Souls Online: Mythic Ascension-Chapter 231: The Encampment

The Mourning Howl swayed gently above Penny’s head as the group pressed forward. The odd creaking of bone ribs flexing beneath the black canopy gave the umbrella a strange, almost alive quality. No one said anything about it for a while. No one wanted to.

The Southern Hunting Grounds had grown darker as they moved deeper. The trees were taller now, towering overhead like ancient sentinels, and the light struggled to reach the mossy forest floor. The air smelled of damp bark and decay, and somewhere in the distance, a bird called out once before going eerily silent.

Leo led the group with deliberate steps, eyes sharp, ears twitching slightly with every shift in the wind. The earlier fight had energized him, but it also left him on edge. He had seen enough monster patrols to know that cavalry never traveled far from a camp.

They were close to something. Maybe the orc nest. Maybe something worse.

Greg was the first to break the quiet.

"We’re going to need a plan before we get jumped again."

Crystal shifted slightly, arms crossed and posture sharp. "I say we don’t wait to get jumped. Let me go ahead and flush them out."

"No," Leo replied, not looking back. "Too risky. We don’t know how many there are or if they’ve got traps set."

"Then what?" Penny asked, swinging the Mourning Howl lightly in one hand. "We just keep walking until something tries to eat us again?"

Leo slowed until they were all gathered. He knelt near the base of a tree and began to draw in the dirt with one of his clawed fingers

"We are near the entrance and yet we got attacked. I think we should avoid going further south and go either west or east from here."

Greg folded his arms and looked around the dense trees. "We don’t know what’s in either direction. Could be more patrols. Could be worse."

Crystal adjusted the strap on her weapon. "We’ll have to take the chance. If they’re guarding the southern path, then whatever they’re protecting is deeper in."

Penny gave the Mourning Howl a thoughtful twirl above her shoulder. "So... west or east? Anyone got a compass or some enchanted squirrel to guide us?"

Aria stepped closer and lowered her voice. "The air feels heavier toward the east. More stagnant. I don’t like it."

Leo nodded slowly. "Then we go west. If we run into trouble, we double back and circle around."

"No splitting up?" Greg asked.

"Not unless we have to," Leo replied. "We stick together, watch for signs, and don’t engage unless it’s unavoidable."

Crystal tilted her head. "And if we’re already being watched?"

Leo looked into the trees. "Then we keep moving like we aren’t. And we deal with it when it shows itself."

Penny sighed, lowering the umbrella and brushing some stray hair from her face. "Perfect. Nothing like blind wandering through hostile territory with a target on our backs."

Greg gave a dry chuckle. "That’s half the adventure."

"Yeah, well," Penny muttered, "next time I vote for the adventure with pastries and less looming death."

Leo turned west and began moving again, slower now. The others followed without another word, the forest closing in around them with each step.

The path westward was rough and uneven. Roots jutted up from the earth like bones beneath skin, and patches of thorned undergrowth forced them to navigate carefully. Every step felt like it echoed, though none of them spoke about the tension crawling up their spines.

Leo kept his pace slow and deliberate, pausing every few yards to check the terrain ahead. He crouched low at times, sniffing the air or brushing his fingers across faint markings in the dirt. Whatever instincts he was relying on, they were sharper than most.

Penny stayed in the middle of the group, Mourning Howl resting on her shoulder. The black hide above her shifted with the faintest movements of air, a ghostly canopy against the darkening woods. Her expression had grown more serious, and her gaze kept darting to the underbrush like she expected something to leap out at any moment.

Crystal followed just behind Penny, her blindfold in place, head tilted slightly as she listened for things the rest of them could not hear. She moved with purpose, her steps smooth and confident despite the terrain.

Aria stayed near the front, just behind Leo. Her presence was quiet but steady, and she occasionally sent out faint pulses of sound to test the atmosphere. Each time the note came back thinner, more muffled than before.

Greg brought up the rear. He didn’t complain, didn’t ask for a different spot. He simply kept his eyes moving and his broad frame positioned to cover the back of the group. Every so often, he turned his head to scan the forest behind them, one hand resting loosely at his side, ready for whatever might come from the shadows.

They reached a ridge where the land dipped sharply into a gully. Leo raised a hand and came to a stop. The rest of them gathered quickly, falling into place with quiet discipline.

Leo lifted his nose slightly. He sniffed once, then again, more deeply this time. His brow furrowed. There was something in the air. Not just the damp rot of moss and bark, but something sharper. Familiar. It was faint, but it was there.

"Smoke," he muttered.

Aria looked at him. "You’re sure?"

Leo nodded once. "And meat. Something’s cooking."

Penny scrunched her nose. "That’s... not comforting. Monsters don’t usually hold barbecues."

Greg stepped up beside them, scanning the ridge. "We’re close to something. A camp, maybe."

Crystal tilted her head slightly. "I don’t hear movement. But it’s definitely not natural."

Leo moved to the edge of the ridge and dropped to a crouch. The trees thinned out just ahead, and the gully curved downward to a small basin tucked between the roots of a broken cliffside. From their vantage point, they could just make out smoke curling upward through the canopy, thin but steady.

He motioned the others forward, slow and quiet. They followed, crouching low and careful with their steps. When they reached the edge, the whole group knelt behind a wall of tangled brush, peering out.

Below them was a crude encampment.

Rough wooden stakes had been driven into the earth in a loose circle. Large hides had been draped between them to form makeshift walls and tents. A low fire crackled in the center, its smoke rising into the trees. Around it, several goblins lounged with uneven weapons at their sides. Two orcs sat near the fire, hunched over slabs of charred meat that sizzled over the flames.

A third figure, taller and bulkier, moved between the tents with a large club slung over one shoulder. Its armor looked piecemeal, scavenged from different sources and tied together with rope and bones. The way it barked orders at the others made it clear who was in charge.

Penny whispered, "Well. That’s not ominous at all."

Leo narrowed his eyes, watching the way the goblins moved. They looked half-alert, but not focused. The orcs were more relaxed. No one seemed to be keeping active watch.

Greg leaned closer. "I count twelve. Maybe more in the tents."

Aria added softly, "There’s a cage on the far side. Something’s moving inside."

Leo followed her gaze and spotted it. A rough cage of branches lashed together, sitting beside a heap of supplies. Something shifted within it. He couldn’t make out what, but it wasn’t small. fгee𝑤ebɳoveɭ.cøm

Crystal spoke without turning her head. "What’s the plan?"

Leo watched for another few seconds, then dropped back from the ridge into cover. The others followed him instinctively, crouching around him in the shadows.

It was time to come up with a game plan.

The source of this c𝐨ntent is freewe(b)nov𝒆l