It was about an hour's steady walk from the gates of the castle to the outward boundaries of the forest. Once they crossed the muddy dirt road they hoofed it across several wide grassy plains, some wild, some fenced off for agricultural farmland. They grazed the very edge of Aria's cattle pastures even though the city itself was many miles away, deep-eyed cows watching them pass by with bovine disinterest.

Long ago this entire land had been wild and untamed. That was still mostly true, but it was reassuring to see that civilization was managing quite well in the midst of nature. Nevertheless, the three hunters angled away from the occupied fields wherever they could, instead opting to leg it though the rougher, more uneven patches of land. Many of the wildflower fields which erupted wide swaths of colour in spring and summer had mostly died out now, waiting for the cold weather which would soon come. Yellow dandelions still lived though, mongrels of flowers that they were, existing out of sheer tenacious bloody-mindedness.

The small party pretty much walked in a straight line now. Magi Magemere was in the lead and plunging ahead like a leader should, Ravendor Begucci a little ways behind him and following more casually, here and there checking back on Mara Rhinehardt who was bringing up the rear. She was keeping up with them easily but she was also a little worried about entering the forest with those two men, who, as rangers of Elmdynir were basically humanoid extensions of the forest itself.

The sword she carried weighed against her hip and reminded her of the seriousness of the situation. As a child she had played in the forest many times despite how much it had stressed Sister Margaret out, but she had only stayed near the edge, never venturing any deeper without an adult present. The forest was filled with dangerous animals, monsters and people, not to mention the poisonous plants and distinct lack of proper direction.

According to history the church of Acheron had commissioned an alchemist mage from the southwestern island a few centuries ago to analyse the forest's unusual magnetic forces. The rangers of that time had not stopped the investigation from happening because the phenomena had intrigued them as well, for a navigational compass would never work properly while in their lands. It was eventually discovered that many of the rocks below the forest floor held an extremely high magnetic charge, messing up any apparatus that would point north.

A hypothesis had been put forth that a meteorite had hit that part of the world eons ago, before the forest had formed into what it was today. That was why the forest was so vast and confusing if one did not have a ranger at their side. Mara had two, which was reassuring, but it still was a little scary. If they lost her somewhere in there…

"Is everything okay, Mara?" Ravendor asked as he checked back on her for the third time that hour. She seemed progressively more anxious as time went on. Up ahead Magi stopped on a steep incline of grassy knoll and patiently waited for them to get moving again. Mara nearly bumped straight into Ravendor when he stopped walking. Off in her own little world, he supposed.

Mara glanced up at him, startled, then relaxed when the only problem right now turned out to be her. She could feel the afternoon sun gently warming her back through the fabric of her shirt. It felt nice. She'd better enjoy it while she had the chance; the only sunlight which came into the forest in the autumn was filtered through the canopy and weak. "I am alright. I'm just a little worried. What if we become lost while looking for Sister Margaret? How do we find our way out again?"

That hadn't stopped her from running around all over the wild lands when she had been a little girl. It hadn't stopped her from discovering Ravendor years ago half dead and feverish at the foot of an ancient tree. He stroked his beard and smiled reassuringly at the young woman. "I'm sure you'd never become lost in your castle even if it is huge and frankly confusing, because it is your home. The same is true for us because the forest is our home too. We always know which way is north and which way is out."

They started walking again. From the peak of the grassy knoll far off in the direction of Aria they could see huge golden crops of wheat and corn, in the process of harvest for the winter. Tiny dots in the distance were workers with sickles and scythes reaping, cutting and stacking the harvest into huge bunches. It was tiring work, but if the townsfolk of Aria were as honest as they seemed it was satisfying work too.

"Do you think I should be a farmer?" Mara asked the two men conversationally. Soon she'd have to find a direction in life and right now she had no idea as to what she should do. "I could move back into Aria, get some animals and a little piece of land and see how well I do. It's my hometown, people know me there. That shouldn't be too difficult and I like animals."

