Wales made his way through the thick undergrowth, hacking and slashing as he went. Karla, the ranger, scouted ahead, and Wales turned to the third and fourth members of his party. The massive brawler and the thin assassin next to him were following Wales as he cut a path through the brambles with his sword.

“You could help, you know.” Wales said through gritted teeth. He’d received numerous cuts from branches and vines whipping back at him, and the stinging pain from the sweat dripping down his face didn’t help his concentration.

The brawler, Fergusson, laughed. “But Wales, you’re a hero to the people! Surely chopping a few scrawny vines isn’t too much for the man who slays hydras!” The assassin next to him, Hyena, chuckled and Fergusson grinned back broadly. He liked the thin man. Though Hyena never really spoke, he laughed quite a lot, and it often led into a high-pitched cackle. And Fergusson liked when his jokes were appreciated. It was an unlikely friendship that brewed between the bearded hulk and the covered up bundle of black cloth that was Hyena. But they made a good pair.

Wales just grimaced in response as he finally pushed through the thick wall of green. The assassin gracefully glided through the opening, and the brawler stomped his way after. Ahead, the three saw that Karla had stopped in the middle of a clearing. She stood next to a dark green tent, tapping on the canvas flap.

“Sylvia?” She called. “The crew is here. Are you ready?” Wales walked up beside the ranger and rapped the flap again, giving Karla a questioning glance.

“The mercenary isn’t here?” Fergusson inquired as he approached. “Could she be out?” Wales shrugged, and Karla peered into the tent. Empty. Hyena, who’d been standing behind the brawler, scanned the area and pointed towards the west side of the clearing. The group approached the area, and Hyena gestured to a few broken branches at shoulder level.

Wales drew his sword. “Be prepared for an ambush,” he ordered. “We’re far enough away from civilization to encounter even a dragon. I don’t want to be caught unawares by one of those.” Karla nodded, unstrapping the bow on her back, and stringing it. Fergusson stepped in front of the group to the shield position, tightening the straps on his heavy steel gauntlets. He pulled his long hair out of his face, tied it, and slapped the helmet, that had previously been hanging at his waist, over his head.

“I wasn’t expecting a fight so soon,” he said, grinning. “But I don’t mind the warm up.” Karla took her place next to Wales, her daggers hanging loosely at her sides, and Hyena scaled a tree, fading into the darkness. Wales smiled. His group worked well together, and got into formation swiftly and instinctually. They truly were among the best of the adventurers.

Karla picked up the tracking where Hyena had left off, and directed the brawler and warrior through the forest. They assumed Hyena was following or scouting ahead, and none of the three had any doubt that he was keeping up. Even though they couldn’t see him, since he was the best assassin Wales knew of, they didn’t worry about keeping track of him.

After a few minutes of travelling through the woods, Karla stopped the group, gesturing towards her ear. Wales and Fergusson strained to listen, and heard a flickering sound, like a leaf blowing in the wind. Wales’ eyes went wide, and he silently moved his hand into the shape of a coiled snake, miming its strike. The other two got his meaning.

Serpopard. The unholy fusion of leopard and serpent, which stalked the grounds near a famous high-tier dungeon, Dungeon Cordon. Wales had fought several when he’d stupidly undertaken that dungeon’s challenges.

He’d barely made it out alive. With a proper party, and advanced preparation, Wales doubted he would fail to reach Cordon’s treasure room with another attempt, but the snake-leopards had scarred him so much that he refused to go back. And now there was one here, on the outskirts of King Fakar’s territory. What was it doing here?

His hand drifted down to the pouch at his waist, the black summoning dust inside. He nearly opened it, but then he paused. No. He wouldn’t dare waste that summon on a creature like a serpopard. If it turned out this serpopard was stronger than usual, or there was more than one, then Wales would consider it, but he had his party, and they were the strongest heroes of the Fakarian Kingdom. There would be no issues today.

