Finally, we began to see the edges of the marsh up ahead. And in the dim light of evening, the mountains seemed so much closer and so much taller. When I thought about climbing them, searching for a way through the passes, I was scared out of my wits.

  As I gazed up at the silhouette of the snow-covered crags, I wanted to give up — to find a place to hide out in hopes that Zaran would never find me. But I kept those thoughts to myself, even as we stumbled out of the marshes and toward the edge of the forest ahead. It was time to look for shelter for the night, and at least we had left the Cryptic Marshes behind us. And that was a blessing worth noting.

  CHAPTER 45: THE STARS OVERHEAD

  We continued on for another half mile, till the edges of the marsh were truly behind us. The treeline was close, but not close enough to take cover for the night. We were going to have to camp out in the open. But as far as I could see, there was no one around, and with the marshes far enough behind us, hopefully nobody would creep out of there.

  As we set up our camp, I inhaled a deep breath. The marsh had a constant fetid smell to it, but now the air was bracingly cold and clear, and I looked toward the sky, at the massive field of stars overhead. It was beautiful, dizzyingly so, and I sat down on a nearby fallen log, just staring overhead. We never saw the stars like this in the city. The light pollution was always too strong. But here, the vast heavens stretched overhead, unending.

  “The sky’s beautiful, isn’t it?” Thornhold asked.

  I nodded. “Truly, it is. Almost overwhelming.” As I spoke, something caught my eye. “What’s that?” I pointed toward the mountains. Between us and them, a shape flickered through the sky, turning and twisting.

  “I’m not sure,” Thornhold said, shading his eyes. “That’s no bird.”

  “It can’t be a plane,” I said.

  “I think I know what it is,” Reggie said, pausing from where he’d been helping Ray and Brynn set up the tents. In the marshes, we’d crowded into one, but now we wanted to stretch out a little so we were going for two.

  “What?” I asked.

  “A dragon. There are dragons in the Mountains of Kartell, you know.” He tilted his head, watching as the fading light swallowed up the figure.

  The moment he said the word, I knew he was right. “How close to us do you think it is?”

  “It can’t see us from there—we can see a long way from here. But at least it’s a reminder that we have to be careful, especially in the mountains. The monsters there are deadly and cunning, even more so than most in the lowlands.” Reggie frowned. “Speaking of cunning, I wonder how close to us Zaran’s managed to get.”

  “I don’t know,” Thornhold said. “The traveling will be easier now that we’re out of the marshes, so I suggest we push on tomorrow as fast as possible. The village of Tyrnis is about seven miles ahead, if I remember.”

  “We didn’t find the waypoint in the marshes,” I said. “We should try to find the waypoint here. I know Zaran is close on our heels, but the Waypoints are vital.”

  Brynn and Ray finished with the tents and joined us.

  “We need water,” Brynn said. “I hear a stream over beyond that stand of ferns.”

  The ferns were large, almost waist-high. In the dark, it was hard to see anything beyond the shape of their fronds. I motioned to Thornhold.

  “We’ll go check while you all start the fire and figure out dinner,” I said. “Give us your water bottles, just in case.”

  They gave us their bottles, and we found a few spare and took those with us as well. Thornhold also took the pan we hung over the fire. As Thornhold and I headed in the direction of the stream, I turned on the light on my watch and held it out to guide our way. The ground was even, with few rocks around, and the going was easy. As we neared the ferns, I slowed down. There was always the chance something was hiding behind them, but my intuition reassured me we were all right.

  As we skirted the patch of ferns, the sound of the stream trickled loud and clear. I could smell the water from where I stood, and suddenly felt parched. We were all probably dehydrated. I crossed to the stream and kneeled beside it, dipping my fingers in it. The water was ice cold and made me shiver. I lifted my fingers to my lips and tasted.

  “It’s so good, it tastes like artesian well water,” I said.

  Thornhold started handing me bottles, and I filled them all, after drinking my fill. Then we filled the pot, which Thornhold would carry back. I tried to see what was on the other side of the stream, but by now it was too dark. Hopefully, there wasn’t anyone or anything over there watching us.