"Provided you could raise enough money to construct a home, fence off some wild pasture that is suitable for farming and afford animals or seed, you mean." Magi commented from up ahead, effectively raining all over Mara's parade. He had gone back to his calm self and was a little miffed that they had wasted so much time. He would never be this inefficient with an alastor hunt ever again. "You could always just marry a wealthy farmer and live comfortably from that." He suggested, remembering when he had first worked as a farmhand in the neighbouring town to earn enough money to live off during his ranger apprenticeship.

"I suppose so, but it doesn't seem quite fair. I don't want to jump out of one person's care and immediately into the care of another, I want to experience a period where I'll just have to take care of myself. Everybody else has done this, now it is my turn." The girl stated firmly as she stepped over a tiny creek which had long since dried up to a pitiful trickle. Moss had grown in the crevices where water used to flow. Abruptly her boot slipped on the slimy growth and she wobbled sharply, throwing her arms out for extra supportive balance.

Ravendor grabbed her wrist before she could take a particularly embarrassing tumble. It was a good thing she was wearing pants today and not a dress. She trusted him with all her weight and grabbed his arm with her other hand. Ravendor chuckled softly as he helped her across. "Bravo, I think that is an excellent idea! There is no reason to tie yourself down to anything while you are so young; you need to enjoy your youth while you still can."

"Ha, you just want more unmarried natives around so you can weasel your way into any eligible woman's bed. I know all about you Ravendor, you go through partners faster than I go through new socks." Magi smirked at the older man as they continued to follow him. The archer was practically walking backwards as he spoke, so if he was not careful he was going to fall over and hurt himself. That seemed unlikely though, Magi was far too graceful for that.

The other ranger didn't let the accusation affect him, if anything it put him in a better mood. "And what is wrong with that? I can promise any lovely lady a wonderful time with absolutely no strings attached and no adverse effects at all! I am discreet and courteous, and above all I treat them with the utmost of respect! Come on Magi, I'm not quite as young as you anymore but that doesn't mean I'm not old either. What kind of woman wouldn't want somebody like me?"

Mara put her fingers to her lips and whistled at him, then immediately started to giggle right afterwards. The dark-haired man seemed startled at the sudden noise but then he smiled and removed the grass stalk he was chewing on from his mouth, discarding it nonchalantly. Mara couldn't even conceive of anything like that, he would always just be an uncle or father-figure to her.

Magi shook his head in exasperation but kept the smirk. "Yes yes, very well. You're gorgeous, my friend, now lets keep moving. I will not let this team rest until we catch initial sign of our quarry. We have barely even begun." After he said this he turned around and continued on his way, expecting the others to follow.

He heard no other rustling footsteps than his own, and the quality of Mara's laughter had changed a little. It sounded less like laughter and more like weeping. Callously he continued walking for another ten seconds before he turned around to see what was going on. Mara had started crying again and Ravendor was awkwardly trying to console her in the way that a caring friend should. Oh dear, had he said something wrong? He shot another look to the older man for an explanation.

He was surprised to see that Ravendor had tears in his eyes as well. Mara wasn't the only one who was hurting, she was just the only one able to express her feelings openly and get away with it. Magi was beginning to feel like the outsider looking in on something, for although he had been fond of Sister Margaret himself he wasn't one to cry over it. He had never really cried over anything, ever, save for the physical rehabilitation when he had first joined the colony. That had been a different kind of pain.

For a moment he felt surprisingly alone, almost jealous, though it was stupid to envy them for their loss. Perhaps he envied them their ability to feel something so deeply in the first place. Mara and Ravendor had been around long enough to have something, he was still a little too young for anything like that. Magi cleared his throat to get their attention and spoke. "I'm sorry, but we can mourn later. We have to use this time now to stay focussed and get the job done. Move it."

He was right. Ravendor briskly rubbed his eyes and sighed, prying Mara out of his arms. He thought he had been fine up until Mara had broken down, but her grief had caused a chain reaction in him and he couldn't cover it up with light-hearted humour any longer. Years ago, when he had first come to the Void and maybe even before that he had been quite a distant, untrusting individual. The archipelago and its kind people had soon changed that in him and made him happier, but there were costs to realise that great gift.

