The woodland did not stay empty for long.
By the next afternoon the first secondary checkpoint appeared on a side trail they had hoped to use. Black banners hung from poles driven into the earth. Scent-tokens marked the approach.
The same lacquered armor the cadre preferred gleamed under the filtered light. Aiden and Ressa stopped short of the ridge line and watched long enough to count the guards. Then they backed away before any head turned in their direction.
They tried a lower game path that cut through denser scrub. Another post waited there, smaller but alert. Two sentries paced a short arc while a third sat with a token board across his knees. The wind carried the faint copper tang of demon blood. Aiden drew his signature tighter and they withdrew again.
