[ ––––––––– ֎ Day 15 ––––––––– ]

It was difficult to catch up to a rider after a long night of pursuit. That's why Noemi decided to follow the trail at her own pace and allow herself to rest before the final confrontation.

Soon, she arrived at a glade with a small cone rock structure. It had a single doorway, in front of it were three pairs of stakes with human-like skulls on top. Walls had four round holes to allow air inside and there was a half-meter wide hole at the top of the habitat. Rough stone edges were painted with animal blood in patterns of simple straight lines or sun symbols. Next to the structure, there was a pasture behind a fence, where four moss-chewers grazed.

In front of the structure, Noemi spotted the female troglodyte rider with a head trophy and other looted belongings. She has removed baggage from moss-chewer and moved inside a house.

Noemi was eager but cautious, so she knew not to rush into the fray before fully understanding the situation. Based on the size of a building, she determined it's a single-family house. She trusted her combat skills, it was time to act. She confidently walked forward, paying no heed to being spotted.

Noemi removed trinkets hanging under the doorway with her hand and looked inside, the whole ceiling was decorated with many skulls hanging by the hair.

“Irredeemable.” – Noemi slowly hissed under her nose. She smelled the air and determined where troglodyte walked. She didn't sense any other presence.

The female troglodyte was in a small kitchen, there were herbs, birds, and onions on a wooden table. She was starting to prepare a soup, the fire was already started and water was almost boiling.

Noemi moved farther inside as silently as she could. She was master of sneaking back in the swamps, only bested by a couple of hunters, but none of the warriors.

“You. We've got to talk.” – Noemi unceremoniously burst out.

“Nether-spawn!” – Toad woman uttered in shock, she wasn't prepared for the encounter. Troglodyte reached for a bone knife lying on one of the shelves, but Noemi was quicker and grabbed her hand.

“Are you trying to attack me?” – Noemi asked angrily.

“Go back to the abyss!” – Toad spitted Noemi in the face and toad spit was rather dense and sticky. Reptile girl was temporarily blinded and couldn't defend herself, she immediately felt a barbed blade deep inside the soft, left side of her belly.

The next few sounds were growls of Aurora, who rushed to grab troglodyte by the arm with her teeth and allowed Noemi to remove saliva. In the aftermath, toad woman violently tossed the vixen against the wall, to the point that Aurora squealed in pain.

Now, Noemi was red with fury. She seized troglodyte by the shell and tossed her on the ground, then with all her might - punched a foe repeatedly in the skull. Troglodyte tried to cover her face with her arms, but Noemi grabbed them by wrists, then recalled how the worst transgressors were supposed to be punished by the rules of her village.

Troglodyte's hands were extended into the fire and a toad woman screamed in pain. Branding, or marking, was what awaited those who offended cardinal traditions given by the gods.

“No. Killing. GET IT!?” – Noemi had a vindictive smile. She drew pleasure from watching a lawbreaker burn in anguish. To her, it was a lesson that troglodyte would never forget.

The girl, however, had to stop, as she soon overheard the approaching steps of two persons. Without hesitation, Noemi picked her spear and shield, then prepared to defend, but she soon realized there was no danger.

The two strangers were brother and his younger sister, in maturity comparable to human eight and twelve years old.

“Mom?” – The young girl replied, sobbing. Her mother was still squirming on the floor, screaming. Her brother was silent, shocked, and frozen by fear. He was trying to comfort the sister by holding her hand as tight as he could.

Noemi got a grip of herself, her smile disappeared. She was grim and stoical. Her head dropped until a shadow was fully covering her eyes.

“No. Killing.” – Noemi grabbed the decapitated head of a warrior and removed it from toad mother's belt, then showed it to the kids. – “No. Killing... or I'll return.”

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Noemi was in a horrible mood. She didn't know If to regret marking the toad woman with fire. She didn't know If troglodyte would be able to provide for her children with injured hands, but the punishment was adequate by the law. She considered the second reason as justification for her actions since it was her sacred duty to obey the warrior's code, yet she felt kind of remorse, but not for the fate of the criminal, but the fate of kids.

Until the dawn, Noemi spent the time wondering what consequences will her actions of righteousness have. She ignored the abundant and diverse flora of a new, lush part of the forest. She ignored giant ferns, hanging vines, and pleasant, dewy grass under her feet.

But her companion, Aurora, didn't. She had fun chasing insects and jumping into puddles. The white fox checked her taller friend with her sharp eyes and with no doubt understood that she is sad. Aurora picked a stick and suggested a game of fetch.

Noemi just couldn't refuse and joined the game, quickly forgetting about the situation. In her last thought, she had decided that there was no fault in obeying the law of her ancestors – it had never failed their little Eden - and what is in the past, stays in the past.

Following the footsteps of Aurora, Noemi reached another wonder of nature, a lone oak covered in silk of pale rainbow undertones. Under the tree, in the shadow, was resting a dozen of vine beasts, creatures similar in shape to anteater, but with long, thin, and pointy leaves instead of fur. Each had a pair of extendable vine appendages, which were used to maul unwary trespassers. Behind them, under a trunk, were piles of mucous eggs protected by mother of all species, who contrary to other green species, was in beautiful violet and pink colors and had four vines. She was also six times larger. Noemi knew she wouldn't stand a chance against such a formidable opponent. She wouldn't come closer, but she remembered the place to sketch it later.

In the afternoon, the duo had arrived at a small lake below a waterfall under an equally small rock plateau. It had a few water lilies and there were some weeds, which made the place look cozy. Surroundings were peaceful and quiet, there were no animal others than birds. Noemi decided to take a bath, while Aurora left to hunt birds to eat.