Like sometimes caring just a little too much. Margaret had been his first lifeline in this strange new world. If she could vanish so suddenly to the alastor within her then how much time did he have left? He could never be sure, but he had been around long enough for it to be more than a whisper of possibility in his mind. He watched Mara wipe her nose with a laced handkerchief, one she had most likely made herself. "It will be dark soon. Come along, love." He said.

Mara nodded bravely. Now wasn’t the time to be upset; she could do it later. She let Ravendor take her by the arm and guide her for about fifty paces, then she gently pulled away and walked on her own. They were coming into the less-populated pastures now where the grass had grown long and uneaten over some weeks of negligence. Some of the fences were old and had fallen in places; easy to climb over and pass by.

Then, when the flat plains ended and the terrain became less even the trees began. They were pariahs, close to the edge of the forest but not quite a part of it. The shapes of the trunks and the branches resembled tired old men. While Mara was looking up at them a fluff-tailed fox emerged from its burrow under the foot of a tree, noticed the travellers and then ran for it.

“Looks like we’ve found some farmer’s arch nemesis!” Magi exclaimed as the animal darted scarcely six feet away from his feet. The archer had his bow out within moments and quickly loaded an arrow into it, pulling the drawstring back with two fingers. Ravendor smirked as he came up closer to watch. The fox had no chance; Magi could hit a fly from two hundred meters away. Well, on a good day, perhaps.

But Mara caught on as well. “Stop!” She shouted, horrified. “Magi, don’t you dare!”

He flinched when he heard Mara shout his name and some of the tension in his bowstring diminished. He released a held-in breath and that ruined his aim. The moment was lost anyhow, the animal diving into some low scrub. He heard Ravendor sigh in disappointment when the target got away. “I thought I’d do the local landowner a favour and get rid of some vermin.” Magi explained, lowering his weapon as Mara came to stand beside him.

It didn’t quite seem so simple to the girl. There were some concessions, obviously, so she went through them while Magi frowned. “If you killed that poor fox were you planning on eating it?”

“No.”

“Were you going to wear its fur?”

“No.”

“Is pest control of this area in any way your business?”

“Well, no, but-”

“So you were just going to kill an animal for the simple sake of killing it.” Mara concluded, dismayed. “Solely in the interests of sport. That’s a horrible thing to do, and such a waste of a life living peacefully. I’m disappointed in you, Magi.”

Magi looked like the child who knew he was being scolded but was trying his hardest not to show it. When he glanced to Ravendor for support the bearded ranger looked like he wanted nothing to do with the conversation whatsoever, but if it got too heated he would break it up. Mara was twisting Magi’s arm and he knew that the persistent girl only wanted one thing from him.

“I’m sorry about that. I don’t know what I was thinking.” Each word was released like a hostage held at gunpoint.

Ravendor was watching the scrub. “Oh look, there it is again.” He remarked when the fox crept out of its hiding place, peeking around to see if it was safe. It was, because if either of the men even considered using their weapons on the poor thing Mara would make the rest of their journey a living hell.

Besides, Magi actually did feel a little bad for Mara’s disappointment in him. There were only a very select few he sought approval from and she was one of them. Magi turned slightly on his heel so that he faced the forest again. “Is that so?” He murmured and walked away.

After hesitating for a moment Ravendor followed. A few seconds later Mara did too. The fox was free to go home and they were free to continue their journey.

The forest loomed ahead.

†††

There was no real discernable point during the journey when they actually entered the forest. It was a gradual process, fields turning into mild scrubland, scrubland becoming light woodland, until eventually the heavy canopy of the ranger’s forest darkened the world and hid the sky from their vision. In scarcely an hour after walking from the tended fields they were within the boundaries of Elmdynir’s kingdom.

Mara may have been nervous but she was not afraid. She had ventured inside this forest many times in the past but never this deeply. Gigantic multi-branched trees towered overhead, reaching in all directions, some of them their trunks so thick that Mara would not have been able to fit her arms around them and touch fingertips if she tried. Minimal deadwood lay about on the ground and the earth was covered with downy, mossy grass and leaves. A lovely, rich smell permeated the air, a mixture of fertile soil, rainwater and the natural scent of the trees.

