Shiloh broke it by asking if it were true. Endermon said no and she told her what happened. Shiloh looked relieved, but also not convinced. She said she would be keeping an eye on him anyway. Endermon sleepily called Shiloh her hero, and snuggled deeper into Shiloh's arms. Soon her breathing evened out and she was asleep. Shiloh pulled the blanket up to Endermon's chin, and silently left through the trees.
In the early morning, Endermon woke up and sat by the glowing coals. It would only take a stick and some more firewood to make it back into a regular fire, but she just sat there staring into space. The early morning silence was broken by some scratching coming from the direction of the road.
It was the fox messenger, and it said there was news of the treasure but it would take several days and could ultimately be perilous. She asked where it was, but the fox couldn't or wouldn't say, all it would say was, look for the signs and was off.
Great. Now she had to figure out how to tell the others without sounding like a complete nutcase. But she had breakfast to take care of, so she got the fire going again and made a quick scramble. She would figure it out in the next day or so.
As everyone came to get some breakfast, Endermon started a conversation about what everyone would do with the treasure. The answers were what she expected. Money, fame, recognition. But what she didn't tell them is that once the treasure was found, and no matter what it was, she was going to go back home and fulfill her princessly duties.
Endermon hoped it would be with Shiloh, but that was an impossible idea and knew that she would have to do it alone. Because a vampire giving up her lifestyle to become a suitor for a princess would never happen.
She was brought out of her thoughts by Dresden obnoxiously tapping on his bowl with a spoon. She glared at him and told him if he wanted more, he should just get up and get it, she was not his maid. He said if she would stop being so dumb, she might notice that it was all gone.
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Instead of injuring him like she wanted to she suggested they all go to the closest town for a supply run. Endermon was about to ask the animals for help, when the driver poked his head into the clearing. He said he would watch the camp until they got back.
They gathered what they might need for the trip, and were off. Endermon kept trying to lighten the mood with small talk, but there was either not much to talk about, or things were still tense from breakfast. Finally, she couldn't stand it anymore and sent him off to do whatever.
As he went off, Rutus and Endermon began chatting. They talked about all sorts of things including relationships and what they were going to do after the treasure. Endermon said she was going to go back to being a princess and rule her kingdom once her parents could not anymore. Rutus said she hoped to be a master blacksmith and possibly married.
They continued down the road for a ways until there was urgent chatter from the birds saying there was a rather large wolf caught in a hunter's trap, and by the looks and sounds of it, it was Dresden who was caught. Making sure Rutus wasn't paying attention, she asked the birds which way he was caught. Getting a direction, she told Rutus to be ready for a daring rescue.
With their hands near their weapons, they headed off to rescue Dresden from the trap and the hunters that would surely be checking the trap, if they hadn't already. Even with the help of the animals and plants, Rutus still had to use her axe a couple of times to clear the area of particularly thick vines. Endermon apologized several times, but still felt guilty. In their own way, the plants told her it was okay. They burst into the clearing and saw a bloody mess.