ADARA

The constant, ill shiver ran down her spine while they huddled inside the decrepit house, though Fenrer had lit up the fireplace and the smoke rose through the chimney. It cast a cold glow through the room, and she found herself keeping an eye on the outside for any ghouls to shamble on them. It lodged in her throat, but she gave a start when Fenrer asked, "You couldn't see them?"

"No," Adara whispered, and Fenrer sat at the table, pinching his chin. "Were they spirits?"

"It... I suppose they were, but they mentioned Kemal and his team, Neven, and Blackwall of all people." The name of the Keeper sent a jolt of rage through her throat, but Fenrer's furrowed brow quelled it. "Which only gives me more questions than answers. I can see why Kemal and Neven got frustrated with the situation they've been burdened with." He set his hand flat against the table, and he sent a smile her way. "If it helps, I didn't sense any malevolence — but they also seemed unaware that they were dead."

"Is that... common?"

Fenrer shook his head in slow, methodical movements. "But, from what they said, Kemal had to have seen them too," he remarked. "So... maybe they were alive when Kemal stumbled on them?"

Adara mulled over the words, then tilted back into her chair with a groan. "We need to get back to Asairai before Yuven kills us."

"That too." Fenrer chuckled, then raised a hand to his heart. "The Oathbound connection remains, so we have that going for us, but..." His brow creased once more as he sucked in his lips. "It's strange, it's clear this place is more than it seems. I can't even determine how Yuven is apart from 'he's alive'." Arm slouched across the table, he tapped his boot against the hardwood floor. "So, we have two options. We can follow Kemal's tracks and go just a bit farther to figure out what happened to them, or shamble through the woods and hope we find the coast before the cult finds us, because I'm sure they're out there, gathering more blood power." Back against his chair in turn, he rubbed the bridge of his nose. "What have we stumbled into...?"

"Trouble. As always."

Fenrer chuckled. "We seem to have a knack for it nowadays." His gaze drew to the ceiling, and he asked, "What do you think we should do?"

"You're asking me?"

"The options we have aren't ideal or potentially impossible but it's all I came up with," Fenrer explained. "I don't want to confront the cult without Yuven — but we're also lost and our only firm direction is where Kemal went. We could always retrace our steps, since Neven somehow got back but he also had an Obscura Text and I have a feeling that's the entire reason he made it back and didn't just become another name on a missing report."

A hum of thought left her lips. "Trouble," she repeated. "We don't know where we are, we're alone surrounded by creepy ghouls." She drew her lips past her teeth. "I don't know. It's not like waiting here will do us any favours. We might as well do something, in my opinion."

Fenrer straightened himself out. "Sounds good to me." Up he went, sending a burst of air into the fireplace and smothering the coals. It rippled across her skin, and she shivered, though stopped when Fenrer put a hand on her and brought the warmth back. "We'll go back to the Elvkin village. I know you couldn't see them, but they were there which provided enough answers to go off of." Out the door and into the light of the next morning's sun, Adara followed, ignoring the burning sensation in her stomach as they stayed on the gravel path back to the empty village.

The empty lamps hung in the trees, long dead with nary a sense of smoke. Fenrer's gaze drew up to one with a deepening frown as he sped up the pace until the barricade of stone appeared through the treeline. Barren. Adara peeked through the gate. "Well?" she asked when Fenrer joined her. "Are you going to ask around again?"

Fenrer rested a hand against the barricade. "I would... but they're gone."

"What?"

"They're..." Fenrer entered the ruined village with a tilt of his head. "They're all gone." His attention raised skyward, though thick tree coverage made it difficult for sun rays to peek through. "Maybe... is it the time of day? It was later in the evening when we came across them, aye?" He sped deeper into the village, and Adara scrambled to follow. A soft breeze swept over the marble roads and made the buildings moan in grief for what was lost. Adara squeezed Fenrer's forearm when he came to a stop in the center, panic settling in his gaze.

"What's wrong?" she pushed.

"I-I don't know." Fenrer rubbed his brow and headed towards another gate. One which led farther into the confusing labyrinthian woods. Adara dug in her heels to stop him from going forth, causing him to turn to her in his odd confusion. "They were here, Adara."

"I know, I believe you." Adara refused to fully release him until he relaxed. "You said so yourself, something strange is going on in this place. I think this is the one time we shouldn't be so hasty without Yuven who seems to have the tendency to look at a situation and come up with a million back up plans that half the time aren't even necessary or so out there that somehow they end up being necessary." Adara let him go when his fist unclenched. "Fen, we're in a bad spot. We both know this. We're in the same spot Kemal and his team must've been. If we're going after them, let's..." A sigh left her lips, heavy weighed the reality of the danger. "Let's try to be careful."

