Demoa - Nightfall (1)

Demoa kept glancing from Ray to the sky. The Sun still shone brightly, bringing with it an unusual yet welcome warmth and even a touch of lightness. Thoughts of Elga, however, kept rising up and forcing Demoa to swallow hard, her body trembling. No one had mentioned her awakening. Not Eri, nor Sars and Olver—even though those two had joined only because of Elga. The men’s faces were focused, eyes fixed forward. Eri glanced at her from time to time, but as always, Demoa couldn’t read his expression.

What were her last moments like? Did she try to stop Ray? Or do something else? Could any of this even have been prevented? The Sun is so wonderful, yet was it really worth the price we paid for it…? Demoa kept asking herself.

She didn’t dare speak the thought aloud. Olver and Sars were probably dealing with their own grief, and Eri… maybe he didn’t care at all.

Still, Demoa wasn’t ready to accept that she would never hear Elga’s wisdom again, never learn more about Lucidity from her. Her cultivations had always deepened after talking with Elga. She had sensed that they shared a similar view of the world. That they understood things in the same way.

Whatever happens, remain calm. The Light can always bring you peace, don’t forget that! And you can share it with others, too, Elga had said more than once.

And Demoa had understood what she meant. True, she was currently hardly able to keep a forest mouse from running off in blind panic, yet she was proud of herself for at least using the gift of Lucidity on something small.

Maybe one day I’ll spend my time caring for animals. Eri says they don’t have awareness like we do, but it’s still such a lovely thought. Maybe that’s what Gima meant when she talked about chicks? That would be nice! And maybe someone will be there with me… maybe someone like… Demoa’s thoughts wandered, until Sars’s whisper cut them short.

“Someone’s following us. Far off, though not so far that I wouldn’t notice,” he said.

Eri looked over and narrowed his eyes.

“Who could it be?” he asked.

“No idea. Probably someone from the village, right?” Olver suggested.

He made sure Ray was still seated as safely as possible in front of him on the muldi—he now supported her with one hand—then turned to look back.

Rad! He’s really following us! The thought shot through Demoa’s mind, and she felt a flush rise in her cheeks.

“It’s not important. Whatever this person wants, it’s none of our concern. We have to get to the monastery,” Eri muttered, and soon everyone was staring forward again.

It’s important to me, Demoa thought, though she kept silent.

There was no point starting a conversation with Eri about it. She would lose anyway.

She decided to set her thoughts of Elga and Rad aside for now and distract herself with the surroundings. The landscape had become much hillier since they had left the site of the breakthrough, and there were still boulders floating mid-air, as if held by invisible hands, though fewer than before. The plant life was also gradually changing. Instead of the trees with glowing leaves of every color, or the trickling streams winding their way through breathtaking, sweet-scented meadows, there were now more and more large vine-like plants that crawled across the ground and occasionally shot upward, twisting in all directions. The plants grew ever larger, and sometimes smaller vines sprouted from knotty outgrowths adorned with elongated leaves, so that Demoa almost felt like she was looking at green waterfalls. The smell was partly and damp, yet the plants fascinated her.

Soon, other flora joined the scene, and they rode between great twisted trees and massive ferns whose poisonous-green leaves shimmered in the sunlight.

After quite a while of riding, Demoa noticed the Sun drifting. When they had found Ray, it had been directly overhead; now it was moving toward the horizon.

The day is passing, Demoa suddenly remembered.

But what came after that?

She couldn’t recall, and a sense of unease began to rise within her.

Eri had slowed his muldi to a gentle trot, since the overgrown terrain made faster travel impossible.

“We’ll reach Glune soon. Not many more villages before the monastery. This lush forest is home to many animals and plants that give you a sense of the past, though I’ve never understood why. Well, it doesn’t matter. We’ll be there soon. We should rest in Glune and get something to eat. I can’t wait to try the mangos that grow nearby…” Eri said, guiding his muldi over several mats of lichen that covered the ground.

