They made good time as they rolled down the road. Keila had some skill that strengthened the oxen, so they didn't tire easily, making it so they didn't have to stop often. She was pushing them hard since she said she wanted to catch back up with the caravan before reaching Farnfoss, but her brothers both took bets that they wouldn't. The brothers asked Abad to join in on their bet. Seeing her talent, he told them his money, if he had any, was on their sister. The two chuckled, saying she had already set her talons into the elf and that he should watch out. She waved them off and flicked the reigns. Looking her over, he admitted to himself that the woman was was attractive, with the freckled skin and athletic build of someone who traveled often.

They had gotten to speaking about romantic conquests at one point in the afternoon. The woman was largely unashamed of herself and shared her tastes and preferences openly, causing her brothers to chime in with their own exploits. While she was more open than most women, the men—especially Rhys, from this claims at least—were doubly so. Apparently, he had a taste for the lower things in life, and brothels were one of his favorite pastimes. From their stories, they had established a bet early on in their relationship about who could "bag" the most bodies, and Rhys had won it handily. Abad noticed Serus had a gleam in his eye when his brother told their story but thought little of it.

Keila had gone about describing her preferred type at one point during their conversations. From her descriptions, Abad was it. At least his disguise was. He wondered to himself what the harm would be? While he didn't want anything tying him down, he couldn't deny it would be fun to shake off the century's-long rust with an eager partner.

When he was less exhausted, he'd think on it more. In the meantime, they fell into comfortable conversation, talking about anything and everything and nothing at all.

While he wanted to win their little wager, he hoped deep down that he was wrong. He really didn't want to catch up to the others and especially didn't want to see the dwarf again. The man's axe flashed in his mind. He was certain Firtz would have used it had Shani not been there. He also felt like he owed another debt to Shani, and he hated debts. At least ones that he weren't in his favor. It frustrated him that he wouldn't have an opportunity to resolve it.

At one point in the mid afternoon, Keila steered the wagon down a side road, and after a couple hours, they came to a small wooden hut. The men unloaded several long boxes into it, then came back with a large money box and returned to the back of the cart. When asked, they explained that their patron, a man named Bolton, used these huts to trade with hunters and other people who lived in the Wilds. They doubled back around, and by the time they hit the main road again, it was dusk.

When nightfall came, Keila reached into one of the smaller crates on the back of the cart and withdrew several items. She handed them to Abad then. They were worn clothes, a blanket, and a small tarp. "Take these. They're not worth much, but we can't have you going around like that now can we?" She eyed him up and down like a vulture looking for food. "As much as it pains me to admit it. You're not bad on the eyes."

He grinned at her comment. He found her frankness refreshing. "Perhaps when we have some private time, I'll let you see more. Trust me when I say you haven't seen anything yet." he smirked at her, watching a grin spread across her face. He felt something forgotten in him stir. She would be a welcome distraction if things continued this way.

"Get some sleep, big boy. You're not going to be able to do much of anything if those bags under your eyes get any worse." She sauntered past him and patted his chest.

He nodded, realizing for the first time how truly exhausted he actually was. "Yes ma'am."

"Good boy." She smirked and pushed him off.

He thought he'd stay up a while and read the spellbook he had found, which had just barely survived the fires due to some simple protection enchantments and the fact it got torn away from him during the fight, but once he set up his little bed on the ground next to the fire, he fell asleep before they had even finished making dinner.

***

The second day went much the same. They ate breakfast, broke down their camp, and made great time. While Abad had figured their little detour the day before had cost him his wager, the brothers started grumbling that they might actually lose their bet by midday, which made Keila grin like a madwoman. She bore down on her oxen even more, spurring them on. They continued this way until mid afternoon, when they came to a crossroads. Abad had been asking about the region, wanting to learn as much as he could from the well-traveled woman, and to her credit, she had done her best to teach him everything she knew about the area, which was a considerable amount.

As they reached the crossroads, she slowed the oxen and spoke. "This is where we found your friends yesterday."

Abad was impressed. They had made considerable distance in the hours after they had split. The dwarf likely hadn't let them rest, sputtering and grumbling the whole time as they marched. Abad could see it clearly.

