I woke up to a silent dawn. There were no birds chirping, no wind hustling the leaves.
Feeling somewhat nervous, I forced myself awake. Why was the forest so quiet? I lifted my head and looked around, only to see Vincent silently staring off into the woods. With his sword in hand, he motionlessly stood there. Was he listening to something?
Everyone else was still in their tents. It must have been Vincent's turn to stand guard. I quietly got up on my feet and approached the young man. He flinched when I touched his shoulder. He motioned to punch me but stopped as soon as he recognized who I was.
"You scared me, Kai." He breathed out in relief. "I could have injured you."
I shrugged; I didn't think he'd be able to do much to me. Despite the difference in pure strength, I was fairly sure I could beat him with my knowledge and previous training. "Did you notice something over there?" I tilted my head towards the forest.
"I'm not sure." He sighed. "Maybe I'm just being paranoid. I thought I heard footsteps, but when I looked, there was nothing around here." He shook his head. "Maybe I'm just tired."
I hesitated. "No, I don't think that's it." The forest was too silent. Something was off. "Do you mind waking the others up?" I asked quietly. "Act like it's normal and tell Rina to look out for magic around here." He seemed somewhat confused but nodded and walked towards the tents.
I stretched and walked to the river. I knelt by the shallow water and splashed some on my face.
"Good morning," Rina's voice sounded. Her hair was a mess and she had some dark circles under her eyes. She also sat by the water and washed her face. "I saw some strands of magic by the large oak tree to the west of camp." She silently said before getting up and walking towards the firepit.
I ran my fingers through my hair, then rose on my feet and slowly made my way to the edge of camp. I didn't approach the spot Rina was talking about, instead I walked into the treeline. As soon as I was hidden by the greenery, I used Fallen Grace and with my increased speed and dexterity, made my way to the large tree.
I made sure to remain hidden as I approached the spot. I could hear Joshua's loud laughter back at camp, they were either doing a good job faking a normal morning, or none of them had gotten the hint. Hoping that it was the former, I arrived at the tree. As soon as I stepped into its shadow, I felt a wave of magic wash over me.
"Why are we wasting our time here?" A woman's voice sounded from above.
"Because we don't know who they are." A man said, quietly. "Just make sure to stay in the spell or they'll hear you."
"I know, I know." She grumbled. When I looked up, I spotted them on one of the lower branches of the tree. The woman had short, black hair. She wore simple leather armour. The man wore his blonde hair in a ponytail. He was clearly a magic user; his enchanted robes and staff were clear evidence of that.
"Oh, where did the weird one go?" The woman mumbled. I flinched; they had noticed I was gone already.
"You lost him?" The man shook his head in defeat. "You're hopeless. I-" He stopped as our gazes met. I jumped up as he started shouting. I had already reached him before a word could leave his mouth. I rammed him with all my weight as he desperately reached for something to hold on to. We plummeted from the branch as neither of us could keep our balance on it.
We fell on the moss-covered ground with a muffled thud. I summoned my sword as soon as I could and before the blonde man could get up, I pinned him down. Putting the pale metal blade of my sword against his throat, I shouted. "If you try to stab me, he dies."
The leaves of the branch above me rustled as the woman landed a few meters away from us. "Who are you?" She hissed at me. Her eyes were like those of a cat. The dagger in her hand reflected the sunlight.
"I'll ask you the same." I said, then glanced at the blonde man. He was preparing to cast a spell. "Stop that." Perhaps it was my cold voice, perhaps the fact that I noticed what he was doing, but something made him flinch and the magic gathering in his palm seemed to fade.
"Kai!" Vincent's voice sounded as the rest of the group arrived.
"Who are you people?" Erik asked, his sword and shield in hand. With his plate armour and a group of six fully armed people behind him, he looked quite intimidating.
"We don't mean any harm, ok?" The woman shouted. "Let him go, you demon!" She glared at me.
"I don't trust you. Who are you and why were you watching us?" I asked. I pressed the blade to the man's throat ever so slightly. It was definitely not enough to even cut through his skin, but he immediately shouted. "Ok! Just don't kill me, please!" I felt him struggle under me. He didn't seem like he was lying. In fact, he seemed terrified.
"I won't hurt you as long as you don't try to harm one of them." I tilted my head towards Erik and the others. The man nodded vigorously. I glanced at the woman, who also nodded albeit with a slight hesitation.
I slowly put the sword back into my inventory and moved aside, letting go of the blonde man. He touched his throat in a panic and only calmed down a little when he noticed that there was no wound.
"Now," I said as I rose to my feet. "Let's talk back at camp." Erik nodded. I offered my hand to the man. "Need any help?" He shook his head and quickly stood up as well.
We led them back to camp and sat around the ash-filled firepit.
"So," I said with a cold voice. "Who are you?"