She finally woke up. Everything was blurry. She blinked a few times. It was dark. She slowly moved her arms. Her body was stiff.

Sudden pain made her squirm. Her leg hurt badly. As the pain made her surroundings clearer, she slowly corrected her breathing. With a slow push she sat up. She wasn't in the city.

A small rocky cave with barely any light. There seemed to be some clothes and furs scattered around her. There were some herbs and white straps of cloth left on the nearby rock. An improvised table?

She tried to reach her injury. Her leg was tightly wrapped with a white cloth. She didn't muster the courage to unwrap her wound. She couldn't see any blood. Did someone used the herbs to heal her?

She didn't know much about forest vegetation. Only medicine she ever saw was already in either the form of a liquid or a powder.

She reached to the table and took some herbs. They left a nice faint scent. After a few failed attempts she recognised the same smell coming from the bandage on her leg. This forced gymnastic was brutal. She tried to assess herself afterwards, yet after a while she concluded a bigger problem than some scratches and a torn dress.

With a small growl her stomach made her wake up fully. She looked around once more. Over a small extinguished campfire a large metal cap was left. It was filled with water.

She gulped and instinctively touched her throat. It was painfully dried. She wanted to reach for the helmet, yet a smaller rocky "table" came into her view. It contained a small wooden cup and a bunch of red berries left on the giant leaf.

She didn't hesitate. First she filled the cup and drank some water. It was cold. Whoever left her here must have been away for some time. The water was still painful to drink even after a second cup. Still she felt much better. Berries were also tasty, although she pillaged them all in a matter of minutes.

After such feast she finally caught up to her current situation. Sitting down she covered herself with furs. Whoever took care of her couldn't move her to create a decent bed. She felt her mana filling the cave. It must have been quite a capable creature to withstand all that. The magic attack she took was way out of her league.

She barely remembered how they were attacked. The moment she felt some sinister presence she tried to shield the soldiers around her taking the ether head on. It was foolish of her to do so. It was a massive spell directed at the entire area of the road.

There was some running afterwards, but she couldn't tell how far away she was now. Did she run here herself? Did someone drag her here?

She likely tanked the area of effect fear spell.

Her own mana was running wild for at least a few days. Creating all those dreams or nightmares. Every worst day. Every mistake and every single tear she ever shed. This whole darkness was still somewhere deep in her brain. Still...

She survived. Someone must have also survived with her. It was likely that some of her guards were still alive and well. They must have brought her here to hide and treat her. Maybe they even found some forest creatures to aid them.

She was alive in this mountain forest. Somebody helped her.

She would likely need to return to the town. She would see all the kids once more.

Maybe she was saved by a dryad? It would make a great story to cheer them all up.

Surely. Some people were still alive. They would call the city for help. She just needed to believe.

Surely...

Gob looked at her from the shadows once more. She regained enough of her vitality and he already knew how to start the conversation. He made up his mind. Without leaving the shade he focused all of his senses on the girl and said:

"They are all dead."