"We never should have trusted Hazel," Flynn says.

"Luna, maybe it was a bad idea," Valor says.

"You know I can hear you, right?" Hazel says as she stands. "Why don't you go back to the bridge you crawled out from under, Valor?"

"Listen here, thief, I could crush you in one second. Think real carefully before you talk to me again," Valor replies.

I step in between them and put my hands up.

"Stop! We're never going to make it if we don't start getting along. Can we not insult each other? I'll ask all of you this once. The next time someone fights another I will end this trip...and your lives. Got it?"

"Hazel started it!" Flynn says as he points to her.

"I'm going to end you!" Hazel yells at him before jumping towards him.

Valor keeps her back. This dissolved faster than I expected.

"Put me down, you ogre!" Hazel yells.

"I'm not an ogre...or a bridge troll," Valor replies.

I lead the others. Everyone is silent which I'm thankful for. I don't know how much more yelling I could take. Night is coming soon. We should stop and rest soon.

"So, anyone know of a good place to stay tonight?" I ask.

"We shouldn't stay in this area. It's troll territory...if they see us here they will attack," Valor says.

Valor leads the way. He knows more about this area than anyone else in the group. He grew up out here with his troll clan. After that, he decided to head into the city and live there.

Night slowly descends upon the forest. I keep my guard up the entire time. Just because we're still in a relatively safe area doesn't mean that we won't be attacked at any moment. Valor stops for a moment. Flynn walks ahead of him.

"Hold up there," Valor says as he takes a few steps forward.

I look ahead. Ropes with beads and animal bones are tied to the trees. They mark a troll clan's territory.

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"Let's go a different way," Valor says.

A spear flies past my face barely missing me. It lands on the ground next to me. I freeze in place.

"Valor, what do we do?" I whisper to him.

"Come on, we're scared of a few trolls? They're dumber than rocks," Flynn says.

I glare at him. Do you ever shut up?

"Flynn!" Marina snaps at him.

A troll leaps out of a tree swinging an axe. He's going right for Flynn. I can't say I blame him though. The jerk won't shut up.

Valor charges at the troll and slams into him. Flynn walks backward before completely taking off. Great, our first real threat emerges and he just runs away like a little girl.

More trolls rise up from the depths of the forest. We're surrounded. Everyone is still and silent. All of us are waiting for the first move to be made. It's like time is frozen, but the feeling only lasts a moment. One of the trolls charging at Valor breaks both the stillness and silence. I draw my sword. I feel like an ant compared to the trolls who are two sometimes three times my height.

"Go! I got this!" Valor cries out as he throws one of the trolls back.

I don't like the thought of leaving him...I hate it, but I have to. I can't bring down one of these guys without getting myself hurt or killed.

I move as swiftly as I can. One of them is coming after me. A hollowed-out tree lays on the ground. I crawl into the tree in an effort to escape. I get out on the other side. The troll from earlier is still pursuing me. I turn around drawing my sword as I do. Now you've really angered me.

I push forward before climbing onto a boulder. I leap from the boulder slashing my sword downward. The sword slices the troll's face across the eye. He stumbles back. Blood drips down his face.

You don't mess with me. He retaliates by swinging a tree branch in my direction. I back up until I back into a tree. I take one final step backward. I start sliding down a tunnel. Cuts and scrapes appear on my arm from the rocks. I finally stop sliding. Ugh, I'm covered in dirt. I pull myself to my feet before brushing some of the dirt off.

"You found it too," A familiar voice says. The sound echoes through the dark cavern.

"Flynn?" I ask.

"Yeah, it's me," he replies.

"Oh, I was hoping the trolls got you, but I guess not all wishes come true."

A small spark flickers to a roaring flame. Flynn sits by the fire. I hear screams at the top of the entrance. Seconds later Marina slides into the cavern. She stands up.

"We could've used you back there, you know? We needed help and you just ran," Marina says to Flynn.

"What did you expect me to do? I'm no match against those things," he says back to her.

I'm not going to bother breaking up the fight. I was going to say the same thing Marina said.

"Let's move. Hazel and Valor are still out there," I say before crawling up the tunnel. I reach the forest after minutes of exhausting climbing. Valor is covered in blood. Hazel stands next to him. She doesn't look much better.

"Are you guys okay?" Marina asks.

"No, those trolls put up a damn good fight," Hazel says as she wipes her face with her sleeve.

"It would have been nice to have another fighter with us," Hazel says as she shoots a glare at Flynn.

"Hey, I-"

"Enough!" I yell. "We're never going to make it all the way if we keep fighting like this. We are a team...let's start acting like one,"

The five of us continue down the dirt road. A small tavern is on the right.

"Come on. We'll sleep there for tonight," I say to the others.

I open the door. The place is dead. Only two people sit at the bar. Good, we can have peace and quiet. Hazel and Valor head straight for the bar. They order more food than they could possibly eat. I sit down at a table. I just want to relax for a minute.

Hazel walks over with a plate piled high with crab legs. She sits down next to me and begins cracking away. So much for peace and quiet.

"What? Is something wrong?" She asks me.

"No, I'm just tired from today," I reply before standing up.

I sit at the bar. The bartender is a half-human half-mermaid like Marina. Black and gold scales are in patches on his arms and face. His eyes are bright gold.

"I don't get too many customers. Where is your group headed?" He asks as he wipes the counter down.

"Well...we're going to make it to the cave of gold," I say.

"Do you know how many people have come in here and told me that? All of them never came back. Don't risk your life over this," he says.

"Did I ask for your advice? Anything you say won't change our minds. This is what we're doing," I say.

"Fine, don't listen then. Don't say I didn't warn you,"