Soren ran
His breathing came out uneven and sharp as he pushed through the trees toward the faint glow of the campfire ahead. Branches scraped against his clothes and the restraints on his wrists clinked faintly as his arms moved with each step. Behind him the forest remained quiet, broken only by the distant voices of the bounty hunters shouting to each other as they searched through the wreckage of the explosion
He did not slow down until the clearing came into view
The campsite looked exactly as they had left it only moments earlier. The fire still burned steadily near the riverbank, its light flickering against the surrounding trees. Beside it sat the iron pot Thalen had been using to prepare their meal, the faint smell of cooking meat and herbs drifting through the air
Soren stepped into the clearing, forcing his breathing to remain ragged as if panic still controlled him. He glanced over his shoulder once more, making sure no one had followed him back
The forest behind him remained empty
Good
His posture changed the moment he was certain he was alone
The panic vanished from his expression as quickly as it had appeared
Soren moved toward the fire
The pot simmered quietly, steam rising in thin wisps into the night air. Inside, the food continued to cook slowly, stirred earlier by Thalen before the sudden interruption had dragged everyone away
Soren knelt beside it
For a brief moment he simply stared into the pot, watching the liquid shift and bubble gently under the heat and then he reached carefully into the waistband of his pants. His fingers closed around the small vial he had stolen earlier during the battle with the Alpha Fangwyrm
Three drops
That was all the vial contained
Thalen's poisons were concentrated. They were not designed for waste
Soren removed the cork slowly
A faint, sharp scent drifted out the moment it opened
He tilted the vial over the pot
One drop fell into the food
Then a second
Then the third
The liquid disappeared instantly into the mixture, dissolving into the broth without leaving any visible trace. Within seconds the poison was completely blended into the meal
Soren corked the vial again and slid it back into hiding
The plan had always relied on one simple habit
Draven and Korr always ate first
Every night it happened the same way. Thalen cooked the food and set the pot down. Draven and Korr would serve themselves first while Thalen prepared the remaining portions. Only after they finished would Thalen sit down to eat. Soren, still restrained and treated as a prisoner, always received his portion last
It was a pattern so ordinary none of them had ever thought twice about it
Which meant Draven and Korr would poison themselves
Soren rose slowly from beside the fire and moved back to the place where he had been sitting earlier. He lowered himself to the ground, leaning slightly against one of the rocks near the riverbank. His breathing gradually steadied again, but he made sure to keep the appearance of tension in his posture
A few minutes passed
Then voices echoed through the forest
Branches snapped as the bounty hunters returned to the clearing
Draven emerged first, his expression irritated as he stepped into the firelight. The faint glow of his fire magic flickered briefly in his palm before fading. Korr followed a moment later, brushing leaves from his clothes as sparks of electricity occasionally snapped along his fingers. Thalen came last, his narrow eyes scanning the clearing before settling briefly on Soren
Draven shook his head as he walked toward the fire
"Whatever it was ran the moment we pushed in," he muttered
Korr snorted
"Of course it did. Probably some stupid forest beast that got scared once it realized there were three of us''
He dropped down near the fire, stretching his arms slightly
"Still," he added irritably, "that explosion was loud enough to wake half the damn forest"
Thalen remained standing for a moment longer, his gaze lingering on the dark treeline behind them as if he was still considering something. Eventually he stepped toward the fire as well, crouching beside the pot to check the food
The broth simmered quietly, exactly as he had left it
Satisfied, he reached for the ladle and stirred the contents slowly
Soren watched everything silently
Korr leaned forward impatiently
"Is it done yet?"
"Almost," Thalen replied calmly
Draven sat down on the opposite side of the fire, rubbing the back of his neck as he glanced briefly toward Soren
"You alright kid?" he asked
Soren nodded quickly
"I thought something was going to jump out of the bushes," he said quietly
Thalen finished stirring the pot and began ladling the food into bowls
Draven reached forward first and grabbed one
Korr followed right after him, taking another bowl with a careless grin
Neither of them noticed anything unusual as they began to eat
Thalen prepared his own bowl next
Soren remained seated quietly near the edge of the firelight, watching them
Waiting
Korr took another bite before suddenly slowing slightly
His brow furrowed
He sniffed faintly at the food in his bowl
"That's… strange"
Draven paused mid-bite
"What?"
