Sorcerer… Cyborg???

Kothar had grown used to travelling across the dull, gray landscape of the borderlands, and as he entered amongst the sparse trees that fringed the forest, he slowed down from the breakneck pace that he had been travelling at for days on end.

The trunks of the trees surroundings Kothar rose straight up toward the sky, and their trunks were gnarled and worn with age, while their canopies were filled with thousands upon thousands of dark green, almond shaped leaves that completely blotted out the light from the weak afternoon sun that was filtering through the clouds.

Kothar felt as though by walking into the first, he had somehow also walked into the night. Thick gnarled roots crisscrossed in the empty spaces between the trees, and Kothar could see the well trodden paths, filled with hoof prints and a myriad of other tracks, of the beasts that lived in the forest.

The Man-Eating Deer weren't the only creatures that lived in the forest, but they were the apex predators of the forest. Of course, there had to be other creatures living in the forest, since unlike their name, the deer didn't only eat humans, rather they were named such because they could, and they had eaten humans.

While Kothar felt fairly confident that he could take on the deer, he didn't want to needlessly tangle with them, especially since they had such a ferocious name. Instead, he carefully navigated through the forest, steering clear of the strong mana signatures that indicated the presence of a Man-Eating Deer.

Before long, Kothar could hear the faint voices of the gathered men, all of them murmuring quietly to one another, discussing their most recent missions throughout the vassal states. 

It was a simple encampment, in a small clearing in the forest, with a small bonfire burning in the center, a pot of unidentifiable liquid burning over the fire. There were no tents, only rough lean-tos that had been constructed out of blankets and cloaks, more for privacy than shelter, since even the slightest hint of wind didn't penetrate the forest.

"Look who finally shows his face, I thought you'd be one of the first here." Docara called out as Kothar padded into the clearing. 

"Ran into a little bit of trouble." Kothar laughed back, as all the men turned to see who had arrived, a lull falling over the rough encampment. All the men had high expectations of the man known as Rufus, especially after his fight with the Wind Mage.

[That's got to be one of the biggest understatements I've ever heard.] Silane chuckled.

"A little bit of trouble, huh? If that's what you call the target you were allocated, I'd be shocked to see what you call actual trouble." Docara said with a hint of surprise in his voice. Out of all the Nighthawks, being the leader, Docara had the most knowledge of the members missions and the strength of their targets, and had expected Rufus to take some amount of time to return. 

"Alright, I'll be honest. I probably had a quarter of the entire Nevisse Army looking for me for the past couple of days. I only got them off my tail a day ago, they're a persistent bunch. With good reason, though, I took out one of their Colonels in plain sight of all of his men." Kothar decided to be upfront about his mission, from the conversations he had heard when entering the camp, it seemed that the men who remained didn't worry too much about keeping their missions confidential after the fact, freely talking about who they had eliminated and how they had gone about it.

[I just said it was an understatement, I didn't say you should brag openly about what you did.] Silane said with a hint of disapproval, as the gathered Nighthawks erupted into rough cheers and a few of the men even walked over to pat Kothar on the back.

"The Nevisse, huh? They're a hardy bunch, a completely military nation. You took out one of their colonels? That's some impressive work, maybe I ought to give up my position as captain to you?" Docara whistled in appreciation, and his tone held clear admiration.

"Thanks, Docara. I'd rather not tangle with you over who gets to be captain. You can keep being captain." Kothar joked, but he remembered the way that Docara had fought the Wind Mage on the Multas Islands, and knew that even he would have trouble keeping up with Docara.

Kothar looked around the clearing, even with their masks, elements and devices covering their faces, it was clear how much of a toll the missions amongst the Empire's vassal states had taken on the gathered Nighthawks. 

One of Pony's bulky arms was tightly bandaged, a dark red stain clearly on the white bandage. Lucio, as big as he was, had one of his arms in a sling, but he still waved excitedly at Kothar with the uninjured arm as Kothar looked in his direction.

"I'm glad you finally showed up, I thought we might have to make the journey to the capital without those sharp eyes of yours. If everything is going to plan, there's a pair of some of the most powerful men on the continent heading north, and I sure as **** don't want to be running into them." Docara had walked over to Kothar, and led him over to the fire as he talked, handing Kothar a bowl of pale green liquid, with many odd tubers and plants floating inside.

"Don't worry about what it looks like. Lucio foraged most of what's in there, and he's as good a cook as he is a carver, just give it a taste." Docara noticed Kothar's hesitation in taking the bowl, and reassured him.

Kothar took the bowl and walked over to a clearing that Docara had pointed out to him, finally sitting down after what felt like endless days of fighting and running, and for the first time in a while, felt like he could truly relax.

"Rest up while you can, Rufus. We're only here for another day, and then we leave for the Empire." Docara chuckled as Kothar let out a sigh of relief, and then walked off to his own little section of the encampment, grabbing a bowl of stew for himself.