The Kingdom of Smosh

Chapter 26: The Quest

Matt's PoV:

"Matt! We need to stop! We need food! You need to remember to eat too, you know!" Joshua shouted at me. I was in front of the group, my tracking spell going non-stop since we left.

I sighed and stopped. I turned to Olivia who was between Joshua and Noah, who were falling very far behind. We travelled for almost a full six hours before we had to take a break. Joshua and Noah's hunger kicked in and were losing their strengths. I do not have time for this, but I have to. We are humans. We need more breaks than a werewolf does.

I looked around and found a wild cherry tree with a few fruits in it. I motioned Joshua, Noah, and Olivia to follow me to the tree. They nodded and followed me.

Joshua and Noah sat down under the tree while Olivia went around the tree, picking fruit that was low enough for her to reach. I watched Joshua reached into his travel pack and pulled out a full loaf of bread. He broke off a piece and offered it to Noah who took it graciously. When Olivia returned, he broke off a piece for her, too.

He broke off another piece and was about to offer it to me when I declined. I do not have time to eat. I need to figure out where Peter went. My tracking spell said he only went north. Peter would not do that. That would be too easy to track. Or will it? No one would guess he would. It would be too obvious of a choice which would cause other trackers to question it. No, that is not him. He would try to throw off any trackers by making sure his scent and his tracks disappear before throwing them off into a false path. Or did he? There must be a reason why he went strictly north. Yeah, that is it. He is going strictly north for a specific reason. That is the only ex-

"MATTHEW SOHINKI! SIT DOWN! YOUR PACING IS MAKING ME NAUSEOUS!" Joshua screamed at me. I broke out of my trance.

"We do not have time for this!" I shouted back. "We need to find him now before the rest of the kingdom does! Or worse, someone goes and kills him! I don't want that to happen! I cannot let that happen. I jus-", I broke down. I can't. I can't let him die. He's been with me for too long. I have grown accustomed to him being in my house. I have grown to know him. I have grown to care for him. I cannot explain it, but I just do not want him to die.

I felt an arm over my shoulders. I did not care who it was. I just turned into their chest and started crying harder. I want him to be here right now so all of this does not have to happen.

"We all want him back. We all want to help. We're just not werewolves. Please, allow breaks to happen so we can help you more efficiently", Joshua murmured quietly. I nodded and tried to calm myself down in Joshua's chest.

When I calmed down, I looked up to see Noah reading a book. I looked at the cover of the book. "The Guide to Mythical Creatures" was the book title. Werewolves are mythical crea-.

"Noah, are you on the werewolves page in the book?" I asked. He looked up and nodded. "Is there something in there about werewolves travelling only north?" He started to shuffle through a few pages before finding the spot.

"It says here, a sacred nemeton is in the far north mountains. Legend says it is a safe haven for shapeshifters of all sorts, particularly werewolves. Is that where he might be heading?" Noah asked. I nodded. I looked at the sky. It was a few hours until dark.

"Let us head out. We will travel strictly north. I will have my tracking spell out just in case Peter decides to deviate from this path. We will set up a fireless camp when the sun is gone and rotate lookout shifts every three hours until the beginning of dawn. Understand?" I instructed. They all nodded and started packing up their belongings. I stopped Joshua midway through his packing to pull off a piece of bread from his pack.

"Thank you", I said with my mouth full. He smiled at me and nodded. We continued on with our trek north after Noah harvested a few more fruits with his spells. We can save him. I know we can.