The two trekked in silence for a while until Aliene interrupted the quiet. “Where do you think we should go?”

Jacobus bit his lip as he thought. “To find a map, get supplies, or wait. Do you have any money or something we could trade?”

Aliene stopped walking her eyes widening a bit. “So, is it just me or is having so many choices just as annoying as having none?”

Jacobus smiled. “We assume freedom is a luxury, something so enjoyable, but structure gives us focus, and focus makes us better,”

Aliene laughed dryly. “Didn’t realize monks became so versed in the ways of life.” Aliene spread her arms dramatically, punctuating her statement with a smirk.

The monk mimicked her laugh. “They do not mostly. That was from my first commander.” Jacobus looked into the distance, caught in a provoked memory that smeared a thin smile on his face.

Aliene adjusted the straps on her shoulders, taking a moment to appreciate the plant life thriving around them. Small creatures scurried about, the pleasant smell a welcome relief after the Morbid Row had clouded the senses with smells of wet rot. She was pulled from her instinct to catalog her surroundings by an itching thought. “You said first commander. Did you have many others?”

“Three in total, all great leaders, but the first and third were good men as well.” Jacobus lost the subtle smile he had been wearing. “Did you have only one?”

Aliene hesitated to answer. It occurred to her that the world at large didn’t know a lot about the tribes; it was something Misten wanted apparently. Her stream of thoughts was brought to a halt when she realized she had thought the tribes, not her tribes. Aliene felt her stomach tighten. She had to blink rapidly as she processed her realization. She wasn’t a member; had she ever been? Was she bound to the rules still? Should she even care?

Jacobus looked over to her as she had been quiet for a few minutes. She looked back at him and cut him off before he could speak, “Yes, just one. The tribes prefer a one-to-one mentor system as it keeps the training focused.”

Jacobus nodded. “Sounds logical. We train in such large groups that much of what we learn must be uncomplicated and easy to build on quickly. Simply a difference in scale again.”

The two finally reached a small clearing as the sun began sagging on the horizon and made camp. Aliene left the fire to Jacobus and set out with her short sword to catch something to eat. She managed to catch a rabbit and returned to Jacobus weaving a cone of reeds by the fire.

“I’ll go and place this in the stream I found nearby,” Jacobus pointed, indicating the direction. “Should be able to trap some fish overnight.”

Aliene nodded and set to preparing her catch. “I’ve given it some thought, what we should do first.” Jacobus looked up but continued weaving, waiting for her to continue. “If we want to do anything, we will need money, but I don’t really know where we could go to earn anything quickly.”

Jacobus nodded. “I passed a small village that’s along the coast east of here; they should have some problem that we can solve.”

Aliene stared into the fire watching the flames dance, some jumping up to lick the meat of her rabbit. Is such a mundane path really all I have? The thought pressed to escape her mouth but she held it back by pursing her lips. She looked up to the stars as they glittered above, so detached from where she sat.

Songs from a dozen birds filled Aliene’s ears as she woke, and she nearly jumped from her bedroll, the quick movements causing the birds to flutter into the sky. Aliene let her mind run down its list of questions quickly – she was awake, sore but not injured; good start. The thought of her magic bow sent an alarm through Aliene until she slammed her hands down and found it by her side. Her pack was at the foot of her bedroll. She finally caught up with her instinctive thoughts as the fog of sleep left and she noticed Jacobus off to the edge of the small clearing. He was facing away from her, sitting cross-legged, his tunic gone, and Aliene had the answer to what happened at the end of their fight.

Jacobus’ back had numerous marks all over it, from small scrapes to deep ragged slashes. He had caught her; the bow had drained too much from her and knocked her out. The force of the bolt firing had sent her flying since she wasn’t on the ground. In a split-second, Jacobus had caught Aliene and shielded her as they both slammed through the wall of branches and thorns. Aliene was about to speak then noticed the monk had old scars along his back that outnumbered the fresh wounds; the thought twisted her mind from thanks, to concern, to questions.

“The scratches look worse than they are. How are you feeling?” Jacobus’ voice was calm, as if they hadn’t just faced a forest guardian and lived to tell.

“I’m fine, did the Leshii come after us?” Aliene asked, adjusting her shirt and trousers after sleeping in them for what must have been the whole night.

Jacobus turned just his head looking over his shoulder. “So, you did not see what happened?”

“No, it all went dark after I fired.”

The monk turned the rest of himself around. He looked ragged with darkened bags beneath his eyes. “All that was left of that beast was the two small stumps it had for feet.” He paused for a moment then finished speaking. “With that bow, you vaporized the Leshii. That shot was awe-inspiringly powerful.”

Aliene would have been shaken if she wasn’t so physically tired. She pulled the bow from her side and examined the blue, metal-like frame. She ran her fingers over the fins that extended out. “But it has a drawback.” Aliene smiled lightly from her vocalized thought, though Jacobus didn’t seem to catch her second meaning.

“Indeed, you were left basically comatose for nearly twelve hours.” Jacobus’ voice was calm but his eyes pierced her. The monk pulled his pack to him and began searching through it before pulling out a Misten Shirt made of silk. He rubbed the material, examining the dark green garment, putting it on he asked, “Are you feeling well enough to walk again?”

Before he pulled the garment down, Aliene caught a glimpse of a tattoo in blue ink, a lion head encircled by symbols. She decided against asking as many tattoos were for private matters in Misten. Aliene nodded and began rolling her bed up, lost in thought for a moment as she considered where to travel. Schillia was out but she did need to get supplies. As she lifted her pack she had another thought. “You still have the ingot, right?” Aliene asked as the two started walking along a small trail leading away from the campsite.

“I do. Centauri said the being that could use it was north, in the Thundering mountains I assume.” Jacobus winced a bit as he stepped down hard on the train as it dropped sharply.

“I guess.”

“Finding a specific place in them though is going to pose a problem. Without a map, we could wander the mountain range for a lifetime and never find anything.” The monk moved slower to stay by Aliene’s side as the path widened.