Birdsong wafted down from high up above their heads and in damp patches within nooks and crannies of the buttressed trees mushrooms grew. They were far from the heart of the forest so that here and there, every so often, patches in the canopy’s covering opened up to allow great beams of sunshine to piece through the dimness like a series of spotlights. Instances like that would diminish the further they travelled inside.

She was aware that the forest was filled to the brim with all manner of animal life, yet they were all so well camouflaged that she’d have to have extreme patience and persistence to spot them. Once, as a small child she and her father had wandered through here for a bit of a look and she had found a water-skimmer racing about in a puddle of morning dew. She had been so proud of her discovery. Mara supposed that this place held many memories for herself too, along with her friends.

The forest was like its own little world; the world of which Magi and Ravendor belonged. Mara could sense a change come over them as soon as they entered this sacred wood. It was like releasing birds from a cage or allowing an Echucan brumby to run wild again; it was as if they had finally returned home. Their movements were more relaxed. Mara wished that she could be relaxed too, but this world was just too alien for her.

Eventually Magi stopped them under the foot of a tall tree. Afternoon light filtered in from above, but Mara judged that they at least had two or three hours left before dusk set in. Maybe less, she wasn’t sure. This seemed like a short walking break, as the blond ranger leaned up against the trunk of a tree. A big black spider angry at being disturbed scuttled away in a huff. “This seems deep enough. Shall we begin?” He asked the others but his tone sounded more like he was telling them what to do, not inquiring.

Begin what? Begin the search? The forest was so quiet and peaceful that it seemed unlikely that a huge alastor had crashed its way through here a few hours ago. Mara shuffled her feet self-consciously in the fallen leaves. She didn’t want to have to ask, not when the others seemed so sure of themselves, but nobody else spoke. She sighed. “What do you mean?”

“What sort of tracking method did you have in mind? Circular? I am quite partial to circular. Shall we split up for time’s sake?” Ravendor asked as he brushed his cloak over one shoulder, freeing up his arm so he could adjust the strap on his arrow quiver. It had been bothering him the past half kilometre or so. Normally as the senior member of the group he’d gladly take charge, but this was meant to be Magi’s operation so he decided to step back and let it be.

“Well, obviously we won’t find any sign of Sister Margaret’s alastor around here. This place has not been greatly disturbed for some weeks. However, we can assume a general area to search based upon the Sister’s exodus from the castle.” Magi removed a tightly folded map from one of the pockets in his clothes. Opening it up revealed that the piece of parchment was some years old, permanently creased into several dozen squares. Some of those creases had completely worn through into nothing.

Magi did not need a map to find his way through the forest; the layout was all inside his head as clear as a crystal. The only real need for the map was that he couldn’t properly mark or highlight alterations in his memory, or pass it on to others. If he did not pass it on then the information would inevitably be lost. This map which had belonged to a discard of ten years ago was proof of that. He traced an oval on the map with a fingertip, of an area of about six kilometres. “This is the area we must search. We are slightly west of it from here.”

Ravendor strode up beside him and peered over his shoulder. “That’s quite a large area to cover to look for initial sign. It leaves two kilometres for each of us. Do we have the time to be so thorough over such an expanse?” Two kilometres seemed like nothing when one is taking a brisk walk, but having to check every square inch of said area was another matter entirely. The dark-haired ranger sighed. “At least we can be sure initial sign will be apparent.”

“We may be able to narrow down the area if the forest is good to us.” Magi added as he closed the map, speaking of the forest as an entity rather than the environment they were in. Mara knew that his people were fiercely protective of their home. He tucked the map back into his pocket and stood again. “Come on, every minute idle is a minute wasted. Let’s get moving.”

So off they went again. They didn’t have to walk very far before Magi made the announcement that they were in the very centre of the search area. The forest had receded somewhat and the woodland was slightly lighter, with visible animals hanging about. Mara spotted a small grey squirrel clinging to the side of a spear-like tree, almost totally invisible, before it realised it had been spotted and scurried away.

