Their afternoon hunt following the market hadn’t gone exceptionally well. They were still using the bear traps but trying to get a creature to walk into one took a lot more luck than the previous pit trap strategy, and Ben was still trying to figure out the best way to make different animals fall for them. The problem with using bait was that if he put it on the trap they might get suspicious and walk away, or just grab it without putting enough pressure on it to set it off. Just putting it nearby was no good either because any monster was more likely to walk around it than over it, but he was confident that after a few more hunts he would figure something out.

For the time being though they took a little walk along the river, trying to figure out where might make a good hunting grounds in the future. At least that's what they both pretended they were doing.

Thera had spent most of their time in the woods debating whether or not she should try lowering some of her emotional walls and let Ben know more about her and why she didn’t generally try getting close to people. If he knew and could still accept her then maybe they really could be friends, gods know it had been a long time since she’d had one.

Ben for his part knew there was something on her mind at the moment, she had been distracted for most of their hunt and figured it would be good to let her sort out whatever she had been thinking on. He was more than happy to use the time to carve a few new statues while they walked. He was already pretty familiar with the area and had a good idea of where some of the smaller creatures could be found if one looked hard enough, but it never hurt to try and find some more. With how wild and unstable the world's ecosystem was there was always the chance of some new monster immigrating to the area, and as long as it wasn’t so dangerous as to kill any poor person to come across it then there was a small reward for reporting it, but in his case he was more interested in the materials he could get by hunting it. He hadn’t been able to use anything really rare yet and even though Falk kept some interesting stuff at the shop he could use, Ben was pretty sure he kept a supply of some really exotic materials somewhere that he wouldn’t be tempted to put towards a staff that wouldn’t last more than a day.

He was happy to pass the time musing about what he would make when he got a little more money. His crafting skill was still low but he had a lot of future plans growing in his head as his skills increased.

He fantasized about a small and unrealistic list of things he wanted to see if he could make if he could get past his magic limitation, an actual moving picture, a golem, maybe figure out some modern weaponry for self defence, a hot air balloon, and so on, when Myriad interrupted his thoughts in a panic.

<Ben take Thera and run to the woods! You need to meet up with another group of adventurers NOW! I’ll direct you on where to go.>

He didn’t waste any time. “Thera my god just contacted me and said we need to run, follow me!” He didn’t know what was going on but he wasn’t going to doubt the urgency in Myriad’s voice. He thought she would say something but he started running and she immediately took off after him. A message from a god wasn’t something you just ignored.

What’s going on Myriad? He thought in a panic.

<I was looking around the area and you're definitely being followed by a tamer with an alseer. I’ve been watching for a while now to be sure but they’re definitely following you. This guy has been hunting nearby for the last few days but I thought it was a coincidence. Unfortunately it looks like he’s decided to close in now and I’d rather not see you get torn to shreds.>

Wait, do you always watch me? How much privacy do I actually have?

<BEN I AM TRYING TO SAVE YOUR LIFE!> Myriad screamed in his brain before regaining some control of himself. <I just check in on you while you hunt since it’s when you're most likely to get yourself killed. Otherwise I don’t watch you too much. Even without other believers I still have other things to do. Now turn right at 45 degrees and keep running. Our best bet is to get you to a group of nearby adventurers to help or hopefully scare them off.>

Will that work?

<Who can say, better than letting them catch up with you though.>

Wait, are they even after me? Thera’s here too.

<What difference does that make?>

Well if they’re after me we could separate and Thera could try to run for help.

<Huuh, I honestly can’t say. You two had been together any time I noticed them nearby and I never investigated because I don’t just check in on anyone who happens to be around you a bit too often. Besides if need be I’d like you to have someone else there if it comes to a fight. Especially since they're catching up.>

Fuck, how close are we to the nearest party?

<Maybe about fifteen minutes… but this guy is only about ten minutes from you. Okay go about ten degrees right again, there's a particularly dense section of woods over there. Alseers depend almost entirely on sight as their name would imply. I’m pretty sure it's tracking you through the footprints you're leaving right now so by the time they get to you you might be able to hide… Maybe.>

You don’t sound too confident.

<I’m not.>

Ben desperately wished they had one of his bear traps on him. They always left them hidden under one of the trees near where they hunted because it was a pain to bring them out every time but he would feel so much safer if he could place it. Of course, he also wouldn’t be able to run with it and a creature that was so sight-focused would probably be able to avoid it, but he was running for his life he didn’t need to be rational. As he desperately tried to figure out what to do he made a decision.

Gasping for breath as he said it he looked at Thera running beside him. “Thera send a quick prayer up to Myriad please.”

She heard the urgency in his voice and did as she was told but once done immediately asked him why.

<Ben I’m touched you would try to get me another believer before you pass, but I’m almost certain that if you die she will too, maybe if you survive you could put a little more effort into it.>

That's not what I’m doing.

Giving an explanation to Thera and assuming Myriad would hear what he was thinking as well he explained. “A god needs to be acknowledged to be allowed to talk in your head. If anything happens to me Myriad will guide you to help. For now Myriad could you fill her in on what’s going on?”

<...Alright fine.> His god seemed to have hesitated for a moment before giving in, but Ben didn’t have time to ponder why.

From the way she almost missed a step he assumed that she heard it too. This was probably her first time talking to a god, given that from what he knew they usually weren’t as chatty as Myriad tended to be, but he explained what was happening and let Ben listen as he repeated the explanation for her sake.

When he got to the bit about it being a tamer after them Thera muttered between breaths. “Oh gods it’s him.”

Ben couldn’t let the remark pass. “You know who this is? Is this guy after you?”

A quick nod of confirmation before she added. “Though he’s probably going to try to kill you too.”

<And here I was so close to getting another believer, now I’m going to lose both.>

Not the time Myriad. It didn’t seem like he had bothered to share his complaint with Thera as well given her lack of reaction.

<You’re not going to have time to make it to the other adventurers. Things will be getting denser from here, try and find a place to hide.>