Sekafi trudged through the bushes, stumbled on rocks hidden under thick layers of moss, and got prickly branches in her face. She growled in annoyance. This was almost guaranteed a bad idea. Why was Aspen so stubborn? She glanced back at her friend. He struggled worse than her, being much smaller and weaker. She smiled fondly when he didn't see. Ikelos generally thought of elves as weaklings, and though Aspen wasn't a fullblood elf, he was still a weakling. Thin, pale and short with large almond-shaped eyes and long ebony hair, straight as a plummet. But she'd never call him a coward. Despite being completely useless in combat, he'd never give up or stay away from danger. Dutiful and brave. A worthy friend. Despite wielding nothing more terrifying than a dagger and a pencil. Proud to be his friend, she pushed deeper into the dying forest, eyes and ears peeled for danger, ready to protect. Every tree wept black sap from their disfigured trunks, and brown needles covered the ground. Something must have poisoned it.

'Look!'

She turned around. Aspen pointed towards the river. She stepped closer and laid eyes on a small wooden bridge that spanned its width. The water rushed past, faster here where the banks narrowed. A good place for a bridge. The wood looked old and unstable, covered in slimy algae and moss.

'Someone built this!' Aspen pointed out needlessly. 'I have to note this down.'

'Do you really, though?' she asked, glancing about. She disliked stopping. Especially if some kind of people lived here. She studied the bridge again. Surely nobody had used that thing for ages? There wasn't even a path.

'It looks old. I wonder who built it?' Aaspaelwin muttered to himself as he pulled out his gear, checked the compass, and drew on the map.

'I don't care, honestly. Can we go back? If there are people here, we could be in greater danger than we think.'

He gave her a disbelieving look. 'What? No! You know that if we leave this unchecked, we'd just have to return later anyway.'

'Maybe.'

'I mean, it's true. We would be sent straight back, and I'd rather not do the trip again.'

'You're probably right. But can't you at least admit the real reason is that you're curious?'

His guilty smile told her all she needed to know. She shook her head. 'You're impossible.'

'I'm thorough,' he countered.

'That too.' And too curious. She guessed that's why he'd become a mapper. The forest creeped her out. Her fur stood on end along her back. Good thing her lamellar armour covered it somewhat. The place was dead. Not a single bird chirped, neither lizards nor snakes slithered through the underbrush, and she hadn't seen or heard any bigger animals since yesterday. Now that she thought about it, the bugs too had gone. She hefted her spear, and loosed her golok from it's sheath. Just in case.

They moved on as soon as Aaspaelwin had finished his notes. The sun gleamed warmly through the branches from time to time, sitting low in the sky. They'd be forced to sleep in this cursed place.

'Hey, weakling.'

'Yes, dear furball?'

She snorted, holding back laughter. 'We should turn back. It's getting dark soon.'

'I know. We'll just set up camp in some good place.'

'Good? You realize there's no such thing here, right?'

He shrugged, his pale blue eyes sparkling with an adventurous light.

As the sun set below the hills, they passed by another sign of people having lived here before. A stone marker with strange inscriptions. Also covered in moss, and worn by wind and rain. Neither of them could read the message.

Aaspaelwin traced the carved symbols with a finger. 'What does it say, do you think?'

'Warning, danger ahead. Turn back immediately.'

He chuckled. Typical answer when she didn't like something. He should have guessed it. 'You know, one can't believe you're the warrior here.'

She snickered. 'I'm the one who'll have to fight whatever danger you bring upon us.'

Ignoring her remark, he continued, 'It's very curious. As far as we know, this land is uncharted. I thought nobody had lived here. But it seems we were wrong. I'll have to write this down as well.'

'Sure. Do your thing, pointy-ear.'

He waved the remark off. But the strange stone and marking made him uneasy. Maybe she was right? The stone could be a warning. But it could also be a simple waystone, showing the way to some old settlement. Probably long abandoned. He'd love to find the ruins of an old city. Worry mingled with his excitement, but he shoved them aside. This was too interesting, whatever it was. Though tired to the bones, he had no wish to stop. The setting sun would force them sooner than he'd like though. He uncorked the waterskin and took a few mouthfuls before moving on. The water had an odd tang to it. But there wasn't much he could do about it.

'All right, let's go.'

'You're the one stalling, elf.'

'You're unusually annoying right now, do you know this?'

She laughed and set off at a painful speed. How'd she move so fast, he wondered as he forced his tired legs to keep up. His eyes wandered over the dying trees, their trunks drenched in sticky, dark sap. More and more stood leaning, dying or dead without any needles left on their branches. They were getting closer to... something. The centre, the cause. At least he hoped so.

A tree creaked and fell with a deafening crash only a few yards away from them. Bark, pieces of wood, and needles pelted them as they threw themselves into cover behind some large boulders.

'By the fires of Yhori,' Aaspaelwin panted as the stinging rain stopped.

'You could say that again,' Sekafi muttered. 'Stupid trees.'

He laughed, in part relief. 'They're not sentient beings.'

'It attacked us though.' She glared at the fallen tree as if it had insulted her personally.

'Well, I mean, it's just a –'

A roar speared through the air, freezing Aaspaelwin to the core. For a few seconds, he couldn't move. The sound died out, leaving the forest deadly quiet. The silence assailed his ears as he listened for another noise, every fiber of his being as tense as a bowstring.

'What in the abyss was that?' Sekafi whispered after an eternity, making him jump.

'I have no idea.' He barely dared to breathe.

'I think we should move. Whatever that was, it didn't sound friendly. And it might be coming to investigate the sound.'

'Good idea. Let's move away from it.'

She nodded and grabbed his arm. Pushing him forwards, she positioned herself between him and whatever they'd heard.

Aaspaelwin moved as fast as his shaky legs allowed. But as they left the side of the river, the ground rose, making their passage harder. Soon, his clothes clung to him, and sweat ran down his face. As the light faded, he stumbled in the deepening shadows, and branches scratched and pulled at his clothes again and again. Dread locked his stomach into a hard knot. What had they heard? A skegler? A dragon? Some monster? He didn't want to find out.

They came over the rise, and into a clearing. Every blackened tree in the vicinity lay on the ground, broken into pieces. The rising moons glinted in the sticky goo covering everything. In the centre stood a raised stone. And behind it, something abominable. Aspen stopped so suddenly Sekafi bumped into him. He couldn't breathe. What in the deepest abyss? A black moving mass, he couldn't make out its form in the dark. It reared a horned head above the rock, blinked with more eyes than it should have had, and opened its maw.