Chapter 195 - 190: The Ranger Station
The howl didn’t come again.
John remained outside the ranger station for another minute, staring into the dark forest.
Nothing moved.
No glowing eyes.
No rustling bushes.
Not even the sound of birds.
Lythriel eventually stepped beside him.
"Still nothing?"
"No."
She looked into the trees.
"Maybe whatever made that sound moved away."
"Maybe."
John wasn’t convinced.
He had learned not to trust a quiet forest.
Still, there was no point standing outside all night waiting for something to happen.
He turned around.
"Let’s get inside."
---
The ranger station was older than John expected.
The wooden walls were worn, but surprisingly sturdy. Dust covered nearly everything inside.
There was a fireplace in the center.
A long table.
Several old shelves.
A sleeping area with enough space for a small group.
Darius immediately began examining the room.
"This place hasn’t been abandoned as long as I thought."
John looked around.
"How can you tell?"
"There are footprints."
Everyone looked down.
Darius pointed toward the floor near the entrance.
"These aren’t old."
John crouched.
The marks were faint, but visible.
Several pairs of boots.
Some were much smaller.
"They’re not ours."
"No."
Aerion moved toward the door.
"Could be another expedition group."
"Probably," Darius said.
He examined the footprints again.
"But they came from deeper inside the forest."
John frowned.
"So someone has been using this place."
"Recently."
Lythriel looked around.
"Then where are they?"
Nobody answered.
---
They searched the station.
Most of the rooms were empty.
The shelves contained old supplies, most of which had already spoiled.
There were a few usable tools.
A rusty lantern.
Several empty bottles.
An old hunting knife.
And a stack of weathered papers.
Darius picked them up carefully.
"What are those?"
"Ranger reports."
He began reading.
The earliest entries were ordinary.
Monster sightings.
Weather conditions.
Animal migration.
Forest fires.
Nothing unusual.
Then the reports became stranger.
**"Wolf packs moving south."**
A few days later:
**"Deer avoiding the eastern stream."**
Then:
**"Something is disturbing the animals."**
John leaned over Darius’s shoulder.
"How old?"
"About twenty years."
John frowned.
"Twenty years?"
Darius nodded.
"So this isn’t new."
He turned another page.
The next entry was much shorter.
**"Do not follow the howling."**
John stared at the sentence.
"What happened after that?"
Darius turned the page.
Nothing.
The report ended there.
---
"That’s it?"
Darius nodded.
"The remaining pages are blank."
Lythriel crossed her arms.
"That’s reassuring."
John smiled.
"Not really."
"Exactly."
Sylvara walked toward the fireplace.
"There are ashes."
She touched them.
"Recent."
John looked over.
"How recent?"
"Maybe a week."
Everyone became quiet.
Another group had stayed here.
Possibly the people whose footprints they had found.
Darius looked at the reports.
"Perhaps we should look for them tomorrow."
John nodded.
"But not tonight."
"Agreed."
---
They made dinner.
For a while, the atmosphere became normal again.
Aerion prepared the fire.
Sylvara cooked.
Lythriel organized their sleeping arrangements.
Darius continued reading the ranger reports.
John sat near the doorway, listening to the forest.
It was strangely peaceful.
The earlier howl seemed almost like a distant memory.
After dinner, John stepped outside.
The moon was visible through the trees.
The forest looked completely different at night.
He could see much farther than an ordinary human could.
Every movement stood out.
A bird flying between branches.
Small animals moving through the undergrowth.
Leaves falling.
Nothing dangerous.
The Soul Raven landed beside him.
John glanced at it.
"You still worried?"
The bird stared into the forest.
Then it looked at John.
"You’re not helping."
The raven gave a quiet croak.
John smiled.
"Go get some sleep."
The bird ignored him.
---
A few minutes later, Lythriel came outside.
"You always do this."
John looked at her.
"Do what?"
"Stand outside alone."
"I’m thinking."
"At night?"
"Apparently."
She leaned against the wall.
"What are you thinking about?"
John looked toward the trees.
"The forest."
"Because of the howl?"
"Partly."
He paused.
"Something is wrong here."
Lythriel nodded.
"I felt it too."
"It’s not just the monsters."
"What do you mean?"
John thought carefully.
"The forest feels... disturbed."
"Mana?"
"Maybe."
He wasn’t entirely sure.
