The cuts on the soldiers' throats were clearly made by some kind of knife or dagger. Such weapons were only used by humans, and Drake could arrive at just one conclusion from this information. The murderers were humans, most likely bandits.

Drake cast a sideways glance at Ben Higler, the ranger. He was standing completely still, but his eyes were darting around, searching. A smart man, Drake copied him, and stopped moving too. He could only survive by imitating someone who certainly had gone through dozens of life-and-death situations.

Frainer and Warkin were also extremely quiet, having sensed the tension of their partners. A few minutes went by, but nothing happened. Eventually, sound returned to the forest, and only now did Drake realize that the birds had stopped singing, and the insects stopped cricketing.

"They are gone. You can move now."

Releasing the breath he didn't notice he was holding, Drake got up, and cleaned the pieces of grass that stuck to his clothes. Albeit nothing happened, he was trembling. If it was of fear or excitement, he didn't know. Maybe a little of both.

"You behaved well. Most people would have freaked out after seeing blood and bodies."

"Uhmm... I knew this might happen someday. Still..."

Higler smiled, understanding Drake's predicament even if he didn't say it out loud. However, he didn't plan on comforting the kid. He was the one to choose an adventurer's life, and, if he lived long enough, he would see much worse than the six poor soldiers.

"This world is one where you have to fight for survival, Drake. Keep that in mind. Ah, and first lesson, although I think you already caught up with it: nature is your best indicator. If you stop hearing the forest's noises, something is wrong."

Drake nodded, while patting Frainer's head absentmindedly, and looking at the bodies. He only woke up from his daze when Higler elbowed him.

"Come on now. We can't leave them to rot here. Luckily their killers left their mounts."

It took a few seconds for Drake to understand what he meant. When he finally did, he glanced at the six Yscalents calmly eating grass, and then back at the bodies.

"Oh..."

He didn't like it, but also couldn't reject. Higler would do it alone, while he would look like a coward.

They approached the bodies, but Drake had one hand occupied. He looked awkwardly at the pistol the ranger lent to him. He didn't have anywhere to put it, so he handed it back to him.

"Keep it. You will need it in the future, at least for self-defense. To be honest, it was really stupid of you to enter the wilderness without one."

"I-I never thought I would have to use one."

"Oh, you absolutely will. Here, take this too."

Higler took off his belt, and threw it to Drake. It had two holsters attached to it, and three magazines of ammo. He then proceeded to put his remaining gun on the back of his pants.

"Come on now, don't be shy. I get those for free from the Confederation."

"Okay. Thanks..."

Deciding not to hesitate anymore, Drake put on the belt, and holstered his new pistol. After that, he and Higler started the grim job of picking up bodies, and putting them on top of the Yscalents, laying horizontally. After all six dead soldiers were tied up, the ranger covered their faces with their own jackets. The bottom half of their bodies were still exposed though, leaving no doubt to anyone who saw that they were dead.

"What about the killers?"

"They went north, towards the outpost. Since I doubt they would be dumb enough to enter it while carrying stolen army boots and weapons, they must have gone around it. That's where I will find their tracks."

"How do you know they went north?"

"The Yscalents paw prints. You see how their claws leave three holes, in some sort of triangle? This one is deeper, right?"

"Yeah."

"It's their middle claw, the one that points forward. It's bigger than the others, so it's easily distinguishable."

Nodding, Drake memorized that piece of information. It could be very important later.

"Come on, let's go."

Absentmindedly, Drake obeyed, and mounted his Yscalent. A lot had happened, and his mind was full at the moment. One of those thoughts was to call his grandfather. He planned to do so when he first arrived at the outpost, to tell him about his encounter with the Moontrit, but he got carried by the chain of events, and totally forgot.

Seeing him pick up his phone, and try uselessly to dial a number, Higler started giggling, and soon was unable to contain his laughter. Drake didn't know the reason his phone wasn't working, or why the ranger found it so funny, but his face flustered red as he got more and more embarrassed.

"What is it?!"

"Hahaha! Haha... I forgot how funny it is to watch a first-timer like you. Phones don't work in the wilderness. There is too much interference, and some Iferes are able to tap on the transmissions, scrambling them, even though they don't do it on purpose. Even if your call got through, all the other person would hear would be a bunch of gurgling noises. Otherwise, I would have already called Johnson, and let her know about the destiny of her patrol."

"But yesterday I managed to use it!"

"You were close to the city, no? Only outposts and cities have the necessary equipment to make transmissions. The bigger the city, the larger the radius you can use a phone. I would say it is around twenty kilometers from Blue Coral City. And that is pretty good already. In outposts you have to be under the transponder for it to work."

Sighing exasperated, Drake put away his phone. Frainer glued onto him, and he smiled. His partner's presence was comforting. He didn't see Higler's smile. The ranger was satisfied with his choice.

...

Presumably, their arrival in the outpost caused quite the commotion. It wasn't every day someone brought six bodies, even more soldiers'. Soon, Major Johnson was out of her office, looking angrily at them.

"What happened, ranger? Where did you find them?"

"One thing at a time, major. Firstly, you should put the bodies out of sight."

For once, Major Johnson didn't disagree. Following Higler's suggestion, she quickly had the bodies moved away from the horrified civilians. Even the soldiers, used to put their life on the line, were slightly pale. After all, they knew each one of the dead men. For a moment, Drake wondered why he didn't feel nearly as much panic and fear as the other civilians.

"Follow me, ranger. You too, mister."

They did as they were told, and entered the major's office. Without even letting them sit down, she was already interrogating Drake and Higler.

"They surprised some bandits looting the Moontrit's body, but were killed instead. Their tracks show they went north, and around your outpost."

"I will send some troops after them immediately."

Major Johnson got up, and was about to call the staff sergeant outside, but Higler stopped her with a serious expression on his face.

"May I suggest that you leave them to me? You are already understaffed."

"This is military business, ranger. It has nothing to do with you."

"From the moment I found the bodies, it has."

Major Johnson stared deep into his eyes, completely ignoring Drake, who had no idea of what to do. Eventually, she averted her glare.

"Okay. Bring them alive if you can. Otherwise, let their bodies rot."