Chapter 137 - Running From the Unknown Threat

"Hmm… This is wasting my time…"

On the outskirts of the Taltin Forest, Vloz growled to himself. Currently, he was positioned high up in a tree, watching the passersby coming to and from the city gate. The leopard begrudgingly scouted out the city in search of a means to enter secretly but failed to find anything without a decent risk. And given the warning of the peak-perennial overseeing the human city, there was no telling what the appearance of a high-perennial beast like Vloz would cause.

Erring on the side of caution, Vloz continued to scout out the city and the many travelers going between the city and the forest.

Most travelers appeared to be hunters or foragers seeking their daily or weekly quotas. But Vloz wasn't interested in them as much as he was the guards stationed at the gate. Vloz noticed that the guards weren't overcautious but were firm on the few rules they had to follow, including their failure to accept bribes from merchants wanting to enter without the proper process. 

But as Vloz sighed at the weak but astute guards, his ears twitched and his eyes widened.

...rroooooooooaaaaaaaarrrr…

A distant, droned-out roar caught Vloz's sensitive ears. The Blood-spotted Leopard instantly leaped to the ground and took off at full speed. Much to Vloz's disliking, a single thought came to mind.

"If you're smart and patient, maybe you'll find him coming to you instead…"

Vloz wasn't in favor of acknowledging the man responsible for stealing Oli away, but Vloz was genuinely baffled by the man's strange antics and advice. He hated feeling like someone else's toy, especially when the strange man was proven to be incredibly powerful yet never bothered explaining anything with complete faith that Vloz would simply play along.

But Vloz didn't have time to argue with himself. Finding Oli was his top priority and Vloz was more than capable of recognizing a gorilla roar when he heard one.

Streaking through the forest as a shadowy blur hiding his presence, Vloz did his best to pick up any peculiar scents that remained in the area. Eventually, Vloz made a quick stop in a make-shift clearing. He sniffed the ground carefully and mumbled silently to himself.

"Five men gathered… twenty men total…" Following the scents, Vloz continued, "They spooked the deer… and followed…"

Taking off again, Vloz soon found the next clearing abandoned. That was when Vloz finally felt a slight sense of relief.

"That earth essence… It's not quite Oli's but maybe…" Considering the shadowy man's other warning about Oli's transformation, Vloz was open to Oli's energy feeling different than before. And given the gorilla yell and the somewhat familiar essence, it was the best lead Vloz had. "Those humans were targeting a party of four… Likely all mortals… And a fool easy to track…"

Shaking his head, Vloz sighed at the sight of the former campfire. "But if Oli's with the small party, what's he up to?"

Taking note of that particular essence and the small waft of human scent left with that essence, Vloz scanned the area one last time. "Hmm… One bandit retreated… for reinforcements?"

Vloz finally took off with a target claimed. He had something to go off of and he was tired of waiting after nine moons of travel. Right now, nothing would stop Vloz from finding Oli and learning the truth of the situation.

*****

"Um, can we--"

"We're not stopping," Oli stated. "There's still plenty of daylight and we need to be cautious. Slowing down or stopping now could lead to failing the objective."

"Right…" Shadur sighed, glancing back at the two young men in tow. 

While Shadur clung to Oli's back, Leon and Johan were left to keep up on their own. They were both tired after running for half a day straight. Johan seemed to be more hard-pressed than Leon but Leon was also struggling. 

They had eventually split from the deer's path and crossed a small ravine. Oli had made sure that each party member had effectively dunked themselves in the water before exiting the ravine. Upon exiting the ravine, Oli had thrown each other party member into the trees before jumping after them. Oli also hurled a few larger rocks from the riverbed in various directions, breaking a few tree branches or scarring some trunks as mock trails to slow their pursuers.

After a minute or two of trying to travel through the trees, the party soon dropped to the ground and resumed their sprint through the woods. And once it was late afternoon, Johan and Leon were both running on fumes.

"Oliver… We can't…"

"We'll rest there."

Leon and Johan sighed in relief as they followed Oli to a mountain wall. There, the party found a small wind cave to rest and recuperate for the time being.

Oli was taking long, controlled breaths. It wasn't that easy to run all day, but his body was far more suited than the others who were now lying down and panting. "Keep your breaths quiet at least. We can't attract any more attention. If anything, it's likely they'll be on top of us eventually."

"What if... there wasn't anyone?" asked Johan, doing his best to pant quietly. "We never… confirmed anything…"

"Because if we stopped to confirm it, we wouldn't be able to escape so easily. It's better to be wary and avoid trouble than to look it in the face and hope we're not overwhelmed."

"He's right…" Leon agreed.

"Um... maybe one of them should--"

"Shadur, I'm not carrying either of them. I'm only carrying you because you're too slow for our own good," Oli stated.

"Well… at least tell us… what you did back there…"

Glancing at Johan, Oli shrugged. "My little roar? That's just a trick I picked up traveling. Like I said, better to ward off or avoid trouble than to confront it and get overwhelmed."

"But what kind… of art was that?" Leon asked.

"Something mimicking a gorilla. My dad taught it to me before he passed, so don't expect me to share it. Besides, neither of you would be compatible anyway."