The glow of the campfire cast a dim light through the makeshift campsite where the teens stayed. The trees, once visible in the setting sunlight, now completely invisible in the black abyss of night. Kreme and Cole lay in the dirt embracing each other, both sound asleep, meanwhile Mac and Chyrie stared into the embers.

"Can you give me a demonstration?" Mac asked, him and Chyrie had been talking about elemental magic and how to perform it. Chyrie had said that she only knew how to do fire magic, called pyromancy in this world, and that she wasn't that good.

Chyrie stood up from her stump and assumed a wide stance, her arms at her side like she was holding weights. She then took in a deep breath, and punched the air. From her fist, a medium sized flame was expelled that then quickly vanished.

Mac scratched his goatee, then stood up assuming the same stance as Chyrie. He copied all of Chyrie's movements as best he could, but when he threw his punch, nothing happened.

"You're supposed to think of something that ruffles your fur." Chyrie instructed.

"Like something that makes me angry?"

"Kind of."

The sound of a footstep cracking a branch made Mac and Chyrie perk up. They weren't alone. From the direction of the trail, a person slowly approached the campsite. A older fellow, who appeared human with a long scraggly beard. His skin was tan, like a normal human, but he was covered in coal from head to toe.

"Hey" He said in a deep echoing voice. "I'm just doing rounds. We got a few reports of the creep spreading, so we're making sure to clear everyone out before it eats them." The man rubbed his eyes, then blinked a few times to adjust his vision.

"Oh, yeah, we picked her up from a nearby village that was completely consumed." Mac motioned to Chyrie.

The man looked Mac up and down, assessing who he was. "Do you belong to her?"

"No, we're just starting a bit rough."

"Ah, well, I'm not here to get you guys into any trouble. Just giving you a warning. Though to be honest you guys don't look too good. Come here, I can get you guys a little kick in the butt to help you get closer to the tree." The man took Mac's wrists and pressed his thumbs down into Mac's palms. "Bear with me, I'm still getting the hang of this. Just direct all your soul to your hands and I'll bring it out."

Inside Mac's chest, he suddenly felt slightly warm. He then felt the warmth travel from his chest, down to his hands. To his shock, a few blue gemstones emerged from his skin and lay in his hands, emanating a light warmth to them. They were jagged,, and on the inside they glowed a dim yellow.

This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

The man let go of Mac's wrists and frowned. He reached into his overalls pocket and fished out a few more of his own blue gemstones and dropped them into Mac's hands, then nodded approvingly. He then turned to Chyrie. "Your turn, sweetheart." He said. Chyrie approached him and gave him her wrists. But to his shock, the stones that emerged from her hands weren't blue. Instead, they were deep black, like obsidian. The man's eyes widened, he then looked her in the face with a surprised expression. "Chyrie?"

Chyrie's eyes met the mans, surprised that he knew who she was. "Do I know you?"

"Eh, no. But I know your parents. Are they here?" The man suddenly perked up to Mac who was directly behind Chyrie silently signaling to him to not talk about them, pulling his finger across his neck indicating that they had died. "Oh. Well I normally wouldn't do this to just anyone, but I can't with a clear conscious leave you out here. Follow me, I have a guest shack nearby."

"You don't mind if we come do you?" Mac asked. "I'd feel better if we didn't leave her alone too."

The man nodded and motioned for Mac to follow. Instead, Mac first approached Kreme and Cole and gently kicked Kreme a few times in his leg. After not getting a response, Mac then opted to shake him awake.

"Hey, get up. We're going somewhere else."

Kreme lied onto his back and groaned from being just awoken. "Is the petrifaction here?"

Mac shook his head and motioned to the man who was inspecting the black gemstones that had appeared in Chyrie's hands. "We made a friend."

"Alright, I'll wake Cole. Don't forget the bag."

The camp felt slightly brighter with the teens having known that they were going to be able to sleep a bit more soundly tonight. Mac slung his harvester's bag over his shoulder while Kreme did the same with Cole.

The man led the teens back down the trail, walking for several minutes before arriving to a shack that looked no different than the one that they had spawned in.

"You can stay here as long as you like, and feel free to help yourselves to whatevers inside. Just don't get eaten by the creep."

"That's--" Mac paused, thinking of a way to thank the man without revealing that he was incredibly suspicious of his generosity. "Very generous of you."

"I've already cleared out the tools I need. Everything else is either no use, or just too much of a headache to keep track of." The man turned back to the trail. "I'm going to head out now. See if I can find any more stragglers. You guys should be close enough to the tree that you'll have enough time to sleep before the creep gets here." And with that, he disappeared into the night.

The inside of the shack was musty and dark. Luckily, on a hook next to the entrance was a lamp, which Chyrie lit with her pyromancy. The faint glow of her fire revealed a rather barren room with a table in the middle. On it was a rusty shield and a small hunter's knife. The walls looked as if they had suffered many years of work, with cuts and dents dotting them. Just across the room was a large grandfather clock that appeared to have some blue gemstones engraved in its hands. Next to it, a large dresser that held several different kinds of clothing inside. The floor looked as if it once had many tools strewn across it, but was now completely empty.

"I feel these were placed here for a reason." Mac said, alluding to the rusty shield and hunters knife on the table. The man who so generously let them stay had said he already cleared out everything he needed. Wouldn't he need these too?

"Before we do anything, lets just go back to sleep." Kreme remarked sleepily, still carrying Cole over his shoulder who was well awake now and had silently accepted his fate as Kreme's stole cape.

Mac agreed and sat down on the wooden floor. It was hard and cold, but was a small improvement from simply sleeping in the dirt. "Good night guys."