They had finally left the Willowing Tredus after an hour or two of trudging through thinning fog and brittle roots. The trees behind them stood like silent witnesses, their twisted branches clawing at the grey sky they left behind.
Barek hadn't said a word since they started walking.
Lettuce hung unconscious over Harkin's shoulder, heavy and motionless, his breath faint against Harkin's back. Aylin marched ahead of them, her torch raised high, with Coco bounding playfully at her heels. She kept darting around in little circles, chasing the flickering light, giggling softly as the lynxlet pounced at her feet.
Then-all at once-the flames went out.
Every torch sputtered and died, snuffed like candles under a wave of windless pressure.
The sunless sky offered no mercy. In the pitch black, sound took over—shifting boots, rattling chains, and the faint, rapid panting of Coco now suddenly still.
Harkin's mind sharpened immediately. His senses flared, his hand shifting to his side.
"What the hell?" Harkin muttered.
Barek suddenly shifted, his massive frame stiffening. His head turned slowly, as if tracking something unseen. The air felt denser now, heavier.
Then, unexpectedly, Harkin burst out laughing.
"Wait,wait, hold on!" he called out, stepping forward and jabbing the air with a quick punch.
From his fist, little flickers of flame sparked out of nowhere, dancing in the void for a moment before fading like fireflies.
Aylin turned back, confused. Barek narrowed his eyes in thought.
Harkin grinned. "Guys, we're not cursed. It's not some shadow spell or anything." He jabbed the air again-pop!-a few more sparks erupted and fizzled out.
"We've walked into a swarm," Harkin continued, glancing up. "Light-Eaters. I used to see these Devil's when I would go hunting in the forests."
As if on cue, a faint buzzing started up above their heads. Barek raised a hand slowly, and for a second, the edge of his knuckles glinted with hundreds of tiny glimmers, like insects with translucent wings fluttering just beyond reach.
Lettuce stirred and groaned. "Why is it so dark?" he mumbled, rubbing his eyes.
Harkin threw another lazy punch, more flames bursting from his hand, and this time Barek caught a nearby branch and held it near the sparks. The fire latched on, creating a flickering torch.
Aylin frowned. "Where's Coco?" she asked.
The lynxlet was nowhere to be seen. The faint buzzing around them grew louder, like static in the air.Finally, the flickering torch Barek held flared just bright enough to reveal what was swarming them.
Tiny, winged creatures zipped in and out of the light-barely the size of fingertips. They had soft, glowing abdomens like fireflies and slender limbs that looked like those of tiny pixies.. Their delicate wings beat so fast they were almost invisible.
Aylin let out a surprised laugh. "They tickle!" she grinned, swatting gently at the air as a few landed on her arms and neck. She pulled out a small glass jar from her satchel and began collecting them, giggling as she trapped a dozen or so. "I'm keeping these." Aylin said with a big grin on her face.
They kept walking, the darkness creeping closer as the torch weakened once more, drained by the hungry swarm of Light-Eaters.
Then, Harkin suddenly felt something smack into his leg with a dullthud.
"OW!"
He looked down sharply and saw a miniature humanoid outline in the darkness. In the dim orange glow, a tiny figure stumbled backward, clutching its face. Roughly a foot tall, with thick arms and stubby legs, the creature was dressed in patchy leather and metal scraps. A dented mining helmet sat askew on its oversized head, and a tiny pickaxe was slung across its back.
"Watch it, you clumsy oaf!" it squeaked.
The group froze.
Aylin leaned forward. "Wait is that a person?"
Lettuce blinked, still groggy. "Is that... a talking mushroom?"
"You incompetent swines, I can hear you!" the figure squeaked again.
"I say we squash it." Harkin said.
"Try that, and this axe will be the last thing you feel, you moss-headed fool," it squeaked out again.
"My, my," Barek chuckled, folding his arms. "There's only one kind of folk with a mouth that filthy."
The little figure sniffed and adjusted his dented helmet. "Better a filthy mouth than a clueless head."
Barek grinned. "Dwarf. What's your name?"
"The name's Dori," the dwarf said, puffing his chest out. He turned slightly toward Harkin as if to make sure everyone heard it. "Senior Tunnel Scout of the Lower Craglines. Third tier, not that you tallfolk would know the difference."
Harkin raised an eyebrow. "Third tier? That good or bad?"
Dori nearly choked on his own breath. "Is that a real question?" he snapped, spinning around to glare at him. "That's like askin' if fire's warmer than stone, tallfolk. Course it's good!"
