Kaiser and I left the rest of the team behind. They’d taken up positions behind trees, but the black EDGE Force clothing stood out against the white and grey of the landscape like a sore thumb.

Stiletto covered Kaiser and I with his long-range rifle from a higher position. I hadn’t even seen him scramble up the tree, but when I looked back Stiletto was wedged in a fork with his eye on the rifle scope.

Xiphos and Khopesh had their assault rifles trained in our direction, but I didn’t particularly enjoy having three trained killers pointing weapons at us.

The closer we crept, the less confident I was that Kaiser and I could manage this threat. Well, situation might have been a better word for it. We didn’t know if this thing was a threat just yet. Generally speaking, there was a good chance that anything crawling about in a naturally occurring ghillie suit with antlers sticking out was a threat.

I tried to stay as silent as I could, but the crunch of frost underfoot betrayed us as we moved. Kaiser kept shooting me admonishing looks. I tried to say I’m sorry I’m a big dumb clumsy human nonverbally, but I was forgotten the moment the hair rose on Kaiser’s haunches.

I lifted Gravedigger in the direction of Kaiser’s laser focus. The mossy antlered figure wasn’t moving anymore. Previously it had been moving in a direct line towards the village below, but no longer.

It stood motionless.

The hunched back rose and fell rhythmically. It breathed, which wasn’t as reassuring as I hoped it would be. It had to be an animal of some kind.

I gestured to Kaiser that he should go around the figure and try to come in behind it in a pincer movement.

Kaiser nodded.

It was a supremely unnatural motion to see in a dog, but we’d also been practising our nonverbal communication for when we needed to stay quiet. My partner was off and running, as silent as an elf walking atop the snow.

The antlered thing swung its front towards Kaiser as the dog circled around. Kaiser stopped in his tracks, but now the creature was between us. If it decided to barrel toward Kaiser, he was completely exposed.

Kaiser sniffed the air and took a tentative step toward the antlered thing.

What the hell, I thought to myself as Kaiser kept walking forward.

The hunched creature moved downward suddenly, like it was about to spring into action. I trained Gravedigger right in the middle of its back, placing the butt of the shotgun against my shoulder to absorb the kickback. The moment I moved my finger to the trigger an arm reached out from the leafy thing to pat Kaiser on the head.

A human arm.

“What the hell?” I asked aloud this time.

The antlered figure swung towards me. I exhaled and relaxed my hand on the grip of the shotgun while moving my finger away from the trigger. The smiling face of a scruffy looking man met my eyes.

“Salut prietene. Ce haine ciudate porți. Acesta este câinele tău magnific?” the figure asked.

Of course. We were in Romania, and this local must speak Romanian.

“We don’t speak your language, I’m sorry. Do you speak English?”

The man laughed. He shrugged the strange hooded outfit back onto his broad shoulders. The antlers came to rest behind his head and gave him the appearance of some strange backwoods shaman.

“You are not from around here,” the man said with only the barest trace of an accent.

“No, we’re not. What the hell are you doing walking around the middle of the forest like some kind of… whatever that getup is supposed to be?”

“This is my home, but I think you are very far away from yours. I am Mosul. Mosul Zmeiovich. Why are you walking in my forest?”

“I’m Hatchet,” I said. “That’s Kaiser. We’ve been sent here to find out what happened down there.” I pointed in the direction of the village below with the barrel of my shotgun.

“Ahh yes, a terrible tragedy,” Mosul said. “The great dragon sleeps at such a time when he is needed most. The forest is watching with great interest, but cannot do anything to stop what is to come.”

“What exactly is to come?” I asked.

“Doom. For one or all? I cannot say.” Mosul chuckled to himself. “I will continue to walk the paths of the ancients, beseeching their wisdom so that I may pass it on to those who need it. The dragon has seven heads, but all of them are asleep. It is such a shame.”

Footsteps crunched through the snow behind me. The rest of the team must have decided I wasn’t under threat.

“Who are your friends?” Mosul asked. “Other wandering warriors come to stem the tide of evil from spreading across the world?”

That comment hit a little too close to the mark for my liking. This guy sounded nuts, but it was a coherent kind of crazy. Crazy that made sense was the scariest kind.

“Folks, this is Mosul,” I said. “Mosul, this is our team. Wandering warriors, as you said.”

“The forest is happy that you are all here. But can you wake the dragon?”

Xiphos stepped forward and I got the distinct impression that she wasn’t very impressed that I’d steered the conversation so far with this guy.

“I’m Xiphos. What do you know about the village down below?” she asked, taking a step in front of me, placing herself in a position of leadership.

“It is sleeping,” Mosul said as though it explained everything.

Xiphos shot me a confused look.

“Do you speak crazy?” she asked.

