Unlike the return trip from the Ravine, the journey northward would be a marathon. He was in no rush to cross the world from one point to the next, that was true. However, he also was intent on covering as much ground as possible between stints. So long as his magic held out and he could walk, the boy would move. The desert was a fiendish place with hazards all over. From the environment itself to the inhabitants. Everything around him was out to get him, so he needed to get through the sand as fast as possible. He had no doubt the rest of the wilderness awaiting him would share similar properties about them all. Just with different flavors of fauna, flora, and terrain.

Thus, he walked with broad strides and covered himself in a thin veil of cooling water to keep the heat at bay. He regulated his internal body temperature and utilized his light magic to counteract his fatigue. This time, Jake also utilized a Weight Reduction rune on his pack, eliminating the burden on his shoulders so that he could walk with natural effort only. His weapons remained sheathed as he avoided confronting the Dunebeasts he passed, giving them a wide berth when possible or running by them. The Sandworm pits he noticed he also avoided, circling around them while ensuring he kept himself oriented to the west. The compass he’d purchased wiggled and failed to keep balance, but between the sun on his right and its general orientation he was able to walk in the proper direction.

Unlike his initial trip home, Jake crossed the desert in a fraction of his original time. As he’d estimated, it took him just about eight days to reach the Ravine from the village. It was night time when he approached the rocky edge of the crevice and a cool updraft from the abyss’s maw lapped at his face. This time, when he looked into that black abyss, he did so without a trace of emotion on his face. But, his ears were open. He waited for the sound of the wind to fade as it calmed. Then, he listened.

…

…

…

Silence.

Not a sound met his ears. Not a wail. Not a gurgle. Not a foul screech. Nothing.

“Good.” Satisfied, Jake stepped away from the rock and walked a short distance from the maw. There, safe from the wind, he utilized his Rock magic to erect a square block to use as a sleeping space. While the desert was a place he was familiar with, the forest across the Ravine was another story. Without having to deal with the extreme heat, Jake wouldn’t need to keep the waterskin on. But, he would need to use his Sensory magic on the next leg which would drain just as much mana along with mental fatigue. He would also need to put effort into listening for people. In order to keep his supplies up, find a route northward, and gain information on the region, he would need to find the next town as soon as possible. That was his first goal and would be his first step. For now, he needed rest. Once he crossed the Ravine, he would be in a new world all over again. He wanted to be well rested and fed for that.

Before Jake retreated into his hut, he placed several Alert spells around the area, connecting the network to a sigil on the inside wall that would sound if something entered the zone. He then gave the area a final once over, checking the space for any irregularities before he stepped into his living space. He closed the wall behind him, sealing it shut. Two holes were created in the ceiling for ventilation, ensuring he wouldn’t suffocate. Inside, Jake created a heating pit in the center and placed two lights on each corner to illuminate the interior. He then set down his pack near the pit and fished out a wrapping of rations.

He peeled back the corners. Set out his food, then began to nibble at it as he stared down at the flickering fire runes. It had been a long few days, especially this last one. Knowing he would make it to the Ravine by sunset if he didn’t stop, Jake forced himself to continue walking without a break in hopes to save himself some time. He was hungry, his stomach hurt, and his mana had been drained from the excessive use. The difference between traveling in comfort and toughing it out had bore its fangs. His trip home from the Ravine had been made as naturally as possible and though his body was sore from it, his mana had hardly been touched.

Rushing through the desert, however, had pushed him. His head ached from the strain on his mind. His muscles were tight and weary from their incessant use. Even with his Light Magic, the constant near-instant recovery of his muscles had worn on them. They were awake and capable of marching on, but there was a sort of slog to his motions. As if his body was being weighed down by some unseen force. A side-effect of the instant recovery, he presumed. The injection of mana into his body to repair it over and over had cost him more and more over time until his mana reserves were nearly drained. He had done it and made it work but fuck was it a dreadful experience.

Jake let out a heavy sigh and slouched forward, placing his elbows on his knees. He shut his eyes and lifted the sandwich to his mouth for another bite. As he chewed, he let himself truly rest. The room was quiet. No bustling. No singing. No drunkards shouting. No other body in the room, breathing steadily. No woman to speak to him. No friends to share in the heat. And, most of all, no enemies to truly worry over.

It was an odd moment of quiet. Not even the runes crackled like a normal flame might. It was almost eerie, that silence.