Korr lifted the bowl slightly closer to his face and sniffed again. His expression twisted with faint confusion, like he was trying to remember something just out of reach
"Something about the smell…" he muttered. "It's familiar"
Draven snorted from across the fire without even looking up from his bowl
"Of course it's familiar, you idiot," he said as he took another bite. "We've been eating the same thing since we set foot in this forest"
Korr rolled his eyes slightly but sniffed again, still unconvinced
"Yeah, but that's not what I-"
Draven suddenly stopped chewing
At first it was subtle. His jaw froze mid-motion as his eyes lowered toward the food in his bowl. A faint line appeared between his brows
Then his expression hardened
In one violent motion he spat the food out onto the dirt beside the fire
His hand ignited instantly
Flames roared to life around his palm as he thrust it toward the bowl, scorching heat blasting outward as the remaining food blackened and burned to ash
The sharp scent that rose from the flames made his face darken even further
"I know that smell," Draven said, his voice suddenly cold
Korr looked at him
Draven wiped his mouth with the back of his arm, eyes narrowing as he stared into the burning remains of the food
"That's not just poison," he said slowly
His gaze shifted toward Thalen
"This is your poison Thalen!"
The fire around his hand flickered violently as anger crept into his voice
''You fucking greedy bastard!'' Draven now started to shout as spit flew out of his mouth, ''You think we are dumb enough to not recognise a poison that we have seen for years, huh!''
The flames in his palm flared
"There's no mistake"
Draven's eyes locked onto Thalen
"You poisoned us"
For a moment the clearing fell silent except for the crackle of the fire
Thalen didn't move
He stared at the two of them like he was trying to process a language he didn't understand
"What?" he said flatly
Korr stood slowly, the bowl slipping from his fingers and hitting the ground with a dull thud. Electricity began snapping faintly across his knuckles, thin arcs crawling over the metal hilts of the daggers he had drawn without anyone noticing
"Don't play stupid," Korr said, his voice low but sharp
Thalen's eyes flicked between them
"I'm not playing anything," he replied. "What the hell are you two talking about?"
Draven took a step closer, sword sliding from its sheath with a metallic whisper
"You're the one who cooked," he said. "You're the one who poured the bowls"
Thalen frowned, irritation creeping into his expression
"And I poured one for myself too," he snapped. "Use your brain"
Korr let out a humourless laugh
"Yeah," he said, tilting his head slightly. "Funny how that works"
His daggers lifted slightly as lightning began crawling along their edges
"You always eat last, remember?"
Thalen's expression hardened
"So do you two," he shot back. "You grab your bowls before I even sit down half the time"
"That's exactly the point," Korr replied
The electricity around him intensified with a sharp crack
"You knew we'd eat first"
Draven's grip tightened around his sword
"All this time," he said quietly, "We trusted you with the food"
His voice darkened
"And this is what you were planning?"
Thalen stared at them both in disbelief
"You've both lost your minds"
"Have we?" Draven asked
The firelight reflected sharply in his eyes
"Because the only poison in this camp is the kind you carry"
Thalen took a slow step back
"You idiots," he muttered
Korr's temper snapped
"Idiots?" he barked. "We've travelled together for four years, Thalen!"
Lightning surged across his arms now, illuminating his thin frame in flashes of white-blue light
"We've fought monsters together, bled together, nearly died together!"
He pointed one of his daggers straight at Thalen's chest
"And you decide to stab us in the back over a damn bounty?"
Thalen's voice rose in frustration
"I didn't poison anything!"
Draven laughed once, but there was no humour in it
"Stormguard's offering a fortune for that prisoner," he said
His sword lifted slowly
''You couldn't help yourself could you? No wonder you never talked about what you were going to do with the money. It was because you were going to try take it all for yourself in the end''
Thalen snapped back
''I didn't poison the food''
Korr now angry shouted back
''Don't play us for a pair of fools! We always allowed you to take the initiative, but that doesn't mean you can treat us like idiots now that you've been caught red handed like this!''
Korr readied his blade
''Looks like the bounty is gonna be split two ways''
For a brief second none of them moved
Then Thalen's gaze flicked past them
Soren sat quietly near the edge of the firelight
Watching
Then Thalen looked at his face and they made eye contact and what he saw on his face made his head hot with anger
A fat grin stretching ear from ear formed on Soren's face. He looked amused as if watch he was watching infront of him was his favourite movie
Thalen's stomach dropped
His eyes widened slightly
"That bastard…" he muttered under his breath
Korr frowned
"What?"
Thalen pointed toward Soren
"Him"
Draven didn't even look
"Oh don't start that," he said coldly
Korr shook his head
"You're blaming the prisoner now?"
Thalen's voice sharpened
"He's been messing with all of us since the moment we captured him!"
"Shut up," Korr snapped
Lightning exploded across his daggers
"You just got caught"
Thalen's hand moved toward the small vials hanging from his belt
"Listen to me for one second-"
Draven lunged first
A fireball roared from his palm straight toward Thalen as his sword came up in the same motion
"Too late for that"
Thalen reacted instantly
A vial shattered against the ground between them
A thick cloud of green poison gas erupted outward, spreading across the clearing in seconds
Korr charged through it anyway
Lightning flashed
Steel collided
Fire illuminated the trees
And in the chaos, the three bounty hunters finally turned on each other