Dawn was sitting at their campfire feeling weary and low the next morning. They had found a good spot for their camp not too far from the village, on flat ground with a few trees around them and another small brook in the vicinity. The weather had turned to a fine drizzle during the night and the tent they had taken from the hunters and the protection from the elements it granted was indeed welcome. Nevertheless, Dawn had had trouble falling asleep, the confrontation in the Kharlin village running through her mind time and again. She had kept wondering if there was anything she could have said or done differently that would have changed the outcome. Probably not, but she couldn’t help thinking about it. Even now, she felt she had gotten a raw deal from the Kharlins. But they had lost half the people of their village. Their family and friends. That must be hard. She couldn’t really imagine how she would feel in their situation. And, she had burned the demon eggs. It might have been at least partly her fault that the demons had attacked.

Apart from her anger and sadness and the blow to her confidence, Dawn felt quite chagrined when she thought of all the questions she had wanted to ask the Kharlins. About how they had managed their escape and the explosions and the cave-in. Nothing to be done about that now. Maybe she would never find out about it. And she had so looked forward to talking to people. Sharing thoughts about the demons and everything that had happened with Kharma. Learning about Kharlin herblore and medicines from Lutha. Just chatting with others about everything and anything. Truth was, she felt lonely. Ankou was the best friend anyone could wish for. He was always by her side and had saved her life several times already. But he couldn’t talk to her. Though he was able to make his opinions perfectly clear from time to time, she thought with a small smile.

She sighed, deciding to let it go for the umpteenth time. Resolutely she drank the rest of her rosehip tea and stood up. “Time for us to find ourselves something better to eat, Ankou.” She told the waiting cat. “I’m absolutely tired of stale oatcakes and jerky. Let’s go explore a bit and see if we can find a nice pond or river to catch a few fish.”

She spent the next hours in companionable silence with the lynx. They had found a river bend where the water splashed down over several rocky sections, foaming and whirling. Throwing her fishing line into a calmer section at the bottom, she had managed to catch several good-sized fish. While she had sat there on the rocks and held her fishing line she’d been thinking again. This time about what they would do now, where they would go from here.

Dawn had rather counted on spending some time with the Kharlins. That wouldn’t happen now, obviously. Maybe they could return to the hidden valley where she had started out. But somehow it didn’t feel right to her. Too close to her former village and the hunters. She didn’t even know if they would be able to find their way back to it from here. Though Ankou probably would manage it. Of course, she could have returned to her family too. But she would not do that. Apart from her blessing and her path, she would loose Ankou too. Her family or the villagers would never agree to the lynx living with them. A future without him and her path was unimaginable. Though she rather doubted that Beran would still want to marry her, after she had run away. The villagers would no doubt treat her as a pariah if she returned. Roaming around and fighting beasts in the wilderness not being exactly ‘seemly’ behaviour for a girl in their eyes.

But where should they build their base then? They needed a good spot, sheltered from the wind, rain and come winter, snow, with enough space for a fire-pit and some ventilation so the smoke would not accumulate. They would have to keep a look-out for a handy cave, preferably one that wasn’t already inhabited by any beasts or animals. She grimaced at the thought. She had already had enough of caves for a lifetime. But building a house or even a hut wasn’t feasible for her on her own. “I’m an idiot,” she said suddenly. Of course they already had a ready-made base. If the Kharlins really left their village, what would prevent them from using it? Perfect spot, covered, hidden, with ready-made huts and a fire-pit. Well, of course there remained the question of some demons possibly still lingering in the vicinity. That was a drawback. But the main exit from the caves near the village had been blocked by the cave-in.

Dawn stood up and bundled up her catch. First things first. They would make a fire and grill their fish and have a perfectly fine meal for a change. On the way back to their camp spot she collected some herbs for seasonings.

After the meal she felt a bit better. Doubtfully she looked in the direction of the Kharlin village. Had they left already? She could go and take a look for herself. Without further thought, she packed up her belongings and set off with Ankou in the direction of the village.

She was moving a lot more gracefully through the shrubs and the rocky terrain than she was used to. But of course, her agility had risen with her levels during the last days. It wasn’t really surprising that there was a change. An hour later, she approached the village location and activated stealth. If the Kharlins were still here, she didn’t want to to be seen. Dawn was not keen on another confrontation.

