The Land Of Casus

Chapter 4

Thea did not sleep at all that night. She was not accustomed to sleeping on the forest floor and her mind was riddled with thoughts. She did not want to do this. She did not want to be the chosen one. Why would the wolf have chosen her, she was a nobody. A nobody who had panic attacks was too nervous to speak to strangers and was not brave enough to take on the King, let alone kill him.

"Could you not have picked someone else?" she whispered into the dark forest.

By the time dawn broke, Rex, Archimedes and Thea were up. Rex dug a hole in the ground to hide the ashes and tried his best to hide their presence by taking large leaves and covering up their campsite.

"We need to head to the next village," Archimedes said. "The food we have will not last long."

"And what is the plan after that?" Rex asked.

"I do not know."

"We need a plan! Wondering around aimlessly will get us killed."

"I do not know what the plan is but I do know we need food."

"Yes, but what then?" Rex asked angrily.

"I do not know!" shouted Archimedes, "There is no script to tell us how to find Pistis Arcus, no guidelines, no step-by-step process. We are essentially walking into a death trap but we have to try..."

Thea felt overwhelmed. The tension and the severity of what they had done and what they were about to do was starting to settle in and the reality of it was horrifying. She turned her head and saw the wolf again. He was looking at her with his head tilted to the side as if expecting her to do something.

She stepped between Rex and Archimedes. "Why are we even here? Why are you two even helping me? I haven't met many people who would sacrifice themselves for a stranger."

"I have been around for a very long time," Archimedes said more calmly. "You saw how my village looked. People are poor and there is no joy in their lives. Everyone is scared and rightly so. The King takes without remorse and kills anyone who dares cross him. His only goal is to make himself wealthier, regardless of the people suffering from it. This is my chance to help make things right, to fix my mistakes."

Mistakes? What was he talking about? Thea thought.

Rex looked down to the ground. "I have my reasons for hating the King." His voice was low but hatred seeped from every word. "I would give anything to see that man killed, I would do it myself if I could."

"Whether we want it or not, we are in too deep. The guards will be looking for the man who killed their friends and the girl with the red hair and a wolf tattoo on her arm. The universe has laid a path for us and we have no other option but to follow it." Archimedes slung his satchel over his shoulder. "Step one, go to the next village."

Rex nodded, "It is a day and a half's walk from here. Once we have gathered more supplies we think of a plan. We need to know how to find that bow, without it, nothing will be accomplished."

Thea looked at the wolf again. He was sitting now. He gave a subtle nod of his head before disappearing into thin air. When Thea looked away, she saw that Archimedes was looking at her with a suspicious look on his face. She quickly looked down to the ground. She was not ready to tell them she saw a glowing, green wolf.

"How do you two know each other?" Thea asked as they began the trek to the next village.

"I helped Archimedes catch Wetir Pixies once," Rex explained

"What are Wetir Pixies?"

"They are fairy-like creatures that live in lakes. Pretty harmless but ever so often they will come to the surface to terrorize villages."