Bloumen woke the next morning with an awful pain in her neck, and a searing headache. She made her way through the labyrinthine halls of the village in a bleary haze. After asking for help, she entered the dining hall, and found Kirtridge looking over a sheaf of charts. Kaede stood beside him, pointing at complicated web of routes upon the parchment.

“-If you look at the route, you’ll see you can pass along the great rift here, and then cross the Lotus Tree.” Kaede paused as Bloumen entered. “Morning, how was your rest?”

She rubbed at her eye. “It was alright, my neck hurts now, I think the sofa threw it out.”

“Better than the ground.” Kirtridge looked up at her with amusement in his eyes. “You’ll find that out quickly enough.”

“Seriously?!”

“Well, your parents put up with it, frankly I’m annoyed you are as weak as you are. Accomplished smugglers should have a tougher child.” He shrugged. “Get some food, Kaede here has to finish setting up his supplies, he’ll be guiding us through the forest.”

Kaede nodded. “Eat well, it’s a long trip.”

Bloumen looked back and forth between them and groaned. Rubbing at her temples, she stumbled into the kitchen and found a pot of porridge. She scooped the cold food out and took it to the table, eating it with sullen bites as she watched the two.

Halfway through her meal, a little ball of energy burst into the room. His six arms each laden with a bag of goods. Nawa looked about the room in excitement, and loudly proclaimed; “I’m ready! When are we setting off?”

“About an hour, I appreciate the spirit!” Kaede called back to him.

The Silfae set down his bags and sat down besides Bloumen with an energetic smile. She grimaced and looked away. She poked away at her food half-heartedly, stomach twisting as she looked at it.

Nawa talked loudly with her for the next hour, and she grumbled along in response. Kaede finally broke her from her good-natured tormenter when he called her over to check the fittings of her bag.

They departed the Silfae village a little before noon. Kaede led the group through a back tunnel that plunged through the great stone column the village stood upon. It emerged far below the village, among the towering columns of the deep forest.

As they walked among the labyrinthine stone branches that filled the deep forests abyss like a cobweb, Kaede slowed, walking beside her, and pointing out to her landmarks. He did this until the group had to stop for lunch, under the branches of a twisted willow tree growing over a pond, on a branch broad enough to hold a castle.

Kirtridge unpacked a bit of jerky, and some food, and sat down with a sigh beside Bloumen. A few paces away, Kaede had unfurled a map, and was showing Nawa a particular route.

“Ah. This takes me back.” He took a sip of water, his eyes fixed on the blotted sky above them. “When I was a soldier, we would fight up in those branches, while Erd-flows would surge below our feet. Terrifying shit, huddling behind the barren rocks on those tiny branches while the witches fight below you.”

“I can’t see you huddling from anything!” She explained.

“Same reason your parents went through these bloody branches, Wilfae’s rebellion. The witch king still holds a damned strong grip on the place and is friendly with the Silfae.”

“Everyone is.” Kaede answered. “Except when they disturb the forest’s Erd.”

“Yes, I know, point is, I was savagely beaten. Anthon was running a smuggling operation with this lout here.” He pointed to Kaede. “And found me, bleeding out, right over there.”

He pointed to a spot by the willow.

“Been running shit for them ever since, at least until you got your crown.”

Bloumen nodded, her hand going to her ear, her fingers chilling as they passed through the black sigils beside it.

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“And now I’m running you!” He laughed and clapped a hand on her shoulder as he stood. “Kaede, what route are you taking?”

“The kid’s demon-flame has already cleared in the upperlands, so I am thinking pf passing through the ruined city, by the cliffs. It’s obscure, but well out of the great serpent’s feeding grounds. We should pass through without notice.”

“I appreciate it, I wasn’t planning on staying so long, but the viscountess really is a hastle to deal with. It was a big risk to stop by with her.”

Bloumen felt her stomach churn a bit at the thought.

“Not at all.” Kaede shrugged. “The child caused a distraction, and the Viscountess wouldn’t just enter our land for one demoness host.”

Kirtridge’s eyebrow raised. “You can tell from looking at her crown?”

“The elder told me.”

“Who is she hosting?”

Kaede shrugged. “Beats me. I don’t know why she hasn’t been purged yet; your local church should have done it ages ago. The elder was excited though, so I guess she found it a big deal.”

Kirtrige sighed and scratched the back of his head. “I wish they had, would have spared me the trouble.”

Bloumen looked back and forth between them, with a frown on her face. Kirtridge glanced over to her; “We should get going, we need to find a secure campsite by nightfall.”

She stood up and brushed the dirt from her dress. “Are they still after us?”

Kirtridge pointed up, at the sky slashed in stone. “Somewhere up there. I would rather you didn’t kick the bucket due to a night creature.”

Kaede nodded. “The Erd swells at night, emboldening the creatures of the abyss. It’s best to find a camp before then.”

Bloumen’s spine chilled at the thought. The grotesque form of the hounds came to mind, and she shuddered.

Kaede led them along the twisting branches of the deep forest, always downward. The light grew dim, until the light of the sun faded to a ghostly shimmer. Clouds passed by, coating the group in swaths of fog. From the abyss, faint swelling roars filled the air, mixed with the sounds of flowing water, as if she stood above a waterfall.

They camped under the wilted remains of a great flower, and then proceeded for two days across the branches of the deep forest.

On the third day of their journey, they camped by a hollow in one of the great stone trees of the forest. They were amidst the ruins of a village, with decrepit stone walls spilling from the cave like broken teeth.

In the morning, while Bloumen sipped at a bowl of soup by the smoldering remains of their fire, a shadow crept across the vast column of the deep tree. She watched it with growing unease. It was about a hundred meters from her, and it moved among the splintered surface like a spider. Like oil, it would stop for a moment, and rapidly move to a new footing, and pause again.

Her spine chilled, and she froze. She didn’t know whether to call and risk the attention of the creature. Kirtridge was out of sight, and Kaede had gone ahead to “look for serpents.”

The creature paused, and it shifted. She saw a maw open, white teeth bared. Bloumen’s blood froze, and she screamed.

Kirtridge and Kaede ran over moments later, weapons drawn.

“What is it?!” Kirtridge called, looking about.

Bloumen raised a trembling finger at the creature, still comfortably perched upon the great tree.

“What is that?” Kirtridge asked softly, his sword wavering as turned to face the creature.

“No idea.” Kaede seemed just as offput.

The creature moved down the tree gracefully, until it landed upon the ground. As it drew closer, it grew clearer.

It had the form of a man, with his legs and arms stretched far beyond where they should. Its mouth was elongated like a dog’s, but its eyes were still man-like. Its skin was oily and black, and its hands were skeletal and ended in sharp talons. A pack of goods, with glittering gold and scuffed boxes was slung upon its back.

Once it drew within a dozen paces, it stopped, and looked at Bloumen with a hungry look.

It opened its maw and spoke with a gravelly voice. “I am thy servant, and I have come to make my oaths.”

Kirtridge stood between Bloumen and the beast, his eyes flashing with anger. "State your name beast. I don't believe in making pacts with night creatures."

"Unkhis, miserly demon." The beast drew back its head and cackled. It reached behind his back and rummaged about in its pack. It withdrew a lump, about the size of a watermelon, and covered in hair. Metal glinted around it. The demon set it down, and Bloumen found herself staring at a decayed skull, swaddled in a glimmering helmet. "Holy knight, you know this helm. Don't tempt me."

Kirtridge paled visibly. "What do you want demon."

"I want a promise from her." It pointed an emaciated finger at Bloumen. "For a thousand years, I have waited for this opportunity."