Mastery Is Earned

Not much time had passed since Henk left, and the trail he had left behind was still very clear. Given his height and weight, every step left a distinct footprint in the mud. He was also in a hurry to find Sarah and had made no attempt to conceal his passage, so following him was not difficult. Teddy took the lead in determining their direction, while Raymond walked beside him and observed, occasionally pointing out signs he had noticed himself.

Along the way, Teddy still could not resist bringing up the deer hides on the carts several times. Raymond ignored him. How the goods would be handled could only be decided after the case was concluded. Discussing how to divide them now was meaningless.

As the two ventured deeper into the forest, the terrain gradually rose and the trees grew denser. Using the methods Teddy had taught him, Raymond studied Henk’s footprints, broken branches, and the direction in which the bushes had been flattened. His understanding of tracking continued to deepen.

[Basic Tracking Lv. 1 (7/100)]

After they continued for some distance, Teddy, walking ahead, abruptly stopped. The single clear trail of footprints became unusually chaotic here. Several prints were even driven deep into the mud, as though Henk had struggled violently on this spot. A large patch of bushes nearby had been crushed beneath a heavy body. Several broken lengths of thick rope were tangled among the branches above, while a torn rope net lay on the ground. Several short crossbow bolts lay among the mud and dead leaves, one of them still bearing a blackened bloodstain on its tip.

In addition to Henk’s massive footprints, the ground was covered in confused tracks left by five or six people moving repeatedly through the area. The footprints approached from different directions before converging. Beside them, a deep drag mark extended into the depths of the forest. Teddy crouched and examined the ground for a long time. All trace of his earlier ease had vanished from his face.

Raymond could also tell what had happened here. Henk had probably stepped into a rope net laid in advance. As he struggled, several people surrounded him and attacked with crossbows until he could no longer resist, then dragged him away together. There was no body, and the amount of blood left behind was not great. He was probably still alive.

The two did not continue immediately. First, they left several easily recognizable marks nearby. Their task was not merely to track Henk, but to determine the exact location of the enemy’s hideout. If they returned now, all they could tell Dario was that Henk had been ambushed here. They would still be unable to show the town guard where to go.

Once the marks were in place, Teddy picked up the drag trail again and determined its direction. From here on, the journey would probably not be as safe as it had been before. Both men fell silent as they followed the drag marks left when Henk was hauled away.

The footprints on either side of the drag mark were chaotic. Several were pressed particularly deep, clearly left while the men were dragging Henk. The bandits’ hideout could not be far from here. They would not have carried an unconscious half-orc over a great distance through the forest. Since they had chosen to set an ambush nearby, they had probably realized that Henk was approaching their hideout.

Raymond and Teddy slowed their pace. After following the drag trail for several hundred meters, they saw the trees ahead gradually begin to thin. Teddy was about to continue when he suddenly noticed a patch of grass beside the path that had been repeatedly trampled flat. Many of the lower branches had been cut from a nearby tree, and the resulting opening offered a clear view of the route the two men had taken. Several fruit pits and leftover bones also lay scattered in the grass. Someone clearly used this spot regularly to keep watch.

The two immediately withdrew behind the bushes. After they waited for a while, a head emerged from behind the tree and looked up and down the path. With a hidden sentry stationed here, the bandits’ hideout was probably just ahead.

Rather than continue along the drag trail, the two quietly retreated some distance and circled around by way of the hillside to one side. They were now near the foot of the Blackstone Mountains. The terrain was rugged, and low bushes covered the slope. Using the vegetation for cover, the two slowly climbed higher and finally moved beyond the hidden sentry’s line of sight.

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Looking down from the slope, they could see a narrow hollow below. Steep rock walls rose on both sides of the hollow, and numerous trees grew around its entrance. If they had not followed Henk’s trail into the area, it would have been difficult to discover from outside. Several crude wooden shelters stood in the depths of the hollow. Laundry hung nearby, and faint cooking smoke rose into the air. The trail left as Henk was dragged led all the way to the hollow’s entrance.

They had now confirmed the location of the bandits’ hideout. There was no need to risk moving any closer. According to Dario’s instructions before they set out, once they discovered the hideout, one of them had to return and report while the other remained at a distance to keep watch. Teddy knew the nearby routes better, and he had been the one to identify most of the marks along the way. Sending him back would save considerable time. Raymond remained on the slope to watch the entrance to the hollow.

Although Teddy was reluctant to cross the forest alone, he knew they could not delay any longer. After confirming the route back once more, he departed by following the marks they had left along the way.

Only after the sound of Teddy’s footsteps had completely faded did Raymond turn his attention back to the hollow. All he was supposed to do was remain there and observe until Dario arrived with his men. But before long, several bandits dragged a towering figure through the entrance of the hollow. Even at a distance, Raymond recognized Henk at once. His hands were bound behind him with thick iron chains, and several loops of the rope net still wrapped his body. His head hung low, and he showed no response as several bandits hauled him along.

The men were clearly extremely wary of Henk. After dragging him into a cave at the rear of the hollow, they carried several more iron chains inside. Only then did they leave one after another. Once Raymond confirmed that Henk was still alive for the moment, he relaxed slightly and continued observing the camp.

There were more people in the hollow than he had expected. Apart from the hidden sentry near the entrance, at least a dozen armed adult men were present in the camp. A more substantial wooden cabin stood at the center, surrounded by low tents and sheds. Several wagons were parked in the open space as well. Before long, a tall, lean man emerged from the central cabin.

He wore dark armor that resembled a heavy cloth vest, but rows of iron rivets covered its surface. Its hem barely moved as he walked, clear evidence that overlapping iron plates were layered inside. Raymond had heard mercenaries discuss this kind of armor at the inn. It was a coat of plates, offering far better protection than ordinary leather or padded armor. Its price was also far beyond what an ordinary bandit could afford. At the man’s waist hung a weapon noticeably longer than an ordinary one-handed sword. Its hilt had room for both hands, suggesting that it was a hand-and-a-half sword.

When the surrounding bandits saw him, they stopped talking, and their previously sluggish movements became noticeably faster. This man was most likely the camp’s leader.

After inspecting the wagons one by one, the leader stood in the center of the camp and called out, “Load everything you can onto the wagons tonight, and take down the remaining tents. The moment day breaks tomorrow, everyone moves out!”

He berated several slower bandits in front of the others, forcing them to hurry. The leader made another circuit of the camp. Only after confirming that everyone was working did he return to the central cabin. Raymond then noticed that many tents had already been dismantled, while bundled goods were continuously being loaded onto the wagons. They truly were preparing to abandon this place.

Raymond could not yet determine why they had suddenly decided to withdraw. Perhaps Henk had followed them too close to their hideout, or perhaps the group had already planned to relocate after completing their trade. Either way, the town guard did not have much time left.

Raymond did not rashly approach. Instead, he continued along the slope, searching for a route that would allow him to avoid the hidden sentries. The main entrance to the hollow was constantly guarded, while most of the slopes on either side lay exposed to the sentries’ view. Only the rock wall at the rear was so steep that almost no one had been assigned to guard it. Raymond quietly retreated some distance and soon discovered a narrow game trail between the rock walls. Plenty of animal hair clung to the slope, and dried droppings had collected between several protruding rocks. Though the game trail was extremely steep, it bypassed the hollow’s entrance and approached the camp from the rear, leading to the high ground above it.

Raymond memorized the location of the trail and withdrew deep into the bushes again. The light was gradually fading, and people in the center of the camp had begun building a bonfire to prepare the evening meal. Once darkness completely covered the hollow, he would move closer along the game trail. At the very least, he needed to confirm whether Sarah was also being held inside that cave.