Perfidy had never heard of any such ridiculous creatures, but she was pretty sure she’d already seen the forest’s most dangerous predator and lived to tell the tale. “Don’ worry, I won’.”

“That’s because you’ll be in their bellies!” Gruff said with a chortle and a clap of his stumpy hands. “Get it? You’ll be eaten so you won’t be able to tell anyone anythin’?”

“Hilarious. Ye’ll prolly cry fat tears when ye find out I’m dead, ’cause it’ll be all yer fault.”

Much to Perfidy’s satisfaction, that shut the dwarf up right quick. Just in time, too, as they reached the first of the traps she’d set a day earlier. A day that felt like at least a month ago. Was it just her, or did time in New Dawn seem to move at a pace that a slug would laugh at as it oozed its way past?

“Dammit,” she muttered, the smile vanishing from her face. The trap had been sprung, the bait stolen, but there wasn’t any sort of animal caught inside it. She lifted the mess of sticks and vines, discovering several bits of fur. “Nearly got him,” she muttered.

“Nearly don’t count. You said you’d get me some bloodsquirrels.”

“Git us sum bloodsquirrels. An’ I will. Prolly already did. There’s a bunch more traps to check. While ye were nappin’ all day, I was actually workin’.”

“Lead the way then.”

Which she did, zigzagging through the forest, locating each trap from memory, getting more frustrated with each that she found sprung but empty, just a bit of fur here and there. Each trap had been relieved of its bait. “Wily bastard,” she muttered.

“You don’t even know if it’s a bloodsquirrel. Could be the regular kind.”

“A regular ol’ squirrel couldn’t defeat my traps.”

“Maybe, maybe not. But this ain’t workin’, is it?”

“Do ye have a better idea?”

“I do, in fact.” The dwarf waggled his eyebrows. “Creatures who have consumed godsblood are drawn to it for the rest of their lives. Sinna has placed some sort of wards around our godsblood well, so nothing really comes near it. Otherwise we’d be riddled with all sorts of bloodcritters swarmin’ New Dawn day and night, and not the cute and fluffy kind who’ll let us wring their magical little necks.” Perfidy thought of the bloodpanther, with its gleaming golden eyes. If it hadn’t been drawn to the godsblood well, then what had brought it to New Dawn?

“Are ye sayin’ we should git Sinna to remove the wards to attract a bunch o’ bloodcritters?”

“No, you dolt. She’d never do that, and even if she did, the godsblood well would attract more than just bloodsquirrels. There are more dangerous blood animals out there. The kind that’ll tear out your heart and swallow it whole just for sport.”