The forest rushed past in streaks of green and brown as they sprinted along the overgrown path. Each step pounded with urgency. They had to get there. Fast.
Luna led the charge, her arms wrapped protectively around Moku as she ran. The small creature clung to her tunic, his claws gripping tightly but not painfully. He didn’t whimper or squeak. He just stared ahead with sharp, alert eyes.
"Southern Hunting Grounds are just over that ridge!" Adam shouted ahead of them, weaving through the trees with ease.
"I swear... if I survive this... I’m uninstalling my legs," Lily panted from the back. She was red-faced and dragging her feet, struggling to keep pace with the others. "Why do beast tamers always get stuck running?"
Rachel grinned as she darted through the forest like she had been born in it, hair flying behind her. "Maybe you should have invested in a mount instead of that fancy egg."
Lily shot back, "Hey, when Moku’s big enough, he’ll be carrying me around."
"This is not the time to pick on Lily," Luna said without looking back. Her voice was steady, but her grip on Moku tightened. "Eyes forward. We’re almost there."
They pushed through the final line of trees and skidded to a halt at the top of a grassy hill.
They paused for a moment, catching their breath as they took in the view. Below them stretched the Southern Hunting Grounds, a vast expanse of dense forest and winding trails. The wind whispered through the leaves, carrying the faint scent of earth and moss.
Adam scanned the horizon, his expression tense. "If Leo and the others are already here, we need to move fast. Whatever’s coming, it won’t wait."
Luna nodded, still holding Moku close. The small creature blinked up at her, as if sensing the urgency.
Rachel brushed her stray hair back behind her shoulders. "I don’t feeling. Like the calm before a storm."
Lily shifted the egg in her arms, her eyes narrowing. "Whatever happens, we stick together. No one gets left behind."
They charged down the hill like their lives depended on it. However that charge was short lived as right at the border of the forest was Leo and the other members of the Chaos Pantheon, waiting for them and looking really confused as to why Adam and the rest looked so haggard.
Leo’s sharp eyes scanned their worn and tired faces. "What happened to you all?" he asked, concern clear in his voice.
Lily stepped forward, clutching the glowing egg. She took a deep breath and started, "Well, um, we were running and then everything got super sleepy. Like someone pressed pause on us. And the thing we were by, the water spot, it just vanished." She waved her hands vaguely as if that would explain it.
Leo frowned, clearly confused. "Water spot? What are you talking about?"
Lily blinked and shrugged. "You know, that place with the water? The pond? Or not a pond? I don’t really know how to say it. But it disappeared and we all passed out."
Leo gave a look toward his sister, silently asking for help. She stepped in calmly.
"So what happened was Adam received a photo of your new...’look’ who in turn shared it with us."
Leo slowly turned to glare at Penny who averted her gaze and started to whistle as if she had no idea what he was talking about.
"After that, Nyx made a dumb comment and I chased after her to ’discipline’ her"
"Yeah, Luna was trying to fully murder her." Adam chimed in which resulted in a side glare from Luna.
"We ended up in a clearing with a pond. Nyx tried to drink from the pond..."
Greg looked at Rachel and slowly shook his head "Why would you drink from a pond in the middle of a forest?"
"Curiosity?" Rachel replied with a shrug.
" That Pond ended up giving each of us a skill, or in Lily’s case a Pet egg of some kind before we all got really sleepy and passed out. When we woke up, the pond was gone and we were in an empty clearing. Then we saw your message and came running."
Leo raised a brow, still clearly baffled. "A pond that gives skills and makes you pass out? Sounds like some weird fever dream honestly."
Adam rolled his eyes and remarked " And everything we’ve experienced so far hasn’t been like that?"
Leo paused for a brief moment before he nodded his head slightly. "That is actually a fair point. I take back what I said. Though that does raise another question. Why were you guys in the forest to begin with?"
Lily perked up a little, adjusting the egg in her arms. "We were actually tracking someone. A player. No one knows much about him, just rumors floating around. A bunch of players were getting killed in the forest and we thought we could raise the guild’s prestige if we...uh dealt with it?"
Leo crossed his arms. " So let me get this straight. You went after a PKer who’s been hunting players just to boost our prestige?"
Adam stepped in before Lily could answer again. "That was the idea. Until things went sideways."
Leo looked at Luna, clearly waiting for confirmation. She gave a small nod.
"We found him but Adam almost died during the ambush."
Leo’s eyes widened in shock.
"Arrows. It was like they were targeting him" Rachel remarked, her smile fading as she didn’t want to explain the next part.
Adam grit his teeth for a moment before he continued to speak.
"I probably was the target. He appears to be working with my sister. The one you have already met. The one we dealt with."
He glanced at Penny before he relayed that information with a grimace. Penny’s eyes widened with shock. She had heard that one of her Aunts had disappeared but she never believed for a second that her Uncle was behind it.
Adam lowered his head, trying to hide his expression as he spat out the words that made Leo’s blood run cold.
"My Sister Elise is here and she can talk again. I don’t know how or why but we need to find and deal with her...the sooner the better.