Nothing moved around the village. Slowly she sneaked to the entrance hidden behind a big rock and stuck her head in. Silence. Nothing moved. She slipped in to look around. The tribe must have left already. The big cave was empty, the fire-pit cold. No tools were left lying around. She risked a glance into one of the huts and saw it was empty. At least the big benches and tables in the common area had been left. These had probably been too big to be carried easily. There was even some leftover firewood to one side of the cave and a well, covered with a heavy wooden lid. The silence in the formerly bustling village was haunting, but Dawn had to admit she could not hope for a better camp to last out the coming months. So, they would move in. They’d just need to be very careful and stealthy when they moved around outside. She fervently hoped that she had seen the last of the demons, but it wouldn’t hurt to take care.

She chose one of the little huts randomly, and decided to establish herself there and take stock of her belongings. Her storage ring was packed with all kinds of stuff, and she needed to look it over and tidy up a little. That task occupied her for a few hours. As she sorted her things, she saw that she needed to clean and repair her clothing once again. The demons had done a number on her apparel. Dawn sighed and laid the clothes aside to look at tomorrow. “If the wear and tear continues in this manner, I’ll need new clothing in a few weeks,” she grumbled. Maybe she could rework her dresses into more shirts and trousers? Another task she would have to tackle soon.

She took out the books and alchemical tools she had taken from the old laboratory. She would set up one of the other huts here as her own laboratory, Dawn decided. Then she took out a milky white stone and remembered. “The echo stone,” she murmured. Curious, she held it in her hand. A moment later, the familiar brown haired man appeared in front of her and was talking. The first diary entries she knew already, but finally a new one followed. The man was looking weary and bedraggled now, deep dark circles around his eyes.

“13th of Daram in the eighth year of the reign of King Rakna the seventh. I have been busy over the last days with finalizing my experiments. I have ensured that the process works on animals. Of course there has been no time to study any long-term effects. Saida is near to death, if I’m going to do this I need to act now. She has consented to attempt the procedure. The runic circle is ready, the construct waiting. It will be hard to do this, though I know it is Saida’s only chance at life. I can only hope...” His voice petered out and he cleared his throat. “If the procedure goes wrong and Saida does not survive I will follow her in death.”

The man winked out and a period of silence followed that entry. Dawn wondered if he had managed to save his wife, and if the stone would have any more entries that would tell her anything. Then suddenly, there he appeared again. Still looking tired, but his face animated with almost manic excitement, he was talking rapidly.

“16th of Daram in the eighth year of the reign of King Rakna the seventh. It worked! The process worked and Saida is still herself. Killing her was the hardest thing I ever had to do, and the waiting period to see if everything had been completed successfully and her mind was still in working order was a hellish eternity. I’m lucky there were no mistakes. When I started the process I was overtired after working for several weeks with almost no breaks. But time had run out. We cut it close as it is. Saida is still weak and will need some time to get used to her new body. Though it is as similar to her old one as I could possibly accomplish, there is some need for adjustment. But that doesn’t matter. Saida has all the time in the world now.” He vanished again, a wide smile on his face.

Once more a short period of silence followed and then he reappeared. This time he looked rested and better groomed, his eyes twinkling and his demeanor carefree.

“20th of Daram in the eighth year of the reign of King Rakna the seventh. The nightmare is over now. Saida is getting stronger every day, her grace in her new body already almost matching her former one. I had to tell our families and friends she had died. It is well known to everyone here that there is no cure for blackburn disease, once the infection has taken hold. If Saida had reappeared, apparently cured of the disease, the healers would have expected me to produce a remedy that could be used for other patients too. Obviously, I do not have such a remedy. We could not risk telling anybody the truth about what we have done. Formally, the penalty for blood magic is death. And even though we hurt no one, I cannot be sure anybody would listen to us and agree to waive it. We cannot risk it.

So we buried Saida’s body yesterday with all formality. We will stay here for a little while and then we will take our leave and rebuild our lives somewhere far from here, where nobody knows us. We will have to leave everyone behind, and I confess to being sad to see the last of my family. But Saida is worth it. She will not miss her family very much, there’s not much love lost between her and her parents who always favoured her older sister. Now there you have a spoiled harridan in my opinion, but there’s no accounting for taste. No one here will wonder, if I tell them I need to get away from the memories of Saida for a while. And then I will apparently disappear. Just another victim of some beast attack or other who will never be seen again.”

Dawn let go of the stone after that entry. What a story. Could that have possibly been true? It sounded impossible to her.