章 8: 8. Shade

The mood is somber as everyone intently listens to the tale. Steve is not a bad storyteller, and tries to give as many facts as possible about the case.

"In any case, we don't know much about this beast. We only know it's fast, attacks on sight, and has glowing eyes looking like lanterns in the darkness" Hands on his hips, his eyes tell them the gravity of the situation. The dark haired man in hunter gear scratches his head.

"Well, Steve, that doesn't really tell us anything at all, now does it?" He says awkwardly. His words have a profound effect on everyone, lightening the mood. "For all we know, the beast could be an oversized cat," He says. Knowing that cats eyes seem to glow in the darkness. Surprisingly, Steve nods at this, agreeing with him. Seeing this, the dark haired man continues in his matter of fact tone.

"It's always good to be on the safe side, though, good job man" He smiles his scary smile again, causing Steve and everyone around him to sweat. Ignoring them, he claps his hands.

"Alrite, all the slow people can leave" He smiles. Harold looks at him and scoffs

"Am not leaving, Ragnar" Ragnar grins evilly at him

"Suit yourself, but for everyone else, I really suggest you do so" A man in nice, ornamental clothes, looking like he ate pudding for breakfast, speaks up."We're just going to slow you down, aren't we?" Ragnar crosses his arms and nods at him "Yes, you are. More importantly, however. This beast is fast. If you can not keep up, there is a real chance you'll die here today" His tone solemn. Most of the people there agree with him. It would be a real tragedy if more people died today. And with that, a good chunk of the people are gone.

Nodding in satisfaction, he grins evilly once again, then shouts "Alrite, everyone, let's go! lead the way, kiddo!" Lukas looks at him in stupefaction.

"Me?" He croaks.

"Who else?" Harold booms

"Only you know the way," Steve smiles. And so, Lukas became the pathfinder for this warband led by a smiling maniac.

Deeper in the forest, the trees begin to grow taller, and the mood more somber. Life seems to drain from the faces of the people present as they scour every corner for life. Some collide when they abruptly stop their pace.

"We're here" Lukas tells them, a haunted look in his eyes as he spots the ground drenched in blood. Ragnar moves forward while speaking loudly "Everyone, stop, we need to inspect the ground for traces" Grace swiftly falls into step. Steve raises an eyebrow, noting that Grace plants her feet in Ragnars footsteps, so as not to disturb the soil. Crouching down, they begin inspecting the area. In the middle of the forest floor there is a dried puddle of blood. Flaking off and blowing into the wind. The roots all around have huge scars on them, as if cleaved with an ax. Ragnar frowns as he sees it.

'This might be a tad bit more difficult than we thought' He thinks to himself when Grace nudges him in the arm. His attention is drawn by a paw mark on the ground, easily the size of a human handprint. His eyes fly open at the sight.

'A lot more difficult, I mean'. A little to the side of the print, he can see the mark of something being dragged across the ground. 'Well, nothing for it, let the hunt begin'.

Everyone waits with bated breath as the two premier hunters of their village do their work. The mood intensifies when they see Ragnar and Grace standing up. Grace sighs as she looks at Harold, puzzling them.

"Alrite, there's good news, and there's bad news"She smiles, a cold, beautiful smile "The good news is, Rick might still be alive"

Harold immediately jumps in "What?! Why? Why do you think that!?" He pleads, shocking everyone.

Pointing her hand to the ground "That root, there's a nail stuck in it. A human nail."

Ragnar gains a look of realization "He struggled, he must have been alive to struggle"

Grace nods. "Then we must go, at once" He urges.

"Hold your horses there, cowboy, I understand you're energetic, but there's the bad news too" Dropping a cool bucket of water on the conversation, Ragnar continues

"The bad news is, this thing is larger, stronger and definitely more deadly than anything we could have ever imagined."

Most of the people present clench their fist tightly, Steve steps out. "We knew this would be dangerous, whichever way we look at it, the stake is much higher now" Everyone nods at this, causing Ragnar to grin evilly once again. "That's exactly what I like to hear, let's go save that kid"