Lianne woke up slowly. She opened her eyes, feeling languid. It was morning and she had slept well, something that hadn't happened in a while. She didn't even remember seeing any dreams. Yesterday's events had not haunted her sleep.

Lianne sat up with a sweet yawn. She stretched out her legs and arms, feeling the last bits of drowsiness escaping her. The fire had burned out and Amra was still asleep under her blanket, which surprised Lianne. Most of the time Amra was awake before her, even though she usually got to sleep later. It was strange, but Lianne decided to let Amra continue her rest. She had earned it. She didn't have to watch after her like a hawk all the time.

Lianne looked around the cave as the morning light shone through the opening. She frowned, realizing that Faolin was nowhere to be seen. His bedroll wasn't on the ground and his belongings were also gone. Had he left them during the night?

Lianne got up and walked out of the cave. She looked around the dry wasteland before her and spotted Faolin's horse next to Luna and Sol. His things were tied to the horse's saddle. He hadn't left them after all, and Lianne felt a slight pang of guilt in her heart for even thinking that.

Lianne approached Faolin's horse carefully, in case it was timid. The horse was dark, almost black, and its mane was shiny and soft. Faolin had clearly taken good care of it. The horse looked at her expectantly as if it already knew her. Lianne put her hand on top of the horse's muzzle and stroked it. It was so soft and warm that Lianne couldn't help but smile.

"Hello there. And who might you be?" Lianne asked curiously while it neighed in response. She patted it a couple of times before walking further from the cave, to see where Faolin had gone to.

Lianne walked up the hill surrounding the cave. She wrapped her cape around her tightly, as the cold dry air made her shiver. From the hill, Lianne could see further to the horizon. What met her gaze was nothing. No trees. No rivers, just a vast plain of dry nothingness. She hoped that the rest of the journey wouldn't be like that.

Lianne saw Faolin on top of the hill. He was crouched down on the ground, on his knees, his trousers dusty. He looked down, almost as if he was praying. But he clearly wasn't. He was inspecting something.

"Good morning. Did you sleep well?" Faolin asked without turning towards Lianne.

Lianne stepped closer. "Sorry, did I interrupt something?" she asked curiously.

"This bug is fascinating," Faolin answered.

Lianne walked closer and saw a small green bug in Faolin's shadow. He looked at it as if it were precious, even if it was nothing special.

"It is the Green Gerrel. These things tend to stay in the shadows. It is rare to see one in a place like this," Faolin explained.

Faolin's dark eyes were looking at the bug carefully, his lips pursed. Faolin's shoulder-length dark hair slightly flowed in the wind. He looked young with his expression now, but Lianne had a hunch that he wasn't, at least compared to a lifespan of a human.

Lianne realized that she had been staring, and awkwardly cleared her throat. "What's the name of your horse?" she asked.

"Myrin," Faolin answered.

"Does it mean anything?"

"No," Faolin said as the small bug spread its wings and flew away.

Faolin turned to Lianne, giving her his full attention as he sat down on the ground. "What exactly was that dark magic?" he asked bluntly.

Lianne let out an involuntary sigh. She knew she had to tell him at one point. It would be unfair for him to help them without knowing what he was getting himself into.

Lianne sat down next to Faolin, who looked at her closely. "I'm not sure how much you know about dark spells. The point is to sacrifice something in order to gain something else," she said before pausing hesitantly. "Have you heard of the dealer's debt?" she asked, glancing at Faolin from the corner of her eye.

Faolin pondered for a moment before nodding. "Yes. I know that the deal does not only concern dark spells. The debt is the price people pay. A life for a life, or something equally important," he explained what he knew before he turned to Lianne curiously.

"What did you pay?" Faolin asked, clearly interested in all of it. But as soon as he saw Lianne's expression faltering, he quickly withdrew the question. "If you do not want to tell me, it is fine."

Lianne once more glanced at Faolin. She hesitated but decided to tell him. "My brother, Edwin, was the only one of my family that was still left. He died six months ago," she explained before pausing.

Lianne felt nervous. She hadn't had to explain herself to anyone for a while. Not since she had told everything to Amra. "I was going to bring him back to life, in exchange for mine, but something went wrong when I cast the spell. I was ready, but..." Lianne started before going silent. She swallowed nervously.

"The spell failed and now there's something inside me that shouldn't be there," she sighed. "I'm sorry. This must sound really absurd."

"What is it?" Faolin asked, disregarding Lianne's apology, his dark eyes inspecting her unceasingly.

"I don't know, but it makes me use blood magic. I've never learned to do that. I know that whatever it is, uses my power, but I don't know how to wield it," Lianne explained, her voice rising the more she spoke. Then she stopped and let out a frustrated sigh. The whole thing was still a mystery to her.