  We returned to the camp, handed out the water bottles, and set the pan of water in the embers to heat. First, we’d make soup, then tomorrow morning we’d empty and clean it and use it to fetch the washing water.

  Brynn and Reggie had made grilled cheese sandwiches, and Ray had cut up some apples and had them cooking in a pan with a little honey and water for applesauce. I bit into the hot sandwich, sighing as the tension drained out of my body.

  “There’s something about a hot meal that always seems to take away the stress,” I said.

  “I’ve put the bouillon and what vegetables we had left in the pot,” Brynn said. “We’ll need to buy more in the village. I also added several pieces of jerky to fortify it with protein.”

  “Well, tomorrow we’ll make it to Tyrnis. We’ll need clothing, bedding, whatever we can buy to protect us from those mountains. The marshes were bad, but the mountains are going to be hell,” I said. “And I hate to say it, but we should be watching over our shoulders in the village. We don’t know if Zaran managed to travel faster than we did. He might already be there, waiting for us.”

  “Right. We stick together then. Don’t wander off. All right,” Thornhold said, “Watches? Nobody stays on watch alone tonight. We divide into either two groups, or three—and one of us takes a double watch.”

  “Two,” I said. “We sleep a little longer and get up early—before sunrise if possible. We can function on a little less sleep.”

  We divided up, with Reggie, Ray, and me on first watch. Brynn and Thornhold would take second. As we huddled near the fire—the night was clear and the temperatures dropping—Reggie motioned for me to sit in front of him. He began gently rubbing my shoulders.

  “Oh, man, I need that,” I said. He was skilled, and I began to relax.

  “My sister is a massage therapist,” he said. “I learned a lot from her.”

  Ray stared at the fire. “I miss Jaylene,” he suddenly said. Jaylene was his girlfriend, though I wasn’t sure how long they’d been going out. “But I miss my dogs more,” he added. “Jaylene will find someone—she’s a catch. I don’t think we were meant to be together in the long run, but my dogs…they don’t know why I abandoned them. They don’t understand.”

  The catch in his voice nearly broke my heart. I motioned to Reggie, nodded at Ray. Reggie silently moved over to Ray’s side, beginning to work on his shoulders while I took Ray’s hands. We sat there in silence, listening to the crackle of the flames as the night deepened and the stars shone ever brighter.

  CHAPTER 46: WE COME TO TYRNIS

  Come morning, we woke to a layer of frost on the ground. I shivered, realizing that the temperature here was lower than what it had been in the marsh. Remembering the dragon from the night before, I turned toward the mountains and shaded my eyes, but all I saw were lemon-chiffon streaks among the pale blue skies. The morning was clear, and I had a feeling we had left the rain behind.

  From here, the silhouettes of the mountains were massive and covered with white, stark and craggy as they rose so far into the sky that we couldn’t see beyond them. Wondering how we would find the passes through the peaks, I didn’t notice that Brent had wandered off towards the spring. All of a sudden, we heard her call out.

  “Come here! I found something!”

  Collectively, we dropped what we were doing and headed in the direction of her call. As we broke through the bushes, we saw a sign to the side. It looked familiar, and it read, waypoint ahead, to the right.

  “Is this the mountain waypoint, or the marsh waypoint?” I asked.

  “I think it’s somewhere in between. Or maybe it is the one for the marsh. I believe the mountain waypoint is higher up in the hills.” Thornhold motioned for us to follow him, and we jogged over to another large stand of bushes. Brynn was peeking out of them, motioning to us.

  As we passed through the second stand of bushes, we saw it. A large platform on the ground, like the other we had found, and it was formed of dark bronze. It looked almost exactly like the Dark Woodland waypoint. Square, with the clockwork design on the bottom, it—too—was enclosed by a large acrylic booth.

  I opened the door and stepped into the chamber, almost immediately finding the button which brought up the screen on the acrylic door. The list of waypoints was there, but only the Launching Area, the Dark Forest, and the Cryptic Marshes were lit up. The other designations were faint and difficult to read. I opened the door and peeked out.

