"Give me a minute."
"Sure. Take your time," Gondor said, his voice softening as the weight of his earlier insensitivity settled over him like dust in a quiet room. He should have known better than to rush her. Some wounds weren't visible, but they bled all the same.
He stood there, silently watching her. The firelight flickered across Lyria's face, casting shadows that echoed the turmoil inside her. Guilt gnawed at the edges of Gondor's thoughts, slow and sharp. He had seen men break under less strain. But Lyria wasn't just anyone. She carried pain like armor, worn quiet and close to the chest.
Still, he should have known better.
She took her time. Her silence, though heavy, spoke volumes. There were no questions for Gondor—not that night. No accusations. Only the quiet, distant acceptance of someone who had seen too much. An unspoken gratitude floated in the air between them, delicate and incomplete, like the fading trail of a song at dusk.
She drifted to the corner of the room, settling by the cracked window. Outside, the first blush of sunrise began to bloom, soft gold seeping over the land and melting away the long, oppressive shadows of night. Her gaze remained distant, fixed on nothing. Slowly, as the warmth of dawn crept in, her shoulders eased, her breaths slowed, and her eyes fluttered shut. Sleep took her—not gently, but decisively. She hadn't slept in days. Not truly.
Gondor didn't speak. He simply sat back down, thumbing through a weathered tome without reading the words. His eyes flicked toward her once more.
Their mission had stalled, but time hadn't. An invisible clock had begun to tick—a slow, dreadful rhythm that echoed with each passing second. And far from their temporary haven, where dawn had barely reached, something ancient stirred. The chains binding the Harbinger… loosened. Just a little.
And elsewhere, as Gondor feigned study and Lyria surrendered to uneasy dreams, the party sent to hunt Garrik prepared to move.
---
The forest was still. Too still.
"If we were Garrik," Will began, crouched low and scanning the scorched, cracked land stretching endlessly before them, "where would we go to gather information from Umbra's End?"
"Sounds like a trick question, Will." Bane smirked, his voice lazily echoing through the trees. His hands rested casually behind his head, like this was just another stroll through the woods.
Will didn't rise to the bait. "Look around. Past this treeline, it's all dead land. No trees. No cover. Nothing alive. Nothing can survive around that kind of darkness."
"And your point is?" Bane lifted a brow, his grin ever-present.
Will's lips curved slightly. "He's probably nearby. Close enough to hear us. Maybe even see us."
"Hmph. Nice of you to actually use your head for once. Just hope you haven't hit your daily thinking limit," Bane muttered with a low chuckle, already bouncing lightly on the balls of his feet.
"What did you say?" Will's eyes narrowed, glinting with sharp amusement.
"You heard me."
They locked eyes, energy flaring. Sparks danced silently between them like flint meeting steel.
"Cut it out, you two." Brielle rolled her eyes, arms crossed as she stood between them. "Every time you idiots start flirting with violence, I feel like one of you might actually lose a limb."
"Maybe a part of us wants to," Bane said with a wolfish grin.
"Funny. I was thinking the same thing," Will replied coolly, not breaking eye contact.
Brielle shook her head. "There's no reasoning with either of you."
"I've had enough!" she snapped, suddenly slamming both fists down onto their skulls with a bone-jarring wham.
"Ow—what the hell, Brielle?!" Will groaned, wincing as he rubbed the lump forming on his head.
"It's terrifying sometimes…" Bane muttered, cradling his own bruised scalp. "How does someone your size hit like a damn golem?"
"Because I have to deal with you two!" Brielle snapped, fire in her eyes. "Now that you're back to your senses, maybe we can actually plan this mission?"
"Let's split up," Will said, dusting himself off and standing. His tone shifted—sharp, tactical. "Cover more ground. Move fast, stay sharp."
"And if one of us finds him first?" Bane asked, cracking his knuckles.
Will's smile turned dangerous. "Simple. We make sure he doesn't get away."
"I meant how do we contact each other when that happens, genius."
"...Oh."
"...Didn't think of that."
"Of course you didn't. Pair of imbeciles." Brielle sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. "Any brilliant ideas before I beat sense into you again?"
Before they could answer, something stirred. Deep within the woods, a shape watched. Unseen. Unheard. Patient.
The three of them, caught in their planning, remained oblivious.
"Here's how we'll do it," Will said, finally pulling out a rough parchment map and pointing with a gloved finger. "Yesterday, during our sweep, I mapped the area. Umbra's End is right at the center of the dead zone. The forest forms a circular ring around it. But as you get closer, the forest changes—less cover, thinner growth, more... unstable. We focus our search within a 20-kilometer radius. No further."
He turned, gesturing toward a jagged cliff that jutted eastward from the canopy like a crooked fang. "When the sun's at its peak, we rendezvous at that cliff. From up there, we'll have full view of the perimeter."
"Twenty kilometers. Got it," Brielle nodded.
"Fine by me," Bane said with a smirk, already dropping into squats, getting blood pumping through his limbs. "Nothing like a little jog and a manhunt to wake you up."
"One last thing." Will's expression hardened. "Avoid fights with any unknown creatures. We don't know what's lurking around Umbra's End. And whatever is out there... it's not friendly."
"And if it attacks first?" Bane asked, his voice almost hopeful.
Will shrugged. "Then knock yourself out."
"Music to my ears," Bane grinned, already bouncing on his heels.
"Alright then," Brielle sighed, tightening the gloves on her hands. "Let's move. And stay alive."
Without another word, they scattered—vanishing into the forest like phantoms.
Bane and Will were monsters in their own right—if combat found them, they'd leave nothing standing. But Brielle, though skilled and fiercely capable, carried a fragility the others didn't.
Don't you dare die, Bane thought, casting one last glance over his shoulder before vanishing into the misty treeline.
She should be fine, Will thought, scaling a ridge. Still... if things go sideways, Bane's not too far.
The forest seemed to breathe around them, whispering with unseen movement. Shadows shifted. Leaves trembled though no wind blew.
"Alright then, Garrik," Will muttered with a grin, his boots crunching softly against the earth. "Where the hell are you hiding?"
The hunt had begun.
But none of them realized—
They weren't the hunters anymore.