Two weeks in, and Lucas already hated this forest. Even the regular beasts were like monsters and much larger than anything else you would find on the continent. It made him just want to stay in bed and sleep. Or as good a sleep as one could get in a cold, damp bedroll. Still, it was better than outside the tent. Stuck spending another day looking for a needle in a haystack. That damn noble seemed convinced his escapee was still alive, but Lucas called bullshit. He was an experienced tracker, and even he found Fangswood a trial. No way in the void some injured servant that was raised in the city could survive even a day out here alone. As he tried to go back to sleep, a sharp kick to his leg reminded him whose fault it was that he was out in this gods forsaken forest.

  “Lucas, get the fuck up, it's daylight already,” A woman shouted.

  “I’m done, Zoe, fuck this job, I’m done.” Lucas retorted as he tried to snuggle deeper into his bedroll.

  “Don’t be like that! We need the money!” The woman complained.

  “What we? You need the money. Unlike you, I don’t blow all my coin gambling.” Lucas shot back.

  “What kind of brother are you! Do you want your poor little sister to be placed into a debtor's contract?”

  “Little sister, my ass, we’re twins!” Lucas shouted as he pulled himself out of bed, determined to give the little shit outside a piece of his mind. The woman was a lithe torgal with red hair and fur to match. Lucas was a bit bulkier with brown hair so dark it may as well be black. Not that you could tell, as both were filthy and looked like shit after two weeks in the forest.

  “You were still born before me, therefore I’m your little sister, therefore, you are required to take care of me.” The woman replied as if what she said was nothing but the truth.

  “Zoe! I’ve tried to help! You picked up this job from that shady fucking Senator’s lackey without asking me, and did I complain? No, but I have been out here for two weeks! So that’s it, I’m done. I don’t care what anyone else says. There is no way the target isn’t a pile of monster shit by now.” Having said his piece, Lucas reached into his bag and pulled out a flask, taking a stiff swig.

  “Drinking already? It’s only the morning. You really need to lay off that stuff,” Zoe said with a hint of genuine concern. He hated that she was likely right, but she was also in no position to say anything herself.

  “Like I said, I’ll quit drinking the day you quit gambling,” Lucas said before taking one more swig out of spite before stowing away his flask.

  “Hey, it’s not like gambling is bad for my health.” This little… Lucas knew he had a problem with his drink, but if you compared the problems he caused versus the ones Zoe caused with gambling and her debts, well, it really was night and day.

  “Zoe, you’re on the verge of becoming contracted if you can’t pay off the debt. I’d say that’s not gonna be good for your health.” Lucas said before he reluctantly started to pack up camp.

  “I know… you're just drinking even more than normal… I don’t want you to repeat what happened with dad.” Zoe said with a somber voice as she packed up her own tent.

  “Don’t worry about me, Dad had more issues than just drinking too much,” and wasn’t that the truth. Their old man was, if Lucas had to be perfectly honest, a bit of an idiot and hardly ever sober, which didn’t help. How else did a single man end up raising the children of a prostitute? Lucas always questioned if the man was truly their father or just a gullible fool tricked into raising them after sharing only one night with the woman. Still, he never once doubted the man loved them, and he worked hard every day to ensure they always had clothes on their back and food in their bellies. By the standards of Corinth's slums, it was a good life. If only their father hadn’t fallen into the wrong crowd, with heartless bastards all too willing to take advantage of another's naive kindness.

  “Alright, let's go meet up with the others at the rendezvous. Maybe one of them had some luck.” Lucas said as he and his sister went off into the woods. They were just one pair of several trackers hired to find the missing branded. He didn’t trust any of them, but a job was a job. Even still, he wasn’t prepared for what he found when they returned to the others.

  Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

  “They are children! Why the fuck did you kidnap children!?” Zoe cried out, and it was all Lucas could do to keep his sister from starting a fight. A fight they would likely not win. It broke Lucas’s heart as he looked down at several bound and gagged kids tied to a tree. Dragonewts if he had to guess.

  “What do you care, they are just more refugees. And if they are out in these woods, I’m practically saving them.” A human man reasoned.

  “Save them? You save them? you fucking cunt! You just wanna force them into contracts and sell em!” Zoe lashed out.

