A different clearing materialized.
Dune sat on a wooden stool inside a leather tent, maps spread across a rough table. A Beast Master entered. It was a woman with burn scars covering half her face, wearing armor that showed recent combat damage. Her eyes were red-rimmed, tears tracking through dirt on her cheeks.
She saluted, fist to chest, but the gesture trembled.
"Captain." She began, voice cracking. "I bring Bargest's final words."
Dune's body froze, his hands, which had been tracing supply routes on the map, seemed to have lost their energy. The color slightly drained from his face as his eyes widened in surprise and shock.
The woman continued, words coming between suppressed sobs: "He stood back to protect our squad… All of us were new recruits who were on just an exploration trip, but the Phantasm Beasts had surrounded us, cutting off our retreat. Bargest… He stepped between them. He said-"
