A creature emerged from the darkness. What was left of their transport dribbled from its decayed jaws, melting into the ground beneath it.

The creature's skin was translucent and its bones visible through its murky insides. The world around them twisted and suddenly the ground no-longer felt as solid as it did before.

"Fenrir!" Cellt hissed. Yarrow reached for his weapon but the Fenrir was faster. In an instant, the creature's great claw batted him away, sending him flying into the darkness of the storm. Cellt grabbed Vey, half dragging him out of its path.

The Fenrir ducked back under the sand in pursuit.

Its spine appeared in the sand beside them. Cellt cursed. It was cutting them off.

"Here!" Vey's voice cut through the dark. She searched for him only to notice that he had slipped away while they were running.

The remains of the transport were caught on a ruined wall. Vey was hiding behind it, using the remains as cover. Cellt vaulted over the wall.

Vey clutched his chest, breathing heavily. He tried covering his face against the sand but did not succeed. Carefully Cellt peeked over the wall - and stared straight into its hollow eyes.

She shot back down. Trembling hands covered her mouth. Eyes clamped shut. It wasn't attacking? Why? Cellt wondered.

With a cracking sound, it slid along the wall's back instead. It bumped into the remains, screeched and lunged for it.

Cellt felt a hand brush her shoulder. Vey gestured for her to be quiet then presented something to her. It was a soaked paper. The ink was stained, barely legible.

'Can't see. Listens.' It read.

She nodded. Vey gulped and flattened himself against the wall even more.

The Fenrir's head was hidden in the darkness but she could see its body slipping in and out of the sand around them. Its growl rattled in the rain.

Cellt watched it move, then she saw him. Across from them, hidden in a furrow in the sand was Yarrow, watching the creature as carefully as she did. Their eyes met and he winked. Cellt couldn't hold back a growl. The bastard better not be enjoying this. Then she saw why he was so confident. He held up a brown leather bag.

Explosives.

Yarrow grinned. Pulled back his arm and threw the bag towards her. It hit the ground just out of reach making Vey jump in surprise. Without a shred of doubt, Cellt knew what the plan was and locked eyes with Vey.

Vey tried shaking his head, but his movements were too stiff. Cellt ignored him and moved away from the wall.

She signalled to Yarrow. 'Run. If you have the chance,'

Several black orbs had spilt from the bag on impact. The sand shifted below her. Cellt stumbled back to find her footing. She grabbed one before it could sink into the earth. Cellt caught Vey's wide eyes. The blood had drained from his face. A gust blew behind her, against the direction of the storm.

Its foul breath followed. Slowly Cellt turned to see slivers of gore dripping from several rows of mismatched teeth. Its enormous head loomed over her. A lump formed in her throat. Cellt noticed that she could see her breath. The air around her was freezing.

In the corner of her eye, Cellt saw something that made her skin crawl. A decomposed face locked in its final moments. It was stuck in one of the furrows of its jaw. Cellt tried to keep herself from gagging. She gripped the explosive so tightly she wasn't sure if it would go off in her hand. Would it even make a difference? Cellt wondered.

The Fenrir slid closer, bobbing its head from side to side, sniffing the air where she stood. Then she realized. It wasn't sure if she was there.

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Slowly Cellt removed a white sticker covering the explosive's ignition. A single drop of blood was all that was needed to activate it and blood there was more than enough of. Seven seconds later it'll go off.

Her eyes drifted to the trapped corpse. A hole in the side of its jaw. She swallowed and stuck the explosive inside.

-x0x-

Cellt jolted awake in a cold sweat. She was shivering. Her hands were trembling. The memory melted from her mind. It took her a moment to realize that she was in the buried house. Hours have passed. The storm was dwindling down into a light rain. Yarrow was still asleep and Vey was peeking at her from behind a book. His brows furrowed.

"You okay?" he asked softly. Cellt brushed a hand through her hair in an attempt to still her nerves.

"I'm alright," She smiled weakly.

