The jungle pressed around them, thick with dark foliage and the constant hum of insects. Night had fully settled, casting everything in a muted green-gray shadow, and the faint silver of moonlight barely broke through the canopy. The three hunters moved carefully along a narrow path, weapons raised, scanning every rustle of leaves and distant movement. Soren followed behind them, bound tightly in mana-sealing restraints, his sword gone, his mana suppressed, yet he did not struggle or cry out. He merely walked slowly, deliberately, pretending each step was a burden, each motion slightly awkward. His head throbbed from Draven's earlier blow, but he ignored it, letting his eyes flit from one hunter to the next, noting their expressions, their habits, the way their shadows moved across the jungle floor
Draven, as usual, carried himself like a father figure even in this tense situation. He kept glancing back at Soren, muttering under his breath, "If this bounty pays enough, my daughter… she'll finally have a chance to study under real mages. Skilled teachers, people who can push her properly… she deserves it." He shook his head, almost as if talking aloud to keep himself calm. "I can't let her waste her potential. Not when I can… help her." He jabbed the air with his finger unconsciously, emphasizing the point to himself more than to anyone else. Even as he spoke, he kept an occasional hand on Soren's shoulder to steady him as the boy struggled to walk on uneven roots and loose stones
Korr snorted beside him, clearly amused, and muttered something about being forced to take him alive, his grin wide. "Annoying, isn't it? We're supposed to bring him back in one piece. Lucky for you, kid, we're generous." Korr leaned back slightly, slinging his arm over a low branch as he walked, more interested in teasing Soren than in the logistics of travel
Thalen moved quietly, every step careful, eyes flicking constantly over the jungle. He did not speak often, but when he did, his words were measured and precise. "If we travel through the plains or near towns during the day, we'll be spotted. Only night travel keeps us safe. The outskirts of small villages are fine for rest, but we remain cautious. It should take three to four days to reach Stormguard Kingdom. Approaching the city, we maintain cover, keep our distance, avoid unnecessary encounters." His voice was low but firm, cutting through the jungle sounds without raising alarm. Thalen more or less acted like the 'brains' of the group
Soren noticed this
Soren listened to all of it, silent, observing, letting the thrum of the jungle and the hunters' voices wash over him. He stumbled slightly over a root and muttered, "Careful, I almost fell." It was an unnecessary warning, but it drew Draven's attention immediately. Draven stepped back, resting a hand on Soren's arm. "Don't worry, I've got you," he said softly, adjusting the boy to keep him upright
Korr snorted and shook his head, grinning at the exchange, but he didn't intervene. Soren let his head drop slightly, lips parted in a weak gasp for air, giving the impression of helplessness, but his eyes flickered with sharp attention. He watched Draven's motions, Korr's smirks, and Thalen's quiet calculations with a calm that belied the restraints and exhaustion
After some time walking Soren said softly, almost under his breath, "I can't even drink properly with these. Could you hand me the water?" The simple words made Draven lean in, carefully holding the canteen to Soren's lips. Korr chuckled, muttering about the kid being "pitiful," but the motion reinforced the idea that Soren was helpless. Whilst all of them capturing him for his bounty he had to be kept in a good enough condition to at least escape from any pursing monsters or other attackers so they had to treat him with care and Soren understood this fully. From time to time he kept asking for help with the most basic actions from all three of them. Asking to help them feed him or even helping him walking upright. It must have seemed to the three of them that this pitiful boy had already have given up, already accepting his fate
All the while, Thalen's eyes remained fixed on Soren. He couldn't help but shake the weird feeling that haunted him every time he observed him. He had thought it before but every time he just studied Soren he looked too different from the day before, like his personality was a polar opposite from the time before they captured him. He acted like a different person
The three mages had been adventures for a long while, but however maybe the idea of them capturing Soren easily had made them far too relaxed, but Thalen still was on edge. To the others and maybe to anyone else it just looked like Soren had given up, but to him he could tell something deeper was conspiring. However he couldn't be sure and anyway all the odds were stacked against this boy with the bounty so he often found himself pushing this thought to the back of his mind
But the thought was still there
The jungle around them was alive with the hum of insects and the rustle of unseen creatures, but the bounty hunters moved with careful precision, each step deliberate. Draven walked slightly ahead of Soren, his movements gentle as he handed the boy a small portion of food. "Here, take it slow," he said, his voice low and even, as if speaking to a child who might break under pressure. He watched Soren closely, making sure he swallowed without choking, adjusting the angle of the canteen when the boy hesitated. It wasn't just caution; it was instinct, a protective reflex born from years of caring for a child, imagining his own daughter in this situation. Soren noticed the softness, the way Draven's eyes softened whenever the boy winced or stumbled. Each gesture was a thread he could use, a subtle signal that he wasn't a threat
Korr, by contrast, leaned back against a tree, smirking as he watched Soren fumble with the ropes. "You really do need babysitting, don't you?" he said, his tone teasing but light. He wasn't worried, he never worried, but he followed the routine, handing Soren what he needed without truly paying attention, already thinking ahead to the bounty and how he would spend it
Soren's calm, measured responses only reinforced the illusion. He let his gaze drop, his hands fumble slightly as if struggling with the restraints. "I can't even lift this properly," he murmured, almost too quietly, so that Draven leaned closer to help without hesitation. Each word, each pause, seemed like weakness, but beneath it lay the calculation, the quiet observation of every movement, every word the hunters exchanged
Thalen stayed silent, walking slightly behind, his eyes never leaving Soren. The boy had changed, or perhaps the change had always been there. One moment, reckless and alive, throwing himself into danger without thought. Now, he was quiet, observing, calculating, restrained, but in a way that felt deliberate. Any normal person in this situation would be panicked, angry, or at least trying to act, but Soren was still. Thalen eyes now focused and his movements became more stiff as he thought
'I have a weird feeling, but I don't want to put everyone on edge for no reason those two can't handle pressure like myself'
By the time the hunters made camp for the night, the fire flickering against the darkness of the trees, Soren sat quietly, eating slowly, letting Draven fuss over him just enough to confirm the idea of his harmlessness. Thalen's gaze lingered, sharp and unblinking. The boy didn't speak. He didn't protest. He simply watched
And as the jungle settled into the night, with the distant cries of creatures echoing through the trees, the three hunters felt an uneasy calm. They didn't know it yet, but the prisoner in their care had become something else entirely