"WATCH OUT!" Wanderer yelled.

Something slammed into my side, knocking me against the cold cavern floor. At the same time, a heavy boom shook the ground. It echoed out against the walls of the cave and soon subsided. Then, everything was still.

Wanderer panted heavily overtop of me. The spot where I'd been standing was now occupied by a massive boulder, about twice my size.

"Dear gods," I whispered.

"Are you two alright?" Keeper called out.

"We are well!" Wanderer said. "Close one." He gave an awkward smile and lifted himself off me, offering a hand to help me up.

"Where did this even come from?" I looked up at the ceiling of the cave. I hadn't noticed any loose rocks, but sure enough, there was an empty spot where it must have fallen from.

Keeper peaked her head around the side of the boulder. "Did your vial do this?"

"It's possible," I said. "But it seems so strange, I didn't think there was that much of an explosion."

"Well, why don't we get out of here before another one of those decides to come loose," she said.

We watched the ceiling on our way out of the cave, and of course, I was rewarded by stubbing my toe against another rock on the cavern floor. I silently cursed the thing. Was that stone even there on the way in?

Soon, the three of us made it back out into daylight.

Keeper gave a relieved sigh. "That feels better," she said.

"Much." I reached for my pack, and pulled out Maker's map, flapping it open. The red dot sat just to the right of the Skypiercer Tree. "Where to?"

"The Seers."

I tilted the map towards Keeper. "Yes, but where would that be?"

And before Keeper could point it out, a rough gust of wind caught against the map and tore it out of my hands. "Ah—"

"Jump." Keeper flew up into the air, faster than I could track with my eyes. When she landed back on the ground, the map was rolled up safely under her arm.

I blinked, looking at my own hands. I wasn't holding it much looser than usual…

"What's the matter? Distracted?" Keeper asked.

"I'm not sure," I said, shaking my head.

With Keeper holding the map, she traced out a path along through the mountains. It was longer than I had expected, not to mention in the complete opposite direction.

"They're out there?" I asked. "What, do they hang out at the top of a mountain?"

Keeper shook her head. "It's not really in the mountains. There's a small valley with a good bit of flat ground. Very remote." She circled one spot on the map.

"Are you referring to the Forevergreens?" Wanderer asked.

"Oh? You know it?" she asked.

"Only through word. It is one of the few places I have not been. There is little reason to go."

"Little reason?" I asked. "Why?"

"Many of the other mountain passes, the ones that do not come close to the Forevergreens, are far less perilous. One could take the Southern Pass to avoid the rocky terrain, as well as the Distinct Line. It is most commonly walked and largely free of Nightmares," he said. "And the stories about the Forevergreens are…"

I raised an eyebrow.

"It's all nonsense," Keeper said. "To some, the Forevergreens sounds like the Everdark. And those people start telling tales."

Wanderer nodded. "But the lone vigilante does not seek trouble in The Realm where it is possible to avoid it."

Keeper shrugged. "Well, there you have it. You can imagine why the Seers picked it. They're a big bunch of anti-social weirdos."

That would not have been my first choice of description for Surreal…

"Alright then, if we'd like to get there any time soon, I suggest we get going," Keeper said, holding the map out to me. "Want me to hold onto it?"

"That's alright." I grabbed it and slipped it onto the bottom of my pack. "I'll be a little more careful with the thing."

Later that evening, we were well on our way to meeting with the Seers. The trek would be a short few days given our pace, but it was far less perilous than Wanderer had made it out to be. Especially compared to some of the mountain passes I'd traveled back home. The route was wide enough for two to walk side by side; it looked in healthy shape, not like it would collapse under one's weight; and most importantly, the trail wasn't so high to get much colder at night. That had been the most common way to die while traversing the Peaks of Sartosh back home.

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We were exchanging a few words, here and there, but for a stretch of about an hour, the three of us had fallen silent. It was only because of this silence that I heard the crumbling begin. A landslide.

I scanned the mountain above us. "There's a—"

But before the words could escape me, another crunch of earth came from below, and the road plummeted out from beneath my feet.

I reached out for anything to grab onto, and without even intending it, my claws manifested themselves. I dug them deep into the mountainside as the path dropped away. They kept hold and I hung there, on the side of the mountain. I glanced over to see Keeper and Wanderer standing safely on solid ground.

"That was close," Keeper said.

Wanderer shook his head. "Something is not right."

I shimmied my way to the side, then plopped back onto the trail. "I'm not having the best of luck, am I?"

"It is not only the luck," he said. "You are clumsy, too."

I frowned. "Oh great, thanks a lot."

His eyes widened and he held up his hands. "No, that is not what I meant. I only mean to say, you are usually very careful. However today, I have seen you lose grip of the map, and hit your foot more than once. Perhaps you are cursed."

"Cursed? Is that something that can happen?"

I looked to Keeper, who stood with her hand to her chin, deep in thought.

