My life — all of our lives — seemed so very far away and so alien to what we were now experiencing. When I thought about stepping into a warm shower that was ready at a moment’s notice, my muscles began to ache. And when I thought about sleeping in a soft bed, safe behind locked doors, I wanted to cry. We had been so busy surviving that I hadn’t let myself think about the little luxuries that I missed. But now everything came sweeping in, landing on my shoulders as to what all we had lost.
“Are you okay?” Thornhold asked. He was walking beside me, helping to keep an eye out for dangers underfoot.
I shook my head. “Everything suddenly hit me. I think I just registered that we're here for good. Is there a chance we canget out of here? Perhaps. But right now, this is our life. And I’m suddenly angry and missing home.”
“I know,” Thornhold said. “I wish I hadn’t picked a dwarf to play. I really don’t feel like myself. I may be stuck in this body forever.”
Somber, we carried on in silence. The one positive was that we were in this together — all five of us. But that didn’t make it easier to bear, and I knew everybody had their own inner demons they were fighting. Brynn had a boyfriend, and now he’d been stripped away from her. Ray had a girlfriend and his dogs. And Geoff—back with Liesel—had a wife and a baby.
We’d all lost somebody or something, and the thought that we might never see them again was too painful to dwell on.
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. Andthatwas a blessing worth noting.
CHAPTER 45: THE STARS OVERHEAD
We continuedon 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.