Noemi put her bags down, removed armor, and stripped down the clothes, then moved under the waterfall to take a short shower. Without a bun, her hair reached just under the shoulders. After finishing washing, the reptile girl laid down under the rock hidden behind the waterfall, closed her eyes, and relaxed, listening to sounds of birds and burbling water.

Her relaxation wouldn't stay as long as she would prefer to, since her pointy ears picked up a far sound of a group of mooing animals. It was unnatural, organized. Noemi recognized the sound, it were the moss-chewers, but the pack was too large. She could only draw one conclusion, which later turned out to be correct, it were raiders.

She had to be chased for what she did.

Noemi hastily jumped out of a pool, then re-equipped herself and took the bags. She had whistled for Aurora to come back and hoped that the fox will pick up her scent as it used to in the past.

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Noemi ran away as fast as she could, chased by a party of troglodytes. Her stamina was beyond remarkable, but she was worried that mounted beasts might outrun her and that she wouldn't last a few days of the continuous chase. She wanted to think of a plan or find a good place to hide, but she didn't know how to avoid being tracked.

It was all until it began to rain, mushrooms above released vast clouds of spores and their juices dripped down, soaking everything in a smelly and sticky substance.

Noemi smiled deep inside, she believed the luck was a gift from the deities for following the dogmas and she wouldn't let it go to waste. The girl took a stop and quickly covered her whole body in mud, to completely kill the smell, then picked Aurora and helped her to do the same. Footprints would soon disappear in heavy rain and weren't the issue.

After several hours, Noemi reached an elongated, rocky hill that crossed the forest. She believed to lose the chase, but she would be trapped If troglodytes encircled her and reduced the distance, so she had no choice but to find a way to cross the area.

It didn't take long to find an entrance to a cave. Noemi lit the lantern and delved deep into the dark.

[ ––––––––– ֎ ––––––––– ]

Wild white mushrooms grew under the ceiling, where pointy stalactites hanged from the wet ceiling, which similarly to the walls, was covered in guano. Noemi didn't see what's above her head, since the light of her lantern was too weak, but she could feel the harsh smell and hear the clicking of unknown creatures.

It didn't matter though, she knew that creatures were small but numerous. In the swamps, these type of animals were never an issue, since scales protected her and her hunters well.

Noemi could feel the cold wind coming from the other side of the tunnel, she was close to her freedom, but she didn't trust her lulled senses. Her instinct and experience told her to raise a shield and defend.

A massive snout jumped out of the darkness and locked its sharp teeth on the shield, then closed and shattered it in an instant. Only the reinforced middle prevailed. The force of attack knocked Noemi to the ground, her arm was unhurt, but stuck with the shield inside of a dripping mouth.

Noemi attacked with a spear, aiming for carotid arteries, but the beast moved its front leg and pinned the girl's arm down. Noemi was immobilized and would only last as long as her shield.

Aurora jumped to help and leaped onto the enemy's head, gouging out the foe's left eye with her teeth. Massive beast half-growled, half-howled, and moved back, while trying to shake off the fox.

Noemi was now seeing the whole creature, it was over a three meters long red-haired wolf with bloody runes on its fur, but before she got up, the beast already got rid of the white vixen, tossing it on the ground.

Wolf snatched a fox with its mouth, then waggled the head and violently lacerated the victim. Blood splattered all around, until the beast simply tossed an unconscious animal to the side, leaving a trail of blood.

In a couple of seconds, Noemi was in shock, then devastated, and finally in a frenzy. Her expression became solid and serious. She tossed a lantern to the ceiling, startling the bats living there. Fluttering black wings concealed all other sounds and covered the entire vision. Noemi's smell couldn't be found due to her earlier struggles. She approached from the left side, so to the wolf, she became invisible.

In one swift strike, Noemi penetrated the neck of the beast and its artery burst. The girl leaped away at an instant since the wolf was still eager to fight. Noemi, however, would have none of it. She always dodged attacks to the left side, to the blind spot, and struck the wolf over and over again, until it bled out.

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After the foe collapsed Noemi immediately rushed to the bleeding Aurora, tears began running down her cheeks.

“No... no. No, no no... no...” - Noemi knelt and wanted to lift the fox, but its body was punctured in multiple places and its bones were shattered, she knew it would only cause pain. Her hands trembled over the fox, unable to do anything.

“Please don't die.” - Noemi's face was begging, inches away from the reddened fur. - “Please don't leave me.”

Aurora only lifted her tiny head and licked Noemi on the cheek to comfort her for one last time, then lowered it again, closed her eyes, and peacefully embraced eternal sleep.

Noemi couldn't hear a heartbeat or breath anymore. Aurora was dead and the girl burst into tears, crying herself out. She lifted the corpse and hugged it, bloodying her clothes.

[ ––––––––– ֎ Day 16 ––––––––– ]

Noemi was incapable of cry anymore, she tired herself out. She didn't count the hours or bother about being followed anymore. It all didn't matter, what only mattered, was that her only dearest friend was gone. That she was all alone, again.

Noemi's face was pale, it was devoid of emotions, stern. She was a warrior, so it was time to recollect herself.

The girl pulled out a knife and skinned the wolf, then took its fur as a trophy. She made a cape out of it, to show all the creatures in the forest who replaced the old king. She also crafted a breastplate necklace out of steel feathers gathered earlier.

Noemi lifted the corpse of her companion and moved on.

[ ––––––––– ֎ ––––––––– ]

Aurora was buried in a nice meadow, her grave was surrounded with purple, pink, and white blossoms of fruit trees that were growing around the glade.

“Goodbye” - Noemi put the last, single daisy and left.