Volks, Fred, and Kei were explorers from one of the Wandering Villages.
In this forest, no village ever stood in the same place for long. The people who lived here weren't settlers, they are tribes. They moved constantly, building temporary villages deep within the forest and abandoning them the moment an enemy grew too close. Survival depended on mobility.
Because of that, they called themselves the Wandering Villages.
It had been two days since the three of them left their current settlement. Their task was clear: find new sources of food, scout unfamiliar regions, and gather information to bring back to the village.
Unlike ordinary hunters or gatherers, explorers had a different responsibility. They didn't simply collect meat or herbs. They observed patterns—changes in monster behavior, shifts in ecosystems, signs of danger or opportunity. Their reports determined where the village would move next and how long it could safely remain.
And this time, something felt off.
