The heart of Mist Forest revealed itself through Samuel's weathered map and Kael's herbal expertise, their path illuminated by lingering moonlight. Though shattered trees and churned earth bore testament to the beast tide's passage, the deeper they ventured, the more travelers they encountered - mercenary bands and armored adventurers moving in wary clusters through the skeletal remains of the woodland.
"Even the core wasn't spared," Kael muttered, boot sinking into soil still warm from stampeding hordes. His finger traced the map's faded markings where Samuel's annotations clustered. "We're nearing the Goldenmane Lion King's territory."
Amelia's dagger scraped moss from a toppled monolith, revealing ancient runes. Her silent efficiency spoke volumes - while Kael strategized aloud, she cataloged every fracture in the earth, every claw mark scoring stone.
They made camp in a depression sheltered by leaning monoliths. Kael conjured flame to life between two stones, its amber glow painting Amelia's features in flickering gold as she watched him produce marbled cuts of venison from dimensional storage. The meat sizzled on improvised spits, fat dripping to make the fire dance.
"Midnight snack," Kael explained at her raised eyebrow, sprinkling crushed herbs that sent aromatic smoke curling skyward. The foreign term earned him a rare quizzical tilt of her head. "Extra meal," he amended, grinning as her nostrils flared involuntarily at the spiced aroma.
Moonlight bathed their makeshift kitchen. Amelia accepted the proffered skewer with regal poise that lasted precisely three heartbeats before her teeth tore into caramelized crust. Surprise widened her eyes - then came deliberate, savoring bites that spoke louder than praise.
Between mouthfuls, Kael studied their surroundings. The forest's wounds ran deep here. Uprooted oaks formed natural bulwarks against the wind, their splintered roots clawing at stars. Distant campfires dotted the darkness like fallen constellations, each representing rival parties drawn by the same mystery that terrified the beasts.
He licked spice from his thumb, mind already dissecting possibilities. Whatever lurked ahead had panicked thousands of creatures into unified flight. Tomorrow would bring answers - or bloodshed. For now, the fire's warmth and Amelia's silent companionship anchored him to this fragile moment of peace.
Kael chuckled as he tore into his own portion, savoring flavors that bridged two worlds. Amelia's rare compliment hung between them like fireflies in the dark - fragile and luminous.
The ambush struck during their moment of respite.
Three shadows materialized from the skeletal trees, black robes swallowing moonlight. Steel glinted before Kael's Starstep technique carried him sideways, the assassin's blade scoring his cloak instead of spine. Amelia moved like quicksilver, her sword already singing from its scabbard to parry a second attacker.
"Hand of Ifrit!" Kael's incantation split the night. Crimson sigils blazed across his staff as elemental fire coalesced into a massive clawed appendage. The lead assailant had time for half a scream before becoming a human torch, his combusting silhouette casting grotesque shadows across the clearing.
Survivors scattered. "Witchspawn magic!" one spat through panicked retreat.
Their terror proved wiser than courage. Kael's staff traced containment sigils through smoke-thick air. "Pyric Cage!" Twin pillars of flame erupted around the fleeing figures, hemming them in a circle of dancing fire.
Amelia's blade rested against a captive's throat before the man finished cursing. Up close, their attackers' robes stank of stale blood and desperation - common bandits preying on isolated travelers.
"Mercy, mage-lord!" The plea emerged choked through smoke inhalation. "We thought you soft targets!"
Kael's boot crunched cinders as he approached the flickering cage. These weren't Cole's ilk, just scavengers drawn to the forest's chaos. Yet their timing intrigued him.
"News travels faster than beasts," he mused aloud, watching realization dawn in Amelia's eyes. Bandits swarming the forest core meant others knew of the disturbance - and whatever treasure or terror caused it.
The surviving thugs proved eager to barter lives for information. Between coughing fits, they babbled of strange tremors near Mount Vostra, of mercenary companies hiring extra blades, of whispered rumors about ancient ruins stirring beneath the earth.
When the fire died, only scorched grass remained where the captives had stood. Amelia cleaned her sword with methodical strokes. "Waste of good interrogation," she observed, though her tone held approval.
Kael scattered the ashes with a gust spell. "They'll spread word of tonight. Let fear be our ally."
Dawn found them marching toward distant peaks where the mist coiled thickest. Every snapped twig, every rustle in the canopy now carried weight - not just from lurking beasts, but the mounting pressure of converging ambitions. Whatever slept beneath these woods was waking, and half the continent's cutthroats meant to claim its secrets.
Kael left the captives smoldering within their fiery prison, exchanging a glance with Amelia that needed no words. Her blade traced arcane patterns through the air as she approached, fingertips glowing with cerulean energy that sank into the bandits' chests like spectral chains.
"Arcane shackles," she stated coldly as both men slumped, their warrior's vigor draining away. "Try channeling energy and your hearts stop."
The bandits' eyes bulged with primal terror. Amelia's containment magic held the lethality of a coiled viper - beautiful and utterly deadly.
"Your expertise," Kael began, crouching to meet their eye level. The firelight carved his face into a mask of shadowed planes. "How many parties hunt the forest core?"
Information poured forth like wine from cracked barrels. Anthony - the more vocal thug - babbled about mercenary encampments near Mount Vostra's base, whispered rumors of seismic activity unearthing ancient structures, and most crucially, reports of Goldenmane Lion King sightings further east than usual.
"Three major guilds have staked claims," the bandit wheezed, desperate to please. "Scarlet Dawn seeks some artifact beneath the ruins. Iron Oath's hunting the lion for its pelt. As for Blackscale Company..." He trailed off, throat working soundlessly.
Amelia's dagger pricked his jugular. "Speak."
"They're not human!" Anthony blurted. "Or not entirely. Saw one remove his helm last week - scales instead of skin. Like... like dragonkin from the old tales."
Kael straightened, mind racing. Dragonkin. Artifacts. Seismic ruins. Each piece clicked into the puzzle of the beast tide's origin.
When the interrogation concluded, Amelia released the shackles with a dismissive flick. The bandits scrambled backward, tripping over roots in their haste to flee.
"Let them spread word of our strength," Kael murmured, watching the cowards vanish into mist. "Better than killing."
Amelia nodded, already repacking supplies. "Dragonkin involvement changes parameters."
"Indeed." Kael extinguished the fire with a whispered spell. "But where there be dragons..."
"...There be treasure worth the risk," she finished, slinging her pack with martial precision.
Their path now carved itself clear through the gathering dawn - toward Mount Vostra's brooding silhouette, where ancient secrets and modern ambitions collided beneath the mist.