Chapter B2C33 – On the Trail

The wind cut cold across the foothills.

Laurel crouched low, her fingers brushing lightly over the earth. The soil was dry, but not undisturbed. There—just barely visible—an imprint.

Not animal.

Not kin.

Human.

And something else.

She narrowed her eyes.

“…He’s been here.”

Behind her, Rufus shifted impatiently, resting his sword against his shoulder.

“Well? Don’t keep me guessing.”

Laurel didn’t answer immediately. Instead, she inhaled deeply.

The scent lingered faintly in the air.

Death.

Rot.

And something unnatural.

“…Not long ago,” she finally said. “A few hours, maybe less.”

Craic, standing a few paces behind, let out a low whistle.

“Damn. He’s closer than I thought.”

They weren’t alone.

Around them, small groups moved through the terrain:

All drawn by the same thing.

Two hundred sovereigns.

And the name:

Necromancer.

Brun’s voice echoed in Laurel’s mind:

“If you want the money, you earn it. No sharing.”

Rufus grinned.

“We’re close. I can feel it.”

Laurel shot him a look.

“You can’t feel shit. Stay quiet and let me work.”

He chuckled, but said nothing more.

They found it not long after.

The clearing.

Laurel froze the moment she saw it.

“…Stop.”

Rufus halted.

Craic moved to higher ground, scanning.

“What is it?”

Laurel stepped forward slowly.

Bodies.

Three of them.

Dead.

Clean kills.

No hesitation.

No mercy.

Rufus’s grin faded.

“…Shit.”

Craic crouched beside one of the corpses.

“No signs of struggle.”

Laurel shook her head.

“No. There was a fight.”

She pointed.

“Look at the ground. Movement patterns. Positioning.”

Her voice tightened.

“He controlled the battlefield.”

Rufus clenched his jaw.

“That… doesn’t make sense.”

Laurel turned to him.

“It does now.”

She gestured at the corpses.

“He’s not the same as before.”

Craic stood up slowly.

“And we’re not the only ones hunting him.”

He pointed to the edge of the clearing.

More tracks.

Different direction.

Different group.

“Others passed through. Not long after the fight.”

Laurel exhaled.

“Then we’re racing.”

They moved faster now.

No more casual tracking.

No more conversation.

Only focus.

Laurel pushed herself harder than before.

Her senses sharpened.

The Unseen whispered.

Every detail became clearer:

She was close.

Too close.

Something felt wrong.

Not fear.

Not quite.

But—

Pressure.

Like something ahead of them was watching.

Waiting.

Laurel slowed.

“…Stop.”

Rufus frowned.

“What now?”

She didn’t answer.

Her eyes scanned the area.

Too quiet.

No birds.

No wind.

Nothing.

Craic raised his bow slowly.

“I don’t like this.”

It came without warning.

The ground exploded.

Bones erupted upward.

Skeletons.

But not like any they had seen before.

They moved fast.

Too fast.

“Contact!” Craic shouted.

Rufus drew his blade instantly.

“Finally!”

Steel met bone.

But—

The skeletons didn’t just attack blindly.

They:

Rufus’s expression shifted mid-swing.

“…What the hell?!”

Laurel reacted instantly.

“Fall back! These aren’t normal!”

One skeleton ducked under Rufus’s strike.

Another moved to intercept Craic’s arrow.

Coordination.

Real coordination.

Then—

It stepped forward.

The revenant.

Flames burning faintly in its chest.

Laurel’s breath caught.

“…What is that?”

Craic didn’t answer.

He didn’t need to.

They both knew.

This wasn’t just undead.

This was something else.

From the shadows—

Tyron stepped out.

Calm.

Quiet.

Watching them.

Rufus’s eyes widened.

“…You.”

Tyron tilted his head slightly.

“Rufus.”

Laurel’s grip tightened.

“You know him?”

Rufus didn’t take his eyes off Tyron.

“Yeah.”

His voice darkened.

“I do.”

For a moment—

Everything paused.

The skeletons stopped advancing.

The revenant stood still.

Only the wind moved.

Rufus stepped forward.

“You killed one of ours.”

Tyron didn’t deny it.

“Yes.”

No hesitation.

No guilt.

That answer alone changed everything.

Laurel watched him carefully.

This wasn’t the boy Rufus described.

This wasn’t some weak, harmless nobody.

This was—

Controlled.

Focused.

Dangerous.

Rufus raised his sword.

“Good.”

A grin spread across his face.

“Because I’m going to kill you.”

Tyron’s expression didn’t change.

But the fire in the revenant’s chest flared brighter.

And around them—

More bones began to stir.

Laurel took a slow step back.

Her instincts screamed at her.

This wasn’t a hunt anymore.

This was a battlefield.

And they had just stepped into the center of it.