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John began calling out for everyone, his voice dully echoing through the trees as he tried to find them. It didn’t take long for the realisation to set in… He was alone. The weight of it sat heavily on his chest, frustration welling up at the thought that once again, something beyond his control was endangering the people he cared for.

John pushed forward, moving quickly through the forest. Each shadow in the fog a source of hope, followed by disappointment. Each time a shape emerged, he called out hoping it might be someone, only to find yet another tree, bush or fern. With every tree he passed, his anxiety grew and his pace quickened.

He’d reached a jogging pace, his voice feeling the strain of continuously yelling the names of everyone. Worry crept into his tone, until his foot caught on a gnarled root, causing him to hit the ground as he let out a grunt of pain.

-3HP

He Let out a huff as he stood and dusted his clothes off. He balled his fists, the tension almost painful as his nails dug into his palm. With a cry of frustration, he slammed his fist into the tree whose roots he’d just fallen over. “FUCK!”

-7HP

He grunted and growled, slumping back against the tree. Taking a deep breath, he rubbed his knuckles. The injury had already healed, but a phantom pain persisted. ’Wish I could at least know everyone’s alright,’ he thought bitterly. Then he brightened up. Quickly he opened his interface and navigated to the party system.

Party

Party Leader: John Newman | Lvl 12 | HP 180/190 | MP 150
Alison Clark | HP 100% | MP 100%
Dahlia | HP 100% | MP 78%
Ellie Turner | HP 100% | MP 100%
Moira Brighton | HP 83% | MP 16%
Robin Sharpe | HP 100% | MP 100%
Violet Harrington | HP 100% | MP 100%

Though curious, he dismissed Moira and Dahlia’s lower stats, focusing on the people present with him. “No damage, and no one has used any magic, that’s gotta be a good sign,” he muttered, feeling some of his tension easing. “I do wonder what’s going on with Dahlia? Hope that she hasn’t run into any trouble. And I’m kinda curious why Moira is running so low?”

He shook his head. “They’re not the priority right now; if I’m that curious, I can always ask later. What matters is getting everyone here back together… safely.”

Checking out the party system acted as a way to distract from his worries while being possibly productive and his poking around bore fruit, causing a torrent of excitement to wash over him as he set up a voice chat with Ellie. Unfortunately, just as quickly, the excitement vanished.

Network unavailable. Star Mobile coverage not available in your area.

He let out an annoyed grunt. “And what’s that supposed to mean? My party system sponsored by Star Mobile now?” he grumbled, his voice tinged with annoyance and sarcasm. He glanced upwards, waiting for an answer which wasn’t given. Frustrated, he huffed before brushing it off. It was just another question on the growing list.

Back on his feet, John found himself pacing again, his anxiety creeping in. The eerie quiet of the forest was suddenly broken by a loud CLAP and his cheeks stung as he pulled his hands away.

“Stay calm. No need to get worked up with worry. No one’s hurt, it’s just fog… Possibly magic fog, but I still know no one is hurt. What matters is finding each other, and unfortunately, even though wandering might not be the best idea, it also means that at the very least I might bump into someone.”

The dense fog, coupled with the canopy above, left the forest dimly lit. Now more clear-headed, John allowed his vision to shift as he manifested his eyes. The forest brightened similar to early twilight.

The muted colours became more vibrant, allowing him to see the autumn leaves of the lower branches, though the canopy was still obstructed. His improved vision allowed him to see the forest floor much clearer, giving him a few metres of visibility and making it easier to move through the trees a little quicker.

As he walked, he kicked a thick branch, a perfect hiking stick. Picking it up, he began striking the trunks of the trees he passed. The loud CRACK piercing through the fog. In combination, he occasionally called out.

A glimmer of hope appeared in the form of a carved line across a nearby tree. Dropping his branch, John rushed over. Sap oozed and dripped from the cut, telling him it was somewhat recent, which only increased his hope.

He moved quickly from one tree to another, hoping for another mark to point him in the right direction. After searching in vain for any more signs, he cast his gaze downwards. Unsure what exactly he was looking for, he scrutinised the forest floor. Despite not having a frame of reference, he managed to spot signs of movement.

Mostly he followed his own path to the trees in the area, but he could tell that his tracks weren’t the only ones following a similar route. After ten minutes of searching, he found six different directions, including the one he’d approached from.

It was clear that someone had heavier footfalls, as two of the tracks were a little easier to track, it seemed that whoever they belonged to must be walking together.

He weighed his options, but the direction of the heavier footfalls were slightly easier to spot, making it the most obvious answer even if he knew that it was Robin who was more than likely capable of looking after himself; on the other hand, with his trail easier to follow, it seemed like the most sensible option.

John found himself grumbling in frustration as he struggled to follow the disturbed ground. “Wonder if I’d be doing a better job if I’d have started Hemet’s next barrier quest?” he muttered. “Bet I’ll be getting an earful next time I see him. Especially now that he’s been vindicated… Tracking skills would’ve been handy here.

