Chapter 16

They kept moving along the trail until again, it became blended in with the surroundings and they weren’t sure if they were on the trail. Pua, as always, insisted that they were heading the right way.

Over time, the trees started becoming less dense, and the sunlight began to pour through gaps in the canopy.

“See? I told you I knew the way,” Pua said proudly.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Agate said.

“The trees. There’s less of them now,” Pua said slowly.

“Yes, I noticed that.”

“That means we’re getting close to the mountain,” Pua explained.

After trekking for a few more hours, it was close to dusk, and the trees were starting to be pretty sparse.

“We should make camp here,” Pua suddenly said.

“We should keep moving,” Vennoa said indignantly.

“We’ve already walked for a whole day,” Pua said calmly. “We need to rest, or we won’t be able to keep it up.”

“Tempest doesn’t have the time!” Vennoa exclaimed.

“He will have to! We won’t be any good if we’re exhausted,” Pua retorted. “Look around, the trees are disappearing. We’re almost at the mountain now. We should make camp here while there’s still some cover.”

Agate and Fender agreed with Pua’s assessment. Fender looked pretty tired, and wasn’t her usual chipper self. Vennoa reluctantly agreed as well. They took out their camprolls and prepared to rest for the night.

“I’ll take first watch,” Pua said.

“I’ll take second,” Agate continued.

“Vennoa and I will just sleep then. Wake us up if you hear anything,” Fender said as she yawned from her bedroll. Before long, she was fast asleep.

Vennoa laid down inside her bedroll, but sleep did not come easy to her. She tossed and turned, replaying the events of the day in her mind. Her seething rage had subsided somewhat, and it was more of a slow burn. Vennoa didn’t want to admit it, but she was exhausted from the trekking. Slowly but surely, Vennoa also fell asleep.

Vennoa awoke to someone shaking her. She was about to sit up, when she felt a finger across her lips, signalling her to stay quiet. She opened her eyes, and saw Agate kneeling beside her.

“Shh!” Agate whispered. “I heard some footsteps around us.”

Vennoa nodded, and sat up discreetly. She looked around, and saw that Fender and Pua were still fast asleep. She tilted her head towards them, and looked at Agate.

“I haven’t woken them up yet. We can let them sleep more if this turns out to be nothing,” Agate said.

Vennoa moved slowly to Fender, while Agate moved over to Pua. The duo scanned their surroundings, and tried to listen for any sounds.

Vennoa could hear the typical forest sounds — insects chirping, some occasional fluttering of wings, and rustling of leaves. Wait — were those footsteps? Vennoa thought she heard something. She turned and looked intently in the direction that she thought the sound had come from. Vennoa wasn’t certain, but she thought she could make out some figures moving around in the dark. They were a distance away, so Vennoa couldn’t tell if they were animals, or something more sinister. She pulled out her dagger, just in case.