“The rain has stopped.” He appeared torn, but after a long moment, he sighed and lowered her off his lap. “We should go. It will be dark soon.”
He gathered his discarded armor and crawled out of the hollow. The enveloping warmth of his presence evaporated instantly, and Maxi felt herself snap back to the reality of their circumstances. This was not the time to be getting comfortable. They were, after all, alone in a mountain overrun with monsters.
Maxi hastily forced her feet into her damp shoes. When she stepped out of the tree trunk, Riftan was fully armored again, untying the horses from the branch where he had left them.
“Do you think you can walk?”
He sounded so collected that it was hard to believe he was the same man who had, only moments before, been trying to devour her. She gave him a sour look and nodded slowly.
“I-I have had enough rest.”
“Keep close. We are almost to the downslope. It will be much easier from there.”
Riftan began to climb, his feet making no sound on the muddy trail. Maxi followed, just trying not to slip. The heat had thankfully broken with the rain, but it was hard to appreciate the cool breeze when she was soaking wet. Maxi hugged herself, trying to rub warmth into her arms.
Riftan noticed her shivering and his face softened. “I’ll find a place for us to camp soon.”
Maxi glanced nervously around at the rapidly darkening mountainside. “Y-You intend for us…to spend the night out here?”
“It will be dark soon.”
“Th-That’s true…but would it not be better for us to hurry dow—”
His face grew grave. “Climbing down a mountain in the dark is extremely dangerous. It would be far safer for us to find somewhere to rest until daybreak.”
Maxi nodded stiffly. Though she was slightly worried about spending the night in the mountains by themselves, she had no choice but to follow his decision. She hung her head sullenly. Had he been alone, Riftan would have cleared this mountain and reached the village by now. The thought that she had slowed down the knights made her heart sink like a rock.
“W-Was I…g-going the wrong way?”
Riftan, who had been weaving through the trees, paused and turned to look at her. “You were planning on getting out of the mountains by yourself?”
“I-I was told that there was a village…at the bottom of this mountain, so…” Maxi trailed off, afraid that he would get angry at her recklessness.
Riftan narrowed his eyes. Instead of yelling at her, he stared down the dark forest path and said flatly, “You were going the right way. This path leads to the village.”
Her heart felt a little lighter at his words.
They traveled in silence until it was too dark to see the path. Riftan found a small cave and, after inspecting it for any creatures lurking in the shadows, beckoned for her to enter. Maxi eyed the cave warily before crawling inside on her hands and knees.
“I will unsaddle the horses,” he said. “Wait here, it will not take long.”
Maxi hugged her knees and nodded. Riftan crawled out of the cave, but stayed in view to tie the horses. When he returned, he carried a saddlebag and pulled out a blanket.
“It might be a little damp, but it’s not wet,” he said as he held it out to her. “Take off your clothes and wrap yourself in this.”
Maxi’s eyes grew round. “H-Here?”
“It gets cold at night. You will catch a chill if you sleep in those wet clothes.”
He shoved the blanket into her hands and turned his back to her, apparently his way of prompting her to do as instructed. She did not move at first, staring instead at the dark ceiling, then into the forest, now bathed in the blue of twilight. Finally, unable to withstand the cold any longer,Maxi undressed.
She felt considerably more comfortable after peeling off her wet clothes and wrapping herself in the blanket. Taking off her boots as well, she tugged the blanket down to her ankles.
“I-I am done.”
Riftan looked over his shoulder to check, then quickly busied himself pulling out more items from the bag. Maxi quietly crouched down next to him, curious. He tore off the sleeve of his tunic and crumpled it into a ball. Unsheathing a dagger as long as his forearm, he struck it against a flintstone, sending sparks at the cloth that died instantly against the damp.
“Shall I…l-light the fire with magic?” Maxi offered cautiously.