“Jake?” A whisper tickled his ear and he opened his eyes. Yae’s voice drew his eyes to his left. But, he was no fool. There wasn’t anybody there.

“Already?” He muttered to himself, acknowledging that his mind was playing its tricks. The man stuffed down his sandwich and quickly devoured the rest of his meal. He conjured up a ball of water to drink, drowning the tasteless meal.

In the corner of the room, Jake conjured a large basin to use as a tub and filled it with hot water. His body hurt and he wanted a nice bath to enjoy before pushing onwards with his journey. He stripped, collected his clothes and weapons in a pile beside the basin, and then slid into the hot water. An involuntary sigh slipped out of his throat as the steaming water immediately caused his body to slacken. The fatigue his mind and magic had been keeping at bay came to the forefront and Jake felt himself unable to resist it anymore.

Another moment of clarity came forth and Jake’s head slowly turned to his left, taking in the view of the room he’d made. His gear in a pile. The soft lights and warming runes. The crumbs on the floor, evidence of his meal.

This was the life he’d worked for. This was the life he yearned for. This was the life he chose to indulge in. There was no one here to tell him what to do, where to go, or what to see. There were no orders to follow. And this was how he would live it. One make-shift hut at a time, moving around the Overworld with far off or uncertain destinations, chasing whatever ear-tickling whispers he could find.

A smile grew on his face. “Well, Chul. I made it this far, buddy.” He chuckled and reached to his neck. Of the three jewels dangling, he grabbed onto the purple one- a small fragment of Chul’s mana source. He then wrapped a finger around the pink one, the gem gifted to him by his mother. “I hope you two are watching… Things might get a little rough again for a while,” he muttered, his eyes staring at the fire runes on the floor. He gripped the gems both tightly, squeezing them within his grip until his hand hurt.

After a moment of the intense grip, his mind eased, as did his grip. Jake sank beneath the water all the way up to his chin and shut his eyes. He sat there, quiet, enjoying the soothing heat until he found himself unable to stay awake any longer. He wasn’t sure how much time had passed but figured it had been quite a while. The water eventually cooled and he found himself sitting in a lukewarm pool of his own filth. He created a hole in the bottom of the basin that led outside and let the water drain. As it did, he stepped out and used a whirl of hot air to dry himself.

From his pack, Jake pulled out the sleeping system he’d found and laid it on the hard floor. Using magic, he softened the rock floor and made a sort of cushion in the ground. He used the bottom of his pack as a pillow and then snuffed out all of the lights except for a dim one in the far corner of the room. The runes in the center of the hut were turned up to heat the space more and then he created a pool of mana in the ground for them to draw off. Once that pool ran out, the runes would die and Jake assumed it would be morning by then. If not morning, then at least near it.

Shutting his eyes, Jake allowed himself a night of unbothered rest. No Library. No Elana tugging on him. No Auntie snoring. No Maedra screeching in the distance.

Peace.

“Alright. Time to be bold.”

The next day, Jake found himself waking up in the early afternoon. The day had long started by the time his eyes had finally cracked open again and he’d quickly set about preparing for his journey again. He ate his breakfast and part of his lunch rations, rinsed his face, and then cleaned up the area. He demolished the hut, cleared the alert spells, and then dispersed any remnant mana he’d left behind. An efficient swath of tasks completed in minutes to make up for burnt time. Now, he stared across the Ravine, at an impasse as to how he wanted to cross it.

The maw of the canyon in front of him was wide. Wide enough that jumping across with his Wind Magic would be a bit difficult. A sudden updraft from the Ravine would send him spinning, potentially tumbling into its depths. If he launched himself across, he didn’t have enough faith in his control to safely stick the landing, especially with his level of control being different on the surface. The mana within the Library was dense and the Ravine’s mana was similar, though a bit less, so he had been able to perform more risky and higher tiered magic with ease.

On the surface, the traces of mana in the air were sparse. Jake could hardly get a firm hold on it. During his trip across the desert, he tried several times to try and gather a decent amount but found it nearly impossible to collect more than enough for a small water ball spell. If he expanded his reach, he might find more success. Though he’d risk losing the mana spent if the connection was weak. Not wanting to waste precious resources, he wasn’t going to test that now.

