They moved too fluidly for ordinary smugglers.
Too confidently for rogues.
This was organized. Practiced. Ritualistic.
And it sent a chill down Heiko’s spine.
They watched until the figures vanished into the woods.
--
The forest was unnaturally quiet that night.
The moon hung like a watchful eye above the treetops, its pale glow slipping through the leaves like whispered secrets. Heiko and his men moved silently through the underbrush, no more than shadows slipping between shadows.
They had been following the cloaked figures for over an hour now, weaving deep into the borderlands, far closer to Alpha Jon's territory than was ever permitted. The river had narrowed, curving like a serpent between jagged rocks and black moss-covered banks.
That’s when they saw it.
A small boat, slee
