Osterbotten (Day 125)

Terakiel was weary all the way down to his bones. There was little time for rest--and even if there was, he and his companions had no desire to stay in that damp cave for a moment longer. Aisen had finally awoken only a few minutes before. He was still blinking to banish the sleep from his eyes. Once he had acclimated himself to the light level in the cavern he imagined they'd depart. As precarious a perch the ledge outside the cavern was, it was their only option.

"Listen, Terakiel." Casnie's voice was level, determined. They'd only known each other for the span of the hour and had spent a great deal of that time waiting for Aisen to rise. Already he could tell that she was a headstrong young woman. Not everyone would act as she had been given her circumstances.

"I'm listening. . ." Terakiel ventured. "What is it?"

"You know as well as I do that we have to navigate that ledge outside."

"Of course," replied Terakiel as Aisen moaned, still half-asleep.

"Well. . .we can't see very far from here and it would be unwise to put all of our weight on it at once."

"That's true," agreed Terakiel. He could tell where this was going.

"I'm the lightest of us three. I think I should scout ahead and figure out the path. I'll see if it's safe."

"And if it's not?"

She shrugged, but flashed a grin at the same time. "We'll figure something out. We--I'm a Strander. We have other options."

Terakiel grimaced. She was a Strander. She was capable of wielding that same terrible power, but she was able to control it, to use it constructively. He couldn't quite decide if that was more unsettling than the alternative. It meant she was completely prepared to tap into the Strand when need be. She did not fear it like he did. Maybe she should.

"I would prefer. . . if it did not come to that."

"Of course. f I will do everything I can to secure a safe path."

Terakiel sighed, brushing aside a lock of his grimy red hair. In truth, he was grateful for what this young woman was willing to do for the group. After all, it was in her best interests as well. It was unlikely she knew how to survive out in the wilderness so it was only reasonable for her to make sure that her companions were safe as well.

She's a Strander. She could probably take care of herself much better than I think. He could only guess at what things she might be capable of. After witnessing the havoc that he had wreaked on walls of solid rock without any clear idea of how to wield his powers. . . A disciplined Strander could probably do that and more. That's who he was putting his trust in. A woman who could likely kill him faster than he could blink. How could he be sure of her true motivations?

He considered for a moment everything that had happened over the past several days. His life had entered into a new phase. His father was dead and gone and so too was his old life. He would never see Tombolin again. He might well die out here in the vast Lakaran forest. Meanwhile, he'd summoned two traveling companions just when he needed them most. Aisen had brought with him much needed food. Casnie was a Strander which would inevitably bring with it a slew of benefits.

It all seemed so fortuitous he could scarcely believe it. If things had progressed as he had imagined he'd probably be dead. However, here he was in a cave with two new companions that wanted to do nothing more than help him. They seemed scared, but not to the degree that would seem appropriate for young men and women torn from their lives and deposited into an unfamiliar wilderness.

Just what is happening here? These things could not have happened by chance. Aisen and Casnie, the planar stones, the very fact that he was, against all odds, still alive--it meant something. He couldn't even begin to imagine why things had happened as they did, but he had a strange feeling that he was going to find out sooner or later.

"Terakiel? Is there something wrong?"

"No. It's nothing."

Casnie pursed her lips and rested her head on her clenched fist. "Very well. . . What do you think of my plan, then?"

"I would rather not put you in danger," Terakiel replied. "It's my fault you're here."

She scoffed, flipping her neat pale brown hair around as she shook her head in frustration. "I can take care of myself. Listen, we've just met. Despite our. . .bond--you don't know me very well. I'm looking out for you, too. I'm the lightest. This makes sense. Let me do this."

"In the end, it's not up to me, is it?" Terakiel sighed, eyes cast downward.

"Nope," she announced cheerfully. "Once Ol' Sleepyhead here is alert, I'll fill him in and we'll start. It'll be nice to get some fresh air."