The White Apple Campaign 6 - The Crossing

Jr. woke to a commotion. People were always up before her, sure, but something had happened this morning. After her ritual rubdown and knuckle crack, Jr. rolled up her bedroll to join the vigorously debating Vasher and Johnathan. Lenny was still waking up from taking first watch.

“We don’t have much time if she is already gone.” Vasher was saying.

“Yes, with that rate of regeneration, she might be hunting us every two days. We can’t make it out of every encounter unscathed.” Johnathan added.

“What are we talking about?” Jr. asked when she made it close to them.

“The lich girl is gone. That means no more questions, and that she’ll be back soon.”

“What are we talking about?” Came Lenny’s groggy voice.

This time Johnathan spoke, “The lich body is gone. She’s reformed somewhere and will probably come back soon.”

Lenny stiffened and said “Then we need to keep moving.”

“I couldn’t agree more!” Vasher said and then snatched at the air with his right hand.

There was a sound like he had slapped a wooden box and this lute was suddenly in his hand, as if it had been pulled from an invisible cupboard. Then he started strumming random chords.

“Time to run from death la, di, da, di, da! Time to beat our feat ho, di, do, di, day…” He sang purposefully off key as he did a strange waddling walk off to the north east.

Maybe this is his way of processing stress? Jr. thought to herself, half tempted to cover her ears at the cacophonous joke. But his lead seemed to do the trick. Hemswick was always ready to leave but the stunt actually got the entire group walking in step. A while down the road, or lack thereof, Vasher tired from his noise making and settled into playing lightly on the instrument. It actually was nice to have some pleasant sound after so many silent days.

Then Vasher stopped playing entirely. He stopped walking to and stood right next to Uru’s white robed form. Jr. had to jog to get in the front to see past all the tall people but when she did, she stopped dead in her tracks. A few yards away stood the same black robed figure they had seen on the beach. It looked like a tear in the horizon, looming, deep, and ragged.

“Why are you taking them so far inland, child of the wood?” The voice said in their ears. It made her head hurt just to hear it. It continued, “What does your mother want with these?”

Jr. looked at Uru and then curse herself, He cant talk in the first place! They probably talk in thoughts or something. Then from the corner of her eye, she saw Vasher looking intently at the black tear in the morning. He mouthed something at it she could not hear and then, as if in reply, she heard the voice in her head again.

“Yes.” It rattled proudly.

Yes? Yes to what? Jr. thought.

Then the figure raised its hands up and vanished as it had before. Suddenly, 6 of the rocks that surrounded the figure started to tremble. Only then did Jr. realize that they were not rocks at all but white robed figures. Their bodies started to rise but suddenly black bones erupted forth, letting the robes and bodies fall limp to the ground. They turned, revealing skeletal forms almost like Uru’s but black and trailing smoke. Then they attacked.

They cleared the rocky terrain shockingly fast and before she knew it, Jr. had two of them heading straight for her. From her peripheral vision, she could see that the others ran to pair off one on one with her friends. This was going to get nasty.

The first wraith swung a dagger at Jr. as the other tried to make its way behind her. Two on one was not good odds, but Jr. was no stranger to a knife fight. Using her size, she flung her tiny body between the legs of the first wraith, slicing the bones of his legs as she passed. With a smile, she heard the clatter of the second wraith as it tried to follow her into its friend. She stood to retaliate with the opening but somehow the wraith spun and its wooden fist collided with Jr’s jaw throwing her to the ground again.

Damn! They usually swing over me for moves like that! Around her, Jr. could just catch Vasher stabbing one wraith with a spear, Johnathan lighting one up like a candle, and Hemswick bellowing in rage as he cut down the first wraith that came at him. I knew he would be handy for this Jr. thought. Then she saw Lenny. Her friend only had one wraith but it had caught her too fast. Her armor screeched as the things dagger rained cuts upon her. There was already blood on her face.

“Lenny!” Jr. yelled getting to her feet. But she had her own problems.

They two wraiths flanked her again and cut relentlessly. Jr. felt a bright flash of pain as one wraith cut through her leather into her left arm. Then she was able to score a stab herself in the things ribs. Fuck their wooden bodies! She though as she hand to struggle to get her knife free.

She couldn’t last like this long. Not with things that couldn’t bleed and get woozy. She had to get close to the others and…

Jr. saw a flash of ragged steel and then one of the wraiths shattered in two, revealing a frothing Hemswick behind it. He kept the momentum of his sword going and in the same fluid motion took the head off the second wraith, but it still stood, dagger in hand.

