The moon hung high in the sky, casting long shadows over the forest floor. Kael had spent the night in the cave, though he hadn't been able to rest. The encounter with the pack had left him with more questions than answers. Who were these creatures? What connection did they have to the strange symbols? And most importantly, what were they planning?
The next day, Kael ventured further into the wilderness, carefully avoiding the beasts he had seen before. He needed to gather more information, and the only way to do that was to keep moving. The forest had always been a place of danger, but now it felt different. The air was thick with tension, as though something was watching him from the shadows.
As he moved through the woods, he began to notice something odd. The trees seemed to form patterns, unnatural shapes that led him in certain directions. It was as if the forest itself was guiding him, pushing him toward something.
Hours passed, and Kael found himself at the edge of a ravine. The ground beneath his feet had softened with the moisture from the previous night's rain, and the steep drop below made it dangerous to approach the edge. But there, in the distance, he saw something that made his heart skip a beat: a group of figures, standing still as if waiting for something.
He could see the flicker of their movements in the distance, and he immediately recognized the same glowing eyes from the beasts he had fought earlier. These were no ordinary creatures—they were intelligent, and they had a purpose.
Kael crouched down behind a large rock, his breathing shallow as he tried to make sense of what he was seeing. The figures were gathered in a loose formation, watching the ravine below. There was a leader among them, a larger figure with the same strange glow in its eyes, and around it were several others, smaller but no less dangerous.
Kael didn't have a clear plan, but he knew that he couldn't let them move forward. He had to stop them, even if it meant putting himself at risk. He began to strategize, looking for an opening, a chance to strike.
After some time, the group began to move, heading deeper into the forest. Kael waited until they had passed before following them at a safe distance. The further he went, the more he began to realize that this wasn't just a random gathering of beasts. These creatures were organized, coordinated. There was a plan, and he was certain it involved the bastion he had once called home.
Nightfall came quickly, and Kael found himself perched high in a tree, watching as the group set up camp. He couldn't get too close, not yet, but he had to know what they were planning. As the figures huddled together, Kael noticed one of them drawing symbols in the dirt, the same ones he had seen on the stones and in the ruins.
The markings were a map, a blueprint of sorts, and from the looks of it, they were preparing for something big. Kael couldn't make out all the details, but he understood enough to know that this was no ordinary raid. This was a coordinated attack, one that would be unlike anything the bastion had faced before.
The next morning, Kael followed the group once more, keeping to the shadows, watching, waiting. He was no longer just a wanderer in the wilds—he was part of something larger, something that was about to collide with the remnants of the human world.
Kael had a choice to make: confront the beasts now and risk everything, or wait, gather more information, and prepare for the coming storm. Either way, the next few weeks would determine the fate of his homeland—and possibly the world.
Kael's journey was far from over.