Camp No. 2

Gentle dawn light spilled over the sea, setting its surface aglitter. Amid the golden waves, a little silver fish leaped from the shallows, only to be swallowed whole by a swooping seagull.

Splash, splash.

Waves washed tirelessly against the rocky cliffs. A few flecks of shattered spray flew inland and landed on a mud-caked boot.

Xia Lun picked up a strip of smoked meat, took a satisfied bite, then looked up at the survivors before him and their varied expressions.

After finishing their watch, he and Gunner had told the other three what they had discovered last night.

"So those Salt Monsters were watching us the whole time?" Delis had only just woken up. Her face went pale, and her voice trembled. "And we never even noticed?!"

"This is a provocation!" Horn seethed. He viciously bit into his smoked meat, chewing as though he were tearing into an enemy's flesh. "Those Human-Faced Rats in the gutter could have covered their tracks. They deliberately left those symbols and footprints to mock us!"

"But we really didn't notice anything during our watch," Delis countered weakly. "If it weren't for Lord Xia Lun, we'd still be in the dark. For all we know, they might still be watching us from some hidden corner."

"Uh..." Horn's bluster abruptly faltered. He glanced back uneasily. "Surely... surely not."

After a night's rest, the badly wounded Brigadier General seemed to have recovered considerably. He stroked his beard. "We need to gather palm leaves and make screens to block the view into camp. I'll handle that today."

He took a pipe from the supply pile, lit the tobacco with a waterproof match, and drew deeply.

"Whew... this really puts me on edge. So Salt Monsters know how to hide and observe." The Brigadier General exhaled a smoke ring.