Heh. If only she knew.
The big man took a couple emergency rations out of his pack and handed them to the two exhausted wizards. They weren’t much, but they’d provide adequate nutrition. He scanned his surroundings, spotting some purple berries close by, and scowled.
Those won’t help, they’re poisonous. A sigh escaped his lips. I’ll have to find a source of food soon. I hadn’t planned on a long journey like this.
Valeria thanked him for the ration. Teryn took it, but didn’t say anything.
Ungrateful wretch. Here I am rescuing him from his hare-brained plan and do I get any thanks? No. But he let it slide. If he’d been in Teryn’s position, he’d probably feel the same way.
After their meager meal, he told the wizards they’d rest for six hours before continuing their march, then set a watch schedule.
He went ahead and took the first watch to be nice, which passed uneventfully. Two hours later, Talon awoke the sleepy Teryn, who seemed a lot more boisterous after a quick break.
Likely another of his spells.
He muttered curses to himself and went to sleep.
* * * * * * * * * *
Valeria woke up a short while later, rough hands on her shoulder, shaking her whole body. Her eyes bolted open and she scrambled up to notice Teryn hunched over where she’d just been.
“You startled me,” she said breathlessly.
He flashed her a dopey grin. “Sorry.”
She smiled back at him. “It’s no big deal. My turn to hold watch?”
Teryn nodded, then yawned. “Yep. Better not let anyone oversleep or Talon will have a fit,” he added.
Valeria giggled a little and bade Teryn to get some more rest, which he did.
The first half-hour or so of her watch went by without any incident, but then she heard a strange, raspy noise far off in the direction they had just traveled. It sounded vaguely like something scraping against the ground, shuffling in slow, labored movements, but it only lasted for a few minutes, then it was over.
She let out a deep breath and quickly forgot about it, her mind going back to thinking about what Coontan’s capital city, Berol, would look like. She’d never seen a big castle town before. The thought of all those people was a little intoxicating.
A few minutes later, she heard the noise again, but it was much closer this time, maybe only five hundred yards away. Her heart raced and she thought of waking the others, but she didn’t want to disturb them if it turned out to be nothing. Once more the sound came, closer still. The sound had somehow jumped forward a few hundred yards in only a matter of seconds.
This time, she swore she had caught a glimpse of something in a crimson outfit dash through a small clearing in the trees in front of her, only to hide in the overgrowth again.
Valeria grimaced. Though it went against her better judgement, she knew she’d have to get a better look at the thing to see if it was dangerous.
She took one last look at her two companions who were still resting peacefully, undisturbed by the being making those strange noises and decided to let them stay asleep. She wouldn’t be going very far or going anywhere out of sight of the camp, and she’d only just been rescued. She could imagine the kind of ridicule the two men would put her through if she woke them up and it turned out to be nothing.
Besides that, she thought, whatever it is, it’s stopped moving. It’s probably scared of me, too.
But a nagging sense of dread kept her alert. She pulled out her staff and gripped it so tightly her knuckles turned white. She made all the preparations to cast a fireball spell at the creature, then set out as quietly as she could toward the noise.
* * * * * * * * * *
Teryn woke up moments later to what sounded in his head like an ear-piercing scream from the east. He recognized the voice as Valeria’s and tried to get up to chase after it. Alas, someone or something was holding him in place.
He strained against the bonds, even casting negation spells at it, but it was no use. He gave up a moment later, panting and feeling drained. He glanced over at Talon to see if his companion was similarly troubled, but he lay there sleeping as if nothing had happened.
Teryn struggled against the mysterious force for another moment to no avail. He couldn’t manage to break free. Worse yet, he could feel himself getting drowsy again, even though he wasn’t sleepy.
He started to drift off into unconsciousness again as the scream came to him once more. It was farther away, and yet it felt like it was right next to his face. The sharp noise was enough to keep him alert, though still he couldn’t break free of whatever force was holding him down.
As Teryn continued to struggle in vain, he swore he heard the sound of dark, ominous laughter behind him. The voice was familiar and foreign at the same time. He focused on this new sound, knowing instinctively that whoever was responsible for it was the cause of his current torment.
Just then, the evil laugh stopped, and he felt a cold, dark presence creep up close to his ear. Through the creature’s heavy, labored breathing, he heard the sound of a few eerily spoken words whisper to him, “I told you, you would never have her. She’s mine. But don’t worry, everything will be fine.”
Suddenly he remembered who the voice belonged to – it was the Guild Master who had taunted him before. Instantly, his mind filled with rage and he channeled magic power into his veins.
“GO AWAY, DEMON!” he shouted, calling upon Tytin magic once again.
The dark presence next to him disappeared that instant,