"Keeper?" I asked.

"What?" She perked up.

"You alright?"

"Mhm. It's just… it seemed sturdy when I walked over it."

That girl is unusually pensive today. "Yeah, strange."

Soon after, we decided it best to stop for the night when we came across an underpass. It made nice shelter from any potential rockslides that might bury us in our sleep.

Wanderer was quick to get into his bag of supplies and set up a small campfire with a cloth draped over a few sticks. The cloth lit quickly and burned hot, considering the size of the thing. While Wanderer and I kept to idle chatter, Keeper remained silent. Though, every once in a while when I glanced over at her, she seemed to be staring right at me.

I decided against bothering her, and soon the chatter died out. I gathered my cloak and pack to prop under my neck, and stared up at the sky that I wished was full of stars.

As I began to drift off to sleep, with the edges of consciousness fading, the back of my skull hit against the cold stone. My pillow was gone. I shot awake, expecting to find Keeper standing over me with a wry grin. And while I did see Keeper, she was in a full sprint past me, not holding my pack and cloak.

"Ferro!" Keeper yelled.

And the danger in her voice brought me alert instantly. I shot after her, into the darkness of night.

Keeper stood in the middle of the pathway. But there was a wobbling in the edges of her silhouette. At first, I wasn't sure if it was my tired eyes, but soon, I recognized the wavering light.

"We see you," Keeper said, "no point hiding anymore."

The faint glow of the deep blue sky steadily shifted purple, and an unnatural shimmer peeled off the body of the creature standing between us. The thing stood as an animal would, on its hind legs, though its body was proportioned like a human's. Its skin appeared smooth at first glance, but the reflective glimmer of scales soon became apparent.

A thick tail thumped against the ground, and the creature brought one of its arms up to its face. Up in front of its long beak; it looked sharp, almost metallic. Dangling from its thin, spindly fingers was my pack, the one that held Maker's map.

"What in the gods is that…"

"No idea," Keeper said. "Probably a compound."

Great, Keeper doesn't even know what it is.

Then, the thing pounced at me. Its limbs flailed in the air and its sharp pointed beak sailed straight for my face. I fell to the ground to dodge it, and it didn't slow for a moment, continuing on in the direction of our camp.

Keeper bolted past me. "It's going to burn the map!"

I stood for a moment in confusion, but there wasn't time to think it through, and I ran after it.

"Wake up!" Keeper yelled as we came closer to the underpass.

But Wanderer was already awake. His sword flashed against the flickering campfire flame, and a high pitched ring reverberated out into the air. Another clash. Then another. On the third, a spark flew off of the wanderer's sword, and it became apparent that the creature was pecking at him. Building up speed.

Keeper pounced at it, but its tail swung to counter. Like a heavy mace, it collided into Keeper's side and swung her against the wall. It continued, pushing Wanderer further and further backwards. The bag still clutched in its arms.

It's overpowering Wanderer… My brain focused in on its tail, massive and heavy, it was too dangerous to approach without dealing with it first. I conjured my claws forth and planted them into the ground, bending at my knees, and launching at the creature with my full force. Its tail swayed and came straight up to knock me out of the air, but before it could, I swiped down to meet it. The heavy scales collided with the sharp point of my claws. I could feel it resist for half a moment before I pierced through the exterior.

I came crashing down onto the ground next to it. The thing screeched, and its tail came loose. The blunt force tail was stuck around my claw, and before I could get it off, the creature slipped away from Wanderer's sword and its shape disappeared entirely.

I scanned the immediate area without luck. "Where'd it go?"

Keeper groaned, still kneeling by the crack in the stone that she'd made on the wall. "It's gone."

"What about the—"

And Wanderer held my pack up by its strap, cut in two. "It was distracted," he said, panting.

I dropped my claws and fell to my knees. The creature's tail sat still on the ground next to me. It was about as wide as a young pine log at its base and thinned down to the size of my fist at the tip. The spot from which it came off the creature wasn't where I'd pierced it, either. It looked like it had been ripped off more than cut.

"A compound," I said. "You think?"

Keeper waddled over to inspect the tail. She kicked at it and pushed it over.

"Why hasn't it burst into ash?" I asked.

"Because it isn't dead," she said. "Probably."

"There is the possibility that the tail can be reattached," Wanderer said.

"Maybe." Keeper kneeled by its side. "I doubt it'll leave Ferro alone, though. We'll have to do something about it."

"It's after me?"

"I thought it was after the map, but I'm not so sure anymore. I don't exactly know why it was trying to burn it. What else is in there?"

Wanderer handed the pack to Keeper.

"There isn't much, only the things I don't need on hand. Some bread, fabric I found to make foot wraps, the map—"

Keeper pulled out the paper fan and spread it open slowly.

"The fan? It's just a fan, isn't it? Why's some Compound Nightmare you've never seen before interested in a fan?"

She snapped it shut. "Not sure, want to find out?"