As a rule alastors were not small creatures. Mara did not know much about the technical details of those monsters but they were normally huge and powerful, as dangerous as they were malicious. If one thundered through here trees would be snapped, giant tracks would be cratered in the dirt and perhaps the bodies of native animals would be everywhere.

The eldest ranger stopped and looked around as they came to a cluster of young, supple trees. Ravendor seemed pensive, but he seemed alert anyway. This place was very familiar to him and maybe to Mara if her memory was good. It held a special, almost sanctified quality. “This is the place where I was found. It is also the place where I decided to join the Elmdynirim. Lastly, I came here the dawn after my spirit bonded with the forest. I have not returned since. Huh…” He hummed as Magi and Mara stopped behind him.

Mara would have to take his word for it. She remembered finding him all those years ago but not so much the actual location, though in a way it made sense. She had never ventured far into the forest and this area here was geographically closest to the castle. A large yew tree dominated all the other younger saplings; Mara found her eyes inexplicably drawn to it. That was the one she had found her friend lying against so long ago.

Magi knew the story of the leader of their colony. He folded his arms and exhaled deeply through his nose. “Your bow was fletched from that tree, wasn’t it? Elmdynir told you to return and take a branch from His child as a bond.” He smiled understandingly. “He told me to take from a willow overhanging the Lethe. He said that the river was significant to me.”

Their words interested Mara. She knew much about the rangers but there were some things those people were very secretive about, that books and researchers were not meant to know. They were discussing it freely now so maybe it was okay to ask. “Are you saying that the forest actually speaks to you? Like with words or a voice? What do you mean about bonding your spirit with the forest?” Mara remembered her manners and blushed. “I’m sorry if I’m being nosy. If this is secret knowledge then you don’t have to tell.”

“It is really hard to say.” Ravendor admitted. “The forest speaks and we are able to listen. That is all. Words are not important when we are bonded to the forest. When I began this training I was a human bearing the potential of a ranger. When the God of the forest accepted me for the flawed, dedicated person that I am I awoke as an Elmdynirim and I guess a small part of my spirit was lost; taken away. In return He replaced it with a part of Himself.”

“From His poorer side, I expect.” Magi commented, interrupting the explanation. “But yes, Ravendor is more or less correct. I don’t know if there really is a god of the forest per se, but something definitely did turn me from a human to an Elmdynirim. If not a god then it is a force that deserves the utmost respect.”

That was eerie. Mara kind of regretted asking the question in the first place, but Ravendor and Magi seemed so confident about themselves, especially beneath the canopy of the forest. She wished she could have some confidence like that herself. “Um, are there any lady rangers in your colony?” She asked politely. Mara had never actually seen their outpost, herself.

“Of course, why wouldn’t there be? They are decidedly less numerous, though. I would never leave the forest were it otherwise!” Ravendor laughed.  “Why do you want to know? Are you considering recruitment?”

“Maybe I am. It isn’t lost soul exclusive, right?” The young girl announced, placing her hands on her hips.

“Oh no, Mara, you can’t be serious.” Magi interrupted, surprised and dismayed. He really hadn’t expected her to say anything like that. “The training is torturous. You would not be able to handle it. For somebody like you another profession would be a better idea.”

“‘Somebody like me?’ What do you mean by that? Are you saying I’m not cut-out to be a ranger?” Mara repeated, a very slight edge to her tone. Her right hand came down to rest on the butt of her sword. She was strong enough to follow them this far and carry the heavy object she had wrapped up in black cloth upon her back. Well, maybe he was right. Maybe there were fewer female rangers for a reason.

As with many other things he’d rather not discuss, Magi tactfully changed the subject. “Let’s divide the area into three sectors. I will search to the north, Mara may search here, and Ravendor may search to the south. How does that sound to you both? We will meet back at this spot upon the coming of dusk.” He already knew that this area was more or less safe, so he felt confident that Mara could search here without requiring babysitting.

“I have no objections. If I encounter sign you will be the first to know.” Ravendor assured him calmly.

