Three adventurers and a vixen

The sound of footsteps grew closer as you stayed hidden. Worst comes to worst, you can use your Lunar Flash to blind them and get away or at least a good head start.

“Are you sure this is where the Ghost usually is?” A feminine, slightly high-pitched voice called out.

The way she phrased that means she’s not alone. Damn it!

What ‘ghost’ was she talking about though? There weren’t any ghost enemies in this zone. You raise your head a bit and sniff the air. You’re picking up at least three separate scents and another more, pleasant and alluring one.

“Trust me, Mydysa. The white moon wolf always spawns around here. We just need to be patient.” A masculine yet musical voice reassured.

“I hope so. This is my first time here and I want to see this ‘Ghost of Emerald Vale’ the town talks about.”

“…Really?” ‘Ghost of Emerald Vale’? That’s what the nearby town is calling you. Huh, you don’t know if it’s good or bad that you’ve become a local celebrity. Probably bad, considering more adventurers will now be after you.

That’s two voices down though. There should be one more of them. And there’s still that pleasant smell from earlier, but where is it coming from? They’ve stopped moving not too far from your hiding spot. If you’re careful, you should be able to sneak away from here.

“Tsk, still can’t believe you invited me out here to look for some mangy mutt. We could’ve gone deeper and found a whole pack. At least then it be a bit more interesting.” A second male’s voice, a bit deeper and gruffer than the first spoke out.

There’s the third voice. Alright, enough spying, time to get out of here. Slowly, you stood up and began moving away from the-

“Seriously, where is that smell coming from?!”

“And what happened to that fox? I thought you hunters kept better track of your beasts?”

…What?

“Lily is NOT a beast! And I sent her out ahead to look for the wolf. She should have found it by now.” Mydysa explained.

A hunter’s pet. They always give off a unique smell. And the one from earlier is stronger now.

“You know, for a supposed ‘ghost’, I expected a bit more difficulty finding you.” A hauntingly beautiful melody speaks from behind.

Stiffening, you turn your head slowly to look behind you. Her reddish fur flowed across her body like a soothing fire. The black fur of her front paws contrasted well with the white tip of her tail. Her deep blue eyes gave off a hint of mischief. You got lost in them for a moment before her muzzle perked up a bit.

“It’s a shame really, you don’t seem bad but my lady has been searching for you.” Her head turned upward and then I noticed the blue scar around her neck. “Mistress, I found th-“

FLASH

The area was suddenly illuminated by a bright, blinding flash. The fox, Lily, yipped as you darted past her.

“Ah, what was that?!”

“There it goes, after it!”

You can already hear them chasing after you through the forest. A whooshing noise flies past you as an arrow embeds itself into a nearby tree.

Damm! They probably won’t miss the next time. You hear rushing water and remember there’s a stream up ahead. If you can get there, you can wash off your scent and lose that vixen for a while.