Aramora

Chapter 9: Outside the Walls

After enough arduous navigating, they reach a small clearing and stop to look around some more.

The blue glow casting through the trees and fog, gleaming against the darkness and lighting up the gentle mist like stars in the night air.

If it weren't for the werewolves and other various creatures lurking in the dark and waiting to kill them, this would be an actually peaceful place to sit and read or daydream or something.

Too bad for the impending doom.

Naomi slides off Nesosa's back and steps towards Malachi, the light fog swirling with her steps. "What now?" she asks with uncertainty.

Malachi sighs, a small breath of frost puffs in front of his mouth. "Werewolves are more likely to come out if someone is alone, so I'd say you and I should split up and meet back here if one of us runs into one. Nesosa, you stay here to kill it once either Naomi or myself come running back. Got it?" he explains.

Nesosa groans. "Ah have tae stay 'ere? That's nae fair!" She huffs and crosses her arms.

Malachi glares at her. "You're the only one of us with combat experience. If you're not here to kill it when one of us gets back, then we'll most definitely die."

Nesosa frowns and drops ungracefully to the grass and dried leaves, the fog parting around her before slowly creeping back to hug her stallion form. "Fine. Just don't bugger this up 'n' get murdurred afore ah have a chance tae kill the thing. I'm wantin' tae have at least a little fun tonight."

Malachi turns to Naomi. She still has her head down and her shoulders slumped, thinking about Lavern again. After he took off, where did he go? He couldn't have gotten far, maybe he went back to Balmoral without them noticing.

Malachi clears his throat and she startles and looks up at him. "Stay focused, Naomi. Remember that what we're doing is dangerous. You can and will die if you're not careful. That said, are you ready?"

She nods slowly. "Yeah... just tell me when," she says as enthusiastically as she can manage.

Malachi sighs and looks off to the forest. "Let's go now, just remember the direction you came from and only move in a straight line," he says and starts walking off in a random direction.

Naomi nods again and does the same, sparing Nesosa one last glance before heading deeper into the forest, towards the echoed howling.

She walks through the drab forest, the only light coming from the soft glow of the moon and stars overhead, which illuminate the steady fog that hugs her ankles and swishes around like water in a shallow pond.

The howling has resumed, but it all sounds distant. In the open like this, it's hard to tell exactly where the sounds are coming from. They sound both close and far-off, everywhere and nowhere all at once. Not knowing where the threat is should be enough to keep her focused and alert, but her mind fails to be sharp while her thoughts of Lavern leave it dull.

She knows she's been really excited about this quest to find the fragments, but if Lavern meant what he said earlier, he wishes she wasn't. Why? What's wrong with being enthusiastic about something as awesome as a quest in a fantasy world when all her life has been spent trapped in her bleak reality? Is it really so much to ask for a bit of adventure and fun for a change?

Then her mind wavers to the other thing that's stuck with her that leaves her confused. Everything was fine until they were told about needing to hunt down and kill a werewolf for the fragment. What is it about werewolves that seemed to have gotten so deep under his skin that he just decided to up and leave in a fit of anger? He left without so much as an explanation, making her wish she could find him and get one. She feels she deserves it after his outburst at her.