"All I know is that it's inside me and it takes over my body. I need to get rid of it," Lianne said determinedly.

"How did you discover it?" Faolin asked, leaning on his hand, closer to her.

"Amra saw it. The first time it happened, I woke up with a dead man next to me," Lianne answered. She remembered the time Amra had explained to her what she had done, describing every gruesome detail. She hadn't believed Amra at first, even if she saw the dead man lying next to her.

"I couldn't get out of bed for a week. I couldn't sleep. She sang to me every night," Lianne said and let out a deep sigh. Without her even realizing it, she had talked about things she usually wouldn't say to a stranger. But Faolin never looked at Lianne with a judging gaze, and that felt nice to her. He had already seen her at her worst and was still treating her like a human being.

Faolin gazed at Lianne, his eyes squinted. "Where did you learn about the spell?" he asked. He clearly had many questions.

"We were having a funeral for Edwin when I met this man. He..." Lianne stopped, reminiscing her past. Then she hesitantly continued. "He told me what to do, but for some reason, I can't remember anything more about him."

"There are rumors about a person, who prowls on people who are in mourning, selling them the fantasy of seeing their loved ones again," Faolin nodded.

Lianne looked at Faolin for a moment with a deep frown on her face. She was trying to remember anything about the man she encountered. Lianne could only recall that she had met him when she had grieved for her brother and that the man had told her about the dealer's debt.

"But why?" Lianne asked baffled.

Faolin shrugged. "These are rumors, nothing more."

"Right. I wish that what happened to me wasn't true either," Lianne said with a contemptuous sneer.

"We cannot change the things we have done," Faolin said knowingly.

Lianne frowned, instantly feeling irritated. As if she hadn't thought about that already. "I'd change things in a heartbeat if I could," she said firmly.

Faolin turned to look at Lianne surprised. "You have a powerful skill. I have never seen anyone do what you did," he said with an admiring expression on his face as if he was in awe of her.

"I don't want to hear that. This is nothing to be admired for," Lianne scoffed. Her body tensed up and her jaw clenched. She was instantly on the defense. "You can have it if you want," she retorted.

"I did not mean that."

"Then what did you mean? I'm killing people and I don't know how to stop it," Lianne said anxiously, speaking more than she had intended. She felt out of place and bare. She averted her gaze, not wanting to meet Faolin's eyes.

Faolin shifted hesitantly. He rubbed the back of his neck and hummed as if he was trying to come up with something to say.

"You're asking a lot of questions," Lianne whispered, glancing at Faolin.

Faolin cleared his throat. "I think it is fascinating," he said clearly.

Lianne instantly fell silent, lost for words, feeling her irritation growing. "Right. I'm glad you find my problems fascinating," she said offended. She stood up and dusted her trousers, readying to leave.

"Wait. I did not mean it like that," Faolin immediately said, trying to make Lianne stay.

Lianne stopped and glanced back at Faolin. For a moment they were both quiet, not knowing what to say to each other. Faolin was a stranger to her, but she still needed his help. She had to travel with him and depended on him.

Lianne took a couple of deep breaths, her irritation starting to cool down. "Look, I'm glad you helped me, but I can't travel with anyone who doesn't take my situation seriously," she said with a sigh.

"What do you mean?" Faolin asked frowning.

"Our journey is hard enough without anyone who does this for fascination, or thinks I'm some kind of a test subject to try your skills at," Lianne said, rubbing her forehead disgruntled.

"Why do you think that?" Faolin asked again, clearly not understanding Lianne.

"I mean your arrow. What if it had killed me?" Lianne asked, spreading her arms.

"I did not shoot to kill. If I had, you would be dead," Faolin said with a baffled look on his face.

Lianne frowned, letting her hands fall to her sides. "It was a real physical arrow."

"I know what I do. I have done it before," Faolin explained, trying to convince Lianne.

"To whom?" Lianne asked, instantly curious.

Faolin hesitated as if he didn't know how to reply. His fingers fiddled with the hem of his shirt as he turned to look at the horizon, his expression grim.

Lianne immediately felt a twinge of guilt. "I'm sorry, I didn't..." she started saying when she heard a voice.

"Lianne!" Amra's hasty voice was heard from a distance away. She ran to the hill, her face pale and sweaty.

"Here you are! I was so worried!" she yelled at Lianne, angry and concerned at the same time as she stomped to her. Lianne was trying to say something but Amra continued. "Why did you let me sleep so late?"

"Calm down Amra, everything's alright," Lianne lifted her hands to stop Amra.

"You should have woken me up," Amra said while crossing her arms. "That was very inconsiderate of you," she scolded Lianne.

"But you were so cute when you slept like a baby," Lianne said teasingly. She pinched Amra's cheek, trying to make her relax.

