The morning after I packed up all my belongings, which weren't much, into a single sack. I paid the inn keeper, who looked all to happy to see the back of me, for my final night and walked out the tavern to a storm brewing to the east, I could feel the change in pressure as a rumble of thunder filled the air. Glancing around my eyes landed on Richard Cypher, he stood talking to the local hunter, moving closer I came within ear shot
"the best way to avoid any D'harans is to go through the Rang'Shada Mountains, but I must warn you seeker there is dark and dangerous magic that lives there"
The Rang'shada mountains were not a place to go into lightly, I had been there a couple of times myself, I shuddered at the memory of my first time in the shadowy forest.
Richard thanked the hunter and turned, stopping when he saw me, I took my opportunity
"The mountains are a dangerous place if you do not know what danger lurks there, I have been through there before, I am a good hunter, I know what to look for" I extended my hand as an offer "I am at your service Seeker, if you chose it"
I could see a slight doubt in his grey eyes, so I added
"an extra pair of eyes couldn't hurt"
After a moment of consideration he took my hand and we shook, he smiled
"Richard"
"Alexios" I responded
"you're the one from the fight yesterday, the one Kahlan told me about, how is your arm?" he asked
I nodded "I'm a fast healer"
Richard then looked past me to someone behind
"Kahlan, Alexios is joining us to Aydindril"
I turned watching as the Mother Confessor glided towards us, dressed in a black dress, two daggers slid into her high boots. A sack slung over her shoulder with her hair loose and flowing.
"We have to travel through the Rang'shada Mountains and Alexios has been though them before and has offered his services" Richard continued
Kahlan held my gaze for a few moments more before she turned her eyes to Richard
"shall we continue then?" she kept her eyes on Richard, he gestured for me to go first.
Richard and Kahlan spoke behind me for the first leg of our journey until we stopped for a break, sitting on a fallen tree, I stayed standing working out what our next move should be. I knew the mountains quite well, I had travelled through them to get to Dain, I remembered a couple of times I had to fight off some dark creature that stalked me. To get to Aydindril we had to travel north until we reached the Dark Canyon from there it was east, normally I would just follow the sun and the stars, but as we would get deeper in the Mountains the trees became so dense that it became almost pitch black. That's why all sorts of monstrous and deadly creatures dwelled here, out of sunlight to make hunting their prey that much easier. But it was not just creatures we had to fear, according to legends a powerful sorcerous lived and roamed the shadowy land.
"are you ready to continue?" Richard spoke from behind me,
I responded "we have to make torches first, enough to last two days" I bent down to grab a few branches big enough to make sturdy torches
Kahlan knelt down to help me "why do we need so many?"
Looking up at her, I did not realize how close she was, seeing how her eyes glowed slightly in the sunlight. When she looked back at me, her expression faltered.
"Whats wrong?" Richard had been watching her as well, Kahlan looked down and concentrated on the wood she collected
"Nothing" she said but her voice suggested otherwise, I was about to push the matter, what had she seen? Instead I answered her question.
"when we get deep into the mountains it will be so dark you could have thought it was night, if we run out of torches we could be lost forever in the darkness"
For a moment I watched Kahlan, she would not meet my gaze. We lit the first torches and continued forward into the darkness.