Waking up to the salty ocean breeze is something Tennebris had become accustomed to. A glimpse into a life she may yet live. If she had it her way, she would move to a quiet cottage somewhere in the middle of the woods. It would be nice to replace the noise of the city with the sound of a burbling brook.

  Tennebris found herself drifting away from her daydreams as she shook her sleep-addled brain awake. Peering over to her side she found Mheris was still sleeping the morning away. It wasn’t a terrible arrangement for either of them as they both worked their own agenda. Tennebris acquired her tracker, and Mheris found a lead on what could be her biggest payday yet.

  It was up to them to figure out how to work with one another. Starting first, with the scene in the alcove near the abandoned harbor. Tennebris liked to watch the sunrise, as the warmth of the sun began to beat back the unwelcome cold of the night. There she stood, at the mouth of her safehouse, leaning against its rocky walls.

  A gentle smile began to creep its way onto her lips as excitement filled her heart. All night, she had been tense with anticipation for the next day’s activities. Even in the morning, she found her mind working through several different scenarios that could cause things to go awry.

  Standing and watching the sunrise, Tennebris would wait for her new travel companion to awaken. In these situations, she found it easy to wait. With the small bits of food she was given yesterday, she felt she at least owed Mheris the sleep she deserved

  “You know, you really shouldn’t get this comfortable around people you barely know.” A voice rumbled in a low, barely perceptible growl.

  Tennebris jumped forward as she felt something press into her back. She had prepared herself to engage or run.

  It was Mheris, standing behind her with the faint signs of a smirk spread across her face. She was holding a single finger up to the air, identifying itself as the object that had startled her previously.

  Tennebris wasn’t used to travelling with people in the normal sense. It was usually an assigned thug that she had to work with temporarily. In these circumstances, she never bothered to get to know them. Rarely did she bother to catch a name. Living a life like theirs, they learned not to get too attached. Mheris, was an exception to this rule for Tennebris. There was something unique about Mheris. Something special.

  “And you really shouldn’t sleep in when you’re sleeping in someone else’s home!” Tennebris retorted in anger. She bristled at the idea that this could have been the end for her.

  “Now, now, calm down. I was only joking. I just wanted to make sure you understood that anything could happen today.”

  “I suppose that’s true, Mheris. I don’t plan for The Hollow to become our graves.”

  “Good. That’s what I want to hear.” Mheris finished, joining Tennebris at her side, gazing out into the ocean. “I can see why you’ve been hiding out here. The view out here is nice.” Mheris chuckled.

  Tennebris smoothed out her nerves as she turned to peer out into the horizon. “There really is nothing like it.”

  This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

  They stood silently for mere minutes before strengthening their resolve and marching out into the Fringe District. That time of the morning, Midtown wouldn’t be terribly busy, or particularly guarded. Not that either mattered to the pair, it would them to travel faster without being questioned.

  Leaving behind the awakening Main Square, they soon found themselves at the city gates where Tennebris marched on. The unwelcoming woods would surely be fighting their mission with unnatural sentience.

  “Gods-“ Mheris gasped, giving Tennebris pause. “I knew it was bad in the out here, but I didn’t know the farms had been hit this hard as well.”

  Mheris’ words hung in the air. Calm as she seemed, she was clearly taken aback by what she had seen here.

  “A lot of people died. None of them deserved to die like this.” Tennebris uttered, letting the gravity of her statement fall on her companion.

  “Aye. I wasn’t ready for this is all. Things almost seem worse here, than in the Lower District.”

  Tennebris laughed at the thought “Worse? Here? You could lend an army the task of cleaning it up for a week and it still wouldn’t compare.”

  Laughing back at the absurd thought of an army marching through the slums and helping the needy, Mheris pressed on.

  While Mheris had clearly never ventured out to the gates or beyond, she remained stoic. Not being the type of person to get rattled easily, she pushed the scene out of her mind. Losing her composure earlier was unlike her, and she needed to remain calm if the pair had any hope of getting the job done.

  Mheris was a well-known tracker in Havenreach. Making a name for herself quickly, she was known for locating targets efficiently. Eventually, she furthered her renown by gaining a reputation for swiftly dispatching nuisance creatures. Oftentimes, the city itself would pay for the removal of a creature if it threatened the crops. Nobles didn’t take kindly to anything interfering with their coin.

  That day’s hunt should be no different for Mheris. Find the creature’s tracks, and its nest, then eliminate it. This Apex Predator gave her chills, however. From the scorch marks left behind, to the ruthless savagery that Tennebris described. Whatever this thing was, it was angry.

  None of that mattered to either of them now, as the safety of the cityscape faded from perception. Taking in the scene of the land beyond the walls, Mheris’ pace visibly slowed yet never stopped. Tennebris, remaining sensitive to the surrounding carnage, slowed her pace to match.

  “I had no idea it had gotten to this point. I heard the rumors, we all did, but-” Mheris’ voice trailed off.

  In a solemn tone, Tennebris replied “I was the same way. Anytime something happened, we all pretended not to see anything. It was how we survived.” Remembering back to the night of the attack she continued, “I remember waking up to an explosion and telling myself to ignore it all. I could hear panic and strife all around me, and all I cared about in that moment was going back to sleep.”

  Mheris raised her chin to meet Tennebri’s gaze. They were about two arm’s-length away from each other. “The bugs?” she questioned.

  “Yeah. Almost as soon as I left my, uh, shelter- one of those things fell right on top of it. But we should get going, we’ve got a city to save.” Turning her back to the bad memories of that night, Tennebris pressed on. Everything that happened was a bitter sore in her side, and not one she was going to tend to any time soon.

  Leading Mheris to the clearing, the narrative began to unfold before them. The even placed footprints, the scattered scorch marks, the carrion left behind as feast for the flesh flies. It was a setting lending itself to the rampage of a madman. In this case, however, the ‘madman’, was the beast the pair now found themselves tracking.

  “Gods Tennebris, I’ve never seen anything like this. I’m not sure if we will be enough to handle whatever did this. Look here-“ Mheris was in here element now, and it showed. She was seeing things that Tennebris hadn’t picked up on before.

  There were deep gouges in the earth, left behind by the claws the creature had. Impressions left behind from it planting its feet before striking at its prey. What made things worse was that as they looked closer with a more practiced eye, something was becoming increasingly obvious to them.

  Whatever did this, was doing it for sport. For the thrill of victory and little more. Or that’s how Tennebris felt. Mheris however, was of a different mindset. Mheris felt this was an ancient force, roused from its slumber for reasons unknown. “Tennebris, what I’m about to suggest is incredibly dangerous, but I think it’s necessary.”

  “You want to pursue this thing into the Shrouded Hollow, don’t you?” Tennebris retorted, her gaze never leaving the impressions on the ground. This thing is dangerous. REALLY dangerous, and she wants to track it to its nest? Is she mad?

  “Aye Little Shadow. I’m starting to feel you were right about this thing. It can’t be allowed to continue its rampage.”

  “You know, I figured you might say as much. Let’s do this.”