Chapter 30: The hunt begins II
Then the man looked at Ore.
Then back at Tolu.
"Novices?"
Tolu nodded.
"Yes."
The man’s eyes moved over their equipment.
"You’re a long way from the outskirts."
Tolu kept his answer vague.
"We’re on a quest."
"What kind?"
Tolu hesitated.
"A hunting quest."
The man’s expression didn’t change.
"That’s a broad answer."
"It’s the answer I have."
Ore glanced at Tolu.
The man gave a quiet laugh.
"Fair enough."
He tightened the lid of his waterskin.
"You should be careful."
Tolu frowned.
"We are."
"No."
The man’s tone was serious.
"You think you’re being careful."
He glanced deeper into the forest.
"This area isn’t like the outskirts."
Tolu said nothing.
The man continued.
"If you encounter something stronger than you, don’t try to prove anything."
Ore looked slightly annoyed.
"We know."
"Good."
The man started walking past them.
Then he stopped.
"There are wolves deeper in."
Tolu’s heart skipped.
The man looked back.
"Not ordinary ones."
Tolu kept his face neutral.
"How strong?"
"Strong enough that you shouldn’t be looking for them."
The answer was almost exactly what Tolu didn’t want to hear.
The man walked away.
Tolu waited until he disappeared between the trees.
Ore whispered.
"That was strange."
"Very."
"He knows about the wolves."
"Apparently."
"Do you think he knows we’re looking for one?"
Tolu shook his head.
"I don’t think so."
Ore looked toward the direction the man had gone.
"Then why is he here?"
Tolu frowned.
"I don’t know."
Neither of them noticed how deliberately the man had avoided explaining why he was in the forest himself.
They continued.
The encounter left a strange tension between them.
Tolu kept thinking about the man’s warning.
But he pushed it aside.
They couldn’t let one encounter ruin weeks of preparation.
Eventually, they reached the area they had selected.
A narrow stretch of forest sat between two large trees, with a slight depression in the ground beyond them.
Tolu looked around.
"This is it."
Ore nodded.
They dropped their bags.
Now the real work began.
They had prepared this trap carefully.
It wasn’t a simple hole in the ground.
Tolu knew they couldn’t simply dig a pit and expect a Level Two beast to fall into it.
An Ironfang could probably climb out of an ordinary pit before they could do anything.
So they had designed the trap around one principle:
**Take away its balance.**
The first part was a shallow pit about the width of a man’s shoulders.
It wasn’t deep enough to bury a wolf.
Instead, it was positioned so that when the Ironfang stepped into it, one of its front legs would drop through.
They had covered the opening with thin branches.
On top of those branches, they spread leaves and dirt.
From a distance, it looked like ordinary ground.
Beneath the false surface, however, they had placed a wooden frame.
Four thick stakes were driven into the ground around the pit.
Rope connected the stakes to a central loop.
That loop was connected to a long length of rope that ran beneath the leaves toward a nearby tree.
The moment the wolf’s weight broke through the covering, the rope would be pulled.
That movement would release a second rope.
The second rope was attached to a bundle of braided vines.
Those vines had been stretched between two trees.
When released, they would snap inward around the wolf’s body.
It wasn’t designed to hold the Ironfang forever.
Tolu knew better than to believe that.
The purpose was to immobilize it for a few precious seconds.
Those seconds would give them the opportunity to reinforce the restraint.
Ore inspected the vines.
"Do you think they’ll hold?"
Tolu looked at them.
"I don’t know."
She stared at him.
"That’s reassuring."
"We tested them."
"On Mirefangs."
"Yes."
Ore sighed.
"And this thing is much stronger."
"I know."
Tolu crouched and checked the final connection.
"If the wolf steps exactly where we want it to, the first leg will drop."
"And then?"
"The vines tighten."
"And then?"
"We pull the second line."
Ore looked toward the thick ropes hidden beneath the leaves.
"The one that brings the wooden braces down?"
Tolu nodded.
They had built a crude restraint system using two heavy branches.
When the second line was pulled, the branches would swing inward from either side and pin the wolf’s body against the ground.
Not crush it.
Not stab it.
Just restrict its movement.
At least, that was the plan.
Ore looked at him.
"And if it breaks through?"
Tolu paused.
"Then we use the second trap."
Ore pointed toward the slope behind them.
"The tangled-leg trap?"
"Yes."
They had prepared that one differently.
A shallow depression had been dug across a narrow section of ground.
Instead of stakes, they had filled it with thick branches and lengths of rope woven together.
If the Ironfang escaped the first trap and charged through that area, its legs would become tangled.
Again, the trap wasn’t meant to kill it.
It was meant to slow it down.
Their goal wasn’t to overpower a Level Two beast.
It was to restrict it long enough for Tolu to touch it.
If he could touch it with the Dungeon Lord’s ring while it was alive, the creature would be taken into his dungeon.
That was the entire reason they were here.
Ore looked at the trap one final time.
"Let’s hope it works."
Tolu nodded.
"Let’s hope it doesn’t need to."
They moved into hiding.
The bait was placed near the center of the clearing.
Fresh meat.
Strong enough to carry its scent through the forest.
Then they waited.
The first hour passed.
Nothing.
The second.
Still nothing.
Ore shifted slightly behind their cover.
"Maybe it isn’t coming."
Tolu whispered.
"It will."
"You sound confident."
"I’m trying to."
Ore smiled.
"At least you’re honest."
They waited.
The sun climbed higher.
Sweat gathered beneath Tolu’s clothes.
His legs began to ache from remaining crouched for so long.
Ore occasionally adjusted her position.
Neither complained.
They couldn’t afford to.
Eventually, something changed.