A chime of chirping told of a new morning. Yuka sat up with a yawn, her face dropping remembering yesterday evening. Her heart ached, but she brushed the memories to the corner of her mind and pushed forward. "Let's go", she thought. She carefully got out of bed and grabbed her stick from the wall. She made her way out of the room, just to bump into Hrafen. He managed to regain his balance, but she wasn't so lucky.

She tumbled to the ground with a scream. Hrafen was by her side in an instant. He carried a glass with him, which had a fruity aroma to it. He started rubbing it on her arm as she scowled at him. "Is that ale?" She thought. Finally, the rune was gone and a sudden rush of noise filled her ears.

"Are you alright? I'm sorry for knocking you over. Didn't think you'd be up by now", he said.

"Watch where you're going next time, that hurt", she said, then broke into a smile and laughed.

"Yeah, my bad. Good morning." He offered her a hand.

She took it and he helped her up. "They are gone now so I had wanted to get the rune off you before you woke."

"With beer?" She humored.

"Well, it works better than water."

"Please tell me you aren't drinking any of it though?"

He nervously laughed. "No, of course not."

She gazed at him. "Well, whatever. Let's go, I wanna get to the village as soon as possible."

"Yeah, we can head out. I already packed things up."

He helped her out of the cabin and they started towards the wagon.

"Where's Corba?" Yuka asked.

"He's waiting for us up ahead."

"Something feels off about him."

Hrafen's expression turned serious. "I'll stand by him no matter what. I trust him with my life."

"Huh, okay." She thought. They finally reached the wagon and departed.

"So who are you taking me to?"

"Her name is Lera. She is a herbalist, but she also uses runes in her work. She knows quite a bit about souls from her patients, so I was hoping she may know how to help you."

"Huh, okay. She uses runes to treat people?"

"Why wouldn't she? It is convenient."

"Fair enough."

Eventually, they broke the forest and narrowed their eyes under the intense flare of the sun.

Not far ahead of them was a dirt road, which they got onto and traveled right.

After a fair amount of time seeing nobody, Yuka spoke her mind.

"I expected to see more people."

People avoid this road since it hangs close to the Unlit Forest, the village itself was made to control the forest, which is why it is called the Village of Saints."

"The Village of Saints?"

"Yes. It's where many of the religious groups go. They prevent anyone from going in the forest."

She looked around. "It doesn't look like they're trying much. How did we get in?"

"We used one of the few blind spots. Also, they are watching, even if it doesn't look like it."

"With runes?"

"Yes."

"Why does it seem like runes can do anything? What can't they do?"

"There are millions of runes, each with its own meaning and use. In reality, runes can do anything. But some of the results aren't good, so they are banned. And some stuff just hasn't been thought of yet. Runes usually have specific uses."

"How are runes made then?"

"No clue, only the higher-ups know that."

"Higher-ups?"

"Yeah, royalty. But the capital is far from here. We are at the edge of the kingdom so there's nothing you should worry about."

"Anyhow, we should be there soon. We are gonna be staying for a couple of days, so don't get into trouble. Fox spirits are allowed, but it doesn't mean people aren't wary."

"Got it."

Eventually, the first glimpse of the village could be seen in the distance. Open plains breezed in the wind surrounding it. Upon drawing close, nothing really stood out, except for multiple large stone buildings. Two of them resembled churches, but the other was a fortress surrounding half of the village.

"I wasn't expecting this", Yuka said.

"The fortress? Even if most people don't know about the Unlit Forest, it doesn't mean nobody does. But to be honest, nobody uses it. Nothing has ever left the forest."

"What even are they?"

"The forest beings? They weren't actually given a name, mainly so nobody finds out. Well, if they were I sure as heck don't know it. As for their looks, nobody knows. They blend into the forest too well for anyone to make out anything."

"Really? Wow."

Eventually, the wagon made its way into the village, receiving curious glances from people. It came to a stop near a tavern.

"You can head inside, I wanna head straight to Lera. We can settle down when I am back."

"Okay."

They parted ways, and Yuka slowly made her way into the tavern.