“Yes!” came Vasher’s voice and it slammed into her like a wall. It snapped the air the same way it had when he yelled at the little girl and the force of it exploded the remaining wraiths around her, leaving nothing but green bones scattered around.

“Lenny!” Jr. yelled again. The tall woman was still being berated by the final wraith who had stayed away from the heat of the fighting.

Blood from her face and reached her gorget, painting the steel a bright red in the morning light. The thing cut, and cut and cut, and Lenny barely held her ground as Jr. ran to help her. Just as she was about to get into range for a good throw, Lenny finally got her rapier free. In one deft stroke, she slammed the point through the things mouth and out the back of its head. It hung there, lifeless yet again, supported by her blade.

Lenny stood there, panting, then lowered her sword and used her boot to push the corpse off to fall to the ground.

“That was amazing everyone!” Vasher said panting a bit. “I didn’t even mean to let out that boom, but did you see Hemswick destroy three at once? And Lenny! What a stroke!”

“Would have been better if I hadn’t been so slow.” She replied, frustrated. Then produced a handkerchief to wipe the blood from her face. To Jr’s relief, the blood all seemed to be from a bad cheek cut. Faces always bled the most.

“Those went down easier than the girl.” Hemswick huffed, and started walking again.

“I think those were mere wraiths.” Johnathan shot back at him. “No red eyes. He was just trying to slow us down.”

“Speaking of, what did you ask him Vasher? I saw you whispering in that way of yours.” Jr. asked.

“I asked if he was the one who made the lich girl.” Vasher replied looking off into the distance.

“Ah.” Jr. said, remembering his rattling “yessss.”

As the group talked, Uru made his way to the fallen piles of bone. He stopped at each one and knelt, placing his hand on his chest and then on the skull of the fallen wraith. He had no real face, but his reverence and remorse was plain. When he reached one pile of bones in particular, he froze completely. Slowly, he placed his palms on the corpse’s skull and lowered his body to place his forehead against the remains.

A special friend? Jr. thought. And started walking over towards him. Lenny followed shortly behind.

“Were they here to meet us?” Lenny asked when they drew close.

Uru nodded.

“They were your friends?”

Uru nodded again.

Vasher’s voice came from behind as he joined them, “Does this mean we’re less safe than you thought?”

Uru rose from the ground, looked at Vasher, and nodded.

“You lot coming or do you care more for dead things than your own skin?” Hemswick shouted, drawing further and further from the group.

Vasher looked at Hemswick and then back to Uru before saying, “He’s right, let’s keep moving. Still two full days walking to go.

“Hold on, I have one last thing to take care of.” Jr. said and then ran to where the black skeletons had emerged. There, she found the robes she had mistaken for rocks, inside of which were remains similar to the pale skin Uru had left dangling in the ship. Before, she might have been disgusted by the sight, but after the smell of that sea and the last few days, Jr. felt nothing. From inside the robe, Jr. caught the glint of silver. I knew I could find something. Then she shot her hand into the mess and pulled. A silver chain slowly emerged from the viscera, on the end, dangled a pendant of a silver tree. She used the clean outside of the robe to wipe off her hands and the pendant, then a bit of water to rinse it all clean. This looks like the pendant that Lenny said Uru held the day this all started. Then she spirited the pendant away and ran to join the rest of the group.

At lunch time, Vasher laid out the rest of the rations he had nabbed from Cornelius, so Jr. snacked happily on dried fish instead of sausage. Most of the conversations had to do with how long it was going to be and how to space rations out until the party arrived. Jr. we most interested in the fact that, even with such mysterious threats all around, people still focused on food. These were good people.

When the caravan reformed, the group returned to silent walking. It got so still and quiet, Jr. started fixating on everyone’s idiosyncrasies. Lenny would tap a metal ring on her armor now and then, Johnathan could be heard scratching notes occasionally, and Hemswick, What was Hemswick doing?

The man way swaying again as he walked, clearly having not slept properly the last few nights. He had been refusing food as well. Always a bad sign. Today though, his right hand was clearly rubbing something in his pocket. Come to think of it, he has his hand in that pocket a lot. Why didn’t I notice till now? Thinking about what Vasher had said earlier this morning, Jr. nudged him and pointed discretely just in time for Hemswick to pull out the locket from his pocket. Gaze at it, and then hide it away again.

