Their chat was interrupted just as they got to the heart of the matter.
Ruger's brow twitched as he looked toward the footsteps. At the same time, Monster Wolf got up and dragged the bald man deeper into the darkness before disconnecting Chains of its own accord. Monster Wolf could certainly bind several people at once, but Ruger wanted no unnecessary surprises. It was best to be polite and let others sleep undisturbed.
He looked at Varin, and at his signal, she hid behind the rock where Mona had been sitting.
The unhurried footsteps betrayed the newcomers' confidence. They seemed to have a clear destination in mind; from the sound of it, they were heading straight toward them.
Ruger abandoned his last guess that they might have wandered in by accident.
Gradually, voices drifted over, neither loud nor quiet. Between those voices and the overlapping but distinct footsteps, he could tell there were probably two newcomers, a man and a woman.
Then two Bearers appeared in Ruger's field of view, chatting as they walked.
Everything fell into place.
The sleeping bald man was their target, as well as the guide who had led them here. Of course, their real target might be the Monster Wolf Oddity, with the bald man merely an optional rescue along the way. By leading them here, he had already made his greatest contribution. These Bearers did not look like a particularly sentimental bunch.
Ruger watched them quietly, studying their Burden Objects.
The two Bearers kept up their idle conversation, occasionally looking up at the surrounding scenery.
Suddenly, the male Bearer stopped to pick a mushroom beside their path.
The female Bearer waited beside him, only then turning toward Ruger with a smile. It was the first time she had looked directly at his group.
Ruger