Sid POV

  “We could get down and cross. It’s not that deep.” Varun leaned forward to peer into the ravine.

  The gully stretched below them in a long, uneven cut, its shape worn smooth by a stream that no longer flowed. Pebbles and compacted earth lined the bottom, pale where water had once passed. The sides sloped inward at awkward angles, shallow enough to climb but steep enough to slow anyone in a hurry.

  The ravine itself was shallow, barely deeper than a man standing chest-high, but Sid’s attention stayed on the team rather than the terrain.

  They had been following the ravine’s edge for a while now. Long enough for fatigue to creep in. Long enough for small decisions to matter.

  “I know we can, Varun.” Sid slowed to a stop and turned back to face the group. “But I’m also looking for a place to camp for the night. It’s getting late.”

  He scanned the ravine again, memory aligning the terrain with an older map in his head. There was a spot ahead, close to where the streambed split upstream. He had rested there once, years ago, during a prolonged engagement. Back then, the forest had been louder—gunpowder and steel, the constant skitter of spiders moving through the canopy. They fought off reinforcements while the assault team engaged the Silkenfang Matriarch.

  “A cave would be better, right?” Rohan’s words came out slower than usual, each breath measured, as though he was consciously trying to mask his fatigue. Both Rohan and Varun lagged the others in endurance, though Varun never bothered pretending otherwise.

  “Yeah, it’s easy to get trapped in a ditch.” Pallavi gestured toward the ravine. It was not deeper than the shallow end of an adult swimming pool, but the sloping sides narrowed unevenly in places.

  “It’s not ideal,” Sid said, letting his spear rest against his shoulder, “but it’s workable if we don’t find a cave soon. And caves have their own problems.”

  As far as Sid remembered, there was only one cave nearby. A collapsed burrow reinforced with brittle silk, half-hidden beneath roots and loose stone. It was not a refuge. It was an access point. A hidden passage that led straight into the Matriarch’s lair.

  Elite spiders guarded the area, each carrying five uncommon skills. They were nothing like the ones the team had faced so far. Any attempt to get close would trigger an alarm, and the Matriarch would respond by flooding the forest with spiderling.

  “It’s fine, Pallavi.” Varun hopped down into the ravine and climbed back up with smooth, practiced movements. His ‘Wall Walk’ skill carried him up the slope as if gravity barely applied. “I can get back up fast if something happens.”

  He took a deep breath and repeated the motion, dropping and scaling the wall again. “Try it,” Varun said, panting between words, catching Pallavi’s eye. “It’s easy.”

  “Save your energy.” Sid extended his spear horizontally, the shaft resting across Varun’s chest to stop him from stepping forward. “We might try evolving your skill tonight. If there’s enough light after we set camp.”

  The reaction was instantaneous. Varun straightened, fatigue forgotten. His grin sharpened, excitement bright in his eyes.

  Sid noticed it immediately. Varun could barely contain his excitement at the thought of pushing Dash to the next level. It surprised Sid how readily Varun listened whenever skills were involved.

  Under different circumstances, Sid could have guided him toward a near-perfect evolution. But that kind of foresight would invite questions. He was not ready for these questions.

  Sid thought he was already pushing his luck with Varun when he suggested holding off on evolving the skill until Varun gained a third one. The advice had felt risky even as he spoke it.

  Apparently, he had underestimated Varun’s courage and will. Varun did not hesitate when power was involved. He chased it without flinching. Fear barely factored into his decisions. No wonder his last life had ended the way it did, accomplished and bloodied in equal measure.

  Sid caught Rohan watching him. He tilted his head slightly to the left, keeping the gesture small.

  “Shall we go ahead?”

  Rohan nodded without hesitation and tapped his spear once against the ground, a quiet signal of agreement.

  The group resumed their trek in a diagonal formation, something that had become second nature to them whenever they moved through hostile territory. Each person kept a careful distance from the others, close enough to react but far enough not to hinder movement.

  Rohan and Pallavi’s unease about the ravine was justified. A shallow cut in the earth might not look dangerous at first glance, but it offered limited options once committed. Uneven footing, sloping walls, and blind bends made it easy to get cornered if something attacked from above.

  However, Sid couldn’t reveal the factors working in their favor.

  They were close to the heart of the Silkenfang Matriarch’s territory. The scarcity of spiders along their path suggested a larger movement elsewhere. The goblin army was likely advancing from the far side, drawing attention away.

  Silkenfang spiders were territorial creatures. When forced to choose, they defended their core rather than run away. That same territorial instinct kept other monsters away. Few creatures were foolish enough to wander into the land claimed by the Matriarch.

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  With both the goblins and the spiders focused elsewhere, and with other monsters avoiding the area entirely because of spider dominance, camping near the ravine would not draw attention. At least not tonight.

  They did not have to walk long before Sid spotted the place he had in mind.

  He slowed and turned, his brows relaxing. A faint smile touched his face. “Looks like we’ve found our camp for the night.”

  “Here?” Pallavi asked, drawing in a shallow breath. One eyebrow lifted as she looked around.

  “Yeah,” Sid said, pointing toward a pair of thick roots that stretched across the ravine like narrow bridges. “We can stretch the net across those roots, camouflage it, and sleep underneath.”

  Pallavi stared at the roots, eyes moving between them as if measuring the gap and the height in her head.

  Sid scanned the surrounding area, marking possible lookout points and lines of approach. He was midway through it when Rohan tapped his shoulder.