Vasher sighed when he caught the flash of gold saying, “I suppose now is the time.” And then made his way to talk to Hemswick.

Jr. followed along to eavesdrop and keep an eye out to help Vasher should anything turn.

For a bit, Vasher just walked along next to Hemswick, clearly figuring out how to breech the conversation. Before he could however, Hemswick did it for him.

“What do you want?” The unstable man barked.

“Ah, well,” Vasher started. “I was just thinking about your family.”

Hemswick snapped back, “What business do you have thinking about my family.”

“Well,” Vasher repeated himself, “We were all heading to Port Arbor. Were you expecting to find them there somehow?”

“I don’t know where they ended up. Their journey had a stop prior to Port Arbor but that was supposed to be their final destination. That was where I was going to start.” Hemswick said, looking forward again.

“But we never got there Constable.” Vasher said. “I know you didn’t trust the crew, but they clearly didn’t want to end up here either. If they were to blame for your family’s disappearance, then I don’t think your family will be here at all.”

“I am doing what I have to do.” Hemswick said. “And frankly I don’t appreciate you sticking your nose into my business.” Then he increased his pace to leave Vasher trailing behind.

“How’d it go?” Jr. asked while they fell back into step with Johnathan and the others.

“As expected.” Vasher replied. “I think he’s starting to despair. He doesn’t even want to hear about them not possibly being here.”

“Or he’s the Lich.” Jr. said, uncaring.

“That would be interesting,” Johnathan said, catching up. “But we have seen them both at the same time. Lockets are pretty common after all. They hold a lot of emotional value. Mad men and liches have a lot of similar sentiments.

The group seemed to consider this as Jr. walked with them till night fall. When they arrived, Vasher of all people volunteered to take the first watch for the night. Lenny, with her elf-blood continued to volunteer for the other shift. Everyone chatted contentedly over dinner, swapping stories of other times they had been stranded and speculating how large the island was. Jr. kept quiet as usual, but this time she had a reason.

Hemswick had avoided the group again to lay down on his ragged towel to sleep. In the distance, Jr. could hear a light ticking. It was Hemswick opening and closing his locket again and again. He stared at it with glassy eyes unaware of all around him. Then he pulled it close to his chest and seemed to fall asleep. Maybe Vasher is right. Jr. thought, finishing her meal. Well however desperate he is, he better learn to say thank you soon. Then she rolled over to let sleep carry her one more night closer to being done with this horrid pilgrimage.

Jr. woke to Lenny and Vasher talking. Lenny looked her usual self, but Vasher seemed tired from the short night. Why did he volunteer anyway? Was he up to something last night?

“No, didn’t move at all. Just watched me like it did you until the sun came up. Then it retreated back towards there the mountains are.” Lenny was saying.

“Hmm. Well so far everything here has attacked us right away if it meant us harm. I suppose a dark twinkling shape in the night is pretty normal so far as roughing it goes.” Vasher mentioned.

“You two saw something last night?” Jr. asked, gathering what she could from the short exchange.

“Yeah.” Lenny replied. “Something fairly big for an animal but nothing more than a dark shape with shiny bits on top. Looked like it had more than two legs when it left this morning.”

“And you didn’t check it out?” Jr. asked immediately.

“Im only a tad larger than you.” Vasher answered. “I didn’t want to risk an exchange. Plus it was only watching.”

“You could have woken people up.” Jr. pointed out.

“We all needed rest. What, you think you know that it was?” Lenny retorted.

“No.” Jr. pouted. “I just like to be involved when stuff actually happens here. It’s so boring.”

“I’ll be sure to add accompaniment to the next lich fight for you then.” Vasher chided. “Maybe then it will be more like the entertainment you crave.”

“That would be lovely, thank you.” Jr. said, unmoved and she left the two to join the rest who were already ready to head out.

“Two more days I recon.” Johnathan said when they regrouped. “Then who knows what we’ll find!”

“He does.” Hemswick said, his glassy gaze on Uru. Then he was walking north east again before anyone could reply.

By now, the days were blurring together. Once the drowsiness of sleep ran off to remind Jr. of having just woken up, she found it hard to remember if they had fought the wraiths this very day or two days ago. It was all just so similar. Dead surroundings and random ambushes from dead things. Next thing I know I will be on a boat again. Jr. thought. While the joke was nothing more than internal venting, the thought actually made her spirits rise a bit. If she was on a boat again, she would be leaving this cursed place.

