Morning brought a thin mist that clung to his skin and soaked his ragged clothes. Eryn woke stiff but alert, gripping his knife immediately. His stomach cramped with hunger, but he pushed it aside. He moved quietly through the underbrush, listening for anything—rabbits, birds, anything edible.
Instead, he heard voices.
He froze behind a tangle of ferns. The voices were low and rough, men talking in hurried whispers. Through the mist, he glimpsed them—hunters, five of them, crouched in a circle. Their clothes were stained with travel, their belts heavy with blades and pouches.
"…heard it's nesting deeper in," one whispered."Rare meat, worth a fortune," said another, licking his lips."We'll bring it down, then sell the hide. Easy coin."
Eryn crept closer, silent as shadow. He caught sight of a crude map one of them held, an X marked in charcoal. A cave deeper in the forest. A beast they wanted to kill.
He remembered the tanner's knife, the promise he had carved into his heart. He was too small, too weak still. But these men… these hunters… they were headed somewhere dangerous. Somewhere deeper. Somewhere that might lead him closer to power—or to answers.
Eryn's grip tightened on his knife. He followed them, keeping to the shadows, moving when they moved, freezing when they paused. Hours passed as they trekked through thicker brush and darker woods. The men spoke of the meat again and again, laughing, talking about how sweet it would taste roasted over a fire.
Eryn didn't laugh. He only watched, silent and sharp, as the hunters disappeared deeper into the forbidden forest.
Ahead, the mist parted, and the forest seemed to breathe. Somewhere in the depths, a distant growl rolled through the trees, low and ancient.
Eryn's heartbeat quickened. He stepped after them without hesitation.