Determined to reduce his inevitable scolding, John doubled his efforts. Unfortunately, he quickly found that Observe wasn’t useful in this situation, though he hadn’t been hopeful when he tried.

“If it wasn’t for my dragon vision, I’d have no chance of following these tracks. I’m probably missing a ton of signs that would be obvious to someone who knows what they’re doing,” he grumbled. “Would be nice if I could move faster, but at least I know I’m on someone’s trail.”

Trying not to beat himself up, he continued, then stopped and groaned letting his head fall back. “I should’ve used Observe on that tree, it’d have probably told me who carved into it; same with that heel print a little while back, it could have confirmed that it was Robin, though I suspect it’s more likely it would tell me that it was mud or dirt…”

As he moved again, he noticed more signs of passage: snapped branches, scuffed dirt, and trapped leaves. But his attention was drawn to a sudden, loud hollow thud, like a heavy hammer striking the ground. ’Robin?’ he thought.

John forgot all about the tracks, it only slowed him down taking his time to try and follow them. He hurried towards the sound and a shadow began to take form in the fog, prompting John to call out, “Robin? Is that you? I’m glad I found you!”

But his steps slowed, and his hair stood on end. The shadow stood upright, it wasn’t inhumanly tall, roughly Robin’s height but its frame was thinner, from what he could tell.

Two white orbs looked at him and then his blood ran cold. “Robin? Is that you? I’m glad I found you!” his own voice called out from the figure.

John stumbled back. Though this thing was still mostly amorphous, there were two features he could maybe make out: the first being the odd angle the legs bent in, and the second was what he assumed were curled horns.

The shadow bolted, moving with a strange, almost graceful gait, like a ballerina skipping through the fog, vanishing out of sight. Everything happened so fast that John hadn’t had the time to process what he heard or saw.

Instinctively, John lowered himself closer to the ground, his claws manifesting without thought, his eyes scanning in the direction the creature had disappeared in. He stayed still for a minute or two, listening intently for any sign it was nearby.

His mind raced, a chaotic jumble of thoughts that struggled to focus on. Luckily he had the party screen still visible, which meant he could still see that only Moira and Dahlia’s statuses had altered since earlier. That could only mean the others hadn’t encountered or engaged with that thing, right?

John pulled his attention back to finding the tracks, and though it took a little while, he’d only strayed slightly off their path. But as he followed the trail, his heart sank as it intersected where he’d seen the creature.

A deep, unmistakable hoofprint was pressed into the worn ground. A fork had formed, heavy footfalls clearly from the creature, and a much more difficult track to follow.

It gave him pause. ’It was tracking them,’ he thought, his feet moving on their own.

“If it was following them, then it hadn’t found them yet, right?” he muttered under his breath. “But what if it already found someone else.”

’Does my party system show status effects? I don’t… Does it!? What if it paralysed them or put them to sleep, could I even tell?’ his thoughts spiralled as he tried to make sense of the situation.

“Shit! Shit!” he yelled, picking up the pace.

’Well, it ran when I came close, so maybe it’s not aggressive,’ he tried to reason. “If it was, it would’ve attacked me, right? But it didn’t… wait, what if it’s an ambush predator? Maybe it wasn’t after me, or it’s planning something else?”

’What if it’s waiting?’ He stopped, eyes and ears straining to detect any sign of the creature. “Where is it? I need to find it, fast, before it comes after me.”

“What if it already knows that’s what I’m going to do? What if it’s moved on, plans to go after someone else first? It knows I’m aware of it, maybe it already knows I’m a threat to it, just by knowing it’s skulking around. Or am I?” he questioned aloud, his feet carrying him forward again.

“Why did it run? Is it scared of me? Baiting me? Or is it going after everyone else already?” he wondered, panic rising with each step. “What if I’m too late?”

A sudden SNAP of a branch behind him caused John’s head to whip around looking over his shoulder, his heart racing. ’It’s here, it’s after me’ he thought. ’Maybe that's good? If it’s after me, then it can’t be after everyone else, so they’re safe.’ He broke into a sprint.

“Am I just running into its trap?” he asked himself, jumping over branches and underbrush. He swung around trees to change directions quickly. Sounds and shadows followed him through the forest as he ran.

His pulse thrummed in his ears, nearly drowning out the sounds of the forest, but something cut through. THUD! A familiar hollow sound came from behind him. At first, it was occasional, sporadic, it almost seemed like it was nudging him from one direction to another but John didn’t have time to ponder. Then it began to speed up, growing louder, closer and more rhythmic until he could feel the vibrations beneath his feet.

His feet skidded in the leaves and dirt as he came to a stop right before an ear-splitting crack came from in front of him, a tree splintering and crashing to the ground, blocking his path

He hesitated, torn between jumping over the tree or changing direction. Another thud, closer and to his right made the decision for him. Without a second thought, he vaulted the trunk and began sprinting; the sounds came to an abrupt halt, and only the sound of the crunching leaves beneath John’s feet cut through the eerie silence.

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