Scene 12: Sanguine Moon
The Lumberjacks traveled all through the next day, following the trail that the Dwarves had suggested. The old trail lead westward past several settlements which had been reduced to nothing but stone or concrete foundations and overtaken by weeds generations earlier. By midday, they picked up a trail in the form of horse hoofs with robotic consistency. The trail and the marks of the robot horses lead them westward farther. By the afternoon, exhaustion on the part of the mules forced them to make camp early in the light woods. That night passed uneventfully.
The next day they rode harder and pushed their animals in order to gain ground until sundown. Thankfully, a full moon provided plenty of light for a night watch in hostile territory. The reddish glow of the low moon seemed mildly ominous though. They camped in a small clearing with a running stream to their northern side.
Shortly before midnight, Nyx awoke with a start. His sixth sense was tingling to the points of his ears. A large cat, a jaguar, approached the camp from upwind. Who else is awake and on watch?