Chapter 196 - 191: The Tracks in the Forest
John barely slept.
Not because he was afraid.
The ranger station was secure enough, and nothing had approached during the night.
But the woman’s warning kept returning to his mind.
*The monsters are running from something.*
There was something about the way she had said it.
Not like a rumor.
Not like a theory.
She knew.
John opened his eyes before sunrise.
The room was still dark.
Around him, the others were sleeping.
He quietly got up and stepped outside.
The morning air was cold.
Mist covered the forest floor, and thin rays of sunlight were beginning to appear between the trees.
The Soul Raven was already awake.
It sat on the roof of the ranger station, watching the forest.
John looked up.
"You never sleep?"
The bird tilted its head.
"Yeah, that’s what I thought."
He walked toward the edge of the clearing.
Yesterday’s tracks were still visible.
The woman’s footprints.
The party’s footprints.
The large wolf-like creature’s tracks.
John crouched.
He studied the ground.
The wolf had come from the east.
The woman had approached from the west.
That meant they probably weren’t connected.
At least, not directly.
Then he noticed something else.
Another set of tracks.
Much deeper.
John touched one.
Large.
Four-legged.
But unlike the wolf, the tracks were almost perfectly circular.
He followed them with his eyes.
They continued north.
Then disappeared.
John stood.
"Interesting."
---
"You’re awake early."
John turned.
Darius stood at the station entrance, carrying his notes.
"Couldn’t sleep."
Darius walked over.
"What are you looking at?"
"Tracks."
Darius crouched beside him.
His expression changed.
"Those weren’t here yesterday."
"They were."
John pointed.
"We just didn’t notice them."
Darius examined the ground carefully.
"Large."
"Very."
"How large?"
John looked at the distance between the prints.
"About this."
Darius frowned.
"That’s bigger than the creature we fought."
"Much bigger."
Darius stood.
"Do you think it’s what she was talking about?"
"Maybe."
John looked deeper into the forest.
"But I’m not going to assume that yet."
Darius smiled.
"Good."
John glanced at him.
"You expected me to?"
"Sometimes."
John laughed.
"Fair."
---
The others woke shortly afterward.
Breakfast was quick.
John explained what he had found.
Lythriel looked at the tracks.
"That’s big."
"Yes."
"How big?"
"Big enough that I’d rather not meet it unexpectedly."
She looked at him.
"That’s not reassuring."
"It’s honest."
Aerion examined the tracks.
"Whatever made these wasn’t hunting."
John looked at him.
"How do you know?"
"Look at the spacing."
Aerion pointed.
"The creature was walking normally."
He followed the trail.
"There aren’t any sudden turns."
"No signs of pursuit."
John nodded.
"So it wasn’t chasing something."
"Exactly."
Darius added, "And it wasn’t running from anything either."
John looked at the forest.
That was important.
If the monsters were fleeing something, this creature wasn’t behaving like one of them.
Maybe they had misunderstood the situation.
---
They decided to split into two groups.
Darius, Sylvara, and Aerion would remain near the ranger station and map the surrounding area.
John and Lythriel would follow the tracks.
The Soul Raven would scout from above.
Lythriel checked her equipment.
"How far are we going?"
"Not far."
John pointed toward the trail.
"An hour at most."
"And if we find something?"
"We come back."
She smiled.
"Good answer."
John looked at her.
"I’m learning."
"Slowly."
---
The forest became thicker as they moved north.
The trees were enormous.
Some had roots that rose above the ground like walls.
Moss covered fallen trunks.
Small streams crossed their path.
Birds watched them from branches.
The deeper they went, the fewer signs of human activity they found.
No footprints.
No campsites.
No cut branches.
It was almost as if people avoided this section.
After thirty minutes, Lythriel noticed something.
"John."
He stopped.
She pointed.
A tree had been scratched.
But the marks were old.
Very old.
John examined them.
"These aren’t from the same creature."
"How can you tell?"
"The claw marks are different."
He pointed at another tree.
"These are deeper."
Then another.
"These are much older."
Lythriel looked around.
"So several large creatures have passed through here."
"Over a long period."
John stood.
"Which means this might be a normal territory."
"Then why are the monsters moving?"
"Something changed."
"What?"
John shook his head.
"We don’t know."
---
The trail suddenly became clearer.
The large tracks continued across soft soil.
John followed them.
Then stopped.
The tracks ended at a river.
He looked across.
Nothing.
Lythriel frowned.
"It just stopped?"
John crouched.
There were no footprints on the other side.
"No."
He looked downstream.
"Something carried it."
Lythriel looked at him.
"What?"
"Look."
He pointed toward the water.
A large log had recently fallen across the river.
The bark was torn.
There were scratches along its surface.
John understood.
"The creature crossed using the log."
Lythriel blinked.
"That’s surprisingly intelligent."
"Maybe."
John stepped onto the log.
He crossed carefully.
Lythriel followed.
On the other side, they found the tracks again.
They continued north.
---
Another twenty minutes passed.
Then the Soul Raven suddenly descended.
It landed on John’s shoulder.
John looked up.
"What?"
The bird looked toward the east.
Then flew away.
John followed it with his eyes.
"Something’s there."
Lythriel sighed.
"I knew it."
They moved east.
The forest opened into a small clearing.
And there they found something unexpected.
A herd of deer.
At least twenty of them.
They were gathered around a small pond.
None seemed frightened.
John stopped.
Lythriel whispered.
"That’s strange."
"What?"
"Deer usually run when they sense people."
John watched them.
