A week had passed since K-10 acquired his new equipment.
The Adventurer’s Guild in Linden was quiet that afternoon. Only a few adventurers occupied the tables, most keeping to themselves while Lyra worked behind the counter.
K-10 stood before the request board.
His new Lunarium Tactical Armor was still unfamiliar to the people of Linden. Its construction was unlike conventional armor, combining the extraordinary properties of Lunarium with a design K-10 had developed from his own experience. Two kodachi short swords rested in sheaths at his sides.
He moved methodically down the board, reading each request.
The guild doors opened.
K-10 turned his head.
Seralyth entered.
Brennar followed behind her.
K-10 looked at Seralyth.
She was wearing her new Tactical Lunarium Armor.
She had clearly taken considerable pride in it.
Seralyth walked toward him slowly, deliberately giving him a full view of the armor. Once she reached him, she turned and began showing it off.
She spun once.
Then again.
She shifted her stance, stepped sideways, and made another turn before striking a dramatic pose.
The Lunarium plates caught the afternoon light coming through the windows.
Brennar stopped near the entrance and watched the performance with the weary expression of someone who had already seen this coming.
“She’s been waiting all week to do that,” he said.
Seralyth ignored him.
She completed another turn and looked directly at K-10.
He continued watching.
There was no smile.
No raised eyebrow.
No indication that he was impressed.
His expression remained completely neutral.
Seralyth’s performance gradually lost its enthusiasm.
She stopped and folded her arms.
“Tch.”
K-10 stepped toward her.
Seralyth looked at him expectantly.
Instead of complimenting her, he began inspecting the armor.
His eyes moved over the breastplate, shoulder protection, arm guards, waist plates, leg protection, and joints. He examined the seams and the way the individual pieces overlapped. He checked the areas where the armor differed from his own.
Seralyth waited.
Brennar watched.
Even Lyra had stopped working to see what K-10 would say.
After several seconds, K-10 gave his assessment.
“Acceptable.”
Seralyth stared at him.
“Acceptable?”
“The construction is sound.”
She seemed mildly reassured.
“Of course it is.”
K-10 continued his inspection.
“It is almost identical to mine.”
Seralyth’s expression brightened.
“I knew you’d notice.”
K-10 raised a hand.
“Except for that.”
He pointed directly at her breasts.
The guild went silent.
Seralyth looked down at the armor and then back at K-10.
Brennar closed his eyes.
Lyra turned away, trying to conceal a laugh.
Seralyth’s face reddened.
“The armor has to accommodate my body.”
K-10 studied the armor for another moment.
“Obviously.”
Seralyth’s eye twitched.
“Tch!”
Brennar shook his head.
“I don’t know how you manage to have conversations with him.”
Seralyth folded her arms.
“I don’t.”
K-10 had already returned his attention to the request board.
He scanned the notices again until one caught his attention.
He removed it.
The parchment was relatively fresh. The ink had not yet faded, and the request was marked as having been posted earlier that day.
K-10 unfolded it.
REQUEST — INVESTIGATION
Location: Black Forest
Several hunters missing.
He read the report carefully.
Several hunters had entered the Black Forest and failed to return. The first disappearance had initially been treated as an ordinary delay. Hunters occasionally remained in the forest longer than expected while tracking game.
Then another hunter failed to return.
Then another.
The guild had now received enough reports to classify the situation as an investigation.
There were no confirmed bodies.
No recovered equipment.
No witnesses.
K-10 read through the names listed on the request and committed them to memory.
Seralyth approached and looked over his shoulder.
“What is it?”
“The Black Forest.”
Her expression changed when she read the request.
“Missing hunters?”
Lyra came around the counter.
“Several of them.”
She looked at the parchment.
“The request was posted earlier today. We’ve had several hunters fail to return after entering the forest.”
“How many?” Seralyth asked.
“The guild has confirmed several disappearances. We’re also waiting for two hunters who were supposed to return this morning.”
Seralyth frowned.
“And nobody has found them?”
Lyra shook her head.
“Not yet.”
K-10 looked up from the parchment.
“Last known location?”
Lyra considered the question.
“Wait here.”
She disappeared into the back room.
A moment later, she returned carrying a large rolled parchment.
She placed it on the guild’s main table and unrolled it.
It was a detailed guild map of the Black Forest.
The forest covered a vast section of the region. Trails were marked in ink. Streams crossed the terrain. Hills and elevations were represented by contour lines, while clearings, hunting grounds, and old paths were identified throughout the forest.
Lyra placed weights on the corners.
“This is the guild’s most current map.”
K-10 approached.
Seralyth stood beside him.