Demoa thought she smelled smoke and could hear whispering voices in the distance, between the plants. A chill ran down her spine, for the voices sounded tense and aggressive.

“Do you hear that too?” she asked cautiously. Olver raised a finger to his lips, and Eri also stopped talking about the fruits he had begun to list.

They came to a halt.

Listened.

In the distance, there was definitely a tangle of voices, and also the occasional clatter or sharp bang.

“What’s going on over there?” Sars mouthed silently.

Eri only shrugged and motioned for them to keep moving. Slowly.

The air had grown more humid, and a loud rushing noise soon joined the distant commotion of voices and other unsettling sounds.

What’s happening back there? Do we really have to go through here? Can’t we go around this settlement? Demoa wondered, glancing back without being noticed.

Is Rad nearby? Could he help, if it came to that? No more than any of the men I’m traveling with. Still…

She pushed the thoughts aside and stared forward, past Eri. The massive leaves ahead of her were still too dense to see through, but her muldi trotted diligently onwards. Before they passed through the tangle of towering green ferns, Eri once again signaled for silence. Slowly, he dismounted and tied his muldi to one of the large vine trees nearby. Demoa and the others quickly followed suit, and soon they were creeping through the undergrowth, inching closer to the sounds. The plants gradually thinned out, revealing a narrow trail barely visible beneath a layer of thick foliage.

“Stop!” Sars warned.

He picked up a heavy stone and hurled it forward. Demoa wondered what he was doing, and got her answer quickly: a section of the ground collapsed, revealing a hastily dug pit lined with freshly sharpened stakes.

“Damn, what is that?” Eri exclaimed.

“A trap,” Olver said.

He had fallen a little behind and was now carrying the still withdrawn Ray over his shoulders.

Eri was about to respond when a man and a woman burst out of a bush, armed with sharpened sticks, their fur clothing and skin smeared with dark mud.

“Are you the harbingers?” the woman asked in a low voice. Demoa noticed that despite her stern demeanor, the spear in her hands trembled slightly.

Eri raised his staff in a calming gesture.

“No, we are not. I am a Pilgrim, escorting these two young women to the monastery. We don’t mean you any harm, nor do we intend to be a burden. I’m sure you remember me,” he said calmly, though Demoa could see a red glow flickering threateningly around his body.

A loud shout rang out in the distance. The two spear carriers flinched and glanced at the sky. Demoa followed their gaze and saw only the deep blue, dotted with a few white clouds, and the Sun, now slowly nearing the horizon.

“It’s Eri, I think! It’s been a long time since I arrived,” the man said, stepping toward them with visible impatience.

The aura around Eri intensified. Olver and Sars both took a subtle step forward, lowering themselves into a ready stance.

“Yeah, you’re right! Maybe he’s exactly what we need right now. Come with us!” said the woman, turning back, now a bit more relaxed.

Eri didn’t move, though the red glow around him dimmed.

“You want us to come with you? What’s going on? Why were you hiding in the bushes? Why set a trap like that, and in such a rush?” Olver asked.

“Come, there’s no time. I know we seem a little unhinged right now, yet it should be obvious what’s happening, shouldn’t it?” the man said, gesturing upward.

All Demoa could see above the leaves was the setting Sun, no longer brilliant white but now a soft orange, a bit dimmer than before.

But that’s nothing unusual… or is it?

Eri sighed and gestured for them to follow the man, who had already vanished back into the thicket. The glow around him was now completely gone.

“Is it really smart to follow them? What if they’re up to something?” Demoa asked.

She tried to keep her voice steady, though she could still hear the faint tremble in it.

“I think it’s fine. Glune isn’t exactly known for treachery, and the worry in their voices sounded serious. Maybe even justified. I don’t think it’s foolish to find out what’s going on, and what’s scaring them so much they’re digging pits and hiding. Fear is something I’ve rarely seen on my travels. At least, not in this part of the Dream. We should at least take a look,” Eri said firmly, stepping around the pit.