Hunting hunters… Setting up an ambush..

You and your two companions carefully camouflage yourself in the bushes surrounding a small forest clearing.

Your huntering and pathindering skills allow you to remain unnoticed and not attract the attention of your opponents.

Bernhardt also behaves extremely quietly and secretively.

You glance at him: dirty rags instead of clothes; the smell of rot; in many places on the body you can see bones that have grown over; the skin has a cadaverous dark shade and is covered with disgusting ulcer-like growths; the face looks more like a grinning skull of a dead man with a dark hole instead of a long-rotted nose.

And also: a grin of sharp, unusually long teeth and the gleam of reddish-yellowish eyes that exude poorly controlled rage…

Bernhardt clearly anticipates a fight with an opponent.

There are no weapons in his hands at all. But one look from you allows you to understand that even without a weapon he can cause harm incompatible with life: on his fingers you notice long and sharp claws.

He notices your attention and responds with a wide "smile". A long row of sharp and large non-human teeth. Teeth of a predator...

You turn away in embarrassment.

Your second companion.

Bellworth.

He is not in rags at all. Pragmatic and comfortable clothes for hunting: a leather vest, leather hunting pants, large boots almost to the knees. The shade of his clothes is dark greenish (this is good for camouflage in dense forest vegetation).

In his hands you see a pistol with a suppressor. On the metal barrel of the pistol you see a half-erased inscription "Glock 44".

The deathly pale-grayish face of Bellworth expresses determination and phlegmatic calm. His skin has also rotted away in some places – that’s why you see bones showing through in some segments of what used to be a normal human face centuries ago.

The look of his eyes with a tint of grey steel…

The absence of a nose and lips…

Sharp fangs…

The appearance of your two current companions explains the superstitious rumors about the living dead and the cursed dark forest…

“Bernhardt, carefully go around this group of hunters… We will attack from several directions. Since there are more of them than us – we should use the element of surprise…” – the quiet commanding voice of Bellworth interrupts your observations.

The rustle of bushes.

Bernhardt has gone somewhere further, continuing to hide among the bushes and other dense forest vegetation.

You grip your old singleshot smoothbore hunting rifle tighter.

The whisper of Bellworth almost makes you flinch: "I advise you to focus your attention on the enemy, not my humble person, Michael... Prepare to attack immediately after me..."

You nod, trying to maintain your composure, thinking: "I have to do this... For Lily... For her safety..."

In a small forest clearing, the five hunters continue to gather supplies and put out the fire.

Muffled conversations reach your ears.

Are they...

Are they arguing?

They were probably planning to leave the camp earlier to go deeper into the forest and reach the mansion. But for some reason they delayed.

You carefully examine the camp, carefully peeking out from the bushes.