She pointed to the road on the right, which he learned was to the north. "This road is called the Old King's Road. It connects Evron, Nolei, and Malrith. North brings you to Wysten, and past that's Carlen. Go even further, and you're out of Nolei and in Evron." She gestured south. "That way's Malrith. There's not a whole lot out that way. A small town called Lyrine, then nothing but a tiny villages and hamlets, and a whole lot of castaways and hunters. Lots of wild Beastkin. Not a lot of merchants go that way. The roads are too rough, and there aren't enough people keeping the monsters and bandits in check. Too many Shadowfiends and Darklings out that way too. And once you reach the wall, you hit the Mirewood Swamp, which covers most of the area around the Tower of Water, and there's bad stuff in those waters from the rumors. I don't recommend it."

"How common are those monsters? Shadowfiends? Darklings? I've never heard of them." Abad asked as he lay down on some crates in the back of the cart, looking up into the sky as clouds floated high above. Some of the monsters, like trolls and ogres, he knew, but others he had no knowledge of. It was possible they were new names for old things, but they could very well be new things as well. He couldn't know for sure until he saw them himself.

"Not very. They mostly stick to the reaches, near the walls. Since the towers are weakening, the mist doesn't seem to get picked up and sent back to the great tower anymore. Mist isn't that thick out here, but things happen and monsters form. Plus, there's old beasts from the Wilds that sneak in, so it's best to steer clear. There's plenty of strong stuff in the Waelds and Crownlands, but the population is high there too, so most of the scary stuff gets put down fast. There's not much population out here, so monsters tend to stick around a while."

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From her description, mist likely was the word people used these days for ambient mana. Mana that was allowed to go stagnant often took on a life of its own, so it was important to store it in mana crystals before it did. The Tower of the Sun also collected and burned it to create the light that bathed Elysium. It was interesting to him that mana wasn't being recycled by the towers anymore. Did that mean the Goddess's land was failing?

Rhys chimed in from the bench. The man had needed a break from his brother, so he and Abad switched spots. "Plus, we're on the way to the darker months, so it's natural there's more monsters. Will be until Darkfall."

"Darker months?" There had been no darker months in the past. The towers had always been the same, day after day. Only the moon crossing the sky ever changed. "What do you mean?"

"Yeah, you know, when the Great Tower gets dark?"

"I don't understand."

"The yearly cycle? Gets dark, then people bring their offerings to the capital. When enough fragments are offered, the great orb springs back to life? The Goddess forgives our wickedness or some such nonsense. Damn, where've you been living? This is basic stuff."

Locked in a coffin for five-hundred years."Sequestered away in study for many years. Didn't have time to get out much." There was so much about the fifth age that he didn't understand.

"I'd guess so. Never heard that accent before, and you don't know anything. Must've been pretty far away from civilization if you're missing this much information. Gonna have to teach you to walk next, I think." Rhys slapped his shoulder. "And Keila here definitely has some things she wants to teach you."

Serus chuckled when Keila smacked Rhys.

"Better me than the whores you're always going on about when we get to each town!" She shouted at her brother.

"Hey now, those are very fine ladies."

"Even Liara?"

"Oh especially Liara."

"Well I for one think that Abad is very educated and interesting, unlike you unschooled drunks."

"Hey now, that's uncalled for! we are not unschooled!" Serus laughed, grabbing two beers out of what they lovingly called the beer crate.

"Switch up, elfie. Serus is calling me." Rhys was already climbing over the bench.

***

The third day went much the same as the other two, except Keila was even more determined to catch the rest of the caravan after some tracks in the road told her they weren't far. However, dusk began to fall before they caught up, so Keila decided they'd have to make camp since the oxen were tired and they were still a day out from Farnfoss.

As the sky grew darker, the brothers suggested they go out for firewood, so he joined them. They fanned out, looking for the best pieces to burn in the thick brush. However, there wasn't much usable wood in the area. Everything was either wet or green. It seemed like the spot had been picked clean, which made sense since the road was fairly heavily traveled. Before long, darkness settled upon them, making visibility low, at least for the humans.

Eventually, he found a few serviceable boughs, but when he gathered them up in his arms, the skin under his bracers screamed at him. He gritted his teeth through the pain and managed to hold his load, if just barely. Turning back toward the wagon, he froze.

The little boy they had rescued was standing in front of him, a wide lopsided smile on his face.

"Boy... how did you get here?" Abad asked cautiously, not daring to make a move. He hadn't heard the boy. Hadn't sensed anything at all.

