The carriage turned inch by inch.
No sudden movements.
No cracking branches.
No raised voices.
Just the slow grind of the wheels against dirt.
Taru kept his posture relaxed, deliberately so. His hands did not tremble on the reins, though Arun could see the tension in his shoulders.
"Don't look like prey," Taru murmured under his breath.
"I don't," Arun replied quietly.
"That wasn't reassurance. That was advice."
The wheels and brakka completed their arc.
They began rolling back the way they had come.
Slow and measured.
The forest did not react.
But it did not relax either.
Arun could still feel it.
The dread and the eyes watching every move they make, like they were predators stalking their prey.
They passed the first skull stake.
Then the second.
The bone chimes clattered faintly behind them as the wind shifted.
Arun resisted the urge to glance over his shoulder.
The trail widened slightly as they moved farther from the marked boundary. Light filtered more easily through the canopy.
Still no birds nor insects.
Taru kept the pace even.
"Once we clear the ridge," he said quietly, "we increase speed."
Arun nodded.
White flame rested beneath his skin, although not active or visible, was ready, to react.
They were nearly at the dip between the rocky ridges when it happened.
A sound.
A low wooden crack.
Then a thud.
The carriage jerked violently to the left.
One wheel sank into the ground.
Taru cursed under his breath, pulling the reins to steady Brakka.
Arun was already moving.
He jumped down, scanning the ground.
A concealed pit.
Shallow but enough.
Sharpened stakes lined the bottom.
Not deep enough to destroy a carriage.
Deep enough to immobilize it.
Arun's jaw tightened.
"That wasn't here before," Taru said quietly.
No.
It hadn't been.
This wasn't an old trap.
It was fresh.
Which meant
A branch snapped behind them.
Arun turned.
Three figures stood at the treeline.
Silent.
Massive.
Bare-chested despite the chill.
Skin marked in streaks of ash and dark pigment.
Bone fragments braided into their hair.
Each carried a weapon not refined steel, but heavy. Brutal. Functional.
Axes. Clubs. A spear longer than Arun was tall.
They didn't rush.
They didn't shout.
They simply watched.
More shapes shifted behind them.
Five.
Maybe six total.
Taru stepped down slowly from the carriage.
"Well," he murmured softly, "that answers whether they were just observing."
Arun stepped forward slowly , with his hands raised.
The tallest of the three tilted his head slightly.
His face bore scars , cuts, and wounds.
A mark of status.
Or survival.
His eyes locked onto Arun.
Then drifted to Arun's hands.
Arun kept them empty.
Silence stretched.
One of the savages stepped forward and slammed the butt of his spear into the dirt and dragged it in a straight line, like he was sending a message or creating a boundary
Taru spoke first.
"We're leaving."
His voice was calm. Clear.
The tall savage's gaze shifted to Taru briefly.
Then back to Arun.
Slowly, deliberately, the savage lifted his chin and inhaled deeply.
Arun held his ground.
He let his breathing slow.
He let his heartbeat settle.
The air seemed to have thickened..
Like the forest itself had decided to lean closer.
The tall savage marched forward, .
He crossed the line his companion had carved into the dirt.
Arun did not move.
Taru's voice came low, as though he was being careful.
"Arun."
The man stopped three paces away.
Close enough for Arun to see the details.
Scars layered over older scars. Not random , deliberate cuts. Ritual markings. Survival etched into flesh.
His eyes were not wild, instead it felt like they were assessing"
He leaned forward slightly and inhaled again.
Then his lip curled.
A word left his mouth.
"Bright."
The words were rough.
The others shifted.
Weapons angled subtly forward.
Taru's fingers tightened around the reins.
"It seems like they smell the mana," he said quietly. "Or they sense it."
The tall savage extended a hand.
Not toward Arun's face.
Toward his chest.
Arun did not step back.
White flame stirred beneath his skin in response.
The savage's hand stopped inches away.
The air between them shimmered faintly.