  “Well, no shit, boss didn’t say anything against us making some side coin on this Job, and as long as we don’t do it within the border, it isn’t illegal. Not like they are citizens,” He replied, clearly annoyed by Zoe.

  Lucas leaned towards his still thrashing sister, “Zoe, this is not the time, nothing we can do for them right now.”

  “Listen to your brother and don’t start trouble. Besides, I think you could agree that this forest is not a safe place for children. For their own good, we need to get them out of here.” The leader of their group spoke. Lucas guessed he was a Quartz. He was also the only one in the direct employ of the Senator.

  Zoe finally relaxed enough that Lucas didn’t feel the need to restrain her. He hated the situation just as much as she did, but now was not the time or place.

  The leader spoke up again, “Besides, you seem to be missing the most important point in all of this. We have been wondering this whole time how our target could still be alive out here. But lo and behold, we find these children in the middle of the forest. They had to come from somewhere, and I bet that’s where we will find the branded. It's already late afternoon, so I want everyone to get some rest. We will head out as a group first thing tomorrow. I think we would all like this to be over and get out of this forest.”

  His words got no complaints, everyone was ready to be done and return to civilization. Unfortunately for them, life was never that simple. They found the first body just before dusk.

  “What the fuck could have done something like this?” one man asked.

  “Looks like he was mauled… but no signs that he was eaten… whatever did this, didn’t kill him for food,” responded a human woman.

  “Could this be a warning? Did we stray into Old Gray’s new territory?” Said another, who looked scared shitless.

  “It isn’t old gray, we're south of his territory. His pack, or just he himself, could wipe out our whole group with ease. He wouldn’t bother with a warning like this. Besides, does it look like a wolf did this?” Their leader spoke up.

  Lucas leaned down to get a better look at the body himself. He wondered why the man had strayed from camp alone, but seeing the white power staining his face, the answer was a bit obvious. Thing was, these certainly were not the bite marks of a wolf. In fact, it looked like… “I think it was a bear. A big one at that.”

  “A fucking bear did this? How does a bear sneak around the edge of our camp and kill someone without any of us hearing a thing?” One man gawked.

  “See how his throat is shredded, it likely struck there first. He didn’t even get a chance to scream.” Lucas pointed out.

  “Alright, for the rest of the night, I don’t want anyone alone. Stick to your pairs and don’t stray from camp.” The leader spoke up, “Keep a tight watch. We leave at dawn.”

  After a short while, things calmed down a bit, though everyone was still on edge. Knowing there was such a beast nearby made Zoe even more concerned for the children who were still tied to a tree.

  “Hey, woman, what are you doing here. Orders are to let no one near the captives!” a guard shouted as Zoe approached, holding a canteen.

  “They have been bound and gagged all day. We could at least get them some water.” Seeing the guard had no intention of backing down. “Here, I’ll leave my knife with you. If I try anything, you could have plenty of time to stab me in the back.”

  “Fine, just know I’m watching you.” The man stammered as Zoe rolled her eyes before she approached the children and removed their gags.

  “I’m sorry for the rough treatment. I figured you could at least use something to drink.” Zoe said as the children looked up at her fearful.

  Seeing the children didn’t trust her, Zoe took a sip to prove it was safe, “See, its just water. I figured you must be thirsty”.

  Seeing it was safe, the children now greedily drank up the water Zoe offered. She had to help each one, seeing as their hands were still bound.

  Finally, one of the older ones asked, “What happened?”

  “What do you mean?” Zoe asked.

  “We saw someone dragging a body.” One of the children chimed in.

  Idiots, Zoe thought to herself, how could they expose children to such a sight?

  “Someone was hurt… my brother thinks it was an animal,” Zoe admitted as it was too late to hide the truth.

  “Was it a bear?” one little girl asked.

  Zoe’s eyes went wide. “What… how did you know?” It unnerved her that the children guessed correctly. What was worse, though, was how the news seemed to relax them…

  “I was scared there for a bit. If it’s just Bu, we are saved,” a boy said to another, who only responded with a smile and a nod.

  “Who is Bu?” Zoe asked.

  “Bu is Bu,” a little girl replied, not helpful at all.

  One of the older boys then looked Zoe straight in the eye, “Lady, you seem nice, so I will warn you. You had better run before it’s too late.”

  “Too late for what?” Zoe asked only for a moment before the screams began.