Amra pouted for a moment. "Fine," she finally said with a deep sigh as she swatted Lianne's hand away.

"Don't worry about it," Lianne said while putting her arm around Amra's shoulder. "Should we eat something and then head on out?" she said while starting to lead Amra back to the cave. She and Faolin had talked enough already.

"I will be right there," Faolin said, his voice surprisingly silent.

Lianne glanced back and saw how lonely Faolin suddenly seemed as he sat on the ground. His shoulders were slouched and his back hunched. "Sure," Lianne replied. She wondered what kind of thoughts were going through his mind. Whatever they were, they must have been something personal.

Lianne and Amra went back to the cave. When the fire got started, Amra put a kettle on and made gruel for them to eat. Their breakfasts were never glamorous since they had limited stock, but they lived with it. Amra spiced the gruel with a drop of honey so that it would taste at least a bit better.

Lianne looked at Amra working. Even though Amra's face still had the bruise, she seemed more cheerful. She had clearly slept well, and that made Lianne smile.

"What are you grinning at?" Amra asked, noticing how Lianne looked at her.

"Nothing," Lianne answered, her smile widening.

"What?" Amra asked again, frowning.

"Nothing."

"You'll tell me or I'm going to squeeze it out of you," Amra said. She got closer to Lianne, ready to smack her playfully on the forehead.

Lianne started laughing. "No, don't! I yield!"

That's when Faolin arrived in the cave. "There were birds, but your yelling scared them off," he said as he sat down next to the fire, crossing his long legs and straightening out his back. His gloomy mood had vanished.

"Sorry," Amra said with a smile as she put some of the gruel on the plates and handed the first one to Faolin. "Do you want some?"

Faolin looked at the plate for a moment. He took it and inspected the food, smelling it as if he was checking that it wasn't poisonous.

"I'm not sure what you're used to, but that's the best we can do for now," Amra said apologetically.

"No, that is alright. This looks fine," Faolin said while taking a bite. He tasted it for a moment and then swallowed it gingerly. "It is fine," he said with a forced smile.

"You're lucky that Amra is making the food. If I'd made that, it would be worse," Lianne grinned at Amra when she started eating her plate of food. The gruel was sweet. If Amra wouldn't have used the honey, it would be too bland to even swallow.

"Where are you exactly heading?" Amra asked Faolin when everyone had begun to eat.

"I am not exactly sure. I will know when I get there," Faolin replied while swallowing the food, his expression a bit wretched.

Lianne and Amra glanced at each other. Lianne grinned and Amra started to laugh. "You're really mysterious, aren't you?" Amra asked amused.

Faolin looked at them both dumbfounded, blinking his eyes a couple of times as if he had no idea what she meant. "But I do not know exactly," he said, but that just made both Lianne and Amra smile more.

They hadn't known each other for long, but Lianne already knew that Faolin's answers were complex. Sometimes they got a straight answer from him, but sometimes all they got were fleeting words.

"How do you know if you're not going the wrong way?" Lianne asked, munching on her food.

"I would feel it," Faolin answered casually.

Lianne lifted her eyebrows questioningly but didn't ask for more.

"What do you hope to find in Clandmere?" Faolin asked in turn.

"I've heard that if someone needs anything out of ordinary, especially sinister, that's the place to go," Lianne explained. She was sure that it was the place they needed to go, even if it seemed more like a story or a fantasy to some. She had to believe the place existed, otherwise she had no goal.

In stories, Clandmere was the root of all evil. It was a place where only the desperate enough tried to enter. Some of the stories told that a gigantic serpent inhabited Clandmere. Other stories told that a demon ruled it. All the stories that were going around had one thing in common. Nobody knew where it was.

After breakfast was eaten, all necessities done and belongings packed, Lianne and Amra were on the move again. This time they had Faolin with them. Amra looked in the direction of her compass and they started riding on ahead. The air was so dry and full of dust that they decided to take it slow so that the horses wouldn't get exhausted.

Lianne felt surprisingly relaxed. Her body swayed on the saddle as they trotted toward the north. Every once in a while Faolin pointed at something, almost as if he was their guide. "Look at that plant there," he said, or "Look at that. I think that is already dead."

"Where are you from?" Lianne asked when Faolin seemed to get curious about everything he saw. He was perceiving things as if he had grown up in captivity and was now seeing all those things for the first time.

"Here and there," Faolin replied and Lianne and Amra exchanged amused looks again.

"Have you been this far north before?" Amra asked Faolin.

"I am not sure, I do not have a map or a compass," Faolin replied as he again spotted something in the distance. "Look, what a fascinating rock."

Lianne laughed. Even though Faolin was hard to read and he seemed to confuse her, she still liked that he was with them. Not only because of his help, but also because Lianne felt at ease with him around, and she knew that Amra did too.