- A great battle took place here. - The hunter said quietly, hand scrapping the blood soaked earth of the foothill leading up to the ridge near the smoke columns. - The ground is soaked in blood.
- Yes. - Quang nodded, carefully checking the sparse woodland around them, making sure that they're not walking into a trap. - But where's the bodies?
It was the third site they've encountered, and again, there were no body to be found, only blood and impressions of what must have once been crudely built tents. Something's not right, and all of them could feel it, the smell of death and destruction hung heavily in the air, and the elves were oddly silent. The old chief surveyed his surrounding, focusing on the thickest parts of the forest, hoping to see something, a sign, a warning, a movement from their elusive watchers. But there were none. Ever since they reached the first site, Quang has noticed that the elves were no longer showing their presence to him.
- Chieftain. - A hunter approached, his head kept low and his voice was little more than a whisper. - May I speak my concern?
- Speak. - The chieftain whispered a reply, eyeing the hunter who was not much younger than him.
- I…I think we should go back. - The hunter explained, cautiously looking around as if he's just sensed an unseen threat. - There's something about these sites that's creeping me out, it's creeping the party out. They're too…clean.
- The people deserve a place to stay, old friend. - The chieftain said quietly. - They need to know if that place is safe to stay or not.
- As you say.
The old hunter nodded and returned to his group, preparing the others to move closer to the smoke columns. They're still there, still burning with no sign of them dying down. They're being sustained, Quang thought, but by what? Cautiously, the scouting party moved up the ridge, shadowed by the exposed rocks and patches of spines that were becoming sparser and sparser with every step they took. There were several large boulders on top of the ridge, perfect for hiding, the old chief thought as he moved forward, followed by the rest of his scouting party. That's when they heard it.
- Kill the mongrels!
- Don't let them escape!
- Hah! What pathetic preys these beasts are!
The voices came from the other side of the ridge, voices of females…and children. Most strange. Killing? Preys? What were they talking about? What kind of people let their women and children partake in the butchering of live preys? Quang's expression grew into a frown as question after question popping up in his head. Signaling the rest of the scouting party to hold their position, the chieftain slowly crept his way up toward the edge, toward the sounds of animals being butchered and metal biting into flesh.
The other side of the ridge led down to a large plain surrounded by hills and outcrops, it would have make for a good resting spot for the night, if it's not for the fact that it was already occupied. From atop the ridge, hundreds of meters away, Quang could see a crowd numbering at the least more than a hundred, pass experiences and the fact that all of them, even the children-like figures, were classed from head to toe in metallic armors told the old chief that it was a war host. They were comprised of mostly the smaller warriors, barely taller than a teenage child, but the ways they walked, the ways they talked and the blood-soaked ground that they're standing on showed that they're all skilled warriors, if nothing else. Most of them were classed in purple armors, though a large number of them were daunted in greens or various shades of red and were armed with swords, bows, spears, shields and axes.
These must be the elves that have been following them, Quang recognized the shades of purple of their armors. Quetz has told him, along with other chieftains in their secret meetings about them, they're small in statures but are not to be trifled with. There were others in the war host, warriors women, classed in blood red armors and crested helms, armed with long spears, axes and great shields with strange ruins scribed on them. The columns of smoke came from six great pyres forming a circle, fueled by dead bodies of creatures half human half goats piled into mounds. In the inner part of the grim circle, a couple of dozens or so of the creatures still standing, horned heads kept low and swaying as they brayed in anger and despair, surrounded and slowly butchered on all side by the third and final group of the war host.
- Oh gods… - A hunter muttered shakily, staring down at the plain below their hiding spot. - There are more of those things…
They were classed in golden armors scribed with runes that gleam in the dancing fire, long, golden tails and raptorial legs danced in and out of the herd of goatmen, brandishing spears and sickle swords, each time pulling one of the creatures out of the herd to be slaughtered. Like wolves circling a flock of sheep, they toyed with their preys, leaping onto the air toward the herd, their weapons flashed and a goatman was separated, and the pack descended upon it with silent fury, if not frenzy of the hunt. The carnage was great, already the ground was soaked and mushy with gores, dozens of mutilated corpses littered the circle, before being tossed out, caught and tossed again into the pyres. There couldn't be more than a hundred and fifty, but base on the sizes of the pyres and the corpses, the old chief estimated that their preys once numbered in at least the hundreds.
