Chapter 16: Chapter 16

Just as promised, Su showed up at the Graves house early in the morning. Alice had already prepared the gear she would need for the trip.

They would be away for just over a week. Their destination was a small woods to the south of Holen, near the Mol and one of their neighbors, the slightly larger country of Buhien. The two countries were currently neutral at the moment, but Holen kept their guard up.

While they were in the woods, the hunting party would watch out for any signs of Buhein scouts in the woods… not that there would be, even if Buhein was invading.

Even without long-distance communication, spying on other countries was not difficult. It wasn't difficult to sneak past borders, and spies disguised as citizens would be the most effective. There would be no need to send scouts through the dense woods.

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Su brought Alice and Ash to the caravan of hunters. She was the daughter of the leader of a small mercenary group, the Bravens. This group could hardly be called a mercenary group though- they didn't do any commissions. Their group exclusively hunted to make ends meet.

The caravan was made up of three carriages, smaller than the group who had hunted Ash's pack.

Su began explaining the goals of this trip.

"Alright, I know it is your first time going out here, so just follow me and pay attention!"

Su pointed at each of the three carriages, explaining their purposes.

"This one is the weapons carriage. Dad likes to keep everything organized, so make sure to not mess anything in there up! That one is for food, and the last one is for extra supplies. You and Ash can ride in the supplies cart, since you don't have a horse yet."

Alice nodded, confirming that she understood, and Su continued explaining.

"You haven't used a bow before, right? I'll make sure to teach you while we are out in the woods! Dad and the rest will do most of the hunting, I'll stay with you to help you learn! When we are in the woods, make sure to keep an eye out for anything dangerous. Most animals aren't a threat to us, and even fewer will attack humans, but it is always good to keep an eye out."

Su's speech was interrupted by a bulky man walking over to greet the two girls.

He reached out and patted Su on the head while greeting Alice.

"Hey there kid, you been well? I'm surprised Su finally got you to come out on a hunt with us, I didn't think you would be up for it!"

He turned to Ash, who was standing at Alice's side.

"Wow, it really is a dire wolf! Little Su told me all about you, says you're smarter than me! HA! She claims you can understand me, so hello, I'm Hugo, Su's dad. I'll make sure you and your sister here have fun out there!"

Hugo was a loud and bear-like man, always laughing and smiling. Ash could tell just by looking at him that he had years of experience roaming the woods. If you had to get stuck in the wild with one person, Hugo would always be your first pick.

Soon the caravan was ready to move out. Su and the other hunters mounted horses, while Ash and Alice climbed into the supplies carriage.

A number of sleeping bags and tents were packed against the side of the carriage, all bound together to keep them from sliding apart and making a mess. The inside of the carriage was spotless, not even a speck of dust could be found, and the tarp covering it was a freshly washed white.

'Yea, Su wasn't kidding when she said her father was a bit of a neat-freak.'

Riding in a carriage again certainly didn't bring up any good memories to Ash, but he wasn't anxious either.

This time he wasn't pressed tightly into a cage, but instead was laying down comfortably with his head over Alice's legs while she absent-mindedly played with his soft ears.

Ash's mind wandered to his companion last time he was in a carriage: Oak.

'I wonder how he is doing now. Oak is a smart one, he probably broke out of captivity within a day and ran all the way back home. I wonder if I will be able to see him again…'

It wouldn't be hard for Ash to escape the Graves family at any time, but he no longer wanted to.

He had found a new family, one that accepted him and treated him as one of their own. The only thing he wished for was to have Oak back again, but he had no way of locating his brother.

Ash seemed content with living out his life as is, just like back on that sunny day with his pack.

'Last time I said I was content, everyone I cared about died. This time, I am strong enough to protect them should anything happen. I'm done losing the people I care for.'

Alice didn't seem bothered by the rocking of the carriage as it traveled over the rough dirt road, quickly falling asleep to pass the time. Ash followed her lead, and by the time he woke up, the group had reached the woods.

The group members began setting up a small campsite, erecting tents at a frightening pace. Each tent was perfectly spaced one meter apart from the next, placed in a semi-circle around a ring of stones that would be used as a campfire.

The sun had just passed the highest point in the sky, and now that they had arrived at their camp site, it was time to eat!

The hunting party brought with tons of seasoning and cooking materials, but before they went out hunting, jerky would have to suffice.

Hugo walked over with a handful of the dried meat, handing a few pieces to Alice, then tossing one to Ash.

"So this dire wolf is actually tamed, for real? I've never heard of anyone being able to tame a wild animal to the point it becomes a docile pet. You must really have a talent for animals, Alice! You've got to come out hunting with us more."

Alice nodded, smiling as she chewed on the tough beef jerky.

All of the hunting group members choked down their food quickly, and soon Alice was the only one with food. Looking around and realizing that she was on the outs of the group, she quietly lowered her hand, shoving the remaining jerky into Ash's mouth.

Su walked over, carrying a beautifully made longbow.

"I forgot to tell you, eat quickly. We will go out into the woods quickly, Dad doesn't like when people drag their feet!"

Noticing that Alice had already finished all of her food, she frowned, getting an awkward smile in return.

"Oh, dad must have told you when he gave you the food, great!"

She held up the longbow, her eyes gliding across it like it was some kind of legendary treasure.

"This is my bow, pretty cool, right? It is probably too hard for you to pull back, so I had dad throw in a recurve that you should be able to manage.

Alice made her way over to the weapons cart, accompanied by Ash and Su.

A number of weapons were laid out, mainly consisting of bows and daggers.

Packed tightly in one corner of the carriage lay a light blue stone, similar to the one he had seen in the Red Falcon carriage.

Ash walked over to it, staring at it inquisitively.

"That's a magic stone, it is always good to have one if you are going out into the woods, but they are super expensive. Dad could only afford to buy one of them a few years back, and luckily we've never had to use it."

Su began explaining, then Alice decided to explain what she knew of the magical rocks as well.

"Magical stones are only useful against animals, they don't seem to do anything to humans. In addition to this, they are very rare, so the only people who hang on to them are mercenary groups who go out hunting in the woods often. This is actually my first time seeing one up close."

After Alice finished, Su began talking once again.

"You probably have first hand experience with these stones, right wolfy? Those hunters that caught you must've knocked you out with one of these before grabbing you."

The cogs in Ash's mind began to turn. His pack was wiped out without a huge fight… was it because of one of these stones? If it could knock out a group of wolves, that would explain how none of the mercenaries were left with serious wounds after wiping out the wolf pack.

In addition to this, it made him wonder, what exactly were these stones? Roth had no information on them, and they never showed up in what memories of earth he had.

This was the first unnatural thing they had found aside from themselves, and perhaps the unusually intelligent Oak. It might be able to provide some clues about their current situation, and maybe would provide a solution to their one body two minds issue.

Taking one last glance at the stone, Ash rejoined the two girls in finding the bow they brought for Alice.