The sun climbed towards its zenith, yet the Dargan remained unseen. Kael shifted his weight, addressing Gerber, whose knowledge of the large feline predator was supposedly extensive. "Where do you think that big cat is hiding?"
Gerber offered a noncommittal shrug. "Who knows? But it'll be close, waiting for the right moment to strike."
His words proved prophetic. A rustle in the dense shrubs, a flash of tawny fur, and then the Dargan emerged. Its jaws clamped around a worker's leg, its powerful muscles propelling it away, dragging the screaming man into the undergrowth. The worker's cries, sharp and filled with agony, echoed across the mountainous terrain, fading into the distance.
"That answers your question," Gerber stated, glancing at Kael. Saving the man was, in his view, futile. The Dargan's motives were inscrutable, the risk too high.
One of the workers approached Captain Baldred. "Shouldn't we try and save him, Captain?"