Lyncis moved along the river at a quick gait, much faster than her Renitent subordinates could achieve while observing their surroundings carefully. Naturally, she was not just strolling along, but looking for signs of struggle, ambush, something to indicate why a team of her mercenaries would go missing without raising some sort of alarm. However, there was nothing. No tracks, no broken branches, not a leaf out of place. Therefore, they must have stayed along the river.
Even as the sun fell hours later, Lyncis kept going, relying on the intermittent moonlight and her senses other than sight. It might seem foolhardy, but Lyncis had never had problems with traveling at night before. Besides, she knew that time was of the essence. No way her mercenaries got taken out without a fight, and a fight would leave clues. After stopping a bit at dawn to rest up and chew some salted meat, she again took off along the river.
As it passed midday, Lyncis noted a strangeness to the woods around her. It was quiet; too quiet. No birds, no rustles of small game moving through the brush. No crack of twigs as the occasional predator moved towards the water source. And a faint scent of something in the air. Something tangy, metallic. Almost like bl-
Finally, a sound. However, not a welcome one. The sound of something barreling through the woods headlong, without any of the caution of prey or the stealth of a predator. And by the directions of the noises, it was more than one. Lyncis picked up her speed and moved with purpose. If her team had met these things, there's no telling what might have happened. As the sun began to drop towards the mountain ridge, shadows stretched across the ground. While Lyncis had widened her distance from her pursuers, she still had the feeling they were back there somewhere, traveling in the same direction as her, even though from the start of this chase she had not caught sight of them.
To Lyncis' surprise, as the river widened and slowed, she began to come across signs of habitation. Finally, she burst through the trees into a clearing and came across a small village of ramshackle hovels. They did not appear to have been inhabited long, and seemed rather flimsy.
Refugees, probably. That would explain why no one knew anyone was living in Wentos Valley. But...refugees would never call attention to themselves by putting in a request with the guild. And there's no indication of scorpiods in the valley. Which means someone wanted these refugees found. Why?
Lyncis trotted towards the dilapidated shacks, wanting to make a quick survey before whatever was tracking her came close. However, what she saw next made her blood run cold.