They left shortly after Dover returned to the camp. Cynder had collected what was salvageable, properly erased the magic circle, and was ready to leave. She didn’t anticipate sleeping much during the night, so she planned to repair her tattered supplies then.

Rather than follow a path, Dover simply started walking in a straight line through the woods. “Follow me. Let me know if ya can’t keep up.” He moved fast, less than a run, but certainly faster than a walk. It seemed like he melted around the various trees and obstacles, and when Cynder glanced behind them she couldn’t see any signs of Dover's passing. All that she saw was her own clumsy path.

Despite her high endurance, her small size made this a hard pace to maintain. She did her best, but eventually she called for him to slow down. He stopped, turned around, and just barely stopped himself from laughing. Her hair was a tangled mess of twigs and leaves, and it was obvious she was struggling to keep up. As soon as his initial amusement at her appearance passed, he bent his head in apology “Sorry. Not used to having company.”

While catching her breath Cynder haltingly replied. “It is... Fine... I just need... a moment...”

“We can take it slow, camp in a clearing tonight, or we could travel past dark.” He paused and looked over her frazzled appearance once more before continuing. “Or I could just carry ya the final leg... Yer choice.” Dover smirked and Cynder wasn’t sure if his last offer was genuine or a joke. Depending on how fast and far they traveled, it might be tempting.

“I do not need much rest. Provided there aren't any substantial risks with traveling after dark, then continuing past sunset would be fine.”

After resting, having a snack, and some water, they continued on. Dover still led them in a straight line, but he traveled much slower, matching her natural walking pace. He even used the axe he carried to clear away some of the branches and brush. Watching him Cynder saw genuine regret at carving out a path, and he appeared to be doing the least amount of damage possible. The path he left behind could easily be mistaken for an animal trail.

The trip passed mostly in silence. They stopped a few more times to rest, and Dover occasionally gave instructions when the trail was particularly tricky. He was clearly doing his best to accommodate her, and eventually her wariness of traveling with this strange mortal completely faded. While it was still possible he was taking her to a trap, it didn’t seem likely. Besides, if he tried anything she still had her trump card and was confident it would at least buy her time to escape. Relaxing, she even started to enjoy the journey. It was the first time in months of traveling that she could simply look at the world around her and see nature’s beauty. She began to understand why her guide left the least impact possible.

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When night fell, they stopped for a cold dinner. Since they weren’t in a good place for a fire, Dover offered her jerky and various fruits from his own supplies.

“If yer still good to go, we’ll be there in a couple hours.”

“I can continue traveling, I see fairly well in the dark...” Cynder trailed off, she hadn’t meant to give that away. What if he realized her secrets? What then?

“One of yer magic tricks eh? Care to see which of us has better night vision?” he asked surprisingly playfully.

“No!” She blurted out before collecting her thoughts. “I would surely fall in a ravine or find myself hopelessly lost then.”

He simply nodded and took out a magical rune from his pouch. Cynder immediately recognized it as a low grade light spell. He mumbled a small chant, tapped his axe and soon had a fireless torch to guide them. Watching this a thought struck Cynder and she mentally yelled at herself. Most people required chants to perform magic, and she had burnt the boar earlier effortlessly. She also recalled that he had called her a sorceress when they first met, but how did he know? Then she remembered he had likely followed the boar’s trail through her camp, and once broken the circle was completely obvious.

Though their pace was slower in the dark, they still covered a significant distance. Eventually they began to pass new growth trees which were likely growing where fields had been before. There were ruined rock walls scattered about, marking the borders of this long abandoned farmland. Continuing on they began to see the ruins of houses. The plants and weather were slowly reclaiming the buildings, the ones closest to the edge of the village being in the worst shape while some in the center still appeared fairly sound.

Dover took her to one of the more sturdy houses, it had most of its roof and all four walls. ”Welcome home,” he said with a chuckle.

Cynder looked it over and could see it was actually maintained. Very slightly maintained, but enough that it was unlikely to collapse anytime soon. “Do you live here? In this abandoned village?” She asked, completely surprised.

“I wouldn’t say live.” He said with a shrug. “It's a good place to camp when in the area, or during the winter months”

“Wow. You really were serious when you said you were not much for society. I am surprised you would even guide me this far.”

Dover shrugged once more. “Yer quiet. And I’d feel guilty if something bad happened to you.” With that he opened the door and headed inside. He removed some items which had been hidden in the fireplace and then lit a small fire for warmth. “I’d like to stay a few days and resupply, if that’s ok with you, after that I’ll take you to whatever village you want.”

Cynder agreed and shortly after they both called it a night.