Chapter: 666

A large patch of the desert was finally free of mushrooms as they hid under the sand and began to process their meals.

Jay was glad that the lizards at least didn’t get a meal either. It seemed that both of these enemies hunted by scent, but it was their own reliance on the smells which were their undoing.

After a moment of silence, all the lizards went back to gathering fruit, and the desert was quiet once more, as if nothing ever happened. All the tracks were covered up by the shifting sands.

The only thing remaining was a peculiar pile of bones under a large mushroom in the middle of the desert – And Red, who quickly rejoined its masters side.

Jay simply stood there watching. Suddenly all his plans of running for a dungeon and hiding were pointless; without the predator chasing him, he was safe again.

Safe for now anyway.

Of course, he wouldn’t be able to run back across the desert; that way was blocked by lizards.

He turned to the dark forest behind him.

It was quiet, damp; the air thick and humid. A wall of forest began where the desert ended.

Jay looked up at the jagged snow-capped mountain one last time; resolute and silent.

With a sigh, he stepped into the veil of trees, disappearing into the green barrage of flora as if he had never been there at all.

–

~Somewhere North of Jay, end of the mountain range~

In the last five hours, north of Jay, a mage hunter had made some discoveries.

“Number three. I found another human skeleton. Long since dead with one arm. Ancient skeleton. No anomalies.”

…

A moment passed, but an uncaring voice sounded back through his communication crystal, “Proceed.”

So far nothing much was too far out of the ordinary – this was his second human skeleton, but it was still reasonably within the hunting range of Losla, and even within reasonable expectations.

Besides, one of the other mage hunters found a human skeleton too, while another found a cave with numerous carcasses stuck to the walls, covered with some sort of blue slime, so it wasn’t like finding a second human skeleton was a rare oddity.

Besides, the bones were ancient. Since Jay was eighteen it didn’t make sense for him to have such old skeletons.

Unfortunately, the skeletons they caught at Losla hadn’t been thoroughly analysed yet, and no one really seemed to notice these finer details.

The mage hunter trudged onwards, diligently carrying out his duty as he remained alert.

Some time later however, he made another discovery – one that he was sure would gain attention and hopefully one that would bring him some reinforcement.

“Number three reporting. I found another skeleton, with a bone-based weapon. A bone spear. Broken into pieces. Both ancient skeletons.”

“Hold.” a voice quickly responded, then a moment later, “Number two and four are enroute. Proceed quickly. Find Jay no matter what.”