Free Web NovelChapter 13: The Hunt Begins
The group left the Vaal’kor territory before the sun had fully risen.
Ka’z walked near the center of the formation with West perched on his shoulder, the little dire weasel’s striped fur raised along its back as it sniffed at the wind. Lan’ka led from the front with a short spear strapped across his back and a thick stone axe resting against his shoulder.
Tu’ka followed close behind him, while Ru’k moved between the trees with restless energy, occasionally disappearing into the branches before returning several moments later with leaves tangled in his scales.
Lanka didn’t seem to mind since he actually trusted Tu’ka more than everyone else’s present.
Kurg and Za’r stayed close to Ka’z, their eyes constantly shifting through the forest as though every shadow might suddenly grow teeth.
The farther they moved from the cave entrance, the quieter everyone became. The wooden watchtowers soon disappeared behind the trees, and the hidden warning stones placed by the Vaal’kor Clan became less frequent until Ka’z could no longer spot them at all.
The familiar forest paths were replaced by uneven ground, thick roots, and patches of wet soil that clung to their claws. The Evergreen Forest looked peaceful from a distance, but once Ka’z stood beneath its towering trees, he understood why the older kobolds always spoke about it with caution. The trunks were wider than houses, the branches formed a roof that blocked much of the sunlight, and strange cries echoed from deeper within the woods where no kobold dared to wander alone.
Lan’ka stopped beside a patch of disturbed earth and crouched down. His thick fingers pressed against the soil while his nostrils flared slightly. West immediately jumped from Ka’z’s shoulder and began sniffing around the area with his nose close to the ground. The other dire weasels followed, their small bodies weaving through the grass and bushes as they searched for a scent.
"Blood," Lan’ka said after a moment, his voice low and heavy.
Ka’z stepped closer and saw faint dark stains pressed into the dirt between several broken leaves. The blood had dried hours ago, but it was still visible beneath the morning dew. A few claw marks stretched across the ground beside it, deep enough to expose the roots underneath. The marks did not look like those of a wolf or bear. They were too narrow, too deliberate, and spaced too evenly.
"Could it mean that she managed to hurt one of those bastards? " Ka’z frowned. "Identifying the killer will be much easier"
No one answered immediately. Lan’ka’s eyes remained fixed on the trail, while Za’r quietly lowered her gaze. Ka’z did not need anyone to explain it. They had not wanted Su’ki to leave obvious tracks. They had been careful. They had known exactly what they were doing.
The group continued forward.
The first mile passed slowly. Every few minutes, Lan’ka stopped to inspect the ground while West and the other dire weasels searched ahead.
Ru’k used his wind affinity to leap from branch to branch, gliding farther than any of them could run before returning with short reports about broken trees, strange smells, or animal trails that crossed their path.
Tu’ka barely spoke, yet his eyes remained sharp as he studied every movement around them. Ka’z noticed that his stepbrother kept one hand close to the dark spear strapped against his back, as though he expected something to attack at any moment.
At one point, they passed the last of the Vaal’kor watchtowers.
The structure stood crooked between two massive trees, half hidden beneath vines and leaves. A lone kobold soldier sat at the top with a bow resting across his lap, his eyes scanning the forest with obvious tension. When he saw Lan’ka leading the children beyond the tower, his expression changed.
"You’re taking them past the boundary?" the soldier called down.
Lan’ka did not stop walking. "Orders from Tud’or."
The soldier looked toward Ka’z and the others with concern, but he said nothing else.
Once the watchtower disappeared behind them, Ka’z felt something inside him tighten. Until now, he had always known the colony was nearby. If something happened, he could run back. If danger appeared, soldiers would come. But beyond this point, there was nothing but forest.
West suddenly froze.
The little dire weasel stood in the middle of the trail with his nose raised, his ears twitching rapidly. A low growl escaped his throat as he slowly turned toward a thorn bush beside the path.
Ka’z approached carefully. Something pale hung from the thorns.
At first, he thought it was a strip of bark but then he realized it was cloth. He quickly noticed it was the same material as the one in Su’ki’s mouth
The fabric was torn, muddy, and stained with dried blood.
Za’r covered her mouth while Kurg took a step back. Ru’k stopped smiling.
Lan’ka reached forward and carefully pulled the cloth free from the thorns. His claws tightened around it until the fabric crumpled in his hand.
"They passed through here," he said.
Ka’z stared at the ground beneath the bush. There were tracks.
Each print had three clawed toes pressed deep into the mud, showing that whatever made them was heavy. The tracks were roughly the size of Ka’z’s head, and the soil around them had been crushed flat by repeated movement. Some of the prints circled around the area, while others moved forward in a straight line.
Ka’z crouched beside them and narrowed his eyes.
"They were moving together," he said quietly.
Lan’ka glanced at him.
Ka’z pointed toward the tracks. "These ones stayed behind while the others moved forward. They were watching the area. They didn’t just run through the forest like animals."
Tu’ka stepped closer and stared at the prints with his usual empty expression. After a moment, he spoke in his quiet voice.
"They were hiding their trail."
Everyone turned toward him.
Tu’ka pointed at the ground farther ahead. The tracks became lighter and more scattered, as though the creatures had begun stepping on rocks, roots, and patches of hard earth to avoid leaving clear marks.
Lan’ka’s face darkened.
"Magic beasts," he muttered. "Or something worse."
The words settled heavily over the group.
Ka’z felt West climb onto his shoulder again, the little weasel pressing against his neck as though even he understood the danger. For the first time since leaving the colony, Ka’z realized that Su’ki’s death had not been a random act of hunger or instinct.
The creatures responsible had intelligence.
Lan’ka rose to his feet and looked deeper into the forest. His expression had completely changed. The relaxed confidence he had shown during training was gone, replaced by the cold focus of a hunter who had finally found the scent of his prey.
"Stay close," he ordered. "From this point onward, no one moves without permission. Ru’k, scout ahead but do not go farther than you can hear my voice. Tu’ka, watch the rear. Ka’z, keep your weasel on the trail."
Ka’z nodded slowly.
His eyes remained on the bloodied cloth in Lan’ka’s hand and his claws slowly curled into fists. He had been afraid when he first heard he would be joining this hunt. Now, as he stared at the trail leading deeper into the Evergreen Forest, the fear was still there, but something else had begun growing beside it.
Rage.
For the first time since arriving in this world, Ka’z was not thinking about surviving, growing stronger, or building a future.
He was thinking about killing.
