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Morning came at last and the four of them found themselves floating not far off the coast of the Anthurium Mountain. During the night they’d rowed for as long as their muscles could stand the strain before they finally gave up, collapsing on the deck of the boat. The rain stopped halfway through the night, but it took some time for the mist surrounding them to finally depart. Once it did, Dusk found Lex with a crossbow bolt sticking clean through the top of his left forearm and a fair amount of blood soaked into the deck around him. Thankfully it had just punctured through the skin and nicked the muscle. It was easy to remove and Dusk helped him wrap the freshly bleeding wound until they could get a better look at it in the daylight.
As the sun peeked over the horizon, the wind came up catching the sail. Nedarya, although tired from her magic and the long night of rowing, took a seat at the rudder, steering the boat towards a sandy beach where they could make landfall. Tara stayed at her side, trying to convince her to rest to no avail. Dusk went back to Lex, unwrapping his arm so he could have a better look at the wound on his arm.
“Well, it doesn’t look too bad,” Dusk said with a small smile.
“Do you know anything about wounds?” Lex asked, cocking an eyebrow.
“Not a thing,” Dusk chuckled, wrapping it back up. “But I’ve seen worse at the mines and those men survived.” He looked up at Lex. “You know, you really need to stop being the one that gets hurt all the time. One of these days you’re not gonna be so lucky and it’s going to be a lot more serious.”
“Believe me, I’m not doing it on purpose,” he hissed through his teeth as Dusk pulled the wrappings tight and knotted them.
“Sorry,” Dusk apologized, making sure they were secure. “We’ll get it cleaned up when we get to the island. Hopefully we can find some fresh water somewhere.”
Lex was silent for a moment. “What do you think of those stories everyone was saying? About the island being full of monsters and things.”
“I’m a little worried honestly.” Dusk looked out over the railing towards the shore that was drawing nearer and the mountain that now towered over them. “I hope they aren’t true because we’re not in the best of shape already.”
“Wouldn’t it be something if we came all this way and died here?” he chuckled, his face a bit paler than normal.
“I don’t want to think about that,” Dusk muttered. “Because it would be all my fault for dragging you along on this trip.”
“Last time I checked I wasn’t in chains or being forced to come along,” Lex replied. He turned to Dusk, their gazes locked together. “Some of us are here because we want to be.”
Dusk smiled, but said nothing. He understood what Lex was saying and that was enough for the both of them. Instead he lifted his gaze to the mountain, the morning sun illuminating the craggy sides dotted with trees here and there. It would have been larger than the mountains at Windshear Pass if not for the broken-off peak. It looked as if some massive creature had sliced the top of the mountain clean off long ago, leaving a plateau at the top. All that was left behind were crumbling stones and a small trail of what looked like smoke rising up from the peak. It was an impressive sight.
At the base of the mountain the island stretched out low and close to the water. The rock-and-sand beach gave way to dense pine forest within ten yards that was perpetually shrouded in a layer of dense mist. At first Dusk thought it was just a marine layer that hadn’t burned off, but while the rest of the fog had disappeared with the sun, the mist on the island clung to the trees like cotton, just like the rumors had mentioned. It gave the entire place an eerie look, making the stories of monsters and spirits seem more plausible. He felt an internal shudder as he thought of what could be waiting for them just inside the trees. A flash of light caught his eye and he looked up to the peak of the mountain, his heart racing. But whatever it was had gone. He hoped it was just a bird's wing catching the sunlight and nothing more sinister.
An hour later the longboat drove itself head-first into the sandy bank of a small alcove. Thanks to Nedarya’s masterful steering they’d managed to avoid all the outcroppings of rocks and shoals under the waves. There had been a few close calls, but the boat was smaller than most and sat high in the water. Thanks to her it was beached without a scratch. Dusk turned to look back out over the water between them and Birchwood far in the distance. He could see a single ship with it’s sails unfurled, making its way towards them, undoubtedly full of Birchwood soldiers armed with spears and crossbows. Part of him wished they could send the boat back out to them, knowing the other ship would be too big to retrieve the longboat. But if they somehow did manage to make landfall, he didn’t want to be anywhere near the boat when they found it. The previous night had been convincing enough that they were no longer welcome in that village or among its people. He gathered up his pack and his bow before hopping off the front of the boat to join the others.