The boy stared at him. "I followed."

Abad looked him over. He seemed healthy, but he was off somehow. The boy cocked his head to the side a little too far. On his neck, he could see a mark. It was glowing.

"I'm sure you were scared. You made it very far." Abad didn't dare move. There was no way the child could have come so far on his own. He began to call pull on his mana, but his spirit wasn't even close to mended. He couldn't cast anything.

"Oh, I wasn't worried. Not one bit."

His head twisted to the side more. He began giggling louder and louder until, all at once, it stopped. The boy's head shot back, a loud crack sounding from his neck, and his body stood at an unnatural angle. A soft gurgling escaped his throat, then he doubled over, vomiting a spray of black ooze from his mouth. Abad took several steps back and cast out his senses, but he still couldn't feel anything at all.

The boy shot back up, eyes toward the sky, and more black liquid began bubbling out of his mouth. His body began jerking, and a choking, crunching noise escaped his lips. His mouth began to widen more and more, distending obscenely until his jaw cracked. His lips split, and black liquid dripped from his ruined mouth. His tongue wriggled obscenely, spraying bile and drool everywhere. The boy's eyes rolled wildly within their sockets. His rib cage expanded, and with sickening cracks, one, two, three ribs popped in his slender torso.

Then, the skin of his neck split, and something inside of the child began to crawl its way out of his mouth.

The boy's mouth spit out tendrils of putrid ooze, which hissed as it landed on leaves and grass. His skin began bubbling and splitting, releasing steamy clouds of foul-smelling gas. Stretched to its limit, the last of his ribs cracked, and his torso expanded, tearing open his abdomen. Blackened organs spilled forth, followed by gallons of vile pus.

A smooth black creature fell to the ground then, hissing and chittering in the leaves. It writhed as it struggled to stand up, it's legs wobbling unsteadily as it did. Then, four eyes, like a cat's, opened and bored into Abad's soul.

Abad had seldom known fear in his life. In that moment, he was afraid.

The creature cocked its head and considered him for a moment. Then, it dove on the boy's corpse. Slurping and tearing followed as it devoured his remains.

Abad threw the sticks in his hands at the creature and ran as fast as he could. A moment later, he erupted into the small firelight that Keila was carefully tending. She shot up onto her feet, and her brothers both appeared a second later. Each of them held something different. A stick. A sword. A beer bottle.

"What? Are you okay? Keila rushed to him.

"Monster!" He cried, placing putting himself in front of her as he turned to face the forest. He scanned with every sense known to him. But nothing came. After a few moments, the three siblings relaxed.

"Calm down. What's wrong?" She lowered her small sword.

"The boy turned into a monster! We have to leave, damn it!" Without waiting for her response, Abad pulled Selene's dagger out and held it in front of himself, pointing it at every noise of the forest. But still, nothing came. There was no sound. No creature. No essence. Nothing.

The woman and her brothers stared at him, incredulous. She sheathed her sword and put something she had retrieved from her belt pouch back, then patted his shoulder.

"It's okay. You've been through a lot. Why don't you sit down for a while. Food's going to be ready soon."

"...Been hitting the dust, I think."

"...No wonder the others left him."

Keila gave her brothers a sharp look, then turned back to Abad. "Just settle down for the night. Get some rest. You've been through a lot. You'll feel better tomorrow." She patted his shoulder. "We may not look it, but we can take care of ourselves."

He was still panting heavily, sweat pouring down his forehead. Every nerve felt on edge. He knew what he saw.

She sat back down and continued making their dinner. Before long, the brothers came back with more kindling and started tending to the cart and oxen.

Abad continued to search for any indication that what he had seen was real, but there was nothing. Nothing. After a while, once he had eaten and calmed down, he walked back to where he had seen the boy, finally accepting that what he saw might have really been a phantom of his own making. Still nothing. No corpse. No ooze. Just a normal forest floor.

He shivered.

After scanning the trees around him one last time, he began picking up the logs he had thrown down.

And there, under all of the sticks and branches, was something in the dirt. It was small and whitish. Digging into the ground, he picked it up with his fingers. It was smooth except for one side, which was sharp and jagged. Rolling the small object in his palm, he couldn't quite see what it was in the dark. He carried the object back to the campfire and looked at it in the firelight. Pouring a little water on it to clean it off, his breath caught.

It was a child's tooth.