Marcy shivered in her blanket and tried to get closer to the blazing fire without moving too much noise. Chandra was wringing her long brown hair out and trying to keep her teeth from chattering. Fennel and Angelica had already started wolfing down their hot stew while Adrianna tried keeping it hot without having it boil over and Diomedes aided her by keeping the fire burning bright. 

Weland and Cephalus were the only two dry ones in camp and therefore were enjoying themselves thoroughly by watching everyone in their misery.

"Who's idea was it to jump into the lake anyway?" Weland chuckled.

Everyone promptly glared at him but Marcy was the one to answer.

"It wasn't exactly anyone's idea. Angelica started wading because she was hot and then she fell. So since she was already wet she decided to swim. Then Chandra and Adrianna thought, 'why not?' and joined her...In the end we were all in the lake having fun which is a word you two probably aren't familiar with."

Weland laughed but Cephalus seemed less amused. He was still caught up over having to stay in camp so long. It lengthened their trip drastically and on top of that Aileen should have come back by then.

"We need to leave," he whispered to Weland.

"I thought we were waiting for your men?"

"I can only give them until tonight. We need to get moving."

"Why? You didn't tell me we had a time slot," Weland told Cephalus a bit resentful.

"We didn't...Up until now at least. Someone else wants the stone."

"Are you sure of that?"

"Pretty sure. First of all, that one person who was watching us is reason enough to be suspicious. Second of all, Aileen should have been back by now. Dagon and Adrastea are probably still in town so I'm not really worried about them, but our friend in the trees hasn't been here since they left."

"Meaning?" Weland asked.

The group had quieted down a little but the regular chatter was still there, sort of drowning out what Cephalus said next.

"Adrastea is the only one who knows where the stone is...Someone is following her."

Weland sunk down on the log and let out some kind of interesting remark that Cephalus was too concentrated to decipher. This always happened. Something always went wrong.

                  "Alright, we're moving out," Cephalus called to everyone.

"What?" was the the answer choking everyone's sleepy throats.

"We're moving out. I can't afford to wait any longer and neither can you."

Diomedes looked towards the bandits who were all asleep and asked, "Well what about them?"

"We let them go. It doesn't matter anymore since they already know where we are."

"But they said they were looking for a Prince?" Weland said logically.

"Maybe they were, maybe they weren't. That's not our concern right now...Get your things packed."

Marcy was the first to hop up from the fire and roll her blanket up. Camping was fun and all but the sooner everything was over the better.

It was fast going while everyone packed up their few belongings and headed out on the road, making sure to cut the ropes on the bandits before leaving. 

The trees ignored them for the Agnar part of the group but the moaning was still unnerving for certain party members...Marcy.

Cephalus's 'bodyguard' seemed to be very quiet to her and the whole time he hardly spoke a word, always sitting on the edge of the clearing. Most of the time Marcy had forgotten he was there all together. Diomedes told her about him being a tree nymph so Agnar always spending time near the trees made more sense to Marcy. 

Although she did not know much about tree nymphs she did know about nymphs in general from all the stories she had read. Strange as they were Marcy found them incredibly intriguing. The fact that they did not get eaten by the trees was reason enough but also water nymphs, living in lakes and ponds as if they were on land. She wondered if she would ever meet one. 

The whole trip was turning out to be an exciting experience and every minute that passed Marcy started preferring it over the normal hum drum life of the city...but she still wanted to go home. Something about this world made her feel on edge the entire time, like anything could happen if she just gave it time enough to sneak up on her. It was so delightfully frightening Marcy did not know whether or not she loved it or hated it! Everything she had ever known was nothing compared to this. Sure radios were great and all, but who needs a radio when you can have things so much better? Like horses and near death experiences! Mountain climbing adventures, training for a circus, having knifes thrown at you by someone who would probably kill you in your sleep; it was all so exciting! 

However she also missed the feeling of knowing what was going to happen every minute of every hour of every day. Normally Marcy liked to feel secure and ready for anything...because she knew what was going to happen. But this unknown world she had come too was so unpredictable and amazing in its own way. Like a doughnut! Its really just a bagel with frosting and sprinkles, but it tastes so much better!...At least that was the way Marcy thought. Food often entered her thoughts in the form of a metaphor.

It was pitch black outside and the moon was covered by dark clouds. Marcy worried that it would rain. Usually she would not mind it, but that was when she was inside her bedroom with a cup of hot chocolate and a good book. On the road without some kind of rain shield was not her definition of fun.

I wonder why the trees don't move, Marcy thought. But she satisfied herself with that it was probably because there was a tree nymph among them.  

                           "Are we...almost...there?" Marcy asked through half closed eyes.

The sun was rising up above the mountains and warming the land quickly. The group had been riding none stop all night and now that it was morning several of them were just about to keel over.

"No. We have about one more day ahead of us," Cephalus answered, the only one that was still wide awake.

"WHAT? Oh come on! Can we at least have a little relaxing time?"

Several others nodded to that remark and Cephalus stopped his horse, looking around at the trees surrounding them, spears of sunlight shining through.

"Very well. Get a fire going, make some food. But remember, we'll only be able to stay long enough for breakfast."

Everyone half dismounted/half fell off their horses and drowsily went about their designated tasks, gathering firewood, building the fire, taking out necessary supplies, and cooking the food.

