The fire died, but by then the darkness had already been driven away by the subtle glow of the morning sun. The group was awake and filled with vibrant energy as they packed their camping items into the few dimensional items they had.
The little that couldn't fit in was placed in a backpack and given to Kody, who was still stretching his tired bones.
Aphena was already geared up, with the rest of the team adding the final touches to their arsenal. There were seven members in the team, excluding Aphena, who was clearly their leader, and Kody, who could hardly be classified as a member.
Kody hadn't had the chance to get to know most of them. Rufus, Alto, and Dishon, who had accidentally crawled into his tent after getting drunk in the middle of the night, were the only ones he knew.
Dishon was the most chill of all of them. They had hit it off quite well, and although Kody couldn't understand a word he had said after barging and ranting in his tent, he still seemed friendly.
Aphena had her brows furrowed as she stared straight through the cave's opening and into the lively forest.
Or at least it was supposed to be lively. Given, there were a few chirping birds, but it sounded more like lost younglings trying to locate their family than the joyful chorus one would expect.
She knew why; they all knew why. Humans couldn't feel the Dragon's aura—which was for the better—but animals could feel it.
And right now all living things in the forest, from the worm burrowing into the soil, to the great peng terrorizing the skies, were cowering at that aura.
Dagon, a bulky bronze-skinned man standing at a towering seven feet, finished putting on his silver armour and strapped his great sword to his back. He stood beside Aphena, bent his head low, and whispered into her ear.
"Are you sure about taking the newbie along?"
She looked at him and her lips curled into a look of displeasure. "Are you questioning my decision?"
He quickly brought his head lower and apologized, "I would never do such a thing, that was foolish on my part." He could swear a red glint had appeared in her eyes for a second. He hardly ever saw her like this and he knew not to get on her nerves if she was like that.
Aphena shook her head, and her usual smile reappeared. "Don't get all worked up, Dagon, I was just… never mind."
"It was my fault, princess. Please pardon me."
She chuckled and said, "I told you to stop calling me that."
Dagon just smiled in response.
No one said a word as they both stared out of the cave.
"You're worried about Kody, right?"
"Huh, yeah–yes. I was a bit concerned that he might not be up for the task. But since it's your order, I'm sure—"
"Cut the crap, Dagon; you think he might actually be a spy?"
He gave a low chuckle.
"Indeed, nothing can be hidden from you."
Aphena then placed her hand on his shoulder and whispered into his ear.
"It doesn't matter if he's a spy, just remember that he is a very important variable who might very well save our lives if the need arises."
Dagon didn't know what to make of her prediction. He seriously doubted the disabled boy could be of much help to them, but he wasn't going to let Aphena catch him doubting her again.
"Understood."
She smiled. "Good."
"Now then, it seems everyone is ready," she said, turning to the rest of the crew. "Let's go egg hunting, shall we."
___
Kody tried to stay close to them, but the heavy luggage he was carrying made that hard.
This was mostly a scouting mission, so it wasn't supposed to be dangerous.
The forest was densely packed with trees, and the moisture in the air made the morning dew accumulate on their broad leaves.
He took in deep sniffs of the forest air now and then. For a moment, his mind flashed back to earth, its dry and sandy air that always had too light oxygen. It made him grimace.
Apart from the insects that circled their heads once in a while, they hadn't spotted a single living creature, not even a critter. This made him wonder if the smell of life the forest gave off was but an illusion.
The team had taken a strategic formation with Aphena, Rufus, and a pale, skinny lady in an oversized robe taking the lead, heralding the rest of the ground.
The pale woman gave off a cold aura and her hands never left the inner parts of her robes.
Her face lacked meat as her skin desperately clung to the bones. He doubted she was human, but he had no intention of walking up and questioning her.
In the middle of the formation were Thorin and Gilmour. Thorin wore leather armour, and his bow and quiver were strapped to his back; Gilmore wore an unimpressive chainmail covered in rust. He carried a pair of twin throwing axes with him.
Kody and Dagon walked at the rear of the group. Dagon emitted an oppressive aura that wasn't comfortable to be around, but there was nothing that could be done. He didn't stay at the rear by choice: The pace he was moving at was already hard enough to maintain, moving faster wasn't possible.
Sometimes he wondered where Alto and Dishon were, but the occasional shuffling of leaves in the trees and the shadows that flickered from above gave him a faint idea.
They hadn't encountered any trouble so far, at least that was until a strong palm fell on his shoulder.
The arm, as big as his face, pulled him back, with so much force that he couldn't stabilize himself and fell on the soft, root-covered ground.
He used his only arm to minimize the damage on impact, then turned to Dagon, about to yell and complain.
But he saw Dagon looking at something, something he had almost stepped on: a pure white mushroom with red spots.
Dagon stretched his feet and stepped on the mushroom. Just then, a minor explosion occurred causing some soil to splatter on Kody, who immediately closed his eyes.
He cleaned his eyes and Dagon was completely fine, as if the explosion hadn't affected him.
"Watch your step," he said to Kody.
This small episode had gotten everyone's attention, but after Dagon's words, they all continued moving, unbothered.
Kody quickly pushed himself up.
They navigated through branches and thorns and the journey soon began to wear out Kody's legs; every step was heavier than the last.
In the midst of these stressful circumstances, though, his senses were still sharp—honed by terrible experiences—so sharp that he noticed the reducing amount of trees before Aphena pointed it out.
"Stay close, everyone. It seems we've got something."
The group became on high alert, shifting their weapons to their perfect draw position.
Kody first noticed the smell. It was a strange one that got him sniffing the air. It smelled like… lizard.
Disgusting reptiles
He shivered at a few bad memories.
The smell kept drawing closer at a fast pace.
"Something's coming," he blurted out.
Dagon furrowed his brows. Still, he didn't dismiss the boy's words and placed his hand on the hilt of his weapon, ready to draw at a second's notice.
"Thorin, 7'0clock, 300 meters."
Upon hearing Aphena's orders, one of the two members in the middle of the formation removed an arrow from his quiver and pulled it against his green and slender bow.
After aiming, he shot, and the sound of the bow slicing through the air cut the silence.
"You missed, try again."
"Shit," the archer muttered as he pulled a monocle from the pocket of his cloak. He took in a deep breath and placed the monocle on his right eye. His entire body suddenly emitted an entirely different aura that was a bit suffocating. It was as if he had been possessed.
He took aim once more and fired; this time, the bow, streaking through the air, was hardly audible.
"Good, that was a clean hit," Aphena complimented. "There are a few more, kill as many as you can before they get to us."
She then looked up and asked, "Dishon, how many can you see heading our way?"
"Ab–about forty, there's about forty of them. These creatures aren't the usual, Miss. They seem to be a weird combination of wolf and…something else."
"I know that.
"Dagon, take care of Kody. The rest of you are to kill as many as you can while holding the formation.
"Alto, Dishon, you have permission to engage."
"Understood," Alto replied, moving like a shadow in the canopy of leaves.
"You mean we should en–engage?" Dishon muttered while squatting on a tree branch.
Aphena just glanced at him and he quickly composed himself and followed after Alto.
"Everyone else, get ready to fight. You are to kill them on sight."
Dagon had already drawn his great sword. "Get behind me," he said to Kody who did as he was told.
The archer who had previously been drawing his bow nonstop suddenly stopped as his hands shivered on the string.
"C–commander, these things, they're not… normal."