“So now what do we do?” he asked, adjusting his pack. “Mirinda just told us to go to the island, she didn’t say anything else.”
“Tephyss hasn’t told you anything?” Lex replied, wincing as he moved his injured arm through a strap on his bag.
“He hasn’t spoken in weeks,” Dusk shrugged. “I’m honestly worried. I can’t believe I damaged him so much.”
“You didn’t do it on purpose.”
“But how will we find the dragon without him?”
“I can’t imagine a dragon will be that hard to find, but let’s find some water first,” Tara cut in. “If we head to the base of the mountain there’s a good chance we’ll find some sort of water source flowing down it. Once we have that we can start exploring.”
“I can just draw water out of the ground or the plants,” Nedarya quipped, holding up her scar pocked arms. “We don’t need to waste time looking for it. Let’s just get to the dragon.”
“You’re already exhausted and no one has slept. If you pass out none of us will be able to carry you.” Tara stared at her for a long moment. “You don’t have to use that curse for anything that we can do for ourselves. We can get along without it.”
“Why not?” Nedarya scoffed, picking up her bag. “I’ve got the power, I might as well use it to my advantage. I’ll use whatever I need to get through, even if it comes from someone who deserves to die the worst death imaginable.”
Nedarya turned her back to Tara and trudged off through the sand, making her way towards the mist-covered trees. Tara shook her head, throwing a glance back at the boys. She motioned for them to follow and the four of them headed off into the forest.
Inside the trees the world was silent, filled with the scent of pine resin. The sound of waves and sea birds was absorbed by the soft pine needles and the mist seemed to dampen any sound even further. It gave Dusk the creeps. He kept close to the others with Lex at his side. The trees were so dense that there was little space to walk between them without having to constantly move branches out of the way. Out of habit, he found himself glancing about, looking for signs of danger between the boughs. Except for the silence, the experience reminded him of the Louring Bog where they’d met Yarick. A surge of emotions flooded into him along with the name, but mostly it was fear. He remembered the creatures living in the shallow waters on the edges of the path and the night they were attacked by the Wisps and their leader. He kept his eyes trained downwards in case a strange blue orb appeared in the distance. More than once he heard a sharp gasp come from Nedarya as she looked through the trees, but was too afraid to say anything and break the silence.
“Are you okay?” Tara asked, grabbing her by the elbow. “What did you see?”
“It was nothing,” Nedarya replied, although she kept glancing back towards the woods. “Just a trick of the mist. I’m fine.”
“You sure?”
“Absolutely.”
Without a line of sight, they pushed through the trees, hoping they were heading towards the mountain in a straight line. The mountain was enormous, but then again, the island was easily as large as Calendia, if not bigger from what they’d seen. If they managed to turn too much they could spend days wandering around the forest, lost in a sea of pine trees. Dusk looked up, wishing the fog would part for just a moment so he could get his bearings. Just then a sound caught his ear.
“Stop,” he whispered, grabbing Lex by his good arm.
The other two stopped a few feet ahead. Dusk strained his ears, listening for the noise.
“I heard something...”
“What was it?” Lex muttered back, keeping close to him.
“It sounded like something was following us, but I’m not sure.”
The four of them stood in silence for a long while, peering into the mist, hoping that nothing was there. Dusk could feel his heart racing in his chest. The thoughts of the Louring Bog and all the creatures they’d met on their journey came flooding back to him once more. If something was sneaking up on them in the mist they wouldn’t have any warning. He glanced back at Tara and Nedarya, making sure they were both still there, fearing one had been picked off without the others noticing. They all stood for a long moment in deafening silence, straining for any hint of noise. At long last, Dusk took a deep breath, trying to steady his nerves.
“Maybe it was no—”
Dusk’s words were cut off as something sharp pricked his neck. He reached up instinctively to swat at it. There was something stuck to him. He pulled it away to see a small red dart with a sharp metal tip on it. Tossing it to the ground he looked up at Lex, but before he could say anything the world around him began to spin, his vision darkening. He watched as similar darts struck his friends, each one of them tearing it out and throwing it to the ground. One by one they all began to stagger around him. His limbs suddenly went limp and the world went black before he hit the ground.