“Um, can I mention a contingency?” Mara inquired, beginning to wonder why she had even come at all. These two were handling it all by themselves. If anything all she was doing was slowing them down, but she couldn’t bring herself to leave. That would be like a failure, a blow to her pride, and a betrayal of her matriarch’s memory. Magi and Ravendor waited to hear her speak. “What if instead of encountering tracks or something of Sister Margaret we find her alastor instead?”

“Then this alastor hunt will be over much quicker than I anticipated.” Magi smiled. “If anybody finds it then call the rest of us and we will slay it. If you manage to find it first Mara then we will come and protect you. You don’t have to fear. Now let’s split up.”

Of course she knew that if they were tracking a monster then they would eventually have to find it. Mara just didn’t want to be alone when the alastor was found, and she wanted to be able to look away the very moment that it was killed. Her two ranger friends simply vanished into the background of the forest, the colours of their clothes allowing them to blend in like any other native creature. Mara blinked as if it were a trick of the light, as if the forest had simply swallowed them alive.

The tree above her rustled slightly and Mara looked up, expecting to see a small bird take flight. Instead she saw Magi almost silently scaling the tree. His leave had been completely vertical and she would never have spotted him if his long blond hair hadn’t been so noticeable amidst the leaves and the branches. The gods only knew where Ravendor had gone. She was all on her own now. She had better get to work.

Sign could be many different things, like a piece of broken wood, a track upon the ground, stool samples or the leftover bodies of smaller prey. It would be much easier if she actually knew what Sister Margaret’s alastor looked like, but for now she could only have to guess and draw conclusions from whatever clues she found. Honestly Mara didn’t know a single thing about tracking, but the basics were no different to common sense.

There was no real rhyme or reason to the way that Mara searched. She just picked a direction and went off that way for about fifty paces, scrutinizing as she went. Frequently there were trees and lumpy root systems in the way, so she went over or around them. Some of these larger trees growing with the young saplings were probably hundreds of years old. The smaller trees could have been its children. They had not been disturbed.

Time passed as Mara searched. When she got as far as she thought she could before encroaching on somebody else’s territory the young girl doubled back but made her path slightly off-course, her trail resembling a poorly crafted zig-zag pattern. The further east she went the deeper the forest became and it unnerved her, making the trip back west a tremendous relief. Some brightly coloured mushrooms caught her eye at one point but she steered clear of them; they looked incredibly poisonous.

Sifting through the fallen foliage, touching the bark of trees and kneeling in the mossy soil was making Mara dirty and disheartened. It just seemed so unlikely that she was going to find anything here; like the other place this patch of forest was quiet and peaceful. The light was changing and turning slightly orange; she knew that dusk would soon fall.

But Mara desperately wanted to be able to show something conclusive to her friends. As such her searching became more determined, concentrated, even as her body continued to tire. The large pack on her back was definitely making itself known every time that she bent over. Eventually Mara became sick of being monitored, too.

“I know you’re there.” She said out loud.

“… How did you know?”

The voice was soft and surprised. Leaves rustled from above and Magi dropped down from his branch into view. He was slightly dirty too from tracking but that was not much difference from his usual state of being, what with living in the wilderness and all. He did not seem nearly as tired as Mara felt.

She looked away modestly. “I didn’t know you were there. I was only guessing but I did have the feeling somebody was watching me. If nobody turned out to be there me asking out loud wouldn’t have mattered because nobody would be listening, but if somebody was listening my asking would be perfectly justified. It’s… kind of confusing now that I think about it." Mara admitted.

Magi hesitated, regretful. “I shouldn’t have said anything, then. Damn.”

“Why were you following me? You’re meant to be tracking in your own area. Were you spying?” She was trying not to be suspicious but there was a lot of evidence supporting that.

“I just wanted to double-check your progress in case you missed something. I also wanted to make sure you were okay.” Magi explained, shrugging. Secretly the former was only an excuse for the latter. The young ranger just didn’t want to leave Mara on her own only to find her in trouble later. He’d blame himself for leaving her.

