I tried to make something out of the quiet evening, and so I spent some time looking outside the cave, admiring the plants and the occasional chirping sounds of settling birds.
The sun was soon sinking. The soft breeze that caressed my face whispered of distant, hissing murmurs of crashing waves. We weren’t too far from the Wrathwater Depths.
Whenever I thought about what it looked like, the ocean, I always imagined myself on a serene beach, barefoot, approaching a calming bed of blue. But I knew that my first time would be different. I already feared what I had never seen, yet my stomach tangled with excitement. Soon, I would see it, and I’d be seeing it in its dangerous form.
I gathered some twigs, logs, and rocks and set them up in the middle of the cave, just like the males from Silch had done when we journeyed to Dunehaven. I took out the immortal flame and let it burn until the small twigs caught on fire, and kept feeding it until the logs turned fiery red.
I moved the blanket three times until I found a floor beneath me that didn’t threaten to puncture my skin. Lying on my side, I took out the dark book and skimmed through its pages. A particular page caught my eye. A depiction of a witch from Brimholden, dating back a thousand years, and a name: Maara Ikubib. Her eyes and lips were drawn big and full, her features beautifully prominent. Her thick locks of hair were decorated with jewels and fabric. Her cheeks were painted with symmetrical symbols that reached down to her chin. Beautiful, powerful, and daring were three words that came to mind.
Footsteps approached and I quickly traded the book for wood and string, but I soon lowered my bow. Marshen entered the cave, six glistening fish in one hand, logs in the other. His damp hair was knotted in a low ponytail.
“You lit the fire,” he said, letting the logs tumble to the floor. I only nodded.
I picked around the scales and bones, chewing slowly, despite my hunger gnawing sharper with every cautious bite. Marshen, on the other hand, devoured the fire-roasted fish whole. I gawked at him. Then my stomach twisted at the thought that drifted through my mind, making it hard to swallow. What would King Ryvar say if he knew that we—he—had killed three Naari soldiers? Did we just breach the peace treaty?
I again resorted to the book, a grim companion that offered some strange, quiet comfort.
“Resting is more useful for surviving than a bedtime story, you know?” Marshen said.
“You can sleep, I’ll take first watch,” I said, skimming through the pages in search of more depictions.
“You’ll be tired all day tomorrow. You can sleep, I’ll take watch.”
I kept my gaze on the pages. I didn’t think I would manage to sleep anyway. I didn’t fully trust Marshen—he could easily rob me and leave.
Marshen didn’t rob me and leave.
When I awoke, he was seated on the floor, his back against the wall and his knees close to his chest. My gaze shifted towards my bag, and I glimpsed fruit on top of it.
“Good morning,” Marshen said. He used a small dagger to slice a piece of apple, which he then placed between his thin lips, the dagger coming dangerously close to his left eye.
“Good morning,” I mumbled.
“There’s a little stream behind the cave if you want to, you know…tend to your needs.”
I was grateful for it—the stream. If only my god had rivers of water to offer us instead of sand and stone.
The sound of the turbulent sea grew louder and angrier as we hiked for long hours. I asked if the ocean would be visible soon.
“Not yet. We’ll keep on this path, then head west when we are closer to the Falls. It’s better if we avoid the cliffs and remain hidden for as long as possible.”
I was about to say something but Marshen snapped his head my way and grabbed hold of my arm. He pulled me into a crouch and lifted a shushing finger to his mouth. His hand hovered between our faces and he lifted another finger.Two. Then he lifted another, and another.Four. We stayed like that for a while, hidden behind the shrubs of mock orange.
“Let’s move,” Marshen urged, leading us towards the dipping sun. Hunger had been gnawing at me, but I knew better than to ask if we could stop. Marshen’s hurried pace told me we couldn’t risk a pause.
“There are more caves up there,” he said, pointing towards a small, rocky hill, not far off. “We can camp there for the night. I have some nets close by, I’ll get more fish.”
“You have fishing nets conveniently lying along the coast?” I asked.
“Something like that.”
“How long have you been here?”
“Fourteen months.”
“A long time, then.”
“I’ve been everywhere in Ilma. Well, except for the Stone Temple and the Castle of Nerithia. Those are excessively guarded. The rest of the Land has small patrols scatteredthroughout the territory. The main entrances of the waterways are also guarded—the sea, too.”
