The silence remained until they made it to the hatchery. It was there that Eri and Oralyn had set up to receive the wounded elves. Unfortunately, it wasn’t much. A large tarp was thrown on the ground with what little supplies they had.

Thankfully, however, they did have Aluin, and Felix felt relieved that Duram had made it till now. But his condition was continuing to worsen and they wasted no time getting him off of Zira once they made it.

“Set him down here,” Aluin said calmly, but his expression made it clear what he really thought.

Felix helped lower the wounded elf’s stretcher down and stepped back as the Sage instantly set to work. A moment later, there was a gasp as Oralyn stepped up.

“Gods… Will he make it?” she whispered.

“Aluin knows what he is doing,” was all he could say. However, Solanna decided to take over the conversation.

“Oralyn… I’m sorry. They were under my responsibility–”

Oralyn cut her off with a shake of her head. “I don’t blame you. I know things were bad, and you made the right decision to flee to the hatchery. You couldn’t have known what happened to them.”

Felix felt a pang of regret himself. If only I could have been here… But Oralyn’s words came back to him. ‘You would’ve died.’

That only made him feel worse, however. I have to do something!

Meanwhile, the other elves were being looked over by Eri. She could heal, of course, but it would be excruciating. Instead, she seemed to be cataloging the hunters from most wounded to least. No doubt the Sage would have his work cut out for him…

“Two are missing, are they…” The words brought Felix back into the conversation and he caught Solanna nodding.

“Julous believes they didn’t make it. We don’t know where the bodies are, however.”

That, I can do. “I will go find them,” he suddenly declared. “Most of the wildlife has scattered, but soon they will return. I’d like to find the bodies before that.”

“I can go as well,” Solanna offered but Felix shook his head.

“You’ve done enough, go get some rest. And thank you,” he quickly added.

She looked conflicted at that, but he gave her a stern look that said there was no room for discussion. “Go, spend some time with Falzan. I’m sure the two of you need some personal time alone.”

At hearing his name, the dragon whimpered at her feet. Solanna herself just sighed.

“Alright,” she said after a moment. “But come and get me if you don’t have any luck.”

He gave her a reassuring smile and waited until she was gone. “I’ll leave Zira here as well, that way if something happens or you need me, you can tell her,” he said to Oralyn.

The dragon in question was laying down not far away, panting quite heavily. Only now did she show the true strain it was for her to carry the four of them. Kyrith, on the other hand, seemed to be watching Eri and Aluin with curiosity…

“Are you going alone?” she asked, a little concerned.

He thought about it. “I’ll grab some people–”

Julous interrupted as he walked away from the other hunters. “I’m coming along.”

Felix looked him up and down. “I think it would be better for you to stay here, at least until Aluin can heal you.”

“I agree,” Oralyn added. “You’ve been stuck out there, wounded. You need to rest.”

But the hunter was having none of it. “I can’t rest, not until I’ve found their bodies.”

“And I’m not taking you out there while you are wounded.” Felix pointed out. “I sent Solanna away because she will exhaust herself to the point of collapse. You, on the other hand, will collapse.”

“I don’t care, I’m going.”

Oralyn got a serious look on her face and opened her mouth to speak, however, an idea came to Felix.

“I’ll tell you what,” he quickly said, beating Oralyn. “I’ll take you, but you’ll have to have Eri heal you first.”

Julous gave him a suspicious look. “What do you mean by that?”

“I mean, I’m about to head out there and if you want to go with me, you’ll have to let Eri heal you. I’m not going to wait until Aluin can get to you.”

The elf studied him for several moments before finally speaking. “Fine, but if you–”

“Don’t worry about a thing.” Felix turned his attention to where Eri was. Luckily, it looked like she was finishing up her triage.

“Hey Eri? Can you come over here when you are done?”

She glanced up, giving him a curious look. “Sure, just give me a moment.”

Felix waited patiently for her to complete her work and for her to come and join the conversation.

“What is it?” she asked.