I shrugged. “It speaks to me, I guess.”

Mosul chuckled at that. “Yes, yes! It does speak to you. I can see that. You six are shining like brilliant diamonds in a sea of rust. Awash in an ocean of things that should not be, but are. You shouldn’t be, but you are, so maybe you are exactly what we need, hm?”

“He’s nuts,” Stiletto said.

“No, I don’t think he is,” I said. “He’s saying that we’re different from everything else. He can tell that anima is coursing through our bodies. Right, Mosul?”

“A very strange word for it. You have more life than the rest of the forest. More life than what I have been blessed with. But the great hunger that woke from the shadow of the dragon has more, and it is starving.”

A chill ran over me, despite the warm insulation of my EDGE Force combat gear.

“What I think he’s trying to say,” I tried to explain, “is that something happened to the village below that’s related to a legend of some kind about a sleeping dragon? But we all know that myths and legends might have some basis in fact after everything we’ve seen, right?”

A look of understanding passed through the team. I wasn’t there for their previous missions, but that look told me enough. Their introductions to the truly strange nature of reality shared a wrongness that hung thick in the air here, like smoke. Naginata swivelled her head towards Mosul as though she was trying to take him in with a new set of eyes.

“Is that the gist of it?” Xiphos asked.

Mosul shrugged. “Maybe more, maybe less, it’s hard to know for sure. The dragon, our great protector, slumbers as his shadow stretches ever farther. He is the master of men and beasts, yes it is true, though his influence has waned over the centuries.”

“I can’t stand it when they talk in riddles,” Khopesh grumbled. His grip on his weapon trembled, like he was white-knuckling it under his black leather gloves. “Speak clearly!”

Xiphos held up a hand which silenced Khopesh instantly. “Hatchet’s right. There is more to this man than first appears. Mosul, can you help us find the people from Incolţi and bring them to safety?”

Mosul shook his head. “There is nothing that I or the forest can do for them now. Do not lament! Seek out the sleeping head of the dragon in a cave not far from here. Follow the water and you are certain to find him. If you wake him, he may be able to add his strength to yours.”

“I’ve got a feeling this dragon thing is going to be important,” I said. “As soon as I hit Level 11 I’m going to be able to invest in a skill called Learned Scribe, which lets me read anything written in any language.”

“Understanding those locals legends might be to key to all of this,” Xiphos agreed. “Yes, make that a priority Hatchet.”

Mosul gave us all an appraising look and beamed a wide smile. “It is fortuitous that we have me, but I have other business to attend to. The forest is concerned that the hunger will spread, and I must reassure her that she is safe. Farewell, shining warriors.”

With that, Mosul turned to leave. He stopped to stoop down to pet Kaiser one last time, then walked away from us.

“We’re just going to let him go?” Khopesh asked.

“Our mission is to find out what happened to Incolţi and save anyone that we can,” Xiphos said. “He’s not in danger, and he’s given us a lead, even if it is a cryptic one. I’m beginning to understand why EDGE Force chose you, Hatchet.”

I shrugged. “I spent my youth reading fantasy novels. Strange prophets wandering the forest that speak in riddles is kind of my thing. You guys handle the shooty mcbangbang business and I’ll figure out how we’re going to solve this riddle.”

“Speaking of which, have you all come understand your skills?” Xiphos asked. “Have you understood which would be the best path forward for the team?”

The others nodded but didn’t go into detail about any of it. I was about to start unloading my whole plan, but I didn’t want to be the only one. Maybe Xiphos trusted in all of us.

Instead, I brought attention to one strategy I didn’t want to pursue.

“There are some skills in here that don’t sit right with me, and they’re mostly focused on putting Kaiser in harm’s way,” I said. “I just want everyone to know, straight up, that Kaiser isn’t just some tool to be used, to be thrown into dangerous situations just because we don’t want to face them ourselves. To me, he’s family.”

Xiphos nodded. “That’s what drives you, isn’t it Hatchet? Family.”

I gave a half-hearted shrug with a rueful smile. “Am I that transparent?”

“Family is important to all of us,” Xiphos continued. “Serving in the military, you’re part of a family too. One where you expect to your brothers and sisters hurt or killed while doing their duty. Serving humanity as part of EDGE Force is the same. It’s the duty of anyone who has the power to fight.”

Xiphos’s words made sense. I nodded slowly, but had to expand on what I’d just said.

“Using Kaiser as a throwaway tool is different to him being treated as a part of the team. That’s all I’m saying. As long as you all know that up front, we’re not going to have any problems when it comes to levelling up.”

“Understood,” Xiphos agreed. “Now let’s see what we can find out down in that village.”

A cold wind blew across the mountainside as we headed down the slope toward Incolţi.