Adrianna volunteered to do the cooking and Marcy helped her while everyone else did little things to freshen up before breakfast. Such as washing their faces (Partly to clean up and partly to wake up) and stretching their legs. 

Almost every one of them (Except Cephalus) took their boots off and plopped down in the grass, making several contented sighs and just staring up at the canvas of trees. Shades of green waved slightly in the breeze casting beautiful shadows everywhere and setting a calming mood upon everyone. 

Chandra stayed perfectly still in the grass and watched as a sparrow landed on her hand, pecking softly on her fingernail and flying away.

"How did you do that?" Diomedes asked, smiling at the small bird flying away.

"I don't know," Chandra shrugged, sitting up.

"I've always been able to hold still. Animals trust me I guess."

She giggled a little in her usual manner and watched a butterfly flutter from flower to flower on a rhododendron bush, its silky wings slowing down as it landed.

"I remember one time I almost had a deer eat my sleeve," Chandra laughed.

"But then Adrianna came along."

"It just so happens that I had been tracking that deer for over an hour," Adrianna added, getting Chandra's facts straight.  

"Alright, breakfast is ready!" Marcy sang in a cheerful mood, grabbing some of the oatmeal for herself.

It was not the best food ever but it was easy to cook over a fire. 

"Hurry up and eat," Cephalus said, folding up his map.

"We don't have much time."

Diomedes and Weland got up off the grass and grabbed their bowls of oatmeal and quickly shoved it down their throats, being the first to finish. As the others ate, slightly slower, the two began to pack up quickly, putting out the fire, washing out the dirty dishes and sticking them in their packs, and then finally putting the saddles back on the horses that had been grazing. 

"Did you eat Cephalus?" Fennel asked, speaking up after a long silence.

"No. I'm not hungry. Now come on, let's go."

Everyone quickly mounted their horses and started off down the path through Ellestar, never once bumping into any of the Cievo.

                 "Should we look in the hotel?" Marcy asked as they rode up to the edge of town.

Once again there was no moon but it was quite warm out. Half the group did not even bother putting their cloaks on.

"No. With Adrastea around I doubt they would stay in the hotel," Cephalus answered, scanning the streets.

"Well than where do we look?"

"I say the woods. Camping is more her style, as well as Dagon's."

"Right, to the woods it is!" Diomedes said, eager to get out of Rubin Soth.

Judging by the direct angle of the road the group followed the cobblestone path into the trees and searched around the immediate area. Dagon and Adrastea would not go to deep in, knowing that Cephalus would probably want to find them later.

"So why not stay in town?" Marcy asked Diomedes.

"Well two things. First of all, Dagon is not particular fond of Rubin Soth and apparently Adrastea isn't either. Second, there's a knew Baron in charge of the town and would probably want to know the business of any strangers."

"Jeez, you two make more noise than a heard of stampeding cattle!" Dagon's voice came from behind the group.

Diomedes smiled at his brother and quickly dismounted saying, "We just wanted to be sure that you would hear us, being so deaf and all."

Marcy watched as the brothers knocked about a bit but did not notice Adrastea who was hiding in the shadows of an overhanging tree. 

"Who's your friend Stea?" Cephalus asked, walking up to Adrastea and a young lady with brown hair.

"This is Deirdrie. I need to talk to the both of you later."

Cephalus nodded, sensing the urgency in her voice. Of course Adrastea always had an on-edge tone, but it always had a different layer of gloom for separate occasions. 

"Why later?" Adrianna asked, surprising the three by her exceptional hearing.

"Its none of your business," Adrastea shot back.

"Actually it is. We're all a group here whether you like it or not. I think we deserve to know!"

Adrianna did not bother to lower her voice and had captured the attention of the others.

"That's impossible," Adrastea answered, glaring with flaming eyes.

"Look, let's not argue," Chandra said, stepping in between Adrastea and Adrianna who had come dangerously close to each other.

Adrastea grumbled a little then spun in her tracks walking off back into the trees. Adrianna watched then shrugged, going back to her horse. People like Adrastea made her want to yell, but she did not.

"Cephalus, we have someone that wants to see your," Dagon broke the silence.

"Her name is Laura...She wants us to take her into the mountains."

Cephalus furrowed his brow and said, "Did you ask her why?"

"Yes but she wouldn't tell. Said it was personal."

Chandra and Marcy had gathered the reins of all the horses and lead them to the campsite where Dagon and Cephalus headed. Marcy wondered why the air had grown so thick with tension and realized that everyone was deathly silent the few yards to the fire.

"What's wrong?" she asked Chandra quietly.

"I don't know. I'm guessing this Laura person is not to be trusted."

"Hah, you can say that again," Deirdrie huffed.

"What do you mean?"

Marcy had really payed any attention to the new girl and really was not surprised to see that she carried a recurve bow. Ever since she fell through the closet Marcy noticed that no one went anywhere unarmed.

"What I mean is that we should all probably sleep with one eye open."

- Sooooooooooooooooo, next chapter! I know, I know, another character. At first I wasn't going to add Deirdrie but it was kinda crucial to the plot after a while. Anyway, what did you think of the chapter? Are you still liking it?"

I think the book is far enough in to ask a few questions and it would be really awesome if you could answer these:

1) Who's your favorite character and why?

2) Who's your least favorite character (Not counting the villains) and why?

3) Which character is most suspicious to you?

It would be so great if you could all answer these questions and as always, votes and comments are appreciated. Thanks :D - Anna