"You're all lucky; you seem to be experienced in traveling," Dori said, sounding professional.
"you're lucky you didn't walk straight off a cliff with those swarmin' around."
There was a short silence.
"Cliff?" Harkin repeated.
Dori grunted. "Aye. You're on the edge of the Lower Sinks. One wrong step and you'd be cartwheeling into the belly of the earth." He pointed with a stubby finger. "Craigspine's not far. But if you're headed there without a guide, you'll be a fucking Wretchling packs breakfast."
"I mean, I've got nothing better to do than head to Craigspine," Dori said in a bossy tone, thumping the shaft of his axe into the dirt. "So you lot might as well follow my lead."
Harkin shrugged. "Fair enough."
Aylin was engrossed in tinkering with her brewery kit, now and then holding the jar of Light Eaters up to eye level and humming in contemplation. She didn't seem too concerned about their destination, as long as her gadgets remained unharmed.
Then, without warning, Coco pounced out of the darkness a silent blur of fur and energy. She slammed straight into Dori, knocking him onto his back with a crunch of gear and a squeal of surprise.
"BY THE GODS, YOU MONSTER!" Dori shrieked, flailing as Coco playfully batted at his beard. "GET OFF ME!"
He swung the blunt side of his axe at her repeatedly but each time it just phased through her, the weapon passing harmlessly through the mischievous Lynxlet's intangible form.
Harkin burst out laughing and finally pulled Coco off him, wiping a tear from his eye. "Third-tier, you said?"
Dori froze. His face turned redder than his beard.
"Say that again," he growled, jabbing a thick finger at Harkin's chest, "and I'll drive you off the nearest cliff myself, you homeless looking bastard."
Barek snorted while Aylin stifled a giggle behind her hand. Coco emitted a contented mrrp, curling smugly around Harkin's shoulders once more.
Dori tapped his helmet, and a sudden flash of blinding light burst forth, pushing the shadows away.
Dori tapped his helmet, and a blinding light burst out, flooding the path ahead like a miniature sun.
"Alright, follow—" He stopped mid-sentence, eyes squinting hard at Barek. "My, my… unless my eyes are betraying me—aren't you the Shield Hero from down south, the—"
Barek cut in quickly, already shifting uncomfortably. "Yep. That's me." His tone made it clear he didn't want to linger on it.
Dori let out a low whistle. "Well, I'll be shaved clean. In the flesh…"
Then, like it was the most natural thing in the world, he pulled out an ink feather and pointed at Barek's gauntlet, then at his own helmet. "Could I, uh…. get a signature?"
Barek stared for a beat, then sighed in resignation. "Fine."
He scribbled something on the helmet's metal surface. Dori clutched it like a relic.
"Well then, let's get going," Dori said with a newfound surge of determination.
They moved carefully down the cliffs, loose stones crunching beneath their boots. Harkin kept glancing over at Barek, whispering, "What did he mean, Shield Hero?"
"Shush," Barek muttered, not meeting his eyes.
Lettuce grumbled from Harkin's shoulder, stirred briefly by the descent, then nestled back into sleep.
They were nearing Craigspine now—the jagged peaks rising like broken teeth in the distance—when a thunderous BOOM erupted behind them.
All heads snapped around.
Aylin stood in the middle of a scorched patch of earth, holding the shattered remains of a potion flask. The ground around her was charred black, cinders drifting in the air like snowflakes.
"Whoops," she said, eyes wide with faux innocence. Her grin gave her away.
"I want to be a brewer," Harkin said in a mocking tone, mimicking her voice. "It'll be fun, I said."
"Oh shush," Aylin snapped, hands on her hips. "When I first met you, you were knocked out cold, practically dying. And you're triple my age, Grandpa."
Harkin grinned. "So what does that make your dad?"
Before he could blink, both Barek and Dori swatted him.
"Oi, watch it," Barek muttered.
"You homeless brute," Dori scowled, adjusting his helmet. "Don't you go mocking the hero."Barek looked embarrassed again. "Let's keep moving," he muttered.
They moved carefully, the jagged silhouettes of towering structures rising in the distance—Craigspine at last.
As the city crept closer, Harkin's stomach twisted into knots.
Would she still be here? he wondered, his pace slowing.
Would she even remember me?
He didn't have an answer, but the questions looped in his head with every step forward.
"Well, here it is. Craigspine Court in all its might," Dori announced.