Hike (3).

Having woken up, Kopii took his backpack, pulled out a flask, and took a sip of water. Today was going to be a difficult day. Kopii packed up the entire camp and walked towards the cliff. Looking down, he saw that it was so deep that he couldn't see the bottom. When Kopii had come here yesterday, he'd hoped that the flower he needed grew here, and not down below, but no matter how hard he searched, he couldn't find it. All his hopes crumbled; he wanted to find the flower as quickly as possible and return to Orario.

He didn't think for long, grabbed a rather large stone, and approached the cliff to throw it down and see how deep it was. Lifting the stone above his head, Kopii hurled it down with immense force. One, two, three… And after three seconds, Kopii heard a sound: the stone had finally fallen. Judging by the sound, Kopii realized that the stone had fallen into water. Now he had an idea of how to get down, but it was quite dangerous.

And the main problem was how to climb back up? He wasn't a rock climber, able to scale such heights. Kopii continued to ponder, coming up with the best plan. But Kopii's thoughts were interrupted by a strange whistling sound that caught his attention. Kopii's eyes widened - he immediately guessed what that sound was. The sound was all too familiar to him.

But Kopii didn't have time to react when he felt a sharp pain in his palm. Kopii didn't pay attention to it – he knew what it was. Kopii turned sharply, but his legs faltered. His eyes began to blur. He finally understood: they hadn't shot him in the arm because they wanted to kill him, but because they needed him alive for something. That's why they poisoned the arrow. Or was it just an accident, and the archer had missed?

But there was nothing he could do - his mind was leaving him, and his body was betraying him. He tried his best to keep his balance, but another arrow hit his leg, and as a result, Kopii fell off the cliff. He could only think about one thing: why was he so unlucky?

***

Larsen watched as the boy hurried away from them. His face was indifferent. They watched him until he disappeared behind the trees.

"Father, do you think it's a good idea to let him go now? We spent time driving the boar in his direction. I think now is a good time to attack," Torvin said.

"No, Torvin, you're wrong. He was able to deal with the boar without any problems. Do you know what that tells us?" Garvin looked at his brother.

"Well, probably he got lucky," Torvin said, staring intently at his brother.

"There's a possibility that he has a Falna," Garvin said.

Torvin's eyes widened in shock. "A blessing from the gods! Then maybe we should leave him alone? If we kidnap him, we'll be in trouble."

"Ah," Garvin sighed. "You're too inexperienced, Torvin. If he were from a high-class family, why would he need to leave Orario alone? He can't be a high level. Most likely, he's doing a guild quest or an errand for some family."

"What if you're wrong, older brother? What if he's actually high level or is going to visit his family, for example?" Torvin said, watching Elrik butcher the boar. His gaze quickly returned to Garvin. "Wouldn't it be better for us to leave him alone?"

"Ha," Garvin sighed. "You've been spoiled too much by mom. Why can't you analyze things? For example, his gear wasn't too expensive, which means he's probably from a low-class family. You held his sword in your hand; you saw for yourself that it was of poor quality. That sword can only be used for stabbing attacks. So, he's either level one or level two at most."

"Why are you so sure about that?" Torvin interrupted him. "Remember when we made a mistake? We got beaten up, we barely escaped," he shouted, clenching his fists.

"Calm down, Torvin," Larsen interjected.

"Sorry, Father," Torvin said, slowly calming down under his gaze.

"Back then, Torvin, we were too careless; that's why we paid the price," Garvin continued. "And why am I so sure that he's a low level? He didn't even feel our gazes on him. Even if we hadn't come out, he wouldn't have known that someone was watching him."

"Enough of the pointless arguments!" Larsen interrupted. "He will be our next target. Did you see how handsome he is? If we sell him, we'll get a lot of money."

"Sorry, Father," they both exclaimed.

"I have a question, Father," Elrik said, continuing to butcher the boar.

"Of course, Elrik, what did you want to ask?" Larsen looked at his eldest son.

"Why did you tell him that you didn't know where you were going? That's very strange for a traveler."

After his eldest son's words, Larsen smiled: "I wanted to make him doubt us."

"Why?"

"When he met us, he already doubted us. Then I decided to add fuel to the fire so that he would doubt us even more. It'll just be boring to hunt him."

"Okay, Father, I understand."

"How lucky we were to stumble upon him. Elrik, finish up - we don't need that much. We still have to return to camp and then follow his trail."

"Okay, Father," all three said, following Larsen.

"Torvin, Garvin was right: we've spoiled you too much," Larsen remarked.

"Father, I was just worried. Remember that time when we underestimated the adventurer? He broke your leg and beat us all up. It was only by a miracle that we were able to survive."

"I understand you, but that doesn't mean everyone is like that. Back then, we were too relaxed and underestimated him. You saw the current one - he's just a child, nothing more. Even if he received a god's blessing, do you think it's easy to level up?" Larsen looked questioningly at Torvin.

"No, Father. I know that it takes a lot of time to level up. As far as I know, to level up, you need to perform feats. But I don't know which ones exactly."

"Good answer, Torvin."

So they continued to walk until they reached the camp. After gathering their belongings, they headed after Kopii.

"Our main goal is to understand what he's capable of and find out where he's going so that we can set up an ambush. Is that clear to everyone?"

"Yes, Father," all three said.

Larsen smirked, anticipating the hunt. He felt like a predator playing with its prey, and this game gave him a perverse pleasure. He could already see the shiny coins flowing into his hands, quenching his greed.

They walked through the forest, trying not to make any noise. Elrik, the most experienced tracker, confidently led them along Kopii's tracks. Garvin and Torvin silently trudged behind, each lost in their own thoughts. Garvin pondered the best way to attack, and Torvin was still tormented by doubts.

"Father, it's getting dark. Should we set up camp?" Torvin asked.

"No, Torvin. In order not to fall behind him, we will go at night. We have already spent time on the boar and returning to camp. We need to hurry."

Some time later, Larsen commanded, "Stop!"

Everyone stopped. It was hard to see, but everyone noticed a fire in the distance. They immediately guessed that it was their target.

"Father, maybe we should attack now, while he's sleeping? It's the best time," Garvin suggested.

"No, Garvin. We don't need to rush so much. Have you forgotten what I said?"

"We must study what he is capable of. Only then attack."

"Yes, Garvin, that's right. Don't ask any more stupid questions. Let's sleep. But someone must constantly watch him. We will change every two hours. I'll go first, then Elrik, then Garvin, and then Torvin. Understood?"

"Yes," they exclaimed, preparing for sleep.