On the riverbank where Third Igarape branched into Marable and the dark forest, deep inside Tuvwala Forest, six people rested beside three injured wolves. The beasts panted heavily, tongues lolling between their fangs.
"Mateo! I don't need to remind you why you're here," a young man aged twenty-two snarled, his palm glowing as he healed a deep wound on one wolf's back.
"Yes, elder brother," Mateo replied, crawling forward to press his own hands against another wolf's torn hind leg. The two brothers shared the same dark-gray hair and sharp chin.
"Rafael, my friend, when we get back I'll compensate you," Zara said, standing up. His black poncho was torn at the hem.
A brutal skirmish had just ended in the nearby woods. A pack of aberrants had ambushed the group on their way here.
"Zara, my friend," Rafael moved to the third wolf, "a pack can be replaced. I love my warriors, but what are warriors for?" Two of his wolves had already been killed. His losses were heavy.
"Since you say so, then so be it." Zara turned, eyes fixed on the river's branching point.
Rafael and his little brother, Mateo, were seekers of the beast-master path. At Kindled, the path granted the ability to impose one's will over wild beasts and aberrants. At Awakened, one had the ability to heal minor wounds, and it was also known as the healer path, the second most popular path in the valley after the warrior path.
An old lady emerged from the river carrying a small aberrant in her arms, a cat-like creature with three tails.
"Young ones," the lady set the beast down. It immediately scampered over to Molai. "We have reached a dead end."
Zara's eyes widened. "What?"
"The scents of the boy and the suspected assassin linger at the fork leading to both Marable and the Forest of Horror Songs," the old lady said, catching her breath. "But neither scent continues even a single step toward Marable or the dark forest."
"What are you trying to say?" Zara asked.
"I cannot reach a conclusion yet. It seems they vanished right at the branching point."
"We cannot venture into the dark forest," Rafael said, "but we can continue the investigation toward Marable."
"Isabella, you'll be useful if our scouts lead us into Marable," he added. "As for you, Molai, I'm sorry, you can't come with us."
Molai was a band leader's son; he couldn't move outside Amala's controlled territory without authorization from the village head.
"Then I guess my work won't be needed?"
"My pack will handle it from..." Everyone froze as blood suddenly gushed from the old lady's chest. A dark, clawed hand had punched straight through her from behind.
The old lady turned her head slightly. "A… fish-otter…" Her eyes went wide. She stopped breathing.
"Lady Falo!" Galor, Molai's bodyguard, screamed. He scooped Molai onto his left shoulder. The cat-like aberrant leapt free and fled into the river. The old lady's death had freed it from the beast master's grip.
The clawed arm withdrew. Lady Falo's body collapsed.
Zara's hands flew to his daggers. Isabella stepped behind him. The wolves rose, shielding the Tara brothers. Galor backed toward the group.
"Mhmhmh…" The river fish-otter licked the blood from its claws.
Silence fell. Only the sound of water smashing against rocks remained.
Then the fish-otter's head tilted. Its eyes met the crew's. A powerful Kindled-level aura burst outward, turning the air ice-cold.
"Shit… it's at condensation stage!" Rafael shouted.
The entire group stood petrified. Rafael and the slain lady had been the only Kindled Seekers, both at the assimilation stage. The gap was enormous.
The fish-otter was the size of a ten-year-old child, yet its presence and deadly stealth had devastated the team. Fish-like scales covered the back of its humanoid-otter body.
Galor stepped up beside him, bare-handed. Typical for an awakened warrior-path seeker at resonance.
"Zara, you coward, my blood is boiling for battle." His voice was deep, full of vigor for battle.
Each path had its traits: warrior path seekers put honor over everything; they loved having duels, exchanging moves. Healer path seekers had a deep passion for apothecary, gardens, and wildlife; they were good with medicinal herbs.
"Young master," Galor slid the crying Molai off his shoulders. His muscles bulged. Warrior path, also called strength path, at assimilation doubled the seeker's strength for a maximum of thirty seconds. At resonance it reached a full minute. At condensation it could last up to two minutes.
"You three, move farther back," Rafael ordered Mateo, Isabella, and the crying Molai. Lady Falo had been his caretaker since birth.
"I don't think any of us can handle this maledict," Rafael said, "but our lives depend on it." Rafael was a genius, the same age as Zara, and had already reached Kindled. However, he was not a combat type. His awakened ability was healing minor wounds. His three remaining wolves were neither aberrants nor maledicts.
"Being ignorant of an enemy's path is a sure way to the afterlife." Two wolves lunged forward.
The fish-otter roared, saliva dripping from its fangs. It stamped the ground, twisted mid-air, and slipped between the wolves. One clawed hand snapped the back of the first wolf's neck while the other seized the second wolf's tail.
It slammed its foot down, spun, and ripped the second wolf's tongue clean out. The body dropped. The tongue followed.
Rafael ordered the last wolf to attack the ghoul's back.
The dead wolves lay still.
As the final wolf charged, the fish-otter's scaled tail whipped around and snapped its neck. It never even turned its head; its eyes stayed locked on Lady Falo's corpse.
"We should just jump on it," Galor growled. "We can't even tell its path. What difference does it make if we knew?"
"Zara!" he shouted, charging. Zara followed right behind.
As Galor leapt onto its back, the fish-otter twisted. Its palm slammed into Galor's chest, sending him crashing into the wet riverbank.
Zara's dagger slashed at its neck. The maledict took one step and saved its throat. Zara followed with his second blade. The dagger ground against its scales, throwing sparks.
As Zara kept it pinned with continuous strikes, Galor scrambled back to his feet and joined the fight.
The moment Galor's foot entered the battle's range, a heavy fist slammed into Zara's chest, knocking him back several steps. He coughed a mouthful of blood.
"It's a sentry… The damn maledict, it's of sentry path!" Rafael screamed.
The fish-otter spun mid-air, its tail slapping Galor across the face. Blood sprayed. It slipped its hand free from Galor's grip and turned, claws piercing straight through the right side of his chest. Galor grabbed the arm, but the creature yanked free. Blood gushed.
If the abilities were mastered, sentry seekers were one of the most annoying. The otter was clearly toying with them.
Galor dropped, smashing the ground, dust danced in the air, he had lost a lot of blood.
The fish-otter spun and charged toward Lady Falo's body. It snatched the corpse and ran for the river. Before diving in, it paused, turned its head, and roared at Rafael with pure killing intent. Then it slammed the body against the rocks and vanished into the dark waters, heading straight for the Forest of Horror Songs.