“Julous here,” he gestured to the elf, “wants to come with me to look for two missing bodies. As you can see, however, he needs a bit of healing. Do you think you can do that?”

“Are you sure? I don’t mind, but…”

“That was my condition for him to join me. Otherwise, he will have to wait until after Aluin heals him.” He brought his attention back to the hunter. “So, what is your answer?”

Julous grumbled. “Just get it over with.”

A few moments later, the sound of an elf howling in pain could be heard throughout the clearing…

***

“Gods… That was painful,” Julous muttered. That was the third time he had mentioned it. Him and Felix, along with a few volunteers, were back in the forest searching for the two bodies.

“Honestly, I’m amazed you didn’t faint from it,” Felix responded nonchalantly. In truth, he had hoped that would happen. The hunter refused to admit it, but he needed rest.

A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

“Oh? Was that your plan? Have your girlfriend heal me until unconscious?” the elf asked accusingly.

“Either that, or until you were fit enough to go with me,” he admitted.

Julous narrowed his eyes. “You really are a scheming bastard, aren’t you?”

Felix shrugged. “Just making sure you don’t keel over, don’t want to carry three bodies back.”

“I can handle myself, you know.”

“Perhaps…” He trailed off, slowly taking in the scene before him. He had already seen some of the damage, but it was only now that he truly understood the scale.

Nothing was spared by the fire, the carnage spread for several hundred yards and even the sky trees, that seemed so invincible, were heavily charred. To add to the effect, a large area at the epicenter was cratered with ash and cracked earth.

It’s like something exploded here… he thought before remembering what Yarnel had mentioned. I guess something did explode then. A shiver ran down his spine.

How anyone survived this, I will never understand. This destruction… It shouldn’t be survivable. He could only imagine the resulting fires spreading and consuming all in their way.

“Over here! I think I found something!”

The shout caught everyone’s attention. Felix and Julous immediately took off in a run, their conversation completely forgotten. Around them, others were doing the same.

They all converged upon a young elven man. Felix didn’t recognize him, but then again, most of the elves here weren’t familiar.

“What did you find?” Felix asked, coming to a stop before the elf.

“It’s right over there, but… But I’m not sure.” He had a sickening look as he gestured towards a burned out tree.

Julous was the first to make it, but Felix was quickly to follow.

The hunter recoiled and grimaced. “Yeah… That’s one of them,” he said looking away. “Poor bastard…”

Swallowing, Felix’s gaze lowered onto a figure lying within the roots of the tree. He swore. There was indeed a body and judging by where and how it was, the elf had suffered.

“If I had to guess, he tried to find shelter within the roots, only to get tangled in them. Then, the fire got him,” Julous said.

“Gods, what a horrible way to go.” Felix closed his eyes to steady himself. He did not want to think about the body’s condition.

“Well, that’s one down.” The hunter moved away, shaking his head. “For now, let’s just cover the body and keep someone here. We’ll come back for him once we find the other.”

Releasing his breath, Felix said a prayer for the poor soul and waited until a piece of linen was thrown over the spot. Once that was done and one of the volunteers was selected, the two of them left to continue the search.

They fell into silence as they walked, neither wanting to talk about what they had seen or its implications. It was too much for them.

However, as they started retracing their steps back towards the crater. A glint off in the distance caught Felix’s eye.

“Wait, I think there’s something over there.” He motioned towards the direction of the glint. The object was sitting on top of a small berm and he started making his way over to it.

Coming to a stop, he kneeled by it and cautiously reached out for it. A ring– Metal at that. He carefully lifted it up and inspected it–

A low moan from the other side of the berm startled him. Quickly looking down, Felix’s eyes widened.

“OVER HERE! WE GOT SOMEONE ALIVE!” he yelled as Julous picked his pace and ran the rest of the way to him.

A rush activity soon descended upon them as the other volunteers quickly converged onto them. By then, however, Felix and Julous were already scrambling down the other side of the berm.

Laying at the bottom was an elf. Badly burned and covered with dirt and ash, it was a miracle that they were still alive.

