Wincing from the strong smell coming from the corpse, the girl shifted her gaze toward the direction from which the old hunter had run.
Confirming her suspicion that Kufi had managed to escape from the bandits, there were clear traces of blood, broken branches, and flattened grass stained with blood.
Her thoughts were troubled by one question: what had the old hunter forgotten here, and where was her partner, who was supposed to be with him? And where were Kio and Fesh?
Fearing the worst, the girl cautiously began moving in the direction from which the old hunter had fled.
She noticed other tracks leading toward the body, and from what Lualia could tell, they belonged to Kufi's pursuers.
Following the trail farther, she came upon a small camp bearing obvious signs of attack.
She searched for tracks that might reveal where the others from the camp had fled.
Studying the camp, the scattered belongings, and the corpses of forest creatures already beginning to rot, the girl came to the conclusion that the camp had been attacked unexpectedly.
Walking through the inner circle of the camp, she hoped to find traces of both the bandits and Filon, who was supposed to have accompanied Kufi.
But the tracks ended at the inner circle, creating the impression that the attackers had simply vanished once they entered the camp.
Tightening her grip on her spear, the girl moved to the outer perimeter of the camp, trying to find more tracks there.
But all she found were the same tracks leading toward the old hunter's body and her own.
She understood that she needed to return to the city and report that the other hunters were possibly dead as well.
But the girl did not want to abandon her friend, remembering the body of the girl hanging from the tree.
Stepping away from the camp, she tried to locate any other tracks leading elsewhere, but to her surprise, she found only the trails of forest creatures.
The girl was afraid to remain in the treehouse, especially with the murdered old hunter nearby.
Looking up at the sky, she hoped she would have enough time to return to the house where she had stayed before.
As she made her way back, Lualia was troubled by the question of where the remaining hunters were—those who should have been here first and foremost—and why Kufi had come here.
She remembered how they had split up earlier, and how the old hunter and Filon had gone in the opposite direction.
Frowning, she tried to piece together how everything here had happened.
With a sigh, Lualia considered how she would explain to the elders what she had discovered.
She kept scanning the forest, searching for more clues or tracks, but once again found only the trails of forest creatures.
She couldn't understand why the bandits had hidden their tracks here, while at the site where the other two hunters were killed, they had made no effort to conceal anything.
Had they done it intentionally?
Or had they simply not expected anyone to find the bodies before the forest creatures devoured them?
The girl felt her head beginning to ache from the flood of thoughts filling her mind.
She hoped the elders would find a solution.
Approaching the house, she circled around it and checked for fresh tracks.
After making sure no one had come near it, she climbed inside and tried to relax while still gripping her spear tightly.
After everything she had seen that day, images of the murdered hunters and those who had vanished flashed before her eyes.
She felt a sense of danger she couldn't fully understand.
All night, the girl tried to figure out how the bandits had managed to attack all the hunters—and more importantly, why they had dragged the old hunter to the area where her friend Kio and Fesh had been hunting.
Were they alive?
Or had the bandits killed them somewhere else?
And where was Filon's body, since he had been with Kufi?
The face of the dead old hunter appeared before her eyes, frozen in an expression of surprise.
She had known the old hunter well, and it was not easy to surprise him.
So what had he seen before his death?
And what had they been trying to get from him while torturing him?
At that moment, she regretted that the half-elf wasn't beside her.
Perhaps he would have been able to suggest possible explanations.
Smiling bitterly at her own thoughts, the girl shook her head, and a barely audible laugh escaped her throat.
Immediately, Riqua's voice echoed in her mind, promising to turn the city into a bloodbath.
She understood that this situation had nothing to do with the half-elf, who had already flown away on a wyvern.
Feeling as though something was touching her gaze, the girl looked toward the small window, where a new day was beginning.
Not wanting to risk encountering the bandits herself, she knew she needed to report everything she had discovered to the elders.
Listening to the forest and making sure there was no one below, she climbed down and headed back toward the city, tormented by thoughts of her friend. As she made her way through the woods, she could hear the forest's inhabitants leaving their dens or returning to them, while she carefully avoided the sounds that told her monsters or animals were fighting one another over territory or prey.