They weren’t behaving like wild animals.
They seemed calm.
Almost too calm.
Then one of the deer raised its head.
It looked directly at John.
Its eyes were clear.
Normal.
Then it walked away.
The rest followed.
John looked at the pond.
There was something wrong with the water.
The surface was perfectly still.
No insects.
No ripples.
No plants growing around the edges.
John crouched.
He touched the water.
Cold.
Very cold.
He immediately pulled his hand away.
Lythriel noticed.
"What?"
"Cold."
"It’s water."
"Not like this."
He looked at his fingers.
They were slightly numb.
"This pond shouldn’t be this cold."
Lythriel became cautious.
"Magic?"
"Maybe."
John looked around.
"Let’s not touch it again."
"Agreed."
---
They found the large creature’s tracks again.
But something had changed.
The prints were deeper.
The creature had increased its pace.
John followed them.
The tracks led toward a rocky hill.
Then suddenly—
They stopped.
John looked around.
Nothing.
He closed his eyes.
Expanded his senses.
There.
A faint presence.
Behind the hill.
He opened his eyes.
"Lythriel."
"I feel it."
They moved carefully.
When they reached the other side, they found a cave.
The entrance was enormous.
Nearly four meters high.
John examined the ground.
Fresh tracks.
The creature had entered recently.
Lythriel whispered.
"Should we go in?"
John looked at the cave.
"Not yet."
"Why?"
"Because we don’t know what we’re dealing with."
He crouched.
There were other tracks near the entrance.
Smaller ones.
Several different species.
They had approached the cave...
Then turned around.
None had entered.
John’s expression became serious.
"Now that’s interesting."
Lythriel looked at the tracks.
"So the monsters aren’t running from something outside."
"Maybe."
John looked into the darkness.
"Maybe they’re avoiding what’s inside."
Before they could investigate further—
A low growl echoed from the cave.
Both froze.
John slowly stood.
The sound came again.
Deep.
Powerful.
But strangely...
Not aggressive.
It sounded almost like a warning.
John didn’t move.
Then a large shadow appeared inside the cave.
Lythriel tightened her grip on her weapon.
John raised one hand.
"Wait."
Two enormous eyes opened in the darkness.
They were golden.
The creature slowly stepped into the light.
It wasn’t a wolf.
It wasn’t a bear.
It wasn’t anything John recognized.
It had the body of a massive feline, with dark gray fur and long horns curving backward from its head.
Its shoulders were nearly three meters high.
But what surprised John wasn’t its size.
It was the condition of its body.
It was wounded.
Several old scars crossed its side.
One of its legs was badly injured.
And wrapped around its neck was a broken metal chain.
John stared.
"A domesticated monster?"
The creature growled.
"No."
Lythriel whispered.
"It was captured."
John’s eyes narrowed.
The broken chain explained the strange tracks.
Someone had kept this creature here.
But who?
And why?
The beast lowered its head.
John remained still.
He could feel its fear.
Not rage.
Fear.
He slowly lowered his hand.
"We’re not going to hurt you."
The creature watched him.
John took one step forward.
Lythriel immediately whispered.
"John."
"I’m not attacking."
He stopped several meters away.
The creature’s breathing was heavy.
John looked at its wounds.
Then at the chain.
Someone had imprisoned it.
And judging by the age of the scars...
It had been here for a long time.
The creature suddenly turned its head toward the forest behind John.
Its ears moved.
John noticed.
"You hear something?"
The beast growled.
This time, the sound was different.
Urgent.
John turned.
Nothing.
Then he heard it.
A distant howl.
Not from the cave.
From somewhere far to the west.
The creature immediately backed deeper into the cave.
John understood.
It wasn’t afraid of him.
It was afraid of whatever had made that sound.
Lythriel looked at him.
"John..."
He nodded.
"We’re leaving."
The creature looked at him.
For a moment, their eyes met.
John pointed toward the broken chain.
"We’ll come back."
The beast remained still.
John turned away.
They started walking.
But before they disappeared into the trees, John looked back one last time.
The creature was still watching him.
And something about its eyes bothered him.
It wasn’t simply a wild monster.
It understood him.
---
They returned to the ranger station before noon.
Darius immediately noticed their expressions.
"What happened?"
John sat down.
"We found something."
"Another monster?"
"Yes."
"How dangerous?"
John thought about it.
"I don’t know."
Darius waited.
John continued.
"But it was chained."
Everyone became quiet.
"Chained?"
John nodded.
"And it wasn’t attacking us."
Sylvara frowned.
"Then who chained it?"
"That’s what we need to find out."
Darius looked toward the forest.
"What about the howling?"
John’s expression became serious.
"We heard it again."
"And?"
John looked at the others.
"The creature was afraid."
That changed the atmosphere.
Darius slowly folded his map.
"So we’re dealing with more than abnormal monster behavior."
John nodded.
"Probably."
Lythriel looked at him.
"What do we do now?"
John looked toward the ranger station.
"We report what we found."
"And after that?"
John glanced toward the forest.
"We investigate."
He paused.
"But we’re not going deeper blindly."
Darius smiled.
"Good."
John stood.
"First, we figure out who owns those chains."
The group exchanged looks.
The Silverwood had started as a simple expedition.
Now they had discovered a captured monster, unexplained changes in the forest, and something powerful enough to make other creatures avoid an entire region.
But John wasn’t going to rush toward the answer.
For once, they would investigate properly.
And somewhere deep within the Silverwood, the strange horned beast remained inside its cave.
Waiting.
---
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