“HEY! Can you hear me?!” Julous shouted, giving the individual a rousing shake.

The only response was a groan followed by their eyes fluttering open for a single moment.

“He’s barely holding on… Look, not only is he burned but his leg is broken for sure,” Julous continued, pointing to the injury.

Felix nodded. “He’s definitely in rough shape… I’m afraid to move him– Give me a moment, I’m going to tell Zira and have her get Aluin to come to us,” Felix said, ignoring the curious look from the hunter.

Zira–

I’ve already informed him, we’re coming.

Before he could reply, the forest swelled with mana before a sudden pulse sent it scattering. He looked up to see Zira’s head appearing just over the berm.

“That was quick,” Julous quipped in surprise.

Felix, however, didn’t waste any time. “Down here! He’s not responding but he’s breathing!”

Aluin appeared as he came up and over the berm. The Sage dropped to his knees and quickly scanned over the grievously injured elven man.

“I’ve got to work fast, he’s fading.” The Sage lowered his hands onto the elf’s chest.

Knowing that Aluin would need time to work, Felix leaned over to Julous. “Come, let’s give him some space. We should go retrieve the body.”

“Right…” The hunter shook his head and stood up. “Sorry, that all happened fast.”

Felix let out a chuckle as they climbed over the berm. “That it did, but thankfully Zira was paying attention.”

Julous stopped and gave him another curious look. “What do you mean by that? Is that some sort of spell?”

It dawned on Felix that he let slip something he hadn’t meant to. Damn it, I got too caught up in everything. He let out a sigh.

He could lie and say yes, that would be the easiest solution. But what is the point? It seems that Calsen already knew how the bonds actually worked. Others could know as well.

He decided to ask Zira. What do you think?

His partner took a moment to consider his question. We don’t have to lie, but we don’t have to explain everything either.

Yeah, I think that’s what I am going to do, he said, agreeing with her.

A hand suddenly waved in front of his face. Blinking, he looked up to see Julous staring at him with concern.

“Are you okay?” the hunter asked.

Felix gave him a nod. “Yeah… Sorry, I was talking with Zira. To answer your question, though, we can communicate through our minds.”

Julous didn’t seem all too surprised, but his next statement made it clear why. “Like telepathy? I’ve heard some mages could do that.”

He decided to clarify just a little bit more. “Sort of? It’s not exactly a spell, it's just something that we are able to do.”

“Huh, neat. And pretty useful if I do say so." The hunter gestured back to the berm, his implication clear.

They resumed their walk.

“It is, but it takes some time to learn how to tune each other out. We can’t exactly turn it off–”

“Trust me, there are times I wish I could,” Zira chimed in. She had come to meet them as they started making their way back to the body.

Felix let out a resigned sigh. “Yeah, yeah… I know.”

Julous grinned. “Oh? This is starting to sound like a story–”

“No! Absolutely not!” He whipped around to the hunter. “Do not encourage her.”

Zira let out a chuff. “Worry not, I won't spoil any intimate moments. Mainly, because I prefer to not remember them.”

Julous let out a laugh. “I see, and I think I’m good then. Those stories aren’t meant to be shared.”

“Thank you!” Felix shouted. “I’m glad someone agrees.”

There was a chorus of laughter coming from behind them. A quick glance told him that several of the volunteers had followed after them. His cheeks flushed from embarrassment.

But, as they came to the burned out tree, all humor ceased. A grim determination took its place as Julous pulled the linen off of the spot where the body laid.

Felix felt Zira shiver within her mind.

If you need to step away, I understand. I have to do this, though, he responded to her, giving her a pat on her side.

No, I need to get used to this.

He frowned at that. The thought that anyone should get used to death disturbed him. Especially his friends, his…

Family.

The hunter spoke, bringing him back to reality. “Let’s get this over with. We can’t leave him like this, he deserves better.”

“You’re right. He shouldn’t have died like this to begin with. The least we can do is give him a proper burial.”

There were solemn nods all around as they got to work…