“Do you hear that?” Johnathan said as the sun was reaching its zenith.

“I do!” Vasher answered. “It sounds like a river!”

“Agreed” Johnathan said, excited again.

“I don’t hear anything.” Lenny said. Neither did Jr.

As the day dragged on however, the sound grew louder and louder until it was all Jr. could hear. As this went on, a smell also started to permeate the day. It smelled like rust and salt and grew stronger as the sound grew louder. Vasher, who had been nearly skipping after hearing the water fell back into a shamble with the rest of the group.

“Just like Freeport.” He mumbled under his breath, kicking a rock.

What does he mean by that? Jr. wondered. Does he know this smell or something? It does smell kinda familiar.

It was the smell of blood. Old blood and lots of it. When they reached the river, it was one of the largest Jr. had ever seen. The opposite shore was barely visible and the entirety of the river ran red and frothy.

Most of the party fell into aghast wonder at the site, but Jr. noticed Uru step slowly forward and outstretch a forlorn hand towards the river.

“It’s not supposed to be like this is it.” Lenny asked.

Uru shook his head no without turning.

“Think it’s connected to the liches?” Vasher followed up.

Uru nodded again.

There was a small popping sound. No one else seemed to notice, but Jr. swiveled on instinct. Behind her stood a blond little human boy. He was about her size but clearly a child. He wore the kind of clothes that rich people dressed kids in, all suspenders and powder blue. Seeing Jr. turn, the others turned around one by one. The little boy smiled fiendishly when he met Uru’s face.

“Looking for your boat?” He asked in a voice like sunshine. It grated against the smell and surroundings like laughter in a sepulcher.

Uru stepped towards the boy defiantly.

“What’s the matter? Cat got your tongue?” The little boy asked, sticking out his tongue. He waggled it a few times as if to taunt Uru’s condition.

There was another pop and the boy was gone. Jr. spun when she heard his tiny foot falls on a rock behind them, finding him perched on the tallest bolder nearby.

“We’ll your poor friends can’t cross the river on their own.” The looked longingly to the far shore. “You can’t even tell them how, can you?” The boy smiled, revealing ancient yellowed teeth. His eyes sparked red for just a moment. Then he was image of cherubic perfection again.

“Well I can tell you where your boat is.” He went on. “If you play a game with me.”

“A game?!” Lenny shouted. “Like bloody hide and seek?”

“That sounds perfect!” The boy said. Then vanished.

All was still all around.

“Hide and seek?!” Jr. spat at Lenny. “HIDE AND SEEK!!”

“Hmmm.” Lenny hummed, putting her hand over her mouth in concentration. “Yeah, not the best idea on a big island.”

“You think?!” Jr. said, exasperated.

“Well, he is gone.” Vasher pointed out. “Maybe we try to find the boat on our own and run?”

“What if he isn’t the one supposed to hide.” Johnathan asked, sending a chill down Jr.’s spine.

As soon as Johnathan said it, Jr. heard counting in her head. It was the little boy’s voice “Ten, nine, eight, seven…” It grew more and more excited with each count. The entire party shot in different directions.

Vasher dove into the rocks by the shore and immediately vanished among the white stones. Jr. dove into a stand of dead grass nearby and Lenny followed close behind with Johnathan. Im going to have to teach them how to hide on their own. Jr. thought as they crowded into the same stand. To Jr.’s horror or amusement, she couldn’t tell. Hemswick simply stood rooted in defiance of the terrible game.

“two, one. Ready or not, here I come!” The little boy’s voice rang in Jr.’s head. With a pop, he was suddenly behind Hemswick. He’s playing by his own rules. Jr. thought, oddly comforted.

The boy took exaggeratedly large steps like a theater villain as he crept up behind Hemswick who stood at the ready, scanning the river bank.

“Tag!” The boy yelled out and slammed a palm into Hemswick’s back. The Constable hit the mud face first, rigid and unmoving.

The little boy laughed in delight and began rolling Hemswick over with unnatural ease. The boy had stunned Hemswick somehow so his arms stayed locked at his sides, helpless. Then the little boy produced a shining knife from his clothes and made to slowly cut off Hemswick’s nose.

“Stop!” Lenny yelled, standing from the grass.

