The sun already hung high in the sky when the two adventurers reached the border of the Undyn forest. The dirt road they had followed since leaving the village continued as a small path that led into the wild-looking forest.

They halted at the edge. 

Above them, the wind rustled the leaves of the trees and birds chirped and sung from their perches. They took a moment to watch the light and shadow dance across the path in front of them. The forest's smell was fresh and calming. It made Eve feel at peace.

They had studied the map carefully back at the lodging in the village. Eve had hoped that there was a swift way to get to the dungeon. The Ranger usually preferred things to be quick, easy and clean.

They had ascertained that they'll be able to follow the forest path for two miles before having to go off-trail. They made their way into the forest. Shuffling noises came from all around them. Pheasants and bunnies perhaps as above them birds flitted from tree to tree.

They walked for about an hour at a leisure pass. Talking about whatever came to his mind and Eve had to dismiss the urge to hum happily.

She grew up in a woody area where her mother taught her to hunt while her father, a carpenter, had taken care of tutoring her in things like fishing, reading, and writing. She felt at peace surrounded by the familiarity. A fine contrast with Sharai who was in his element when in new and unknown surroundings.

They reached the point where they had to go off the path. The path snaked its way through the trees further north, while they had to head west, off the path.

"Alright, Miss. Let's take a left here," Sharai said as he send a smile at Eve. "I'll walk up front just in case."

True to his word, the Tiefling Barbarian stepped off the path and started leading the way.

"Sharai, you know you can just call me Eve," Eve said with a sigh as she followed him. His bulking mass-created an easier path for her through the thick foliage. "Honestly, I do not understand why you insist on still calling me 'Miss'. We've known each other for such a long time already."

Sharai glanced back over his shoulder and cheekily blew her an air kiss, combined with a saucy wink that had no business being on a large Barbarian's face. 

"It's 'cause you are fun to tease, love."

The Ranger shook her head, bemused as always with the playful character of her Barbarian companion. In turn, Sharai let out a carefree sounding laugh. A smile lingered on his face as they continued on. At one point he even started whistling, making it seem like they were simply doing a hike with as goal a nice lunch by the river, instead of a dungeon with possible danger and hopefully treasure.

The deeper they went the thicker the canopy grew. It got noticeably darker. A hare scampered away from up ahead, its body flitting fast like an arrow through the greenery. Eve's hand was on the pommel of her pistol before she realized she had moved.

'Sharp‽' Sharai stated more than asked. With a shrug, she let go of her pistol and let his soft laugh wash over her. The tension in her body had come and gone as quickly as it had appeared.

The sunlight was no longer able to filter through the thick canopy, making it almost feel like twilight, rather than the afternoon. The ever-present noises of wildlife scurrying around were now slowly fading away, leaving only the wind rustling through the trees.

For about a mile they went on while talking about whatever came to mind and occasionally stopping to check on the map if they were still heading in the right direction. Sharai took great delight in pointing out oddly shaped mushrooms, while Eve mentally dated her surroundings.

The Ranger glanced up a tree trunk. This area had been left alone by civilization for probably centuries. The trees had been given the time to rise up high without woodcutters tearing them down, turning them into giants.

There came a few stray screeches from a jay a small distance away, but then that puttered out too. It had become incredible silent now without even the sounds of birds. The mossy carpet of the floor dampened their steps, while branches that had been rotting away broke loudly underneath the soles of their boots.

"It doesn't feel right," Eve said. A bramble bush caught hold of her pants and she had to stop to untangle the fabric lest it tore. "It is too quiet. Be alert."

When she had unstuck it, her eyes fell on a large straightish branch near her feet. Without thinking too deeply about it she picked it up and tested if it could hold her weight and be used as a walking cane.

It was indeed sturdy enough and could even be used as a weapon if needed. As a Ranger, she only possessed weapons for long-distance attacks. When it came to close encounters, she often had to depend on her speed and agility in order to create some distance between her and her intended target.

"No worries Miss, I got your back if you got mine," Sharai said. Heading her words, Sharai reached to his back to retrieve his two-handed broad axe. He held it almost lovingly in his hands and Eve bit her lip in order to keep herself from making a remark about it. 

It didn't take long for them to reach a small stream snaking its way through the forest. Thanks to the stream clearing up the canopy above, they were finally able to see the outline of the mountain Undyn, towering like a spire over the surrounding forest.