“Guess I’ll make a bridge,” he decided. If he couldn’t jump it, then he would need to make a path the old fashion way- with stone. He would need a lot of material to pull from and his mana reserves hadn’t fully recovered so he would need to be efficient this time around.

Before he performed the feat, Jake first knelt down at the edge of the desert and created a diagram in the sand. He marked off both sides of the Ravine first from the top and then from the side, drawing out both views of his mock-bridge. A standard, basic walkway would be too weak and wouldn’t last long term, so he needed something with supports underneath to hold the stones in place, and it needed to be thick. The thicker floor wouldn’t crumble easily and would be able to withstand the environment for a while. It didn’t rain often but the harsh sun would cause the stone to crumble and crack.

“This should work?” He muttered, drawing a line across with two angled thick spaces underneath each side of the bridge. He estimated the thickness to be around five feet thick at the midpoint, with the wall abutments at least fifteen feet thick each. Without much weight pressing down on the bridge, so long as the underlying supports spread out far enough, the bridge shouldn’t bow or bend unnaturally. Maybe. He would add some angled support piers underneath as well to try and supplement the sagging if he had the stone for it.

“Well, so long as it works for five minutes.” If it failed to last more than the time it took him to cross, then that would be unfortunate but not the end of the world. Jake just needed to get across. If it did last, it would be a benefit to whomever came across it in the future.

Gathering mana into his hands, Jake knelt and placed them against the stone ground. He stretched his mana out into the depths of the rock, expanded his control into every crack he could fill. His mana bled into the large pool of natural resources around him until he felt he had enough, then he began his work. The rocks shifted in front of him, cracking and splintering as the material was torn from the earth and funneled outwards over the large maw. Jake grit his teeth and his eyes widened, his irises glowing with power as he forged his bridge.

The area around him thinned as the rocks melded and pressed together, the natural material within his reach steadily thinning as he built the bridge’s foundation. The near side abutment formed quickly, but his problems immediately followed. As he formed the walkway, he realized it was going to end up thinner than he originally planned and he wouldn’t have enough to create an underlying support on the far side. Adjusting on the fly, he expanded his reach and poured more mana into the ground in order to pull additional stone to his project.

“Shit.” His mind strained a little as the tough work caused his focus to waver. The lack of having an external mana source was rearing its head again. He was being as efficient as he could with his mana but the rocks here weren’t exactly malleable. It was all solid bedrock and breaking the ground apart was taking effort. Moving the resulting chunks into the precise shape he wanted was even more taxing as he needed to soften it all into almost clay before hardening the stone again.

But, it wasn’t an impossible task.

Taking in slow, deep breaths, he solidified his control and his mana flow throbbed, pulsating with strength. Narrowing his eyes and his focus, Jake tore apart the area around him and expanded the bridge across the Ravine. He created a path wide enough to fit two people side by side and formed a small arch in the center, forcing the stone to bend and curve as a way to fight against it potentially sagging. When the lead end of the bridge smashed into the other side of the Ravine, Jake immediately reached into the depths of the opposing Ravine wall for the remaining necessary resources. The far side abutment came together and then he created three piers per side underneath the walkway. He angled them, connecting the piers to the walls of the Ravine itself rather than shoot them straight down the entire distance to the actual floor of the Ravine. Six total underlying support poles were formed.

As the final pieces of rock hardened, several beads of sweat dripped off his forehead. Indeed, rock magic was taxing. Magic was infuriatingly more difficult on the surface of the Overworld. Despite his annoyance, the task was complete. The bridge was finished. Not wanting to wait for it to potentially fall apart, Jake quickly snatched up his ruck and hurried to the ledge. A light breeze tickled his face, crossing from right to left as his boots clattered over the rock. To his delight the rock was stable and firm beneath his feet. It would hold. Though, with nothing to grab onto, Jake refused to look over either edge. His stomach was twisting enough already.

“Already testing myself, aren’t I?” He grumbled as his boots reached the far side of the bridge. The breeze he’d felt over the Ravine’s open maw faded and the vertigo in his gut settled. He dared a glance over his shoulder and down into the dark pit, but lingered only long enough to let out a sigh. He looked across at the desert he’d left behind, gazing upon the golden sands for the final time in what he expected to be a long while. Before he could second guess himself, Jake pulled his eyes away and started walking. There was no time to loiter.