The little boy froze, the knife only having made the first gouge across the bottom of Hemswick’s nose. Then he stood, leaving his torture behind for now. Lenny drew her rapier and begain making her way towards the boy. Suddenly a wave of something dark and purple pulsed out from the boy’s wide eyes and Lenny was buffeted with a force so powerful, she stumbled back, raising her free hand to her stomach. She looked like all the energy had been sucked right out of her. Defiance rising, Jr. readied her knives.

Vines erupted from the ground and wrapped around the little boy binding him tight. Jr. had seen those vines before. Looking around, she found Uru who had somehow hidden in plain sight until his attack. The little boy’s eyes flared red with frustration then he erupted in flame. But the fire was not his, as the flamed roared to life, Jr. heard Johanthan cheer to himself in the grass next to her. Another one of his trusty fireballs.

When the smoke cleared, however, the vines were gone, from the fire or the boy’s strength Jr. could not tell. Lenny was still recovering from the blast from before and Jr. was able to buy her a few more seconds with deft knife throws. As the little girl had been, the little boy showed no reaction when a knife pierced his chest, his red eyes were fixated on the struggling Lenny.

A strange sound started to ring from where Vasher had hid, and it seemed like one of the stones started to glow like hot coal in the distance. As Jr. squinted to see what the gnome was up too, the coal sprouted wings and darted directly at the little boy. He didn’t throw that. Jr. thought whatever that is, it is flying!

As it drew closer, Jr. barely made out the shape of a horned beetle. Sure enough, it was actually flaming and it trailed tiny embers as it flew towards the boy. What a neat trick!Jr. thought as the beetle landed on the boy’s back. It scorched him everywhere it touched, revealing old bones beneath the veneer of pale skin.

With a frustrated stomp, the little boy vanished again. With a pop he was on the rocky shore where Vasher had hidden. Jr. heard a yelp of surprise as Vasher jumped from his hiding place, but the little boy had moved to fast. In a flash, he had his hand on Vasher’s face and a dark pulse rippled through the gnome’s old body. His face withered and his eyes rolled back. The glamor of new hair was broken and it fell from his head. The boy laughed and Vasher’s face turned black and mummified. Then the little boy dropped him dead on the ground.

“Vasher!” Lenny bellowed and a ring of light erupted from the belt at her waist. It hovered around her like a halo whipping at her hair like a gentle breeze. It was the most beautiful thing Jr. had seen in ages.

Hearing her scream, the little boy snapped around to stare at Lenny again. The same dark wave ripped across the dead land and collided with the golden ring of light. There was no violent reaction. No boom or flash. The dark power rolled around Lenny like a river around a stone. Jr. noticed that a coil from the power was flowing off the ring of light straight towards her, but it was too late. The purple fog rolled over Jr. and everything vanished.

Screams. Familiar screams in the night. All around Jr. was burning. Bodies were at her feet. Was one of them hers? Was she dead too? No, that was her sister there in the dirt, hollow eyes watching the embers from the fires drift upwards to mingle with the stars – a spray of burning orange and silver.

Then Jr. was running. Everything was lost. Her family, her home, her direction, her self. All she could remember was that something had come in the night. The buildings were the first to catch fire and the people fell as they fled. She had tried to save them. Tried to save all she loved. And she had failed. So she ran. All the world was dark, her only measure of progress the shrinking orange glow behind her.

This isn’t real. This isn’t real. Jr. said to herself. It is real. Her own thoughts answered. They’re still dead. Your home is still burned. Nothing can change that.

“Shut up!” Jr. yelled into the dark, legs still hammering beneath her.

This happened years ago. Stop running, remember that horrible ocean smell.

A light tore open the darkness in front of her, but instead of running towards it, she focused on stopping her feet. He wants you to run. Don’t give him what he wants. As she slowed, the light drew closer to meet her. See, let it come to you. When her feet finally stopped, the light wrapped over the dark sky and Jr. was standing alone in a dead grassy field. Mud splattered up to her chest from reckless running. Turning, she could barely see the wisps of smoke from one of Johnathan’s spells in the distance. With a sigh she started running back where she had come.

When she arrived, a ragged Vasher was standing over the husk of the tiny lich. His spear was logged firmly in the boy’s face, though it looked like it was the only thing keeping Vasher upright. Lenny must have saved him somehow. Jr. thought, approaching her friends.

“Have you learned your lesson about just blurting stuff out?!” Jr. yelled at Lenny when she was in ear shot.

