Cobaltio and I fell, coughed out by the [wyvern]. As we tumbled down the tree, each branch hitting my back with enough force to knock the breath out of me, I grabbed onto Cobaltio, shielding him with my body.

Then, our momentum was suddenly halted just before I hit a branch halfway down it, giving me time to balance on it, my torso barely clinging to it. I almost thanked Seraph in my head, but it wouldn’t really make sense to thank her for the god of death’s gift, [death wing].

Guessing that the relentless predator wouldn’t give up in its pursuit, I let go of cobaltio, who safely descended to the ground with [death wing]. Then he looked back to me as I slowly made my way down, climbing branch to branch carefully, only to fall, all strength in my arms finally leaving me. I only fell eight feet, but when I landed, I didn’t want to get up.

I didn’t want to, but with no choice, I lethargically stood a half-minute later, responding to Cobaltio’s nudges. Then, seeing my scabbard was probably my best weapon, I unclipped it from my belt and began walking.

Only to realize I was utterly lost.

I organized my thoughts:

If I wanted to be found, building a campfire would be smart, to get Maladrain and Reco’s attention, but that would also invite opportunist monsters, including the [wyvern], which I wasn’t prepared to fight, let alone without a sword.

Or, I could climb another tree and find their campfire. I couldn’t have been further than a mile or two away but...I looked down at my hand, filled with red scrapes, and my small, bleeding marks from the [wyvern]’s pecks. That wasn’t even to talk about the bruises, which ached around my body.

Given, it was better than slowly bleeding out in the middle of a fight. I shivered, just remembering the experience. The only reason that wasn’t a horribly painful experience was because of my adrenaline and [hope]. And now, anytime I recalled the scene, all I could remember was the pain, and the cold approach of death, followed by [hope]’s comforting warmth.

Climbing a tree or somehow sending Cobaltio to scout with his [draconic imbuement] would also make me or him easy game for the [wyvern].

So, hiding and hoping the [wyvern] would give up in its search before Maladrain and Reco sounded like the best choice. If I tried to make my way to them I would probably end up ambushed by monsters anyway...

I looked at my empty scabbard with distaste.

Why couldn’t I just sheath my sword? A simple mistake like that now put me, and Cobaltio lost in a horrible place, with no weapon, no direction, a [wyvern] potentially chasing us, and monsters probably all around.

Then again, throwing the sword away was a pretty dim decision on my part, and I could have asked Maladrain for a spare knife while I was in Hannem, yet failed to do so. Though, sheathing my sword(which I was still getting better at) may have made me too slow to catch the [wyvvern].

I grimaced as I realized just how useless I was without my favored weapon. I had killed a bubblebear with fewer levels than I had now, yet as I was, it would be a seemingly impossible task to kill a second time.

I went over the logistics as I ran in the direction I thought the camp was in. I hadn’t paid much attention to where the [wyvern] had taken me, but what I did know was that I was south of the road to the capital. As long as I went north, I would intersect with it. So, it probably was best to keep running in one direction until I thought the [wyvern] wouldn’t see me if I climbed a tree, then looked for camp atop one.

I stood, then began walking in a random direction.

I hadn’t noticed, but I had warped my planning around something I tended not to think about. All the while, I could vividly imagine Maladrain and Reco’s anxiety as they searched for me, how terrified and angry they must have been, knowing I had disappeared with virtually no trace...

“DAMN IT!? This is why I fucking said not to send her into the forest at midnight! Why the fucking hell do I ever listen to you?” Maladrain screamed, kicking the ground where Saya’s tracks ended.

Reco grimaced, averting her eyes yet remaining silent. She held a torch, illuminating the forest around them.

Maladrain unsheathed his sword and swung it, lodging it into a tree purely to release his stress. He breathed raspy breaths through gritted teeth, then removed his sword, only to see a small chip in the iron. Instead of worsening his mood, the chip reminded him the only person he needed to blame was himself.

