A fire was crackling, and Sebastian and the rest of the group made camp just outside the edge of the Moundfang termites' territory, knowing they needed to rest before facing the dangerous creatures in the morning.
The group decided to get past the territory.
Was that foolish? Indeed. Was it unnecessary? Indeed. Still, it wouldn't make a difference.
Fighting here, or close to the citadel, was the same. The fangeds were as deadly there as they were here.
What changed were the monsters they were going to face, as well as their numbers.
But that wasn't necessarily bad. Near the citadel, most fangeds had already been killed, and this limited not only Sebastian's chances to get stronger, but even those of Leo, Kenway, and Calvin, and they knew how desperately they needed to grow stronger.
Calvin was looking at the crackling fire; something was clearly going on inside his mind that he wasn't ready to share just yet.