The savage's eyes narrowed.
Then he struck at the ground.
His club slammed into the earth, splintering soil, sending a shock through the dirt beneath Arun's feet.
Testing.
Arun staggered half a step but stayed upright.
Behind the tall one, another savage let out a low rumbling sound.
They weren't trying to ambush anymore.
They were measuring him.
Taru stepped forward just slightly.
"We don't want your land."
No reaction.
"We're turning back."
The tall savage's gaze never left Arun.
Slowly, he raised his weapon.
And pointed it at Arun's chest.
Then dragged it down to the ground.
And struck once more.
The message was clear.
Arun exhaled slowly.
"Don't," Taru murmured.
"They're not negotiating. They're challenging."
The savage stepped back one pace.
Opening space.
The others fanned out slightly.
A circle without closing it.
and Arun was bright.
He could feel it now.
The forest's dread hadn't been fear.
It had been anticipation.
The tall savage shifted his stance.
Weight low.
Weapon loose but ready.
Arun slowly lowered his hands.
"I don't want to fight you," he said calmly.
The savage didn't understand the words.
But he understood tone.
Arun took one step forward.
White flame surfaced.
A thin line of white light traced along his forearms.
The savages tensed instantly.
Weapons lifted.
The tall one did not retreat.
He grinned.
A flash of broken, yellow teeth.
He slammed his chest once with his fist.
Challenge accepted.
Taru exhaled slowly behind him.
"Make it quick," he said quietly. "If you kill him, the others might attack."
Arun nodded quickly and picked small pebbles from the ground.
The tall savage lunged first.
Fast.
Far faster than his size suggested.
The club came down in a brutal overhead arc.
Arun pivoted.
He condensed white flames into the pebbles
The impact cracked earth where he had stood.
Before the weapon could rise again, Arun stepped inside the swing.
Arun tossed the pebble just shy of the tall man while still in flight, a split-second later it erupted in a sharp, controlled burst.
The savage's body lifted half an inch off the ground as the force drove through him.
Small hot shards from the pebble tore into him, searing and piercing deep.
The savage staggered back three steps.
Coughed.
Smoke left his mouth.
The others roared.
Arun did not press the advantage instead he stood still.
The tall savage straightened slowly.
He looked down at his chest.
Where Arun's attack had struck.
The skin was burned.
The savage looked back at Arun.
Then, he laughed.
Low and deep.
He slammed his fist against his chest again.
Once.
Twice.
Then he stepped backward.
Crossing the boundary line again.
The others hesitated.
Then followed.
Weapons lowered.
But eyes never leaving Arun.
One of them moved toward the pit trap to pull out the carriage .
And with surprising efficiency, they pulled woven branches aside, revealing a narrow bypass path along the ridge.
An exit.
The tall savage pointed at it.
Then at Arun.
Then tapped his own chest.
Taru released a breath he had been holding for far too long.
"Slowly," he murmured.
Arun let the white flame sink fully beneath his skin.
The forest eased.
Just slightly.
They moved the carriage carefully along the bypass path.
But the savages watched until the trees thinned and light returned fully to the road.
Only then did they vanish back into the forest.
Silently.
As if they had never been there.
When they cleared the ridge and the treeline finally widened, Taru let out a sharp breath.
"Well," he said dryly, "that was educational."
Arun climbed back into the carriage.
His palm still tingled faintly.
"They weren't mindless, like the rumors say" he said quietly.
"No," Taru agreed. "They were suprisingly structured."
He glanced back once toward the forest.
"They test. "
Arun stared ahead.
"They could smell my mana."
"Yes."
Silence stretched for several seconds.
Then Taru added quietly,
"You held back."
Arun nodded once.
"If I'd used full force on him, we'd be dead."
Taru gave a small approving hum.
"Good. You saved our asses"
The carriage rolled onward.
Faster now.
Behind them, the forest swallowed its own tension.
Ahead, Steelhaven waited.