Marcus and Rita followed the trail of broken trees left by the bloodsaurus to get to the source of the commotion.
Along the way, they saw what looked to be half-eaten corpses of people.
"By the gods, I hope the children are alright," Rita muttered.
That wasn't the only thing they saw; there were brutalized corpses of monster parts scattered around.
Fear gripped their hearts as they thought the worst had happened.
Following the trail of corpses, they soon arrived at the source.
What they saw astonished them; there were many stacks of dead monster, many claw marks, fallen trees and the scent of burnt wood lingered in the air.
"What happened here," Marcus muttered, his heart sinking.
If his guess was right, the slave traders made camp in their current location.
Meaning that the kids were here when disaster struck, the possibility of them being alive was low.
The only way he could think of them surviving was that some slave trader took them and escaped when the disaster struck.
Snap!
The sudden snapping of branches suddenly drew their attention.
Looking at the source, they could see the outline of two figures atop a tree.
The clouds were obscuring the moon so it was a bit hard to see.
Cautiously, they approached the tree, the clouds began moving away letting the moonlight shine once more.
Suddenly the two silhouettes started falling down.
Marcus immediately distanced himself because he couldn't tell what they were.
But Rita immediately dashed forward and caught the two figures.
She had caught a glimpse of silver hair and black horns shining due to the moonlight.
They only had one person with silver hair and black horns in their family.
"By the gods, are those the kids," Marcus exclaimed, a bit ashamed of his overly cautiousness.
If Rita didn't grab the kids, they might have been hurt from the fall.
"Waaaaaaah," Vasileios cried out upon recognition of his grandparents.
"Shhh. It's okay, grandma is here now," Rita comforted while checking his body for injuries.
Marcus took Draco, who looked to be barely conscious, and began checking for injuries.
"Ugh, Vasileios, where are you," Draco called out in his delirious state while trying to free himself from Marcus's grasp.
His mind was so jumbled now that he couldn't recognize his Grandpa Marcus.
He thought that the monsters had grabbed onto him.
"Rita, please come check on him," Marcus pleaded; he didn't know what to do.
"Just what happened to you, Draco," Marcus muttered.
Rita quickly handed Vasileios over to Marcus and began inspecting Draco. Draco's body now looked like a shriveled up mummy.
It looked like he hadn't eaten in days, despite being away from home for only about a day.
His body felt too bony to Marcus's touch and his eyes sunken in.
During his forced awakening process, Draco needed a lot of food to supplement what he had lost.
Sadly, he didn't know about this and the situation he was in didn't allow such a thing.
He kept pushing his body, and this was one of the consequences.
Luckily he was found now and could slowly recover or his body would have begun eating at his life span to preserve his life.
"I don't know what is going on but he needs food. We should hurry back to the village," Rita said after inspecting his body.
The only thing she could tell was that Draco's body was starving for something.
She couldn't feed him solid food as he was currently unconscious so they needed to return quickly.
.........…
Darkness blanketed the dense forest, the only illumination coming from the flickering moonlight that filtered through the thick canopy of trees.
The air was thick with tension as Anita, a level 5 retired adventurer wielding a massive hammer, and her husband John, a level 4 retired adventurer armed with a sharp sword stood cautiously.
They were facing off against an injured and exhausted bloodsaurus.
Anita gripped the handle of her hammer, the worn leather wrapping providing a secure grip.
"Stay alert, John," she whispered, her eyes scanning the shadows for any sign of movement.
John nodded, his gaze serious as he held his sword at the ready.
"I'm right with you, my love," he murmured.
Suddenly, a deep, guttural roar pierced the night, and the bloodsaurus emerged from the darkness, its sharp teeth bared and its eyes glowing with a primal hunger.
Today had been a bad day for it, not only did it have to deal with the past intruders in its territory and fight a horde of monsters.
Now there were new intruders in its territory again and they were challenging it.
ROARRR!
Anita braced herself, her muscles tensing as she swung her hammer in a wide arc.
Whoosh!
Her weapon went, cleaving through the air.
"Now, John!" she yelled, her voice resonating with the confidence of an experienced adventurer.
John sprung into action, his sword flashing as he darted forward.
Clang! Clang!
The sound of steel clashing against scales echoing through the forest.
The bloodsaurus roared in pain, its massive tail swinging around to knock John off balance.
Thud!
"Argh!" John cried, stumbling backward as he regained his footing.
Anita seized the opportunity, her hammer raised high as she charged towards the bloodsaurus.
Thud!
The hammer connected with the creature's leg, causing it to falter and let out a pained screech.
"Take that, you overgrown lizard!" Anita shouted, her eyes blazing with anger.
John surged forward, his sword slicing through the air as he aimed for the bloodsaurus's vulnerable neck.
Slash!
The blade found its mark, drawing a spray of thick, crimson blood.
Roar!
The bloodsaurus thrashed in agony, its massive claws swiping at them.
Anita deftly dodged the attacks, her hammer poised to strike again.
Thud!
The hammer collided with the creature's side, sending it reeling.
"We've got it on the ropes, John!" Anita shouted, her voice filled with exhilaration.
"Keep at it!" she instructed. John nodded, his brow furrowed in concentration as he launched a flurry of strikes, each one slashing against the bloodsaurus's scales.
The creature's movements became more erratic, its roars of pain echoing through the forest.
Sensing an opportunity, Anita swung her hammer with all her might, the sound of the blow resonating as it connected with the bloodsaurus's head.
The creature stumbled, its eyes glazed with pain and confusion.
"Now, John!" Anita yelled, her voice ringing with triumph. John surged forward, his sword poised for the final strike.
Slash!
The blade sliced through the bloodsaurus's neck, and the creature let out a final, agonizing screech before collapsing to the ground, its massive body thumping against the forest floor.
Thud!
Anita and John stood side by side, their breath steady and calm.
Anita glanced at her husband, a proud smile spreading across her face.
"Well done, my love," she said, her voice soft.
John returned the smile, his eyes shining with relief and satisfaction.
"We still make a great team, Anita," he said, reaching out to grasp her hand.
"Now let's go get our grandchildren," Anita said, rushing ahead to catch up with Marcus and Rita.
On the way, they met Marcus and Rita rushing back.
"What happened, what about the kids?" John asked in concern.
"Vasileios is physically fine but Draco…" Rita replied showing Draco to them.
"Anyway we need to return back quickly, can you two go ahead and investigate the slave trader campsite maybe you can find some clues about them," Marcus suggested.
"Alright you two take the kids back home quickly, we will return after searching a bit," Anita replied.
Marcus and Rita nodded and began making their way back home.
..............
Not too far away, perched on a tall tree, a shadowy figure observed the unfolding events.
"Tsk, those people look strong. She will not be pleased with the results but my job has been done so not my problem" the figure muttered before slowing disappearing into the darkness.