  “We found the Cryptic Marshes waypoint. I’m surprised it isn’t in the middle of the marshes, but at least we found it.” I paused for a moment, thinking of Liesel and Star. “Do you think we have time for a visit —”

  Ray cut me off. “We would, except for the fact that Zaran is on our heels. If we took the time to go home and visit Liesel, Zaran will have reached our location — or beyond. And the last thing we want is to walk into a trap that he has set up ahead of us.”

  I sighed, wanting nothing more than to hide out for a day or two in the comfort of Liesel’s home and to reconnect with Star. “You’re right. We’ll come back when we’ve taken care of him. But mark this on the map so we know where it is.” Reluctantly, I closed the door on the booth, and we went to the spring to fill our water bottles again and to have a brief wash-up before we broke camp and headed out on the road.

  “How long until we reach the village of Tyrnis?” Reggie asked.

  Thornhold looked over the map. “We can probably reach there by nightfall. So let’s break down camp and get moving. I suggest we eat on the road. We have enough bread and cheese to eat on the move.”

  “Sounds good,” I said. As we walked away from the waypoint, I couldn’t help but look back, longing for the comfort of a quiet little house with a wooden stove and a Frazzle Cat.

  As dawn blended into midmorning, and midmorning brightened into noon, the sun startled me. There was no warmth in the golden glow that lit our way, but it was cheerful to see, and it lifted my spirits after the days we’d spent in the marsh.

  The trees here were different from those of the dark forest. The forest was mostly deciduous, and the trees had shed their leaves and now stood barren and stark. The frost faded under the sun, but it was cold enough that I knew we’d have to buy supplies once we reached the village. If we were cold now, I couldn’t imagine what it would be like if we ventured into the mountains without sufficient protection.

  “You know, I just realized something?” Reggie said.

  “What’s that?” Ray asked.

  “When we first came in here, I could barely walk two miles without getting winded, and that was at an easy pace. Look at me now,” he said.

  It was at that moment that I realized he was right. Even though I now had the body of an elf, I felt stronger than I ever had. We had toughened up, and our endurance and stamina had grown so much from when we first appeared on the landing pads.

  “Well, that’s a good thing,” Thornhold said. “Though I’d rather have my old body. I was fit then, although I have to admit I didn’t have the muscles I do now. I doubt if I could ever hope to have the muscle I have now,” he added.

  As we walked along, I kept an eye on the edge of the forest. The treeline started a few feet back from the trail, and I didn’t want to be surprised by any unwelcome guests. But then I noticed a bright purple mushroom. Gasping, I stopped and pointed toward it. “Isn’t that a thantar?”

  “You’re right,” Reggie said. “Are there anymore?”

  He hurried over to look, kneeling down beside it. “It’s a thantar all right. If you find any more, gather them. I can use these to make potions. They're also good for healing potions as well, so let’s see if we can find more than just the one.”

  We scattered into the woods on a mushroom hunt. At least, in this woodland, we were able to see each other, even at a distance. There was very little undergrowth except for fallen leaves, scattered rocks, and various mushrooms. We found a number of toadstools, which we avoided, but in the game, the thantar was the mother-gem of all mushrooms. Highly coveted, it was used for potion-making by both mages and clerics. And just one was worth its weight in gold.

  “Unless we need to, we don’t sell these,” Reggie said. “There are potions that require them — that you can’t substitute anything else for. And those potions will go a long way in helping us, especially in our fight against Zaran.”

  A light breeze rustled through the tree limbs, blowing the last of the leaves off as we continued foraging. We spent about thirty minutes looking for the plum-colored fungi, and — in the end — we managed to find twelve of them. Reggie and Ray divided them, then packed them away securely.

  “What if they rot in your pack?” I asked.

  Reggie shook his head. “The moment they’re cut, they start to dry. By tomorrow morning they’ll be wrinkled and shriveled, and ready to powder into dust. That’s why I packed mine in a spare bag. That way, if it accidentally gets jarred, the dust won’t escape into my backpack.”