The sounds of battle between the forest creatures grew louder, and the girl narrowed her eyes and crouched down, trying to determine from the noises who was fighting ahead. She heard two roars—then one suddenly went silent.
She wanted to take out the ointment she used while hunting when Rikua had been with her, but after checking her gear she realized she had almost none left after the hunt.
The girl had no choice but to hope the remaining forest creature would not catch her scent. She considered changing her route, but doubted that the creatures nearby had become any less cautious within their own territory.
Keeping herself as low as possible and making no noise, Lualia continued forward. From ahead, she could hear sounds as if something was being torn apart.
Looking around for another path, the girl began moving farther to the right, trying to avoid crossing paths with the victor that remained after the battle between the forest dwellers.
She hoped the remnants of the ointment would be enough to discourage the interest of the monster or beast, which, as Lualia could hear, was occupied with the remains of its recently defeated opponent.
Passing trees and bushes, she tried not to touch them, afraid the forest creature would either smell her or hear the rustling of branches and leaves.
The girl felt her anxiety rising, and tried to calm herself. She could not afford a mistake now—too much depended on what she had learned.
Trying not to pay attention to the sounds behind her, Lualia carefully moved forward. She remembered that one should never look directly at the forest creatures, since they could sense the gaze of other beings.
Taking a slow breath, she moved farther away from the sounds made by the victor of the forest battle.
She had already begun to hope the last of the ointment had allowed her to pass unnoticed when she heard sounds behind her growing closer.
Looking around frantically, the girl searched for somewhere to hide from the enemy drawing nearer, but her eyes found nothing that could serve as shelter from the forest creature that had caught her scent.
The girl shook her head after realizing escape was impossible—she would have to fight the forest creature.
The sounds came closer and closer, and all she could do was hope the beast had been weakened, if not wounded, by its previous battle.
Glancing back toward the approaching noise, she finally saw what was charging at her.
The forest beast was massive. Its long black fur brushed against the ground. Its elongated muzzle and black eyes, above which small horns protruded, remained fixed on Lualia.
The girl felt saliva catch in her throat as she examined the maugi, which showed little sign of being weakened after its recent battle.
She could see small cuts stretching across its body, but from what she understood, its opponent had failed to inflict any truly serious injuries.
The only comforting part of the situation was that maugi did not hunt in packs—they were solitary creatures and not monsters.
If killing a monster required destroying the sphere inside it, then an animal could be killed simply by inflicting enough damage to its body.
Glancing around once more, the girl searched for a favorable place to fight the maugi.
She was not far from a cluster of trees, which would allow her to strike at the beast's body while avoiding its horns or claws.
Moving toward them, she kept glancing back at the animal, which continued charging at her faster and faster, paying no attention to the trees it was knocking aside with its blows.
The girl sighed and stopped near a tree, waiting for her opponent.
Throughout all her time as a hunter, she had always tried to avoid maugi.
Because of the beast's strength—capable of toppling a tree with a single strike—a lone hunter like her could only hope that while it was freeing its paw or horns, she would have a chance to attack.
As the maugi neared her and lowered its horns forward, the girl quickly hid behind the tree beside her.
Without stopping, after taking cover behind the tree, Lualia moved toward a second one. As she reached it, she heard the sound of wood splintering and the tree beginning to topple over.
She could hear the ragged breathing of the maugi, frustrated that its prey had avoided its strike, followed by a roar that echoed through that part of the forest.
Wasting no time and giving the maugi no chance to recover, the girl delivered several quick strikes to the beast's exposed flank, aiming for the small wounds left from its earlier fight.
Her spear touched the maugi's hide, but its tip was not sharp enough to pierce the animal's thick skin.
Clicking her tongue in annoyance, Lualia retreated closer to the second tree.
She hated maugi because of their hide, which was difficult to penetrate with inferior weapons.
The girl understood that her attack had only angered the beast further, which, as she could hear, was now freeing itself from the tree where its horns had become lodged.