He tightened the string holding the pouch closed, and firmly grasped his sword with both hands. Then he pointed two fingers towards the sound, and the party approached slowly.

They sneaked between the trees, trying to get a view of the monster. Of course, the huge brawler didn’t make sneaking easy. Just as the party reached the outskirts of the forest, Fergusson placed just a little too much weight onto a fallen branch, and it snapped underneath him.

The flickering sound stopped, and the party’s eyes went wide. Wales caught movement in the corner of his vision, and almost shouted before he realized it was Hyena jumping between branches, drawing his wickedly pointed Mastic daggers. The super-rare white blades glowed as the assassin readied them, the magic of the dragon’s teeth they were made of reacting to the tension in the air.

Then, Wales felt something grasp his shoulder. It pulled on him, and the warrior, caught by surprise, whirled around to face his attacker. He raised his sword, about to strike.

And he realized the “attacker” was Sylvia, the mercenary healer the priest told him was to work with Wales to find the prince. It was the healer the party had been travelling to meet. She raised a finger to her lips, pointing towards the exit of the forest with her other hand.

Then she leaned her staff against her shoulder, and signalled in the language of stealth. Wales had learned some, since it was all that Hyena would communicate in, but Karla was the ranger of the group, and she knew it well. However, he still managed to catch some of the words she signed.

Think it's a… from… C-O-R-D-O-N? Why is it here?

Wales signalled back, and Karla joined them as he did. Fergusson and Hyena kept scanning the area for the serpopard, but nobody could see it.

Not sure. He signed, then pointed at Karla. The ranger tracked it. Thought you were dead.

Sylvia smirked, and then made a foul sign towards him. Ye of little faith. I… as… and ranger.

He made the sign to show he didn’t understand what she said, and Karla joined the conversation, explaining it to him in more familiar signs than the mercenary had used.

You know how I am classed as both a ranger and a warrior? She is both healer and ranger. Hired mostly for healing. He nodded, before starting to sign back. Then a huge weight from behind forced the three to the ground. Fergusson had tackled them.

From underneath the burly brawler, Wales glanced up at the tree Hyena was in, and saw his eyes open as far as they could go. He stood ready to jump from the tree, his daggers angled down. He sheathed one, and signalled in one-handed stealth to Karla. Wales didn’t know one-handed, and just looked at Karla as she tensed up.

The flickering sound started again, but this time, Wales could hear the noise above him. He knew what that meant. The serpopard was tasting the air for them. Fergusson must have deployed Hyena’s chameleon blanket, concealing the group from view but allowing them to see through it, like a one-way mirror. Sylvia shared glances with Karla at the message Hyena had sent, and Wales clenched his fist at being left in the dark. From his position, he could only see the two girls, and Hyena in the tree, watching as his eyes tracked the monster.

Wales wondered why the cloaked assassin hadn’t leapt from the tree to start a fight, and then thought about how the party’s shield, Fergusson, had jumped away from a serpopard to hide. And that meant only one thing to Wales… It wasn’t a serpopard they were against, but a hydra.

He started sweating, remembering his other encounter with one of those monsters. If this thing was even a little bit stronger than that one, then Wales definitely did not want to fight it. He now understood why the assassin remained perched in the tree, blending into the branches.

A huge crunch sounded next to the group on the ground, but their trained instincts kept them from jumping in fright. Wales breathed faster, hyperventilating, and having flashbacks to that older fight.

This hydra sounded much bigger. It must have been at least four times the size of a serpopard, and that meant a lot of heads.

The monster stepped again, cracking more branches, and the sounds started to fade away. Wales watched as Hyena relaxed, and he heard the flickering noise fade away as the monster exited the forest. Wales breathed a sigh of relief, and the rest of his party did the same. They wouldn’t have to fight a horrible high-tier monster today.

But then Wales paused to consider the implications of this experience. The prince was missing in this area... There was a terrible creature that his royal guards probably couldn’t fend off in the same area. Could they be related…?

Was the prince even still alive?