Chapter 34: FRIENDS WITH THE LEOPARD
PREVIOUSLY-
A blur erupted from the gloom behind him.
"Behind you!" Skaleg shouted—too late.
Sig's world spun. Claws raked across his back, shredding leather and skin in one savage arc.
"Aagh!" he cried out, stumbling forward as blood spilled freely.
He caught himself, breath ragged, pain sharp.
'The plan failed...
Time for Plan B.'
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Sigmund skidded back, his fingers curling around the hilt of the longsword strapped to his back. His vision blurred for a heartbeat, crimson streaks falling from his shoulder. But his grip was steady.
The clearing was quiet now — eerily so. Mist threaded through the undergrowth, slinking between pine trunks like silver veins. To his left, an upward slope cut sharp against the horizon, littered with jagged roots and patches of slick moss.