He raised an eyebrow at that but didn't bother her further. Her hands drifted to a small braid hidden in her hair. Two beads were weaved into the braid at the end. One black for protection and one green for vigilance. Her thoughts drifted.

Out of immediate danger, Cellt had time to think. She didn't like where her thoughts drifted to. Stories she was told as a young girl danced around her memory. She left that life behind, now they were travelling to return to it. The irony almost made her want to laugh. The monsters she feared as a child were waiting to welcome her back.

She clasped her eyes shut as unwanted memories resurfaced. Faces painted crimson, wildfires and finally endless unyielding snow stretching as far as one can see. A scarred, war-torn face slipped into her mind.

"The desert?" The old man croaked with a raspy laugh. There was no joy in it It sounded painful. He had to steady himself against a tree. She didn't dare help. "You'll find nothing there."

They met him at the border between the desert, pulling a red-stained cart.

"Do you think these bindings are for show?" he spat. He waved an angry and towards a rune etched in rock. Vey sent an unimpressed look at the rock.

"We are not planning to stay there. We're just passing through to Arkencade." Vey said.

A flurry of emotions passed the man's eyes. He was quiet for a long time before he spoke again. "Yes. They're fighting up north again, aren't they?"

He seemed to forget about them after that. He wandered over to his cart and quickly readjusted the tarp that covered it, but Cellt had already seen what was hidden beneath it. He couldn't hide the blood dripping from beneath it.

Cellt gulped for air. Shook her head and tried to clear her head. The Death Keeper's face echoed in her mind. Keepers gathered the dead for their families. She'd seen one before but even then...

Years of old humour had bled into madness. She didn't know why she was thinking about him now. Back then, they were standing at the edge of a new future. Cellt was prepared to fight, now she knows that the Keeper was trying to be kind.

"We need more wood." Cellt declared suddenly. She didn't want to think anymore. Cellt shuffled to get out from under Yarrow then placed her bag under his head. Vey blinked, his mind returning to reality.

"Let me," he said.

"No," she stopped him with a wave of her hand.

"You're working. I'll get it."

Vey ground his teeth in dismay but said nothing more. Arguing with her would get them nowhere anyway. She snatched a spear from beside the dilapidated sofa and gave him a soft smile.

-x0x-

The amber light from the lantern guided her way through the building. It was enormous. Arched doorways and faded patterns of gold, blue and green reminded her of the forest.

In a way, it felt that the home might have seemed a lot less foreboding if the harsh conditions did not weather it as much as it did. They had already taken apart most of the furniture. It was possible to tear some wood from the roof, however that may cause it to collapse altogether.

The building held a second floor, but Cellt was yet to find a way up other than a pile of rubble in the far corner in one of the rooms. She passed a narrow hallway into another room. Cellt had to break down what was left of a rotting door to get inside.

This room was far more ravaged than the others.

The dunes had made their way inside, blocking out the windows and most of the outer wall. Its roof sagged ominously. Cellt gave it a scrutinising look then swung around on her heel, planning to head into a more promising room. Then she froze.

Slowly, she turned her head back to the sagging roof. What was peculiar was that it wasn't centred. The ceiling was flat, yet the bump was in the furthest corner of the room at an irregular spot.

Cellt remained where she was for a moment. It was pure logic that any rain or sand pushing down on it would cause it to do so where the roof was weakest. So why didn't this? Of course, it could have been furniture or fallen debris, but the murky liquid trickling gradually from it staining the material suggested otherwise.

Should she investigate? Should she call the others? Cellt warily wandered closer, cautious not to trip over something. Standing under it she could confirm whatever the liquid was, and it wasn't water. Cellt investigated the puddle that was forming in the sand below it. The colour drained from her face. It was blood.

Cellt stumbled back. Her poncho caught on a hook jutting out of one of the pillars. Her shoulder hit the support. It creaked. The roof! It was giving way! Cellt abandoned the poncho and ducked out of the way as the roof collapsed.