The man plucked his compass from his pocket, oriented himself in a general west direction, and began walking towards a distant chain of mountains and some greenery. From what he could tell, he would need to get beyond those massive peaks. There did seem to be a gap, or some low passage he would be able to take, but with the distance so great he couldn’t exactly tell.

For now, he would focus on getting there first.

One foot in front of the other, Jake began his trek. The heat of the desert quickly faded as the ground turned from hard stone to compact dirt. After some distance, grass began to peek through the surface until Jake found himself walking through an open meadow. Trees were scattered around, sparse in the low land but they were more prevalent in the distance. Just as he’d remembered when he was on this side with Chul. Low hills began to disrupt his pace a little and in time Jake found himself following the contours of the hills rather than crest them outright in order to conserve some energy.

“It’s… different here,” he muttered, pointing out the obvious as the sun began to descend beneath the crests of the mountains. The air chilled quickly, forcing him to up his internal temperature a little. Before the sun went down completely, he paused to take in the sounds of the new land he was in. He heard the buzzing of small insects. The chirping and singing of birds in the trees. He listened to the rustling of the trees as a breeze rolled through the mountains. A distant howl was followed by a symphony of responses from all around. Even the sun itself seemed different, calmer and not as dangerous. Here, Jake didn’t need his water veil to protect his skin from overheating. He could smell the various flora in the area and even the breeze had a bit of a taste to it. Foreign but not unpleasant.

As the sun fell further behind the mountains, the light began to quickly fade and the temperature dropped further. Jake, not tired just yet, poured mana into his eyes to trigger his night vision and draped himself in his cloak to fend off the chill. His eyes glimmered, blue rings appearing around his irises as mana flowed through them. The darkness cleared and Jake’s sight returned. Unlike in the Ravine where everything was dull and gray, Jake was presented with a splash of color. There was still a dullness to everything around him but the open air and colorful palette of the surface disoriented him for a moment. His depth perception failed him at first, too, causing some issues with walking. Yet he quickly adjusted and sorted himself out. Taking a tumble would be embarrassing.

He let out another sigh and ascended another small hill. He peered across the landscape and made a mental guesstimation of how much further he had to go. Though large, the mountains were further than they appeared. It didn’t seem like they were getting any closer either so he figured he had another day or two to go. Pulling his cloak around himself prior to warming his body further with his mana, Jake braced for a long night. He let out a long exhale, clutched the straps of his rucksack, and marched.

Upon reaching the mountain pass, Jake took the third full break of his trip. Three days had passed since he’d crossed the Ravine. On the first, he walked without settling down for any long period of time. He paused to eat but found the terrain easy to cross. Thus, he never bedded down and pushed through the night and into the second day. Midway through the second day, he stopped to eat, rest his feet, and air out his boots for a short time. He also took a brief nap to recover some spent energy and replenish his mana reserves. When he awoke, the sun was setting and he returned to his journey.

The next leg would be the next arduous challenge. From where he stood, Jake could turn around and see all the way to the desert. Over time he’d slowly increased in elevation and the temperature had dropped to match. The grass and vegetation was still plentiful, surprisingly, and he suspected it would get thicker once he crossed the pass. But, he wanted to move through in a single day, during the light. While he trusted his night vision and could utilize his sensory magic to detect potential threats, the narrow pass was a killing zone. If he found himself caught in an ambush against an unfamiliar enemy he would be immediately at a disadvantage. Especially if the enemy was a natural night hunter.

Add in his fatigue from the trip and Jake also wanted some time to rest. From the spot he picked, Jake had a full view of everything around him. The area was clear of obstacles and he hadn’t come across anything larger than a squirrel so far. It wasn’t cause to drop his guard but it was reassuring. He planned for another quiet night’s sleep.

Jake set up his hut, fortified it, created his network of Alert spells, and then settled in. He ate, bathed, and then took some time to wash his clothes. He aired out his boots and checked his weapons. Though the area leading up to the mountains had been void of danger, that was bound to change at some point and Jake would ensure he’d be ready. It was almost unsettling how quiet the trip had been thus far. While Jake certainly wasn’t complaining. It was honestly pretty boring.

“Boring means no trouble,” Jake mumbled as he sheathed his twin daggers. He arranged his gear for easy pick-up in the morning and then killed the lights. He let the space plunge into darkness as he snuggled into his sleeping bag. In minutes, he let himself drift off.

