Chapter 76: The Nightmare’s Strange Behavior
Kyle stood in his room, staring at his sword.
The blade was chipped in three places. The edge was dull, no matter how many times he sharpened it, and the leather grip was fraying.
`This thing is falling apart.`
He turned it over in his hands. The metal caught the light of the three moons filtering through the window.
He could buy a new one. The shop had better swords—sharper and stronger.
But that would cost points. Points he was saving.
`Nine hundred and twenty.`
Eighty only. That’s all he needed to reach a thousand. Then he could integrate the world’s power rank system into his status. Then he could see where he actually stood.
He sighed and slid the sword into its sheath.
`Two more weeks. Maybe three. I can manage with this junk until then.`
He called Nightmare.
Golden sparks burst from the mark on his hand. The bird materialized on the floor—four wings folded, three golden eyes blinking slowly. The smaller eyes along its wing roots stared at nothing.
Kyle walked toward the window. The three moons were high. The mist was thick. Perfect hunting weather.
"Ready?" he said.
Nightmare didn’t move.
Kyle frowned. "Nightmare?"
The bird turned its head. Looked at him. Then looked toward the window.
Not at the window. Through it. Toward the forest.
Then it spread its wings and flew out.
Kyle stared with wide eyes.
"Not again!"
He jumped onto the ledge and leaped after it.
The mist was thick tonight. Worse than usual.
Nightmare flew low, weaving between trees. Kyle ran beneath it, sword in hand. His eyes scanned the darkness between the trees.
`What is he looking for?`
Last time this happened, the bird led him to a Wendigo. Almost got him killed. He’d stumbled into that fight unprepared, no plan, just instinct and luck.
`So what now? An army of them? A nest?`
He ran for what felt like ten minutes. Maybe fifteen.
No Wendigos. None.
Lately, he’d been hunting them every night. Their numbers had dropped. Either he’d killed most of them, or they’d learned to avoid him.
`Maybe I’ve got a reputation. If they even talk to each other.`
Nightmare slowed. Its wings beat once, twice, then it perched on a high branch.
Kyle stopped.
He stood at the edge of a small clearing. The mist swirled around him, thick enough to hide anything more than twenty feet away.
He didn’t move.
He pulled out his sword and scanned the area.
Nothing moved.
`Either this place is empty... or whatever is here knows how to hide.`
He looked up at Nightmare. The bird was staring at something. Its three golden eyes were fixed on a point in the distance.
Kyle followed his gaze.
He didn’t see anything. Or rather, the mist kept him from seeing anything.
He got near the tree that Nightmare was on and then climbed it quickly.
"Why did you come here? What’s going on?"
The nightmare didn’t respond. In fact, he didn’t even glance at him. Just kept staring at some place.
Kyle frowned a bit. Then followed his gaze.
The mist was thick. He could not see anything. He tried to focus his sight.
And then, he saw it.
Through the mist, barely visible, he saw a shape. A rise in the ground. A hill, maybe. And at its base, a dark opening.
A cave.
Kyle’s eyes narrowed.
He has walked through this forest a hundred times and never seen something like that before in this realm.
This realm was filled only with trees and fog. There was nothing else.
Kyle focused on the cave. The mist was thinner near the hill. He could make out more shapes now.
Movement.
One figure. Pacing back and forth near the cave entrance.
Then another, further to the left, circling the hill.
Then a third, on the right side.
Three of them.
Wendigos.
Kyle’s grip tightened on his sword. He looked back into Nightmare.
`That bastard really led me to a nest!`
He sighed, then looked back at the hill.
He had never seen two Wendigos in the same place, let alone three. They were solitary. Territorial. They fought each other if they got too close.
`Why are they here? What’s in that cave?`
He watched them for a long time. They moved slowly. Restlessly. Like guards.
`They are guarding something.`
His heart beat faster. Not from fear. From curiosity.
He needed to get closer.
Kyle circled around the hill, staying deep in the mist. He moved slowly, each step deliberate.
Nightmare followed overhead, silent as a shadow.
He found a large tree about fifty feet from the hill. Its trunk was thick enough to hide behind. Its lower branches were low enough to climb.
Kyle climbed.
He pulled himself up branch by branch until he was high enough to see over the mist. He found a sturdy limb and sat down, using the trunk as cover.
From here, he could see the entire hill.
The cave entrance was a dark hole in the earth, maybe ten feet wide. The mist swirled around it like it was being pulled inside.
Three Wendigos. One on each side. They paced in lazy circles, never getting too close to each other.
`If they were normal monsters, I would say they’re guarding something. But Wendigos aren’t normal. They don’t cooperate.`
He thought about it.
`Unless something is making them. Or something is attracting them.`
His eyes moved back to the cave.
`What could be there?`
He looked at Nightmare. The bird was perched on a nearby branch, still staring at the cave.
"Why did you bring me here?" Kyle whispered.
Nightmare blinked its three golden eyes. Then it looked at Kyle. Then back at the cave.
`That’s not an answer.`
Kyle turned his attention back to the Wendigos.
Three. All at once. No way he could take them in a straight fight.
`But I don’t have to fight them all at once.`
He studied their patrol patterns. They weren’t synchronized. One would reach the eastern edge of its territory while another was on the western side. There were gaps. Brief windows when they were farthest apart.
`If I can kill the first one without alerting the others...`
He climbed down from the tree and crept toward the hill.