  “I did the same,” Ray said. “Also, if you happen to notice any fickle-ferns, we could use some of those too. I can make some minor stamina powders with those. They look like a regular fern from back home, except they’re bright yellow, and they have serrated edges on the leaves.”

  As we resumed our journey toward the village, we kept an eye out for both fickle-ferns and thantars.

  Given the good weather, we were able to set a steady pace. A couple of hours into the afternoon, I noticed that, up ahead, an old man was headed our way, pulling a cart behind him. He didn’t look strong enough to do so, but somehow he managed to drag the wagon behind him. It had one wheel in the center, so there wasn’t much stability, but it provided enough room to carry a number of supplies.

  As we passed him, he gave us a wide berth and a cautious nod.

  “Excuse me, good sir, but can you tell me if we’re near the village of Tyrnis?” I asked.

  He hesitated for a moment before stopping. “Aye, you’re about a quarter hour outside of the gates. If I were you, I’d make haste. They lock the gates now, once sundown approaches.”

  I frowned. Most villages didn’t do that. “Is there trouble?”

  “Trouble follows everywhere we go,” he said. “You have only to be born to attract it. But yes, Tyrnis is having trouble with vampires. There’s a small nest to the north, not far from the village, and they attempt to sneak in after dark. Bloodthirsty monsters,” he added. “But I suppose you’ll be welcomed, especially if you reach the gates while the sun still shines.” He picked up the harness fastened to his wagon and slipped it over his shoulders, starting up again as he headed along the road.

  I glanced at the others. “If we show up all the sun is still shining, it means we're not vampires. Let’s hurry, I don’t want any questions, and we certainly don’t want to be outside the gates after dark if there’s a vampire nest near.”

  Within 15 minutes, as predicted by the old man, we saw the gates of Tyrnis up ahead. The sun was still shining, though it was low on the horizon, and we hurried toward the guards waiting by the gates. We had finally made it to the village of Tyrnis.

  CHAPTER 47: THIS IS CIVILIZATION?

  Compared to the city of Dusmaria, Tyrnis seemed like a megalopolis. It really wasn’t that big, but it was the biggest city we had seen so far. Granted, it was only the second city we had seen. As we entered the gates, the guards gave us a once-over, but otherwise ignored us. There were probably dozens of people each day wandering through those gates, if not hundreds. I wasn’t sure what they all came from, but there were probably forts and strongholds and tiny villages all through the woods.

  “Should we find an inn?” Thornhold asked. “That might be prudent to do before dark. I don’t want to be wandering on the streets at night — at least not until we figure out what manner of city this is.”

  “True that,” Reggie said. “There are a lot of thieves and rogues in the game, and I imagine the streets are filled with them.”

  “All right,” I said. “Keep your eyes open. But before we say we’ll take a room, we want to ask the price first. I imagine the prices are jacked up here, given it’s the last city before the mountains.”

  As sunset approached, the last splashes of light filtered through the city streets. All along the road, lining the sides, were vendors. And they appeared to be packing up their stands to go home for the night. The smells were rife: stale meat mixed with rich perfumes mixed with body odor. Most of the people looked somewhat grimy, not as in dirt poor, but as in needing a bath a few days ago.

  Brynn tapped me on the shoulder and pointed ahead, on the right side of the street. “I think there’s an inn there,” she said.

  I squinted, shading my eyes as the last rays of sun slid across my face. Sure enough, a hanging sign proclaimed the building to be the stout and loaf inn.

  “All right, let’s give it a try.”

  I led the way through the raucous streets, as a cacophony of noise assaulted us from all around: Wagons rumbling over the cobblestones, horses’ hooves clattering, last-minute hagglers trying to squeeze one last deal out of the vendors, women chatting in loud tones as they headed towards home, and the sound of children laughing as they raced through the streets. Even though it wasn’t home as we knew it, in some ways the noise was welcome. I had missed the sound of civilization and hadn’t even realized it.