Emily walks nervously through the forest, looking this way and that in an attempt to catch the terrifying mind pixies before they could get to her brain. She tugs on the rope in her hands, ushering Blue to walk just a little bit closer to her, her nervousness calming down just a little bit as he complies. She gazes up at his head, wondering if he’s grown even taller since she last checked.

  The not-so-little guy walks pleasantly behind her, his hood still on as they make their way deeper and deeper into the forest. It took some time for Bill to stop asking her if she’s sure that she wants to walk Blue by herself, but eventually, he got the hint and stopped asking.

  And now he’s just trailing behind her, looking down at the ground with a contemplative look on his face… Occasionally, Emily can swear that she can feel his eyes boring into the back of her head. She’s been ignoring him since they all set off, delaying the inevitable conversation that she needs to have with him until she’s forced to confront it.

  The entire party seems way too calm considering what they’re all up against. Out in front is a short man about Emily’s height, with wide shoulders and a beard that curls down to his waist, with a large shield strapped to his back and a short sword attached to his hip. Behind him walks a tall lady who somehow makes the uniform that they all share look good, as if they were designed by an expert tailor and made with the finest material money can buy. Strapped to her side is a crossbow, with a strap on her arm holding in place her bolts, ready to pull off at a moment’s notice.

  Emily feels bittersweet walking behind them, being back in a formation once again after how long she’s been separated from her friends. She lets out a sigh as she pictures them now, Alastair’s signature smirk and Nora’s calm and collected demeanor.

  She hopes that they’re okay.

  The lady turns to look at Emily and gives her a questioning look, both of her eyebrows raising as she looks down at her with half-lidded eyes.

  “Is there something the matter, ‘Archmage’”?

  Emily squeezes Blue’s rope a bit tighter, suddenly feeling embarrassed. She racks her brain for the woman’s name, but struggles to remember it at all.

  “I’m just… Wondering how much further we are?”

  “‘Wondering how much further we are’”, the lady mocks, her voice high-pitched and whiny. “And if I told you we’re still hours away, and your precious bath is going to have to wait? What then?”

  The stocky man in front lets out a chuckle, shaking his head.

  “Leave ‘er alone, ‘Tishia. She’s scared out of her mind.”

  Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

  He looks at Emily, his eyes roving up and down her body in a way that makes Emily want to tuck her cloak in tighter to her body. He gives Emily a smirk, before looking back at ‘Tishia’.

  “See? Her legs are knockin’ together. Bet she’s never had to face real combat without a whole platoon escort before.”

  ‘Tishia’ cackles along to the man’s joke, throwing her head back in an exaggerated fashion as she places a hand on her chest. She glances back to Emily again, a smirk on her face.

  “Poor widdle Archmage… Are you afraid of some widdle mind pixies, huh?”

  Emily feels her cheeks burn, as she squeezes the rope tighter.

  “Well, they’re mind mages, don’t you know the rumors about –”

  “One has to wonder how she even managed to make it to the FOB all by herself. She must have waltzed on the corpses of dozens of hired hands to do it.”, the lady interrupts, as she flicks her hair and turns away from Emily once again. “I’ll bet she wets herself at the first drop of blood.”

  The man in front turns and grins at Tishia. “I bet it happens at the first sign of trouble. Sitting in some cushy study for all of your life learning pretty spells might get you the title of ‘Archmage’ these days, but the moment these noble brats find real trouble… They fold like cards.”

  The pair laugh together, glancing at Emily to see her reaction, before turning back to look at each other and laughing even harder. Furious, Emily decides that she’s going to take Blue’s hood off after all, tugging on the rope and bringing the ostrich another step closer to her once again.

  But before she can do just that, the pair stops laughing, sudden silence of the forest staying Emily’s hand mid-reach.

  She turns to look at them and finds that they’ve halted their steps, side-to-side, their backs rod straight and facing towards Emily. Emily stops walking, a funny feeling running down her spine at the sudden change.

  “Did you spot something?” she asks them, feeling the strange urge to whisper. Bill stops next to Emily, his hand on his sword as he looks at the pair with a worried expression on his face. “Hey, Bill… What’s up with them?”

  Bill looks at them for a moment longer, shaking his head. “I don’t know, ma’am… But I don’t like it.”

  The pair stay completely quiet, their shoulders squared as they continue to gaze off into the distance.

  Suddenly, the man drops to his hands and knees, pulling out clumps of earth and letting out a heart-wrenching wail, as if he’s witnessing the death of someone he loves right in front of him. Tishia’s shoulders begin to shake, as tears run down her face. She gazes up at the canopy, her eyes wide and her pupils dilating until the colour within them disappears completely.

  Emily watches this happen with her jaw hanging open, unsure of what’s going on. She turns to Bill, about to ask him about whether this is normal or not, but she finds him with his face buried in his hands, tears flowing between his fingers as he whispers “I’m sorry… I’m sorry…” over and over again under his breath.

  “Oh, dear…” Emily says, as she slowly reaches for Blue’s hood, suddenly no longer feeling like they’re alone in this corner of the woods. She grabs the rough material in her hands, slowly tugging it off –

  – Just as, in the corner of her vision, she spots the blurry shapes of things moving out of the foliage to surround them.