The village elder led them through Thornpeak's damaged streets. Broken fences, trampled gardens, livestock carcasses scattered across fields. Three buildings showed claw marks gouging deep into wood—gnoll signatures.
"They came at dusk yesterday," the elder explained, voice shaking. "Eight, maybe ten gnolls. Bigger than normal, stronger. Moved with purpose, like they were hunting specific targets. Then the trolls arrived—three of them, coordinating with the gnolls. We've never seen that before."
Van knelt beside claw marks, measuring depth. "These gouges are deeper than standard gnoll strength. And coordinated troll-gnoll tactics..." He looked at Lyra. "Can you track them?"
Lyra was already moving, eyes scanning ground with practiced efficiency. Footprints, displaced earth, broken branches. She followed the trail to the village edge, then pointed northeast toward wooded hills.
"Fresh tracks. Less than six hours old. They're not far—maybe two miles into those woods. Looks like they've established a den."
"Then we go now," Adrian said. "While the trail is hot."
Van nodded. "Agreed. Village elder, keep your people inside until we return. Korvan, Lyra, Kade—standard formation. We hunt."
The trail led through dense forest where afternoon shadows created natural ambush zones. Lyra moved ahead, silent as death, while Korvan brought up the rear with shield ready. Kade maintained center position with Adrian and Van, focus rune in his helmet already activated.
"Tracks show deliberate movement," Lyra whispered, dropping back to report. "Not wandering. They're patrolling. Someone's directing them."
"Enslavement runes," Kade confirmed, pointing to disturbed earth. "See these patterns? Circular movement around central point. That's controlled behavior, not natural pack hunting."
They found the den thirty minutes later—natural cave entrance hidden by vegetation. Gnoll scent hung heavy in the air. And then movement.
The pack erupted from the cave with coordinated precision.
Eight gnolls, hyena-like faces twisted with unnatural aggression. But something was wrong—they were larger than standard gnolls, muscles bulging unnaturally, eyes glowing faint red. Behind them, three trolls emerged, also enhanced, moving with intelligence that trolls normally lacked.
"Formation!" Van commanded.
Korvan stepped forward, shield raised. The first gnoll struck with speed that surprised him—claws raking across his shield with force that made him stagger. Enhanced strength. Significantly enhanced.
"They're boosted!" Korvan shouted, bracing against another impact that would have shattered lesser shields.
Two gnolls flanked, faster than natural gnolls should move. Lyra intercepted with speed-enhanced boots, but her blade met unnaturally tough hide. The gnoll barely flinched.
"Tougher too!" she called, dodging club swing from approaching troll.
Adrian engaged, activating white Spirit Sword. The base form blazed along his blade as he struck the nearest gnoll. The creature took the hit that should have killed it and kept coming, enhanced durability pushing through normal fatal damage.
Van activated his Spirit Sword, blue flame flaring along his blade as he cut through another gnoll. Even with Spirit Sword enhancement, the creature required three strikes instead of one.
"Power boost from enslavement runes!" Kade analyzed, maintaining tactical distance. "They're not just controlled—they're enhanced! Strength, speed, durability all amplified!"
A troll charged Korvan with coordinated precision, no random violence. Calculated assault. Korvan absorbed the impact but got driven backward, feet digging trenches in earth.
The team was struggling. These weren't normal monsters—these were enhanced threats that challenged even elite squires.
"Adjust tactics!" Van ordered. "Kade, find weak points! Lyra, target joints! Korvan, contain the trolls! Adrian, with me on the gnolls!"
The team adapted with practiced efficiency that justified their elite status.
Kade's focus rune sharpened his analysis. "Rune collars! Necks! That's the enhancement source—target the collars!"
Lyra shifted from power strikes to precision attacks, her speed letting her dart in and slash at gnoll neck collars. Rune-etched metal shattered under her blade, and immediately the enhanced gnoll reverted to normal strength. She killed it in one follow-up strike.
"It works!" she called.
Korvan stopped trying to overpower the trolls and instead used superior positioning. He funneled them into narrow spaces where their enhanced strength couldn't leverage properly, shield work negating their boosted power through tactical superiority.
Van and Adrian worked in devastating tandem. Van's blue Spirit Sword created openings, Adrian's white Spirit Sword exploited them. They moved like they'd fought together for years instead of days—Van would force a gnoll's guard up, Adrian would strike the exposed collar.
Rune after rune shattered. Enhanced monsters reverted to standard threats.
And once that happened, the power gap became obvious.
These were Ashbourne's elite squires. Against normal gnolls and trolls, they were overwhelming.
Lyra became blur of motion, speed-enhanced strikes dismembering gnolls with surgical precision. Without enhancement, the creatures couldn't track her movements.
Korvan's shield tactics crushed trolls with brutal efficiency. Normal troll strength met elite shield work, and the trolls died quickly.
Kade provided perfect tactical support—calling out threats, directing focus, his rune knowledge letting team maximize their capabilities.
Van cut through gnolls with practiced grace that spoke of hundreds of monster kills. His strikes flowed with devastating efficiency, each movement precise and deadly.
And Adrian... Adrian showed why tournament champion earned second-year placement. Even with just white base Spirit Sword, his three-hundred-year demon combat experience translated perfectly. He read monster movements before they happened, countered with precision that made killing look effortless.
The battle lasted three minutes once they adjusted.
Eight gnolls dead. Three trolls eliminated. Not a single serious injury on the team.
Silence fell over the forest clearing.
"Well," Korvan said, breathing slightly heavier, "that was interesting. Definitely stronger than normal monsters."
"Enhancement runes," Kade confirmed, kneeling beside a dead gnoll. He carefully removed the shattered collar, examining the rune work. "Sophisticated application. Strength boost, speed enhancement, durability amplification. Whoever made these knows advanced rune theory."
"Evil faction," Van said grimly. "Has to be. This level of work requires expertise and resources."
Lyra was already scouting the area. "Trail continues northeast. Looks like more movement—probably the controllers. They fled when we engaged."
"How many?" Adrian asked.
"Hard to say. At least two, maybe three. Human tracks, deliberate movement. They're heading somewhere specific."
Van studied the broken collars. "We take these back to Ashbourne for analysis. But first, we follow that trail. Controllers are our real target."
"Should we report back to village first?" Kade asked.
"No time. Trail gets cold, we lose them." Van looked at the team. "Everyone good to continue?"
Nods all around. They'd overcome enhanced monsters with elite coordination. Normal humans—even rune users—wouldn't pose greater threat.
"Then we hunt," Van decided.
They followed Lyra northeast, leaving monster corpses behind. Evidence secured, immediate threat eliminated. But the real mission was just beginning.
Somewhere ahead, evil faction members fled with knowledge of enslavement rune techniques. Knowledge that could create enhanced monster armies.
The team moved through forest with professional efficiency, tracking human prey now instead of monsters.