Ezer is the first to recover from the unexpected effect of his shot, he runs despite his heavy body and drowsy mind. Thanks to that attack, Ezer now enjoyed a few precious seconds, although the advantage was overshadowed by the decrease in his physical strength. However, either because they have given up or because of fear, the birds do not continue chasing him and withdraw from the place, leaving the bird without a leg to its fate, surely it would die of hunger or be eaten by another beast.

After running several meters with his remaining strength, Ezer catches up with the also exhausted Lia and they cover the distance that separated them from the monolith. After crossing it, Ezer extends his hand letting a tiny flake of snow fall into his palm, only when the icy wind cuts his cheeks does he understand that they finally left that hell and returned to be in the lands that were familiar to them.

They were both really happy, but their bodies couldn't express it. They felt that would faint at any moment if they did not stay focused with a clear objective.

Lia grabs some clothes Ezer was carry and walks away from him with them between her teeth. Ezer understands her intentions and averts his gaze out of respect.

"You can look now." Lyaria's soft voice gave him permission to move again.

"Lyaria…" Ezer had thousands of questions, so many that they stuck in his throat and prevented him from even uttering one.

“I'm tired... very tired. Let's find a quiet place first and then I'll tell you whatever it is you want to know.” This brings Ezer back to reality and understands what is the priority at the moment.

"I don't know where we are, somewhere at the tip of the world... far north. We have to go down this ravine and figure out how to get back.” Ahead of them lay a ravine lined with rocks that would make it difficult to descend. "We have to go a little west and then come back south, that way we won't run into too many mountains on the way back. I remember it from some maps in…” Her voice stops midway and she drops to one knee on the ground along with both of her hands.

“Lyaria!” Ezer runs trying to help her up, but when he does, his hand comes into contact with her boiling skin. "You have a high fever and that leg…" He puts a hand on Lyaria's forehead and also looks at the festering wound below her knee now that the bandage had torn exposing it.

“I'm tired… I want to sleep just a little… just a little.” She utters those words without any focus in his eyes.

“Do not sleep! Hold on a little more!” But Lyaria's eyes ignore his words and close is eyes.

“Shit! I have to find a place to shelter her from this wind and treat those injuries.” Drawing strength from within himself where he thought there was nothing left, Ezer places Lyaria on his back to begin descending the treacherous ravine.

Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

Each footfall stirred more rocks and the ones above him threatened to slide and hit his head or worse, Lyaria's. Ezer begins to pant from the exertion as he tries to trick his brain into telling him that the tiredness is nothing more than an illusion. But the reality was different, the fibers of his muscles were as broken as those of his bow and with each step they broke in such a way that, added to the cutting cold, they resulted in a test for his willpower.

When he manages to reach the end of the ravine, he finds himself in the middle of two walls that formed a canyon. Ezer follows the path the water once followed, perhaps when the snow melted here, if it ever did.

"A little to the west and then to the south..." He remembers Lyaria's unfinished words and trusts her knowledge deciding to follow it.

Sometimes along the way she would mumble some words making Ezer believe that she had woken up, although these were only reflections of her dreams trapped in her fever-beaten body.

"At least the wind isn't so strong now." Crossing the canyon, Ezer distracts his tiredness with other thoughts.

“All this time Lyaria was Lia. Why hide it? Do our families have a feud? But I didn't even know of its existence.” These and other questions run through his head when he finds something like a cave.

It was difficult to access as the entrance was on a curved rock at a fairly steep angle, but not impossible to overcome. However, doing it with Lyaria on his back made it much more difficult, although Ezer manages to enter, squeezing the last forces from his body that manifested his plea for a break, causing his vision to blur momentarily.

Lights a small fire with some branches and cloth soaked in fat, this was more of a torch, but at least it served to give light and a slight warmth.

Ezer tucks some of his clothes under Lyaria's head to give her a little more comfort. He makes some soup that had more water in it than anything else and starts taking inventory of what was left as well. After reorganizing his things, he realizes the lack of medicine he had to treat Lyaria's infected leg.

"Don't worry, now it's my turn to take care of you." He gently caresses Lyaria's flushed cheek.

He can't help but let out a sigh as looks up at the dark ceiling of the cave and puts his thoughts into words.

"It's going to be a long night...again."

It was cold and Ezer felt it in his flesh after days of not noticing it for having been inside a controlled climate that he suspected was due to the monoliths. It was not long before dawn was bright enough to continue, but Ezer wanted to wait a little longer until the temperature rose out of concern for Lyaria.

He had no choice but to give some of his coats to Lyaria who had lost them by changing her body shape. Besides the infection in her leg and the fever that plagued her, Ezer wanted her to at least not feel cold. When tries to put the clothes over the ones Lyaria was already wearing, he can feel the sweat soaking through her clothes.

At that moment he realizes his stupidity and lack of experience in taking care of someone, he quickly looks for the cleanest pieces of cloth he could find and put water to heat on the small flames of the fire. Begins to remove the damp clothes that covered Lyaria having lost his breath momentarily as her fair skin is exposed to the soft light of the flames.

He averted his gaze out of respect, focusing solely on his task as he wiped the sweat and dirt from Lyaria's body with a warm cloth. After days without proper cleaning and added time in the swamp, both were in deplorable condition.