Azaroth finally woke when he knew his grumbling stomach wouldn’t let him rest anymore. He stood and stretched. At least he had regained some energy, and his cores had settled.

The essence in the air was weak, compared to what a normal crypt should have, but this was anything but a normal crypt. He still had some essence left. His best option right now was to hunt monsters to replace the used essence.

Alex was waking and watching him. There’s not much sleep one can get with the sun shining on you, but somehow, Azaroth had managed it.

Azaroth looked at him with raised brows. "Are you hunting for food?"

Alex shrugged. "You are our leader, why don’t you do it your way and get us food?"

Azaroth had nothing to say to that, so he picked himself up and ran after a monster until it entered a hole. He stared down at the hole and saw the monster looking at him before it dived down again.

Azaroth could have said it was smirking at him. He sat down by the hole and thought about it. He had to find a way to get these monsters, and fast, before they used up the little energy left in their bodies.

He thought about it, but he couldn’t come up with anything. Then Stallus came over. At first, he thought she was about to complain again, but then she began to outline a plan for him.

Azaroth nearly slapped his own head. Why hadn’t he thought about this in the first place? It seemed so obvious now that she said it.

They called the others, and then they all hid themselves in the grasses and waited until the monsters came out of their hole. They gestured to each other with their hands, and once the creatures were busy eating weeds, they jumped them. 𝓯𝙧𝙚𝒆𝙬𝙚𝒃𝙣𝙤𝒗𝓮𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

It was different this time because it was as simple as plucking apples from a tree. They had four monsters killed and tied before the smell alerted the other monsters, and they were gone in a blink.

"I told you it’ll work!" Stallus gloated over her kill.

"Of course," was all Azaroth said.

Stallus’s plan was simple: they attack the monsters as if they were Dawnbreakers. They should hunt like the previous monster they killed, that is, to hide all sounds from themselves.

The small monsters used sounds to keep track, and once that was gone, they were easy pickings.

Alex looked at the one in his hand in mild disgust. "Is this not enough?"

Azaroth shook his head. "No. We have to carry at least two each. Catena can hunt more or wait for others."

They waited again for the monsters to come up and then grabbed them. This time, Azaroth got two, which made his total three. He asked if the others wanted to hunt more, but they shook their heads and said they wanted to continue.

They didn’t actually see the reason why he asked them to carry dead monsters slung around their shoulders. He pointed out again about food, but they clearly didn’t understand. Maybe they thought food would be waiting for them on the other side of the tunnel.

Still, he insisted they carry it.

They walked the tunnel again, moving through unbroken darkness that stretched on. Their light bobbed silently beside them, the only color in the darkness. And as usual, the wall blocked the tunnel behind them.

"Another room ahead!" Alex called sharply.

They slowed as they got near and gently made their way over to the new room.

It was different from the other two. It was a rocky place that stretched wide, half the size of the previous room but more dangerous because the rocks jutted out sharp and deadly, and a carelessly placed foot would be twisted.

Breaking out of the rocks were trees. The trees had no leaves, and they looked like dried wood driven into the rocky ground. They were strange-looking trees, with twisted branches that almost looked like hands.

"Great," Stallus muttered as she adjusted the monster meat over her shoulder. "We should make the other room in no time."

"There might be a trap," Catena said.

Azaroth was already looking around, trying to guess what the trap in this new room could be. There were no monsters attacking them or any for them to attack.

He picked up a stone and threw it, but nothing jumped out at them.

"Well," Azaroth said, and walked into the room cautiously. When nothing happened, he began to make his way to the other side, stepping carefully over the sharp rocks.

The others hurried after him, and they began walking. Even with essence covering them, they had to pick their way gently. They got to the middle of the room when trouble began.

One of the strange trees moved, leaned over, and tried to take a bite out of Azaroth’s head. His quick reflexes saved him. All around them, the trees began moving, changing, and then they hurled themselves from the rocks. Their strange, twisted branches that looked like hands fused into one.

The monsters slung low on the ground, their straight limbs making it easy to grip the rocky surface.

Azaroth’s face tightened. They had been fooled. They were not cautious enough. The whole room was a trap they had willingly fallen into.

Stallus and the others drew their weapons. Azaroth struck the first with his sword, and it was as if he were striking an old tree. It could be cut, but killing one of these monsters would take time—time they didn’t have as the monsters surrounded them.

Azaroth gritted his teeth and adjusted his grip on his sword. He had to do something, and fast, or they might truly end up dead this time. He looked at the team forced on him. Could he use them to escape? No, he thought. They were too weak to even buy him time.

Then his face lit up. If these were wood monsters—dried wood—then he knew their natural enemy.