Unfortunately Mara only heard the first part of his explanation. She was a sweet, caring girl but she was only human, and she had pride just like everybody else. In her mind Magi had just tried to undermine what little confidence she had left. Her expression hardened. “What? You think I might have missed something? Why? I might not be a ranger like you but I’m still perfectly capable of looking for things! How could you?”

“I was only concerned for your safety. This place is dangerous and we haven’t much time.” Magi replied, blinking at the harshness of the girl’s words. He hadn’t really made her that angry, had he? He wasn’t quite sure how.

“Don’t you trust me?”

“Of course I do!”

“Then trust me!”

Magi didn’t say anything to that. He trusted her in word only. He wasn’t willing to test it by putting it into practice. Immediately Mara didn’t feel angry anymore; she only felt upset. She crossed her arms over her front in a passive act of self-defence. It became active self-defence when Magi suddenly and with no prior warning shrugged his bow off from over his shoulder and plucked an arrow from his quiver. He did it with amazing speed, taking no more than one or two seconds. He aimed the arrow straight at Mara.

She froze. Magi seemed steeled and utterly sure of himself, so what in the Void was he doing? If it had been something she’d said it hadn’t warranted anything like this! She drew in a sharp breath and began to take a step back, eyes wide. “M-Magi-” She began.

“Whatever you do don’t move another muscle. Don’t you move at all.” He ordered. “This will only take a second.”

She obeyed not because it was what he had told her to do but because she was so shocked she could not do anything else. The arrow was drawn back and the flaxen bowstring stretched so tight that it looked like it could break at any moment. When it released and the arrow whooshed forward with almost a whistle Mara cried out and recoiled. It was, after all, her life on the line.

A quick, soft breeze caressed her neck and she heard a twanging sound. Mara opened her eyes. It hadn’t hit her; in fact the arrow had embedded itself into the tree behind her, mere inches away from her throat. She turned to look. Magi’s arrow had pinned the body of a serpent up against the tree, pierced directly through the creature’s skull and brain. Its mouth hung open, displaying its venom-dripping fangs.

“Snake.” Magi said at last. “You were backing right into it. The forest is very dangerous.”

Mara’s heart was racing like it belonged to a rabbit. “You scared me half to death!” She cried.

“Sorry, it wasn’t my intention.” He walked up to where Mara was standing and pulled the fired arrow out of the tree trunk and the serpent, jiggling it a bit for leverage before it could come free. It took quite a bit of time and effort to make those arrows so he’d rather reuse them if possible. The arrow was undamaged and Magi wiped the sticky end off on his cloak, the body of the snake dropping lifelessly to the ground.

“Did somebody just scream?” Ravendor asked as he remerged from the forest’s cover and half jogged, half walked to his two friend’s sides. Dusk was starting to fall and his own hunt had been personally unsuccessful, so there had been nothing left to do but return. When he heard Mara cry out he had feared the alastor had shown. She and Magi seemed fine though.

“S-Snake…” Mara stammered out her explanation.

“I got rid of it.” The blond archer added stoically and then got right back to business now that they were together again. “By the looks on your faces I can tell nobody found anything conclusive. Did Sister Margaret take a different route into the forest? Did she even enter it at all? These are the questions we must ask ourselves now.” Magi sighed. “We have wasted so much time…”

Mara’s eyes watered and she rubbed her lower arm guiltily. “I’m sorry. It’s all my fault that you’ve been slowed down.”

And nobody could really argue with that because, well, it was the truth. Magi certainly didn’t say anything and Ravendor pretended to be intensely interested in an owl getting ready to leave its hollow in a nearby tree. When it flew off on utterly silent wings the dark-haired man felt he had to break the awkward moment himself. “Don’t worry about it, Mara. Magi is just pushy and has no patience.”

“If I didn’t push we’d still be at the castle drinking tea.” Magi protested levelly.

“I suppose, but this journey so far has not been in vain. I have found something important. Sort of.” As he said this Ravendor reached into a fold of his tunic and removed something small and glinting in the light. “I can’t tell you where this came from because I took it from a crow roosting in one of the trees. It was carrying this in its beak. Mara, is this familiar to you?”

Mara looked down at it and nodded once with a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach. “Yes, that’s hers.” She said.