Lex had brought everything we needed to camp the night, and it took less than five minutes to have a fire ready, and for him to set up some wires to which he attached bells to. "I had a kit I bought for this, enchanted and everything, but a monster tore it up."
"Better it than you," I said.
"Oh I know, it's just a shame," he replied. "But anyways we won't have to worry. This area isn't too dangerous, and we'll take turns keeping watch. The wires are just for certain types of monsters. They're rare, but not unheard of. Once you go far enough into this part of the forest you reach an area called the deep green, which is essentially a term for an area full of monsters. It's the only area of its kind near our town, and most of the time it's left alone, but sometimes monsters wander far enough away, and reach this area."
"Like what type?"
"Like a vine slitter," Lex said shuddering. "They're insidious little things. There snakes with blades they can produce along the length of their body, and so they wrap around your neck, let out their blade, and then twist, slitting your throat on all sides."
I gulped. "And the wires stop that?"
"Look at them." He pointed at one. "It's covered in a smell that will send most monsters turning back, at least those around here. The slitter would smell it from far away, and not come close unless it had no choice. Hunger will make a monster even more monstrous, and don't get me started on mutations."
I decided not to ask any more about that. I would have enough trouble sleeping with just knowledge of the slitter and the dogs.
We ate some of the dog meat which wasn't too bad. It was a bit stringy which was odd, but not horrible. It was filling and we had plenty. I asked Lex about leaving so much meat, but he laughed. "Oh, it'll be gone by morning. Other monsters and animals will smell it, and come running."
I hadn't thought of that, but it did put me at ease. My dad had hated whenever I wasted food and would make me sit at the table and clean my plate, but if there were leftovers he would save them, and either he'd eat them or I would. He wouldn't force me if he knew I'd had too much or was sick.
I decided I'd do the first watch while Lex got some sleep. He bedded down, and I spent the time alone, trying to sense without going into that mediate state. I wanted to grow but at the risk that something would attack and I'd miss it because I was too busy in my head. I didn't make much progress at first since whenever I got close, there would be a snap of a branch or howl and it would break me from the moment.
In the end, I knew I had a lot more to do. After a few hours, I woke Lex and then took my turn sleeping. It was hard, but having Lex nearby certainly helped.
*****
The next day we headed out to take care of two more packs. We needed to cull their numbers but not completely. The natural state of the forest had to be maintained. The prey, the predators, and more. There was a balance and the town liked it how it was.
"Here, some more tracks," Lex pointed out. "Although, these seem off…"
"What do you mean…" I trailed off as I spotted the problem. "Do they get that big?"
He shook his head as he traced a finger around a large paw print in the ground. Far larger than any we'd seen yesterday, and with four toes rather than three. We became more cautious after that, but things got stranger. We came across four bodies, or more accurately, bones. The dogs had eaten everything.
"These are Den Swine," Lex said. "A pack couldn't kill these, not all four."
I couldn't tell much, but it seemed like the bones belonged to some sort of boar. Not small either, but larger. As Lex leaned down to inspect one of them, I spotted something on another. I walked over and picked up the skull. There was a mark that looked like it had been made by a tooth, except it was large, larger than any other I could see.
"Lex, whatever made the big prints killed these I think."
"You're right, these marks aren't just Sordogs, but something mixed me." He grew quiet for a long moment. His face paled a bit, and he looked nervous.
"What is it?"
"I… I think I know, but it's not good," he said. "Sordogs, well… when a large enough pack forms, there's a chance for a change in one them. It's rare, very rare, but when it happens, the strongest of them become alpha of the pack."
"How big of a pack?"
"At least fifteen, but it could be more," Lex said, sounding very troubled. "We could take that many, but led by an alpha? It's not just physical changes. The alpha can temper the rage of the others, and coordinate them to a degree. Nothing huge, but they start to use normal pack tactics. Ambushing, watching, proper communication, rather than just a mob going around following any scent they find."
"Should we go back?"
"Probably," he replied. "We'll have to come back with the whole team for this." He stood, and cursed. "Just our luck. We need to hurry. Every day it's out here, it's a killing spree. C'mon, let's go. We don't want to run into it."
Just as he said the words, there was a howl, and from a nearby bush, three figures emerged. Sordogs, but they didn't charge this time. Instead, they watched us, and to my horror began to spread out.
I turned to Lex whose eyes were unfocused for some reason. "Lex?"
His eyes came back into focus. "We need to go now?"
There were more howls as Lex and I bolted. I used Boost and Lex must have used one of his abilities as he grew faster. I used another boost to match him and we were off. But not alone. I glanced around and saw sordogs on our trail. To our left, right, and behind us. They were harrying us. We were being hunted. I had to laugh. The hunters had become the hunted.
"Don't stop!" Lex yelled, "We can't take them and the alpha. They'll fall off if we get back onto the road."
We made a mad dash through the forest, chased by monsters, and there were a few times were we almost ran into more dogs. Luckily Lex seemed to know where to go so I just followed him. I kept my sword out and swung at any who got close, but they never committed. They acted comely different than yesterday. The bit then jumped back. I was forced to use boost again and again.
It was hard, but I didn't stop. Finally, they seemed to stop, and fall away or so I thought. I glanced back and almost tripped as I spotted what must have been the alpha. It was three times bigger than the other which were already the size of large dogs. Its fur was thicker, and its spines longer. Its eyes were terrifying and it just stared. Then it smiled, and I heard howls in front of us.
I was focused on running, I forgot my timer. I couldn't boost anymore, and when the drop hit, I fell, hitting the ground and rolling. At the speed I was going, the impact hurt.
"Damn, Jericho!"
I felt hands on me, quickly shoving something into my mouth. It wasn't one of my potions, but something stronger. I felt cold flood me, and the pain stilled before residing. My vision which had been going blurry cleared and I looked into Lex's eyes.
"What…?"
"Emergency potion," he said, pulling me up. "We have to go."
I got to my feet, but it was too late to run. Surrounding us were dogs, at least a dozen of them, and more howls were getting closer. They weren't the main threat, however. Lex and I turned at the sound of a low growl to find the alpha moving closer, not running, but walking slowly. It knew we were trapped, and wanted to savor the moment.
"What do we do?" I asked, my voice shaky.
"All we can do is fight," Lex said his voice grim. "Our chances are low, but not impossible."
He drew his blade and got in a stance. I swallowed but did the same. My heart was racing and Boost was on cooldown, leaving me with nothing but my sword and novice skill.