“Jr.!” Lenny replied and then ran over to greet Jr. Jr. punched her in the kneecap.

“Ow! You know I have knee problems!” Lenny said in protest.

“When you learn to stop saying the first thing that pops into your ginger head, maybe I’ll start to worry about your other problems!” Jr. said. She knew she was being intense but she wasn’t supposed to see her sister’s eyes ever again. Especially not here.

“Fine.” Lenny said with a huff. “I saved Vasher by the way. He really was dead for a second. Then he got the final blow after Uru tied the lich up again. He’s shit with that rope trick, but I’ve never seen him miss with his spear.”

“Is everyone else ok?” Jr. asked.

“See for yourself.” Lenny replied, gesturing vaguely.

Sure enough, most of the group seemed unharmed. Hemswick was up again but was letting his nose blood cake in his mustache and chops. Shoving just one potion down his throat would fix that but Jr. had given up trying to take care of a man who had a death wish. Useful or not.

Johnathan was inspecting the corpse and chatting with Vasher quietly about if they should take it with them for more questioning. The trauma of the relived memory was starting to fade, so Jr. decided to join their discussion.

“I hardly have anything left Johnathan, let’s just ask it where the boat is and get along with it.” Vasher was saying. His voice was dry and carried none of its usual bravado.

“Fair enough. It’s late in the day anyway.” Johnathan said. Then breathed into his fingers and placed them on the boy’s forehead. He snapped to attention just like the little girl had.

“Where is Uru’s boat?” Vasher asked with no ceremony at all.

The little boy pointed downstream towards one of the larger rocks just barely visible in the distance. The battle had left his skin torn and burnt and it hung from his suspended arm like moss on old trees.

Vasher nodded curtly. Then Johnathan whispered something in Vasher’s ear.

“Were you made by the same one who made the little girl?”

The lich boy nodded, and Vasher went right into the final question.

“Is the river’s state the work of your creator?”

The little boy nodded and then fell to the dirt.

“You want me to carry this one too?” Lenny asked sounding defeated.

“Well it will help us know when he regenerates most of all.” Johnathan replied.

Without acknowledgement or argument Lenny scooped the tiny corpse up and readied to head toward the rock in the distance. Beaten down and exhausted the other members of the party fell into following her. When they finally rounded the rock all they found was a pile of flinders.

No one said anything for a long while. All apparently to depressed to even complain about the set back. Frustrated at the entire day, Jr. finally said, “Can you mend this plant man?”

Then, Uru walked over to the largest remaining beam, placed his hand on it, and the boat started knitting together with green vines.

“Now why did you wait for me to ask?” Jr. shot at Uru. “You couldn’t just do it?”

Uru turned to look at Jr., hand still on the boat, and shrugged.

“Maybe he wanted to be sure we still wanted to go?” Johnathan posited at the exchange.

Uru tipped his wooden head at Johnathan and resumed focus on the boat. It creaked and popped as pieces were forced together by the process of mending, but when it was done, it was a complete boat as large as the lifeboat that they had left on the shore. The moment Uru took his hand off the now mended lip of the craft, Vasher crawled into the boat and collapsed near the prow.

“Are you alright?” Asked Johnathan.

In reply, Vasher’s tan hand rose out from the boat and waved the rest of the crew in. Jr. was the first to oblige.

As everyone was getting settled, Jr. heard Lenny say, “Hey, there aren’t any oars.”

“Your right!” Johnathan replied, “How will we…”

Vasher, who was resting his head on the prow bench and letting his body hang to the floor beneath, raised a tired hand again to pat Johnathan quiet. Then he pointed a single finger at Uru, who was already placing a hand on the prow of the ship. Beneath her, Jr. felt the boat move against the water. Then it was shooting across the river.

“Remember,” came Vasher’s exhausted voice, “what he did to the boat that brought us here.”

“Ahhhhhh.” Everyone said on the boat together, except Hemswick who was back to fondling his locket staring at the wake of the small boat in the bloody river.

It was a surprisingly short time until the boat landed on the other side of the river. From what she could see, what awaited here was more rocks and death. But Uru had said only a day or two left. But he had been wrong about so much on this island. It’s like Vasher said before. She thought. No one on that boat ended up where they wanted to go. Not even the evil ones. Who’s to say this greenwood place is even still there? Still shaking off the echoes of memory from before, Jr. steeled herself to keep moving forward.