“I’m a potions apprentice from Amori City,” I explained when they still did not speak. “These should help you as you continue.” I held upthe dark violet vial. “This is a potion to help your endurance, and this one will help keep you warm. The child should only have half of each vial however, the dosage is meant for an adult.”
I still had the ingredients tucked away in my pack, so I could always brew more when we made camp tonight.
“We have no spare coin to offer you for the potions,” the second man spoke, his voice softer, younger than the first.
My head shook, a shaky smile pulling my lips. “Consider it a gift of goodwill. They hardly take any time to make regardless.”
The older man slipped down from his saddle and approached, eyes still cautious as he regarded me. “Nothing is free, especially in Amori City.”
“My work is in the Old Quarter. We often give care on credit or for barter and trade.” I offered in explanation, handing the potions over to him. I glanced once more at the woman, clearly ill, lips pursing. “I have others in my pack that would make her more comfortable for travel.”
He stepped back, body tensing. “I don’t know what you speak of.”
We both knew she shouldn’t be traveling in this weather nor should she be traveling at all. The woman should’ve been quarantined to reduce the risk of spreading The Fever further.
“We have nothing to offer in trade either.”
“Information then,” I asked quickly as he turned to go, pushing aside the unease I felt over the sick woman. “We’re searching for a woman named Misha, do you know of her?”
The man’s shoulders tensed, muscles taught beneath the worn wool that lined his body. “Misha is but a myth.”
The words were a snarl, frustration wrinkling the skin around his eyes.
“They say she resides deep in the wild wood, a Healer blessed by the Moon who can keep The Fever at bay. It is nothing but false hope meant to make fools of the desperate and sick.”
Blessed by the Moon? She was Luanthian then. Had these people also been searching for her? Did she know of a cure, or simply a way to slow the spread, as the kingdom's Master Healers were doing for Prince Kaemon?
“Where do the myths say one can find her?”
The man’s lips thinned as though he didn’t wish to say, then his eyes flicked to the potions in his arms and a sigh fell from his cracked lips. “They say that she can be found where the sea meets the mountain cliffs. Where old life and new melt into one. Where the moon meets the rubble of the past.”
Okay, whatever the Nine Hellsthatmeant. Why did everything have to be so shrouded in Goddess-damned mystery?
“Thank you.”
His head nodded and he hesitated once more. “The wild wood is full of things that one should never wish to encounter. Travel only in the day and always burn a fire when night falls. Even the wrath of Soli is better than being snatched by the things that roam there. And be careful, the magic there plays tricks upon the mind.”
An eerie feeling smothered over me as I nodded, my exhaustion peaking as my shoulders slumped. Could we not have two days without some dangerous threat at our throats?
I stepped back from the path as the man once more settled into his saddle, waiting for my three friends to move. They did, hesitantly.
When the horses and sled disappeared from view and the quiet of the woods once more reigned, I heard Bran again. “Was that creepy to anyone else or just me?”
“Definitely creepy,” Rena murmured back as Roan slid from his saddle to help me back into mine. The horse was far too tall for me to take my seat alone. Nor did I think my frozen, stiff muscles would allow me to jump to the height needed.
“We travel further into the forest then?” Kairen mused, his eyes northbound. “To the mountain range that separates Tavari from Kezechani?”
“Sounds like that’s our best course of action.” My reply was tired, eyes screwing shut. “This Mishabetter have some Goddess-damned answers for us.”
The fire burned brightly, crackling as the near empty spiced stew boiled over the open flame. I sat huddled, hands outstretched as close as I could get without burning my gloves to warm myself.
Camp had already been set, the tents erected and shifts assigned for who would watch the woods and tend the fire throughout the night. We had entered the wild wood merely an hour before the sun had truly set, and the contrast of the wild wood compared to the plain northern forest was stark. It was clear as soon as we crossed the border that some dark energy lurked in this place. The trees stretched out like gnarled limbs intent to grab and drag us into the dense dark that surrounded everything within view.
When day broke, I doubted we’d see much light through the canopy that apparently didn’t grow brittle even in the cold. Was it magic that kept its leaves from falling? Or was it the type of trees in this part of the forest?
Even the shadows within me were different from before, louder and more difficult to ignore. A constant hissing beneath my skin, slithering through my blood with their constant aggravating chanting. It made my head ache and my temper spike.
“Go get some sleep,” Bran nudged me, attention drifting to the bags I knew had to have been deep beneath my eyes.
