Chapter 10: Of Sparks and Silence

The group moved in uneasy silence, the forest around them heavy with the tension of the recent fight. No more growls echoed off the ancient trees. No more crashing limbs littered the ground. Only aching muscles, sore hearts, and the dull, lingering hum of retreating adrenaline.

Dame Lynsel raised her voice just enough to cut through the oppressive stillness. "Check your gear. Recover what you can. We finish what we came here for." Her tone was firm, yet it betrayed the worry gnawing at her chest, the mission hadn't changed, but the stakes had risen higher than she could have anticipated.

The mission hadn't changed.

The missing patrol hadn't been found, leaving a weight of uncertainty hanging over them all.

Saya stood on her own a few paces away, one hand pressed lightly but firmly against her injured shoulder, the fabric of her dress damp with sweat and blood.

Zeppelin, instinctively reaching for her arm, was met with a gentle but resolute shake of Saya's head.

"I'm fine."

"No, you're-"

"I said I'm fine." Saya cut her off, her eyes sharp with determination. 

Zeppelin frowned, her instinct to protect clashing with Saya's stubbornness, but she didn't press further. Instead, she helped her stand, remaining close like a stubborn shadow.

A few of the other apprentices exchanged glances, their confusion palpable. One boy, thin and nervous, looked like he wanted to voice his concern but seemed paralyzed by fatigue and uncertainty. Ultimately, no one confronted Saya; their collective wariness blanketed the group like an unseen fog.

Zeppelin didn't notice.

Lost in her own troubled thoughts, Zeppelin recalled the strange flicker of magic she had somehow called forth during the fight and the creeping fear of what it might mean for her, a mage with no control and no real training, only raw instinct and a shred of luck. But as heavy as the moment felt, they had work to do.

But for now, they had work to do.

The group circled back toward the ruins of the bandit camp. The remnants of violence lay scattered across the forest floor, a macabre testament to the chaos that had unfolded. Whatever had slaughtered the bandits had left behind a field of carnage, the air thick with the metallic scent of blood that had soaked into the grass, and broken weapons glinted like shards of ice beneath the sunlight.

"We missed something," Lynsel murmured, her brow furrowing as she scanned the ground. "Spread out. Watch for any signs."

With her heart pounding, Zeppelin followed Saya toward the treeline, her eyes darting over the underbrush, searching for anything out of place. After a few tense minutes, her gaze caught on something strange: branches bent at odd angles, resembling twisted fingers reaching for the sky, and a splash of dried blood staining the undergrowth.

And then, bootprints. Uneven. Staggered.

"Saya," she called softly. "Someone was here."

Carefully, they followed the trail deeper into the shadowy woods. The others soon caught up, their footsteps muted against the carpet of fallen leaves and moss.

It wasn't far. Hidden beneath an overturned log, shrouded in a mess of moss and rotting leaves, lay the body of a young knight. His armor was scuffed and battered, and he appeared barely conscious, his chest rising and falling in shallow, labored breaths, his once-bright face now as pale as death.

"A survivor!" one of the healers exclaimed, urgency igniting the air.

The group rushed to his side, clearing space as they began to cast basic healing spells to stabilize him. Zeppelin knelt beside him, watching the sheen of sweat on his furrowed brow and the trembling in his fingertips as panic surged around them.

His lips moved weakly, almost inaudibly.

"Don't speak," she said gently, her voice soothing like a balm against his pain. "You're safe now."

But he kept going. "It… wasn't bandits," he rasped. "They were running. Scared."

"Scared of what?" Lynsel's voice was stern, tempered by concern as her gaze darted toward the treeline.

He blinked slowly, struggling to gather his thoughts. "Something… big. Not human. It hunted them."

The healers worked faster, desperation creeping into their movements.

Lynsel's expression hardened as she looked toward the dark silhouette of the trees, her eyes narrowing with determination. "We'll head back soon," she muttered, urgency coloring her tone. "But something out here is very wrong. This isn't just bandits anymore."

Zeppelin felt it too, a palpable pressure hanging thick in the air, an unsettling silence that was too perfect, too foreboding. And far beyond the gnarled branches above, hidden in the dark canopy, something watched. Something that waited patiently for its next prey.