Ike leaned against a wall, watching the gate. Hunters and adventurers wandered in and out, shing their badges. He tapped his fingertips against his arm, impatient, as the faint light of dawn grew brighter and brighter.


    Atst, the party wandered into view, Joseph yawning and stretching, Sandra marching along with her eyes dead ahead, Tana sandwiched between them, and Ket bringing up the rear, a bounce in his step. Ike peeled off the wall and approached the other four. "Morning."


    Ket smirked. Sandra ignored him, clicking her tongue. Tana gave no indication she sensed his existence. Joseph gave him a friendly wave and gestured him over. "Come on. No time like the present."


    Ike snorted, ncing at the sky. He nodded rather than release his snark, and fell in line.


    Sandra nced at him, then looked down, her shoulders sagging a little. She took a deep breath and straightened up, walking on through the gate.


    The guards at the gate nced at the party''s Rank 1 badges, then nodded, waving them through without a second nce at Ike. Ike raised his brows, surprised. Everything he''d heard spoke to how difficult it was to cross the wall, but here he was, simply crossing it, out into the wilds. He chuckled under his breath, following the others out.


    Outside the gate, the cobbled road ended. Winding footpaths wandered into the forest, snaking paths left, right, center, and every which way. Each path diverged and broke off, spidering into a hundred paths within the space of a few hundred yards, all of them vanishing into the tangled undergrowth and old forest all around them.


    At first, other hunters walked alongside them, but the further they went, the fewer people passed them by, and the narrower the path became. Eventually, they walked alone.


    "Quiet out here," Ikemented.


    Sandra red at him, then turned away.


    "Quiet indeed," Ket agreed, in a mysterious tone of voice.


    "What do you think? Sandra. You''ve been out here so many times, but this is my first. Is it unusually quiet today?" Ike asked, smiling.


    Sandra pursed her lips. She looked back at him again, then shrugged. "It''s always quiet on the far side of the wall."


    "Really? No bugs? No small beasts?" Ike asked.


    "It''s normal," Sandra said, but she nced around, a slight frown on her face.


    Ket chuckled. "We''re headed for the Smander''sir. It gets quiet over there."


    "But we aren''t close yet."


    Sandra shook her head. The party fell back into silence.


    Ike watched Sandra, then jogged up to her to walk alongside her. He pushed his way through the undergrowth, fighting to keep pace. "I''m grateful you took a chance on me. As a low level Rank 0, I know I don''t have a lot of strength, but I''ll prove that you were right to take a chance on me."


    She gave him a nce from the corner of her eye, a slightly nervous expression on her face.


    Recognizing the expression, Ike smiled gently at her. I was right. The party wasn''t in total cohesion over sacrificing new hunters like him. Joseph was the ringleader, the one most likely to havee up with the whole idea. Ket clearly didn''t care. Tana… he wasn''t sure what her problem was, but she didn''t appear to have much say in anything going on. Sandra was the weak link.


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    If I''m going toe out on top, I need to have the deck stacked in my favor.


    And that means sowing division among the party members.


    He nodded at Sandra. "So, can you tell me about the Smander?"


    Sandra hesitated. She opened her mouth.


    "You''ll find out when we get there," Joseph interrupted.


    "It doesn''t hurt to exin the basics," Sandra argued.


    Joseph nced back, giving her a cold smile.


    Sandra ignored him, turning to Ike. "The Smander is arge lizard that loves fire. It lives in the ming-hot pits of the—"


    "Sandra."


    "It''s faster than you''d think. You have to get the hell out of dodge when the pools—"


    "Sandra." Joseph stopped dead and turned, ring at her. Beside him, Tana stood silently, her eyes and mouth shut.


    Sandra red back. "What? Is it wrong to give him a few tips?"


    Joseph stared for a few seconds before walking on, shaking his head. "Comes out of your cut."


    "What does that mean?" Ike asked innocently.


    Pursing her lips, Sandra mmed up.


    They walked on. The birds sang in the distance, and the leaves swayed gently on the wind. Sunlight dappled the path.


    "Sandra," Ike murmured softly. He nced around them, as if checking for listeners. "What did all that about ''your cut'' earlier mean?"


    She pursed her lips, not looking at him.


    "Do I not get a cut?"


    "You''ll get a cut," she replied, too quickly.


    Ike smiled as earnestly as he could. "That''s good. I''m d to hear that. You know, Sandra, I''m in a really bad ce."


    Sandra flinched.


    "I''ve got to pay back my uncle. No matter what. My mom…she died when I was a child, but my uncle spent a small fortune trying to save her life. He raised me, all on his own. Right now, he''s in desperate need of money. He—" Ike paused, taking a moment to sniff and wipe his eye. "He''s borne my debt all this time, neverining, always doing right by me. I owe him so much, but—but this hunt, if it goes well, I''ll finally be able to pay him back. I''ll finally break even with him, and be able to thank him for everything he did for us. Not only that, but rescue him from a bad situation. I can''t wait." He leveled his smile on her, watching her reaction.


    Guilt shed across her face. She nced down, unable to make eye contact.


    Ike fell back, his smile turning strange as he dropped behind Sandra. His eyes glittered.


    From behind him, Ket watched silently, flipping a dagger in one hand.


    As the day approached noon, they left what little remained of the path. Sandra took the lead, drawing a t, lightweight de to sh her way through the undergrowth. The trees grew thinner, and a distinctive sulfur smell filled the air, growing thicker with every step. More and more sunlight poured through the small trees, until they walked through knee-high grass, rather than a forest.


    Atst, Joseph pulled ahead of the others. "Here we are."


    The party lined up along the edge of a cliff. Ike drew alongside the others, looking down ten feet into a pit.


    The pit''s floor sloped gently downhill to the center, ridges of stone stair-stepping down to the central pool. Thick fumes welled up from sandy earth, visible as they rose. Round holes dotted around the shelves held brightly-toned water, bubbling like pots at the boil. Ike narrowed his eyes. No—they are boiling. Heat emanated from the entire pit, but especially from the watery holes, steam gushing up into the air. Abruptly, one of them erupted, spitting up a hundred-meter-tall plume of boiling water. The water rained back down, sizzling fiercely where it struck the sandy soil. The soil barely darkened, drying as soon as the water struck the earth.


    In the center of the pit, arge, red form circled in the pool, obscured under the boiling surface from the water. It swam to the surface, and a blunt, rounded, soft head with small dark eyes emerged from under the pool. The Smander released a steaming-hot breath, its gills, too, venting heat. Stubby legs wed at the pool''s edge. A long, thick body, somewhere between a snake and a fish, vanished into the water. Smooth red scales glistened in the sun. It turned its head, and small, dark eyestched onto the party. It let out a fierce hiss.


    Joseph nodded. "There''s the Smander," he announced. He stepped forward, hopping down into the pit. Tana followed him, Ket leaping in.


    Sandra nced at Ike. "You''ll draw the little ones around the edge. Attract them away from us." With that, she jumped after the others.


    Ike smiled. He drew his razor and mbered down after them, not strong enough to easily hop down ten feet. Holding back at the edge, he watched as the party rushed in.


    Showtime.