"Finally," Sharai said happily. The Barbarian looked forward to the possible dangers they could face, while the Ranger had her mind on the treasure.

According to the rumors, the entrance to the dungeon was on the Eastern side of the mountain, which is why they changed direction after crossing the stream. It was soon after that they saw wildlife again after having diverted from the path earlier in the day.

A throws worp away from them laid a large, grey wolf on the forest floor. It was sprawled out in quite a peculiar manner with its limbs wide apart. It also didn't move nor did it appear to be breathing.

"Dead?" Eve said in a whisper to Sharai. The Barbarian shrugged and impulsive as ever he picked up a small stone and threw it at the wolf. He didn't aim properly at it, not having cared to actually hit it, and the stone flew wide.

It landed in the bushes near the wolf and to their surprise, they saw it get up. A faint growling reached them as it stared at the bushes where the stone had fallen and then they saw its side. There was a large, gaping wound in its body where a big chunk of fur and muscle was missing, leaving its ribs open to the air. Yet there was no blood to be seen.

A creature with this kind of injury should not be alive, let alone be able to move.

The wolf realized there was nothing in the bushes and now glanced warily around. Its eyes had an unnatural red glow to it. If the beast was alive by supernatural means, then her bullets would probably not have much effect. 

"Try to sneak around it?" Eve asked, despite knowing that her companion would probably be against that on principle.

"Miss, that creature shouldn't be alive and should not be able to stand on its feet," Sharai said. The previous playful smile on his face seemingly slid off, leaving him looking way too serious. "And we should not let it stand on its feet either. The dead should remain dead!"

He tightened his grip on the axe and the Ranger simply stepped aside and motioned for him to do as he pleased. A little surprised to be let off the leash so easily, Sharai remained motionless for only a moment but then bared his sharp teeth in a smirk. 

"I'll slice it in half!" he promised as he raised his axe and charged. The Ranger looked on with a small smile on her lips, glad to be out of range of the most likely massive blood splattering that was about to occur.

The creature turned towards them when it heard Sharai. It bit at the red-skinned Tiefling, who was able to avoid the bite and with a big swing, he planted his axe into the side of the wolf. The blade shattered and cleaved off some ribs that already had been showing through the open wound.

This blow, that would normally be fatal and crippling, was not enough to stop the wolf and it again went in for a bite. It snarling lunged at Sharai, trying to get its jaws to close around the Barbarian's arm, but came short of reaching the arm as it faltered in its steps.

No longer able to feel pain in its undead state, the blow from Sharai's heavy axe had done enough damage to weaken its skeletal frame. It couldn't move its hurt body the way it wanted to. Yet it remained to wobble weakly on its legs, still attempting to look dangerous with its eerie glowing red eyes focussed on Sharai and its teeth bared in a rumbling growl.

"What the-?" Sharai said as he stared incredulously at the creature that didn't know when to give up. The Ranger felt for the creature though. In the past, she had to deal with creatures who had been badly hurt and would surely have an agonizingly slow death.

And Sharai had been right earlier. It would be inhuman to let this creature remain in its half-living, half-dead state. She would give it a mercy killing. 

Eve got closer and gently nudged Sharai aside. She immediately obtained the wolf's attention as she took out Swift from her holster. She aimed it in the middle of its forehead, cocked her flintlock pistol and fired.

There was a short burst of white smoke as the bullet left the pistol and shot with deadly accuracy through the wolf's head. It swayed on its legs for a moment or two before the red glow finally faded from its eyes. Its body collapsed on the ground like a puppet whose strings had been cut.

"Well, that's new." 

Sharai stared with disappointment at the axe in his hands. The blade was still relatively clean, but he still had to pluck off some grey hairs and piece of bone. Clearly, he'd thought he could've and should've finished the creature off with only one blow. 

Not to mention the fact that the Tiefling had a not so secret love for the sight of blood, especially if he'd caused it, and this creature had been severely lacking in that department.

"That was a sturdy fucker," he added as he lifted his leg to kicked at the lifeless body of the wolf.

"Don't be disrespectful," Eve admonished him and he turned to smile disarmingly at her.

"I'm just making sure it's really dead! So, let's continue? There might be more around. I've got an uneasy feeling about this though..."

"Guess it's indeed better to keep on moving. And maybe next time try to cleave off its head?" the Ranger suggested. She took out the map to mark the location where they encountered the wolf and reloaded Swift, making sure it was ready for use.

"Okay, let's go."