Julian was starting to regret choosing the path "where they needed to go."
The road northeast of Eastgrove wasn't a road. It was a suggestion. A half-beaten trail littered with sharp stones, questionable mushrooms, and trees that looked like they whispered to each other when your back was turned.
Trunkle rolled behind them like an overconfident tank, occasionally hopping over roots. Blobby poked his head out of Julian's pouch, drooping like a bored jellyfish.
Lira walked ahead with her usual no-nonsense stride.
Julian trailed behind, muttering, "I swear one of those trees just looked at me funny."
[Correction: It did. That's a Lesser Barkwatcher. Semi-sentient. Harmless. Probably.]
"'Probably' doesn't fill me with confidence."
[Confidence is for people who don't carry magical spoons.]
Julian sighed and adjusted the pendant around his neck. The forest was getting denser. The light above turned mossy green, casting flickering shadows on the trail. Everything was quiet.
Too quiet.
Lira froze. "Stop."
They all did. Even Trunkle skidded to a halt with a low creak.
Lira knelt and touched the ground. "Tracks. Heavy. Deep. Something big passed through here recently."
Julian peered over her shoulder. "Maybe a very fat deer?"
[Unlikely. Based on spacing and claw depth, the creature in question weighs roughly 600 kilos, walks with a quadruped gait, and has teeth large enough to eat your optimism.]
"Oh good," Julian muttered. "I always wanted to get eaten by a metaphor."
They pushed forward slowly, weapons ready. The trees arched above like ribs. Then they found it.
A massive footprint in the mud. Deep. Wide. Sharp toes.
Lira crouched beside it. "Wyvern?"
"No wings," Julian said. "And no tail drag."
[Correct. This isn't a dragon-type. It's a Tunnelmaw.]
Julian blinked. "I'm sorry, did you say *Tunnelmaw*?"
[A burrowing apex predator. Nearly blind. Hunts by sensing vibrations in the ground. Immune to most surface traps. Terrible breath.]
Blobby squeaked in alarm.
Julian lowered his voice. "So... how do we not die?"
[Don't make noise. Don't run. And absolutely don't—]
A branch snapped.
Everyone froze.
Trunkle, standing innocently, rolled backward over a stick.
The forest shook.
Somewhere ahead, the earth cracked open like paper. Something massive hissed.
Julian's stomach dropped. "We're dead."
\[Run.]
"But you said—"
[I WAS BEING THEORETICAL.]
The ground erupted behind them as a huge mouth full of needle-like teeth surged up through the soil. The Tunnelmaw was longer than a wagon, covered in rocky scales, with eyes that glowed faintly from under its snout.
Julian grabbed Blobby and ran.
Lira sprinted beside him, blade drawn but clearly aware that stabbing the thing would be about as effective as punching a boulder.
Trunkle, miraculously, kept pace.
The Tunnelmaw roared and dove into the ground again, disappearing.
Julian gasped, "Is it gone?"
[Incoming.]
It burst from the left this time—faster.
Julian raised his spoon on instinct and shouted, "Forget me!"
A pulse of mental energy shot out. The beast blinked, slowed mid-charge... and skidded past them into a tree.
It crashed through three trunks, then vanished back into the earth with a low, echoing growl.
Lira stared at Julian. "Did you just mind-trick a Tunnelmaw?"
"I panicked!"
[He actually cast Suggestive Amnesia. Not bad.]
Julian dropped to one knee, panting. "I need a nap. Or a shield made of reinforced lies."
Trunkle rolled up, opened its lid, and offered him a ragged blanket.
Lira shook her head. "I hate this forest."
Julian looked around.
"It hates us back.