I was walking steadily along the trail that led out of Oakmere, heading west toward the main road.
I needed to know if what Scarlet said was true.
If Duke Glimor's men were really this close.
And if they were, I needed to figure out what the hell I was going to do about it.
I'd used my debug vision to modify my presence before leaving, dampening my heat signature, reducing the sound of my footsteps, making myself harder to detect by both magical and mundane means.
The forest around the trail was quiet. The normal sounds of birds and small animals were absent, like the wildlife had sensed something dangerous and made themselves scarce.
That alone told me something was wrong.
I moved carefully.
Then I sensed them.
Multiple presences ahead.
I immediately dropped into a crouch behind a thick tree trunk and held perfectly still.
Through the gaps in the foliage, I could see the trail ahead where it widened slightly near a small clearing.
