—not from what he could tell, anyway. But he had to make sure he wasn't being deceived somehow.

That meant he couldn't go after them right away. So instead, Evander stayed put for another hour, keeping track of the orc with the bow‌—assuming that it was the same woman who'd saved him. She seemed to be moving her own way, although she appeared to have stopped at one point to get something off the ground.

When Evander got closer, he realized she was actually kneeling down to pick up a rock, an object that had apparently rolled on its way out of the woods. As Rozalia reached for it, Evander could hear the other orcs nearby talking to each other, warning one another of dangers in the area.

Eventually, the half-orc women rose and started walking again, leaving the rock behind and heading deeper into the forest. It was probably just a coincidence that she'd picked up the same rock, but Evander still couldn't help himself from thinking about it.

What exactly are they doing here?