Brennar remained near the entrance, observing but keeping his distance.
K-10 studied the map.
The change was subtle but immediate. His attention became focused and analytical. He stopped looking at the forest as a collection of trails and trees and began breaking it into terrain, movement corridors, observation points, and potential threats.
He traced the eastern trail with one finger.
“This is where they entered?”
Lyra pointed to the marked location.
“That’s where the first group was last seen.”
“Distance from Linden?”
“Approximately half a day’s travel.”
“Terrain?”
“Mostly wooded. It becomes steeper farther north.”
K-10 examined the contour lines.
“Visibility?”
Lyra looked at him.
“In the forest?”
“Yes.”
“Poor in most places. Some sections are extremely dense.”
K-10 nodded.
He traced the main trail deeper into the forest.
“Predictable movement corridor.”
Seralyth looked at him.
“What does that mean?”
“People traveling through dense terrain tend to use established paths.”
He pointed toward a narrow section between two hills.
“Choke point.”
Lyra frowned.
“A what?”
“A restricted passage. Movement is forced through a narrow area.”
Lyra sighed.
“Then call it a restricted passage.”
K-10 continued examining the map.
His finger moved toward the hills.
“These elevations provide overwatch.”
Lyra stared at him.
“Overwatch?”
“An elevated position providing observation of the surrounding area.”
Lyra folded her arms.
“Kaiten, you’re going to have to stop using words nobody understands.”
K-10 looked at her.
“Understood.”
He pointed toward the hills.
“Someone standing here could observe anyone moving along this trail.”
Lyra nodded.
“That’s better.”
Seralyth looked at K-10.
“Where did you learn to think about terrain like this?”
K-10 did not answer immediately.
He continued studying the map.
“Experience.”
Seralyth accepted the answer.
K-10 moved his finger to a clearing surrounded by dense forest.
“Exposed area.”
He shifted to the forest surrounding it.
“Concealment.”
Then to a narrow valley.
“Potential kill zone.”
Lyra’s expression tightened.
“Kill zone?”
“A location where an attacker has an advantage over anyone entering it.”
Brennar looked toward the map.
“You’re assuming someone attacked them.”
“No.”
K-10’s answer was immediate.
“I’m identifying possible explanations.”
He returned to the request.
“There is no evidence of combat.”
He pointed at the parchment.
“No blood. No bodies. No equipment.”
Seralyth leaned over the table.
“Then perhaps they were taken.”
“Possible.”
“By what?”
K-10 continued studying the map.
He traced the hunters’ likely route from the eastern trail.
“They entered here.”
His finger followed the trail.
“The terrain becomes increasingly restrictive.”
He moved farther north.
“Three possible routes.”
Lyra pointed to them.
“The northern route becomes steep. The southern route passes through marshland. The central route is an old hunting trail.”
K-10 examined the central route.
“Most likely.”
Seralyth looked at him.
“Why?”
“Lowest resistance.”
He tapped the trail.
“If they were moving quickly, carrying equipment, this would be the most practical route.”
He followed it deeper into the forest.
“If they were tracking something, they may have left the trail.”
K-10 stopped.
“That is where the investigation begins.”
Lyra studied the map.
“How far do you intend to go?”
“As far as necessary.”
Lyra looked at him for a moment.
Then at Seralyth.
“You’re both going?”
Seralyth nodded.
“We are.”
Brennar looked over from the entrance.
“Just the two of you?”
Seralyth turned toward him.
“We’re capable.”
K-10 said nothing.
Brennar gave a resigned nod.
“I suppose you are.”
K-10 returned his attention to the map.
He examined the terrain around the eastern trail one final time.
“We begin here.”
He tapped the last confirmed location of the missing hunters.
“We follow their route. We document anything unusual. We maintain a route back to the trail.”
Lyra looked at him.
“Your retreat point?”
K-10 nodded.
“Yes.”
She seemed pleased that he had used a term she understood.
“That makes more sense.”
K-10 folded the request.
“We leave tomorrow morning.”
Lyra took the parchment and opened the guild ledger.
She recorded the request under the party’s two members.
Kaiten
Seralyth
She closed the ledger.
“I’ll register the request under your party.”
Seralyth glanced down at her new armor.
“At least we finally have proper equipment.”
K-10 looked at her.
“It should be adequate.”
She smiled.
“That’s almost a compliment.”
K-10 turned back toward the request board.
“Almost.”
Seralyth’s smile disappeared.
“Tch.”
Brennar shook his head.
Outside, the last light of the afternoon was fading across Linden.
Tomorrow morning, K-10 and Seralyth would enter the Black Forest.