  “Do you hear that?” Rohan’s posture had stiffened, jaw tight.

  Sid turned toward him and listened. He did not need to strain to pick it up. Somewhere nearby, there was the faint, steady sound of water moving over stone, soft and continuous, like a shallow stream hidden beneath the forest floor.

  “Let’s check it out.” Sid adjusted his grip on the spear and lowered his center of gravity slightly as he stepped forward.

  “What?” Varun asked, looking up from where he was crouched, hands testing the strength of the roots that would support their temporary shelter.

  “Come with us.” Pallavi slung the backpack she had set down back onto her shoulders and followed behind Sid and Rohan.

  About fifty feet from the proposed camp, they reached the fork in the ravine.

  Sid slowed to a stop. His breath hitched as his eyes widened slightly at the sight ahead. A narrow stream flowed downhill through the right-hand branch, water slipping over stone in a steady, quiet run.

  He had been here before with the army. Back then, both ravines had been dry, their beds cracked and empty. The presence of water now did not sit easily with him.

  “That solves our water problem,” Pallavi said. Her shoulders eased, and a small smile tugged at the corner of her mouth as she stepped closer to the water.

  “Yeah.” Varun dropped into the ravine with the stream. This branch was deeper than the other side of the fork, its slopes steeper and more uneven. Varun moved with care, but there was confidence in every step. He adjusted his balance instinctively, letting his momentum work with the uneven ground rather than against it.

  He crouched and held the mouth of his bottle just below the surface, letting the clear water rush in. When it was full, Varun straightened and took a long gulp before holding the open bottle out toward the others.

  “Anyone?”

  “Following the ravine was the right choice,” Rohan said. His jaw had loosened, and a gentle smile rested on his face. “Thanks, Sid.”

  Sid acknowledged it with a nod.

  After three days on the move, their water supply had been running low. They had gathered small amounts from morning dew caught in the broad, bowl-shaped Amanthora leaves, but it had never been enough for four people. Missing the collection that morning because of the goblin army had left Sid counting sips.

  He had planned to bring it up later. He would have asked them to spend the next morning gathering dew again, slowing them down.

  If he had known about the stream, he could have steered them here deliberately. He could have strengthened their faith in his judgment even further.

  Sid scanned the area slowly, eyes moving along the ravine walls and the treeline beyond. This discovery was welcome, but he had never liked surprises—at least not after the Crossing.

  “Let’s refill everything first,” Pallavi said. She stepped beside Sid and extended her hand, palm up, asking for the bottles. “We don’t know when we’ll be attacked next.”

  Sid let out a short, quiet laugh and handed his bottle over. Pallavi passed it to Varun, and the bottles moved between them one by one, filled and capped before they turned back toward camp.

  “Could you guys set it up this time?” Varun said as they walked. He broke formation and slung an arm over Rohan’s shoulder and another over Pallavi’s.

  “I set it up the last time with you,” Pallavi said, the corner of her mouth lifting as she tilted her head slightly. “I need a break too. Let Rohan and Sid do it this time.”

  “I’m not taking a break.” Varun’s voice rose an octave, as if the very concept did not register. “I’m working on evolving my skill to Uncommon rank. I need Sid’s help with that.”

  “Fine.” Pallavi reached up, slipped Varun’s arm off her shoulder, and stepped free. “Next time, you’re setting up camp.”

  Varun laughed out loud. “Deal.”

  They reached the proposed campsite moments later. Bags hit the dirt with uneven thumps. Sid rolled his shoulders once, then again, feeling the stiffness settle in now that they had stopped moving.

  “So how do you want to start?” Sid asked. He tilted his head to the right, pressing his palm against his ear until a joint cracked, then repeated the motion on the other side.

  “I want to see if I can use my movement skills together,” Varun said. His voice tightened toward the end, uncertain, like a student waiting for approval. “I’ll climb a tree using them. I couldn’t catch that spider rider before; maybe this time it’ll work. What do you think?”

  “None of us has tried that before,” Sid said. It was a lie, but a necessary one. He kept his tone neutral as he guided Varun toward the path that would benefit them most. “We could learn something from it. Which skill are you thinking of using first?”

  Rohan had drifted closer without realizing it. Even Pallavi paused her scanning, attention fixed on the exchange.

  “Dash is my highest-level skill,” Varun said. His eyes stayed on Sid’s face, searching for a tell. “I know it best. So I was thinking of starting with that.”

  Sid’s gaze slipped past Varun’s shoulder for a moment before returning. “Dash makes you the fastest,” he said. He waited for Varun to nod. “There’s a high chance of you running straight into a tree and hurting yourself.”

  He glanced toward Rohan, then Pallavi, then the pack resting near her feet. “Try this instead. Start with Wall Walk, then Quickstep, and finish with Dash. Lowest level to highest. Slowest to fastest.”

  “What if he falls down?” Rohan stepped closer, joining the conversation before Varun could respond.

  “That’s where we come in,” Sid said, pointing toward Pallavi’s backpack. “We use the net. Hold it at the base of the tree to catch him.”

  Rohan turned to Varun and tapped his shoulder. “Do you really want to do this? You could just use the skill crystal.”

  Varun grinned. “Where’s the fun in that? I’ve got a good feeling about this.”

  Merry Christmas folks!

  Next Chapter on Monday: 29 Dec 2025

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