- What is it? What did you see?
- Monsters. Raiders.
- They're too close to the refugees. - A huntress whispered.
- Do you reckon we can take them on? - Another hunter asked with hushed tone.
- You fools! - A third one, older than most chimed in quietly. - There are hundreds of them. We're less than two dozens, a fraction of them could kill us off easily.
- Then we avoid them. - Quang finally said, slowly retreating from the top of the ridge.
- What are we going to do? - A younger member of the scouting party asked quietly as all of them started their slow descends.
- Tell the rest nothing, tell them that there was a small forest fire. - Quang whispered, picking up the pace to get away from the horrific killing field as fast as possible.
- They'll never believe that. - An old hunter grimly voiced his concern.
- What choice do we have? - Quang mumbled, something tells him that these elves would be less friendly and less elusive if they found out about what have transpired. - Either lead them away or cause a panic and draw unwanted attention.
- Or you could come with us.
The childish voice came from above gave the scouting party pause, the looked up and around, trying to find where it has originated from to no avail. There were no sign of life, save for the rustling of the canopies and the fleeting glimpses of petite figure jumping from tree branch to tree branch.
- Show yourself! - A young hunter shouted, his spear raised and pointed at the rustling trees.
- But I don't wanna! - The voice nagged in a teasing, faked whiny voice, followed by echoing chuckles.
- It's…toying with us. - A huntress grunt, raising her bow and firing an arrow in the direction of the rustlings.
- Hah~hah~! Missed me!
- Enough! Show yourself!
- Geez! Don't be so sour, krauts. - The voice sounded annoyed. - It's not my fault that you human are too slow to catch me.
A small shadow dropped down from the canopies and landed in front of Quang, the short, golden hair that wasn't tucked under the blue headband slightly flickered in the winds as the boy, barely older than Haru slowly stood up, his different colored eyes glared at the group mischievously. Despite the cold of the highlands that cut into the bones of even the strongest hunters, the boy wore nothing but a blue sleeveless tank top, with an unbuttoned jet black leather jacket a little too big for his size. Belts tightly wrapped around his thin waists, anchoring the baggy leather pants in place, their creases tucked into the pair of knee-high jackboots of the same color. He's barely taller than Haru, yet unlike the timid boy that Quang knew through Quetz that they share some heritage, this one radiates a sense of confidence, if not cockiness, toward his party, as if he knew that all of them combine would still be not enough to beat him. It's not completely wrong, the sword hanging from his hip and the gem-encrusted bow in his hand, along with the quiver full of shimmering arrows on his back were enough to convince the old chief that this one is no ordinary child.
- A child? - A huntress smirked, lowering her spear in relief. - Of all the things those monsters could have sent, they sent a child?
- A child…that scared you shitless. - The blonde smirked back.
- You insolent brat!
- I wouldn't do that if I were you. - The blonde boy's expression grew grim, before anyone could have seen it, his hand has already rested on one of the arrows in his quiver.
- Peace, proud elf warrior. - Quang raised his hand, putting himself between the huntress and the elf. - We don't want any trouble, we're just following the instruction of…
- Keto, right? - Much to the old chief's surprise, the elf warrior smiled brightly. - He told me you'd go through here, so we sent out the last mob-up mission just to make sure.
- Elf? That monster? Mob-up mission? - A young hunter asked in frustration. - Chieftain, what's going on? What is this brat talking about?
- Oh. Where are my manners? - The blonde chuckled and bowed, dramatically, sarcastically. - Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Ginji, Prefect of the Silver Winds Auxila and one of Keto's many personal retainers, at your service.