Fenrer gave her a stiff nod in response and they left the desolate village behind. No sound apart from the natural rustle of the woods graced her ears. No birds chirped and sang their morning songs. It was as if the forest held its breath for what was to come, though with Fenrer at her side her fear quelled with the shine of the crescent blade at his hip and the dawnblade strapped to his back. Two sources of light when the trees blocked the sun. Her hands went to her stomach when it burnt with unease, and she stayed close to his side for comfort. Though... I also wish Yuven was here — can't believe I'm saying that. Gods, what have they done to me?

Their journey through the dark woods pressurized her temples and she swore she saw the same tree multiple times. Confused and dazed, she tried not to stumble on the undergrowth and slow down Fenrer from his quest to find Kemal and the others. I wonder how Yuven, Neven, and Maria are doing. A gasp left her throat when her foot snagged on an exposed root, only to end up in Fenrer's arms when he swung around to catch her. "Sorry." Her hand rubbed his forearm, which caused him to smile and shoulders to slump instead of tense.

"It's okay." Fenrer straightened her out before sweeping his gaze around. "I don't hear any water, and the flow is as stagnant as it was at those ruins."

"Is that bad?"

Fenrer considered the trees. "Not necessarily, but in this instance I'm inclined to say yes. Stagnation can have a lot of explanations, and the use of dark magick is one of them but to have it be this bad would require a heavy amount of it." He led her through the branches, moving some of them over his head before dropping them behind. Outcrops and crevices peeked through the undergrowth, hidden by moss and lichen. Her only comfort proved to be small animals scurrying back into their burrows with their approach.

A soft trickle of a cascade caught hers, and from the way Fenrer perked up, attention, he guided her forward until the trees thinned. Her breath escaped her at a pond full of lily pads extruding droplets while the cascade turned into a coursing water. Fenrer snapped his head around, though there was no break of a river to show them the way back to the ocean. "This is a good sign," she offered as he let go of her and headed to the rock face which led behind the waterfall, trying to peek behind it. "Maybe they camped near here if they needed water?"

"Yeah." Fenrer put a foot on the stone, scooting closer until he disappeared into the mist. Adara jolted and went to follow, being careful not to slip and become drenched once more until her back brought her away from the veil of water and Fenrer tugged her into a small opening. Shelter, carved out by erosion from the damp floor. "Okay." He took out a small runestone. It filled with morning light, and he shoved it into the wall with the force of a sharp glyph. One nod, he set his hands on his belt. "There. We have an anchor point. This place is distinct enough and we can come back here." Fenrer held out his resonator, which remained still, though he tapped the middle crystal which made it zone in on the runestone. "It won't last forever, but better than nothing."

"Fenrer?"

"Hm?"

Adara held her stomach again. "I've been having a really... awful feeling since we got here?"

"Me too." Fenrer slumped against the wall and sank downwards. "I'm going to try and see if I can't reach through the Oathbound connection. Just... I know it's morning but you should rest. We have a lot of ground to cover, but for a mercy, I haven't sensed any Derelict or Derelict formations. Though I know Yuven would say that's not necessarily a good thing." He rolled his shoulders and closed his eyes.

Adara sat near him in turn, and did the same though she had no Oathbound to guide her out of the situation by mere existence. Exhaustion continued to dog her heels, and she found water lapping at her pants with its teeth made of stars. Weighed down by stone, she frowned at the darkness, stained with crimson. It was the same dream from her childhood — the Twilight Sea. Her gaze raised to try and find the black-feathered phoenix which dragged light through the sky, but it was empty of sound and sight. Air still, she headed forward with only the sounds of her boots hitting the expanse of stars beneath her. It continued to sweep down her skin. Arms raised, she frowned at the smallest flecks of silver ash escaping her struggling glyphs. Huh? Starbound, she twisted around for any sort of familiarity, comfort, though she was left in the cold. It lodged in her throat, and she froze at the sound of massive wingbeats, the only breaker of silence.

"Hello?" she called out and continued.

Shadows moved between the stars, though stilled in turn when she tried to come closer. Two beady, bright eyes formed out of them, a beak starting to protrude from the unknown, the stars fluttering with the tempo of wingbeats when it opened its mouth wide at her audacious approach.

Her hand reached forwards, closer, to find the truth in futures untold. Fires sparked, but she jolted awake at the loud cry of a bird, though Fenrer, who leaned beside her, hadn't woken up. Head pounding, she rubbed it and glanced over at the doorway of mist, though nothing burst forth to bring harm onto them. "Fen?" Adara shook his shoulder, though he didn't rouse. Unable to do much else but let him sleep off his exhaustion and confusion, she found herself incapable of doing the same. Whenever she tried to close her eyes, to go back to the dreamy Twilight Sea. It cried out and slammed her back into the dangerous wakefulness, and Fenrer softly breathed at her side.

You know... Adara chewed on her lip. I think I'd take Yuven killing us... than the cult doing who knows what to us. If we can't find Kemal and the others... Where else are we supposed to go? We're lost.