"But it’s different from a normal high-mana area."
Lythriel looked at him.
"Do you think it’s dangerous?"
"Probably."
She smiled faintly.
"You’re enjoying this."
John laughed.
"Maybe a little."
"I knew it."
---
They stayed outside for a while.
Then John heard something.
A faint sound.
He raised his head.
"What?"
Lythriel immediately became alert.
John listened.
There.
A branch snapping.
Not far away.
He stood.
"Lythriel."
"I heard it."
The Soul Raven flew upward.
John’s senses expanded.
He could feel several creatures moving through the forest.
Small ones.
Then another presence.
Larger.
He waited.
The sound stopped.
Nothing appeared.
Lythriel whispered.
"Should we wake everyone?"
John thought for a moment.
"No."
She looked surprised.
"Why?"
"Whatever it is, it hasn’t approached."
"Yet."
"Exactly."
He looked toward the forest.
"If it comes closer, we’ll know."
Lythriel nodded.
They waited.
Five minutes.
Ten.
Nothing.
Eventually, John relaxed.
"Let’s go inside."
---
They were almost at the door when the Soul Raven suddenly screamed.
Not a normal call.
A warning.
John spun around.
The bird dove toward him.
Then something shot through the darkness.
John caught it.
A small object.
A wooden arrow.
He looked at it.
Lythriel drew her weapon immediately.
"Someone shot at us."
John examined the arrow.
It hadn’t been aimed at either of them.
It had struck the ground near his feet.
A warning.
Or a miss.
John slowly looked into the forest.
"Who’s there?"
Silence.
He waited.
"Come out."
Nothing.
Lythriel moved beside him.
"John..."
"I know."
John’s voice remained calm.
"We’re not looking for a fight."
Still nothing.
Then a voice came from the trees.
"Don’t come any closer."
It was a young woman’s voice.
John looked toward the sound.
"Why?"
"You don’t belong here."
John raised an eyebrow.
"We’re on a guild expedition."
"I know."
"Then you know why we’re here."
The voice didn’t answer.
John continued.
"We found an old ranger station."
Silence.
"Are you the people who were staying here?"
A pause.
Then:
"Maybe."
Darius had come outside.
He immediately recognized the voice.
"Wait."
He looked toward John.
"She’s speaking the old ranger dialect."
John frowned.
"What does that mean?"
Darius stepped forward.
"She’s probably from the northern settlements."
The voice responded.
"You’re not from here."
Darius nodded.
"No."
"Then leave."
John sighed.
"We just arrived."
"You don’t understand."
The woman sounded increasingly nervous.
"This forest isn’t safe."
John looked at the darkness.
"We figured that out."
"No."
Her voice dropped.
"You don’t understand what is dangerous."
John became more serious.
"What is?"
The forest went silent.
Then she answered.
"Not the monsters."
Everyone froze.
John slowly looked at Darius.
Darius’s expression had changed.
The woman continued.
"The monsters are running from something."
John’s eyes narrowed.
"Running from what?"
No answer.
Then they heard footsteps.
Fast.
The woman was moving away.
John stepped forward.
"Wait!"
He heard her say one final thing.
"Don’t follow me."
Then she disappeared into the forest.
---
Nobody moved for several seconds.
Aerion broke the silence.
"Well."
Lythriel sighed.
"That was helpful."
Darius stared into the darkness.
"She knew something."
John nodded.
"Definitely."
Sylvara looked toward the trees.
"Should we follow?"
John shook his head.
"No."
Everyone looked at him.
"We don’t know who she is."
"And she clearly doesn’t want us following her."
Lythriel smiled slightly.
"You’re actually listening to someone’s warning?"
"Sometimes."
"Good."
John turned toward the station.
"But tomorrow..."
He looked at the forest one last time.
"...we investigate the area around here."
Darius nodded.
"Carefully."
"Of course."
They returned inside.
The door closed.
The fire burned quietly.
But John didn’t sleep immediately.
He sat near the window.
His thoughts kept returning to one sentence.
*The monsters are running from something.*
That changed things.
They hadn’t entered the Silverwood to hunt some legendary creature.
They had come to map a forest.
Yet now they had discovered something much more interesting.
And potentially much more dangerous.
John looked toward the dark trees.
Whatever was deeper inside the Silverwood...
The monsters were afraid of it.
And tomorrow, John intended to find out why.
---
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