This time, though, Jake triggered the sigil for the Library.

A familiar chill. A wash of white all around. The scent of aged paper. The pressure of the dense mana in the air on his flow. The Library greeted Jake as it always had. Unchanging in its immortal existence outside of the Overworld’s plane. Jake always found that detail a hard one to grasp, yet he didn’t want to give it too much thought. If he tried he would probably run into a bunch of knowledge barriers he didn’t have the experience to conquer for the time being.

Rising to his feet, Jake descended the couple steps from the teleportation sigil and then made his way into the main atrium. From there, he peered towards the skylight at the distant peak of the tower. He stared upwards, his hands finding his pockets as he let his mind tick over what he wanted to study. With so many options available to him and the swath of knowledge at his fingertips, Jake went down the list of necessities. Combat. Language. Culture. Natural resources like flora and fauna in the regions he’d be passing through.

Though it was the first thing on his mind, Jake found his combat magic to be satisfactory for the time being. His combat spells had proven more than capable enough to dispatch the Dunebeasts and Sandworms he’d come across. While never a bad thing, justifying the time and effort he would need to spend learning new spells was difficult. Especially since he didn’t have any idea of the enemies he’d be facing. Maybe in the future, if necessary, he would be able to make the decision more easily.

On the other hand, the goal of Jake’s journey was to meet with Elves. As they were a different race than Man, Jake felt it safe to assume they would have their own language, cultural norms, and other details about them. Learning about the Elves prior would not only teach him how to intelligently, and safely, communicate and interact with them, but if he came across an Elf along the way his knowledge might come in handy. It might earn him a new friend or help establish trust should he speak to them in their own tongue.

Now that he thought about it, Darius spoke Common tongue and also Beast tongue, but Jake had never heard him speak another language. Did the Elves actually speak their own language?

“Maybe there was no need because there weren’t any other Elves…” Jake mused, his eyes slowly scanning the various floors as he pieced together a road map of knowledge for himself. Getting a handle on the Elvish language would be his first priority. From there, he could research more about the Elves themselves, their lands, and maybe he could find a map leading to their villages. That certainly would be helpful.

“Probably should’ve started there in the first place,” he huffed, berating himself mentally for stepping out of his village without consulting the knowledge within the Library first. How stupid. The answers to his problems were all contained in this place so the fact that he even considered figuring it out as he went was foolery from the start. Some mage he was.

With his goals set, Jake climbed the stairs and made the journey to the upper levels of the library on foot. As he passed each floor, he noticed the Fairies had added subject lists on small tablets at the floor landings. Though he knew what was on each level already, having the quick reference at the stairways definitely would make searching much easier. Jake found the floor that dealt with languages and consulted the tablet to reassure his memory, then he began to loop through the shelves. The shelves were organized by language and properly labeled so Jake sought out a language for the Elves themselves.

He certainly found it. Well, them. He found them. A large bookshelf near the back had four separate categories of Elvish dialects, all competing for the right to be considered the true ‘Language of the Elves’ from what he could tell. There was Quėla, Sandrin, Sag’resh, and Mirïn. From the looks of them, each language had its own set of foundation books, stories, dictionaries, and guides. Due to there being four dialects, there weren’t a large number of books for one category over the others but the overall total number of books was significant compared to other non-Common languages. Like Beast for example, which hardly had anything on its shelf. Most Beast races preferred to pass down stories verbally from what he’d learned. More so than the other races.

Unsure of which to grab, Jake first looked to find a book that contained information on all of them, or at least more than one. He did find a comparison book on Quela and Sag’resh, but Mirïn and Sandrin seemed to not parallel the others at all. A brief glance into a book on Mirïn revealed a book full of symbols. Sandrin at least used letters.

Jake snapped the book on Sandrin shut and wrinkled his nose. “Elves,” he spat. If they were this difficult with deciding on what the hell to say to each other, Jake could only imagine what other problems the race might have.

“Might as well learn them all.” A long and annoyed groan escaped his throat as his eyes rolled. Jake picked up almost a dozen books from the shelf, two to three from each dialect of Elf-speak, and then carried his stack to the stairs. He was midway through his descent before a familiar pair of wings fluttered by. Figuring she was busy, as there was a book open in front of her, Jake said nothing to disturb her. Even so she must have noticed him, as the purple winged library assistant snapped around in the air to look at him.