He sheathed it, then kneeled to pick up Saya’s sword. He sighed heavily, nonverbally letting Reco know that he’d calmed down. “Why would she leave her sword here?”

Reco kneeled beside him, talking in a muted tone. “Uhh, maybe she was eaten whole?”

Maladrain glared at Reco, knowing it was a dumb idea, but also annoyed she’d suggest something so morbid. He just sighed out his frustration again. “Well, either way, Saya wouldn’t let go of her sword for no reason. We also need to consider the other factors. For example, I’m not certain what these tracks are.” Maladrain motioned his head to a variety of scrapes on the ground. “They look like some type of bird monster’s prints.”

Maladrain and Reco stared at the prints, illuminated by her torch, for a minute.

“Maybe it’s a...” Reco began.

“A [wyvern],” they said simultaneously.

“But [wyvern]s don’t live in the inner kingdom,” Maladrain said. “We’re nowhere near the mountains, where they would be.”

“I dunno, maybe it wasn’t a wild one?”

“A trained [wyvern]? That would mean someone has it out for Saya, a child.”

Reco looked at Maladrain like he was dumb. “How much do you know about her? She’s a child who has extensive knowledge of the Mudmule, is clearly a tactical fighter, and who gained the [oathbreaker] status not long after resurrecting a dead max-level bandit captain. Are you sure it isn’t at least possible that somebody has it out for her or that she hasn’t told you the full truth about herself?”

Maladrain thought it through, wincing as he realized that what Reco said had flaws but still made sense. “The [wyvern] from before...if it were that...”

“What are you going on about? Do you know who might’ve sent a wyrm after Saya?”

“No, I don’t, but I think I might know the specific one that took her away. I forgot the event not long after, but after we killed the [cobold]s, a [wyvern] appeared.”

“Did you kill it?”

“No, it just flew away without any signs of aggression.”

“Huh. Well, I guess this whole thing doesn’t matter anyway. Let’s just find Saya.”

“How!? How would I find Saya under these conditions? All we know is that a [wyvern] came down, Saya threw her sword down, and she left without making tracks. For all we know, she left willingly!”

“I don’t think she’d do that without telling us.”

“She’s done it once. She could do it again...” Maladrain muttered, not deigning to explain any further.

“Well, then what about her sword? It might be a sign. Like, maybe it’s pointing to where the wyrm took her?”

Maladrain looked skeptical.

“I mean, why else would Saya drop her sword? She always clung to it like it was her child or something, and I can’t imagine many scenarios where it would have been advantageous to drop it. She didn’t leave the sheath either, so we know it was done with haste.”

“So...what? Are we meant to follow where it was pointing when we found it?”

“Uhh, maybe? Look, don’t look to me for intelligence. All I’m saying is that Saya could have dropped it to tell us she was kidnapped, not killed. Bodies don’t just disappear, not unless they get eaten or hidden.”

“But how does that help us? She’s still where only Kukaltl knows, and I don’t think he will answer my prayers to help save an [oathbreaker].”

“Stop acting like some helpless child, Mally. You can change to the [hunter] class to track it, and I know it.”

Maladrain looked like he had been insulted. “You think I don’t know that?! I’m not sleeping 4 hours straight to change classes in this scenario!”

Reco rolled her eyes, frustrated with him. “Ok, then. I guess we don’t have any other option, so let’s pretend she’s dead.” She began walking to the camp.

“Are you seri-”

“Of fucking course I’m not serious! But if you want to sit here complaining all night about how impossible finding Saya is, we might as well.”

“But-”

“Go to sleep, Mal. I’ll scout the woods. I get we both have low-ass wisdom, but you’ve got to trust me, as the senior adventurer, that this is the best option.”

Maladrain breathed through gritted teeth, angry, but turned around anyway. “Fine, I’ll sleep while Saya is where Kukaltl only knows.”

As he left, Reco sighed, wasting no time to aimlessly run into the woods. “Mally can be such a handful at times.”