At first, Viri thought it was just her. Wasn't it only natural that wandering out into some strange wilderness would invoke a feeling of dread?

As the minutes passed, however, she found herself questioning that assumption. Dread was one thing, but right now the air around her felt heavy, the quiet oppressive, the tiny movements of grass and leaves in the wind somehow frightening rather than soothing. No, this wasn't just nerves. It had to be a phenomenon of some kind, another quirk of this world. And as for its nature... [i]Obviously, it's a warning.[/i] Deneb's own speculations merely confirmed her thoughts on the matter.

"We don't necessarily have to fight them," she said, clutching her staff close to her body as if it could somehow protect her. "Our mission was to find and assess threats, not try to overcome them on our own. Perhaps the best thing to do would be to find the boss, and then message its location back to the people in town, maybe track its movements for a while. That way, if it does roam near enough to do harm, they can prepare for it."

Of course, that was easier said than done. Getting close enough to a boss to pinpoint its location would risk drawing its ire, and then they'd have little choice but to kill it or escape. [i]Or be messily devoured, I suppose...[/i]

[@PKMNB0Y]