“Is that- Mr. Furrow?” The book closed behind her and then swept under her feet, providing her a floating platform to stand on.

Jake dipped his head in greeting and smiled. “Hello Fena. It’s been a while.”

Fena returned the smile and fluttered over to him. “It has! Lady Ferynith sent word that you had finished your work within the Ravine. We expected to see you shortly after but you never showed. Has everything been okay?” The fairy looked him over, her eyes darting across him as she searched him for any abnormalities. Thankfully she wouldn’t find any.

Jake continued to walk, steadily making his way down the stairs to the study room. “Things got a little rough in the Ravine so I took time to focus on the task of removing the Maedra from it. Afterwards, I took some personal time to rest. I wanted to spend time with my family and I had some tasks to handle.”

Fena nodded her head as she followed him, floating just over the railing as the book beneath her wobbled slightly. “I understand. Lady Yir said you were having quite a bit of trouble. Apparently Crux’s forces have been working within the Ravine for some time. The Arachkin Guardian had been suppressing their forces there but the outbreak of the Maedra after his leaving was unexpected. It’s good that you were there before their numbers grew out of hand. Did you meet with the Dragonkin siblings?”

“I did. They were a big help.” Jake recalled the scaled partners he’d fought beside during his last month in the Ravine. Their skills and abilities made combating the Maedra significantly easier. They’d also taught him plenty of tactics that he would utilize in the future should he come across those creatures again. The combat prowess of the Dragonkin was terrifying. “A nice reminder that I have much to learn.”

Fena glanced down at the stack of books in Jake’s hands and smiled. “I can see that. Are you planning to meet with Elves soon?”

“At some point, yes.” Jake paused midway to the second floor. He sighed and stared down at the book in front of him. “I lost a friend and have something of his that I’d like to return to his family, if I can find them. I’m not sure how sentimental the Elves are but I know if I died, I’d want someone to let my Auntie know.” Jake gnawed on the idea of someone performing this sort of journey for him, his mind loitering on the image of his auntie being presented a pair of swords and some heartfelt words. He blinked the image away, not wanting to think about it.

The fairy stared at Jake for a few quiet moments, watching as he continued his descent. She must have picked up on his mental derailment. “I see. I am sorry to hear about your friend. If there’s anything we can do to help, do not hesitate to ask.” Fena stepped off her book and caught herself with her wings. Fluttering, she flew over to give Jake a soft pat on the head. “Don’t work too hard. Yir was worried, too, so make sure you say hello.”

“Thanks, Fena. I’ll be sure to.” Jake gave her a warm smile before taking the final step to his targeted floor and made his way into the study room.

The shelves were the same as he’d left them. With dozens of magic foundation books, Beast and Seraphym books, and even his notebooks. All evidence that someone new to magic was utilizing the room. The practice room was still set up as well but someone had left a book on the pedestal it seemed. One he was unfamiliar with.

“Thunder magic…?” He peered at the pages, careful not to lose the page the individual had left the book open on. Whoever they were, they were studying how to use Thunder magic to empower Fire spells. From the contents, applying a thunder rune in tandem with an explosive rune would not only increase the firepower of the rune’s effects, but would also cause an additional concussive blow to surrounding targets.

Jake raised an eyebrow at the discovery and while he was tempted to continue reading, he tore himself away from the text. He returned the book to its prior state and returned to the study room. He was here for Elf stuff, not Thunder magic. “Focus, runt.” He scolded himself as he cleaned up the area he’d left behind. It wasn’t in a massive state of disarray but the few books he’d left out were still disorganized. He took a few minutes to return them to the shelf along the wall and then set up his study area.

Jake sorted his notebooks to fresh pages, checked the ink in the wells to make sure there was plenty to work with, and then plucked the first book on Quėla. He found the Quėla to Common dictionary he’d brought with him and then channeled mana to his fingertips. As with the other two languages, he would start with the alphabet.

Opening the introductory book, Jake balanced it in his right hand and then reached for the hourglass in the center of the table. His fingers wrapped around the glass bulb on the bottom where the sand collected, the object easily lifting and flipping in his dexterous grip. As he placed it down and the sands began to fall, a smile crossed his lips.

“Feels good to be back here,” he whispered to himself.

Taking in a deep breath, filling his mouth with the faint taste of aged paper as the cool air chilled his teeth, Jake began his work.