The large team of warriors walked carefully through the DragonGrave Forest. 

They were the top ranked mercenaries from the nearby town of Heritage. 

The Guildmaster Lothar was leading the mission, and just behind him was the Chief Guard Archon, both A Rankers. 

Lothar led the mercenaries while Archon brought along his crack team of guards from Heritage. 

Among Lothar's team was the now promoted B Ranker Nabil, who looked around cautiously. 

The priest Thomas was there too, now also ranked B class.

Their mission hasn't been good, as already 10 of the group had been killed or injured and were sent back to town. 

Something had disturbed the forest for the past few days, sending wave after wave of wild monsters from the forest at Heritage. 

On the way here, they had already faced huge teams of goblins, dire wolves, kobolds and orcs. 

They even faced a ogre along the way here, which caused quite alot of injuries and one death. 

"You don't think.... Skirvile has awoken... do you?" Nabil asked fearfully. 

"Skirvile is only a myth! However, something just as fearful must have awoken.

The animals are fleeing wildly for their lives, causing damage and death along the way unintentionally. 

The mercenaries and the guards noticed after the first wave that the animals weren't attacking, rather fleeing in absolute terror. 

The slimes were literally spattering themselves on the wall, and they couldn't stop the wall from being damaged. 

Suddenly, a large creature smashed through the forest.

"A...a hydra! Watch out!" Archon shouted.

"Pitch! Find some pitch! Don't cut off any heads or two will grow from there" Lothar instructed

The hydra spat acid, and it's breath was poisonous, killing and injuring a few of them within minutes.

However, the hydra didn't stand and fight, and after killing a few guards who was in it's way, it slithered away.

"Thank god it's leaving..." Thomas said, wiping his brow as he neutralized the poison around them and healed an injured guard

"No! Don't let it get away! It's heading to town!" Archon yelled

"We have to stop that?" Nabil asked, pointing at the melted trees along the path the hydra ran to.

Suddenly, someone went past them, hopping from treetop to treetop. 

The trees shuddered from his bodyweight and it jumped into the distance.

Multiple screams came from the direction of the hydra, snapping everyone out of their daze.

They chased after the object, wanting to see what happened when they suddenly stopped. 

A whole area was covered in green poisonous fog, and the trees all around there wilted instantly, turning into slime. 

By now the hydra was no longer screaming, and the threshing around had stopped. 

 It took a while as Thomas cast an area wide blessing to decontaminate the poison around the area when they saw the large hydra, dead.

It's heads were intact, as the textbook way to defeat a hydra is to chop off its heads while sealing the wound with pitch.

But instead, a large hole could be seem it it's ribs as chewing sounds could be heard

"What the hell is going on?" Archon asked

Just then, they heard a burp as a humanoid covered in hydra blood climbed out of the dead carcass.

The hydra's ribs snapped and he fell back into the body.

Suddenly, they heard a loud crack, and a foot poked through the lower side of the hydra's abdomen.

The human shaped thing ripped his way out of the hydra's carcass, carrying a blood covered spear.

He was covered head to toe in the awful smelling blood and only his eyes could be seen.

He looked at the people around him.

"How the... isn't it's blood poisonous too?" Nabil asked

The blood covered man took his hand and wiped the blood off his face and looked at them again.

"I know you" Nabil said "you're Boner!" he exclaimed, pronouncing his name wrongly as he always did.

"That's Boner?" Lothar gasped. It had been two years since that incident in Heritage and the young boy was nowhere to be found.

"I... I'm Boner?" Bonar asked... his memories were hazy and he couldn't even remember his name

At the same time, Nabil bent over to see the blood Bonar had flicked off his face.

He gingerly touched it when he suddenly screamed in pain.

"Aaaaaah.. help me!" he yelled as his fingers turned purple, then black in an instant as it rotted away before his very eyes

Thomas rushed over and immediate cast a spell to remove the poison

Everyone looked at Bonar in shock and moved further away just in case he moved and blood splattered on him.

"Yes.. yes... you are Boner right? Ariana talked so much about you..." Lothar said

"A..riana? She's a female right?" Bonar asked

"You... you don't remember anything, do you?" Lothar asked

"Only glimpses here and there..I remember images, but not names of... people" Bonar said

"Have you been in the jungle all this time?" Archon interrupted

"I think so. I woke up a few days ago, but I have gotten lost and don't know which way to go" Bonar answered

"A few days... did you see anything strange? Did... Skirvile wake up?" Archon asked

"What is a Skirvile?" he replied

"He's the legendary black void dragon, who is rumored to be sleeping here. Did he wake up?" Archon asked impatiently

Bonar looked at the blood covered cloth he was wearing and shook his head

"No... He didn't wake up" he answered

"Damn.. they we should keep going." Lothar said before looking at Bonar

"If you head that way for 4 miles, you will see a fireleaf oak. Turn right and head downhill. You will see a lake. Walk to the left of the lake, you will see a path. 

Follow the path to the right, you will reach the town of Heritage in three hours. If you turn to the left will lead to the city of Hallmark. But that is a 5 day journey.

I know your home was destroyed by the necromancer. But you can rebuild your life in Heritage" Lothar said

"Is Aria..Ariana at Heritage?" Bonar asked

"No... she looked for you for half a year, you know. She went to the city of Desivir to take the test for her S Class promotion" Lothar said

"Ok then. Thanks" Bonar said as he walked nearby.

"Hey... it's the other way" Lothar yelled

"I know" Bonar walked back towards the direction Lothar pointed to, but this time, he was carrying a gigantic sack on his shoulders which jungled every step he took.

"Bye" he said as he walked out of their sight in a carefree manner.

--

As the team entered deeper into the forest, they were pleasantly surprised that they didn't meet any dangerous creatures.

In fact, they didn't meet any creatures at all.

Instead, what they saw was even more terrifying. 

Carcasses everywhere of extremely dangerous creatures that they would struggle to stay alive if they fought. 

There was a cockatrice, a manticore, a hippogriff and even a basilisk!

And all of them were dead with their hearts ripped out and eaten!

And perhaps, their blood was drained as well, because for such large creatures, there was less blood than there should be all around the creature and on the ground. 

"Hey.. you don't suppose.." Nabil said

"Suppose what?" Lothar asked, trying his best to keep calm

"No.. it's a ridiculous thought" Nabil muttered. He himself was trying to control his shivering. 

"Are those footprints?" their ranger asked, pointing at a footprint near the hole in the basilisk's chest. 

---