The Forty-Seventh Scene: Two Letters XII

"Those fellows' accents sounded like they were from around Erdek, or perhaps they were peddlers from Graywater Bay. In any case, they were probably from that area. There were around a dozen of them, most of them the sort I just described. Two or three, however, were different. They were taller, and their accents sounded more local. Nibeto once noticed that those few all carried the same type of sword—a longer, thinner saber with a relief of two wings on the guard... Those fellows lived in an abandoned hunters' camp in the forest. They rarely ventured out and hardly interacted with outsiders. They had been there for at least half a month. At first, Captain Maden sent people to keep watch on them, but we found that their range of activity was very limited, and they had no contact with us. Eventually, no one bothered with them anymore. They weren't particularly strong. Of course, there might have been one or two troublesome ones among them, but they were nothing to fear... I heard that the abandoned hunters' camp had been left behind before the war. Its original owner had long since fled north, so it was abandoned. The camp isn't far from here. After entering the forest, head south, and you'll see it after about an hour and a half. A small path leads there."

Following Little Finis's description, Brando led—or rather, escorted—this group of Patrol Cavalry into the forest. The first round moon, Golden Sea, had already sunk below the horizon, while the second moon, Moya, had just risen above the mountain pass. The hazy moon hung at the edge of the sky as they headed south along the foot of the slope illuminated by its slanted light. A narrow path wound through the twisted shrubs, and before long,