Author's Note:

Hey! I hope you enjoyed the OC chapter last time. If not, let me know what to change if you have any suggestions :)

We're moving on to Graystone Pass, and then Toadstump Marsh. I won't cover everything in the mountains now, since they'll be coming back this way anyways, when they go to Seri. Onwards!

-Tangent

Graystone Pass, named for its unique color of gray shale and rock, was the only route through the mountains, if you could call it that. Just to get in, Rye had to use a stick of dynamite to blow away a rock covering the entrance.

"Is it just me, or was that rock put there on purpose?" He huffed, slightly out of breath. "It was very, um, oddly shaped." The others had noticed it too, but they didn't comment on the fact.

"What could have moved that big of a rock? We'd need probably 30 men to do it." Ean said, and Rye shrugged.

"I don't know. That's just my thoughts on the matter." He looked around at the dismal setting. The cliffs of stone rose on all sides, with a few scraggly plants growing here and there, along with the occasional tree. In the distance, a lone bird called out sadly, lost among the low-hanging mists.

"Be careful, and stay close." Ean said, flexing his claws slightly. Rye seemed similarly on edge, holding his bow at his side. They set off through the cliffs, looking around for any possible threats.

"So, where exactly are we going?" Iya asked, and Ean glanced at her, slightly out of breath.

"Well, the town of Bogwood is south of the mountains, in a swamp. It's inhabited by witches and warlocks, Uthar said. Don't worry, they're friendly." He added hastily at Iya's look. "Hepatitis lives there. Do you want to go there first?"

"I think so, yes. But where is the path out of the mountains?"

"I'm not sure, but I bet we could climb a hill and get a vantage point. This fog is blocking our view."

"Let's do that, then, to get our bearings. Rye?" The man nodded. "Okay, I think I see a- Get down!" He yanked on Iya's arm hard, sending her to the ground as a shape darted from the mists above them, straight for the three travelers. With a shout, Ean brought both claws around and slashed the evil bird from the air, sending it flying into a tree, where it died. However, several more dove from the mist, and the three scattered, darting away from the claws. Ean slashed through one, saw Iya fry one in midair, and heard Rye's arrow find a mark behind him. With another shout, he leapt upwards towards the last bird and spun, slicing quickly through the neck of the creature. There was silence, and he looked around.

"Everybody okay?" They replied in the affirmative as they returned to the center of the pass, looking at the corpses. Rye set to work collecting their hard-earned spoils.

"I think these are hawks, but why are they so vicious?" Ean said.

"There's probably little food around here for them. If anything, they're more like vultures." Rye said with a serious expression.

"I almost pity them." Iya said with a trace of sadness. Ean nodded sympathetically.

"I know, but we can't stop now." He gestured to the path he had spotted, winding its way up the mountain. "This looks like somebody has walked on it already, so let's check it out." The path in question was small, almost like a hunting trail that had been worn into the stone. They climbed upwards, sometimes literally as they ascended towards the peak of the mountain. They soon cleared the misty area, and Iya let out a sigh of relief as the sun shone down upon them.

"It's much nicer up here." Ean smiled.

"I suppose we can take a break at the top, to eat lunch." A couple of hours had passed already, and he was quite hungry. Rye agreed, and they continued climbing up the slope.

As he slumped down on a ledge near the peak of the mountain, Ean let out a sigh. It was hard to believe that they had made it this far up, but it was worth it. Below him, he could see the mountains range sprawled out in every direction, and they could now see how big it was.

"That's… wow. I thought the mountains near Shaenlir were big, but…" Rye trailed off, looking down at the path below him. On the horizon to the east, Ean could faintly see a line of yellow.

"That must be the Seri Desert." He said, looking around. "But I'm not entirely sure how to get over there."

"Perhaps there will be a guide in Bogwood? Or somebody with a map?" Iya offered, and Ean shrugged.

"Hopefully." Shading his eyes, he turned his gaze to the south, where he could see the beginnings of a swamp between two hills. "That must be it over there, and it looks like the path leads out that way." He began jotting down a rough map in his journal, drawing the path they had to take. Iya was munching on a piece of fresh bread, and Rye seemed to be content watching the horizons for any danger. The elf closed his notebook and put it away.

"What do we have in there so far?" Iya asked, and Ean looked at her while pulling out his own choice of food. With her hair tied back in a ponytail, and her face slightly damp, she looked…

Stop it. He shook his head.

"Sorry, Iya. I wrote down the jewelry kit, checking on the woman from Grimm's Farm, and the boy who was petrified." She nodded, but made no further comment.

"That was smooth, kid."

"I'm not talking about that to you." Vincent chuckled.

"Of course, of course. You say we're heading to Bogwood?"

"Yeah. Know anything about it?" He felt a slight air of distaste from the beast spirit.

"Bah. I don't like witches, especially Hepititus. I met her a long time ago, but she seemed… off."

"How so?" Amari chimed in at that moment:

"She's the nymph of wickedness, and she probably won't give her blessing openly. You may have to do something for her. Just be careful."

Ean opened his eyes again to find Iya looking at him closely.

"Another conversation with them?" Ean nodded.

"They said to be careful with Hepititus." Iya frowned slightly.

"I figured as much. In the book, there's tales about some of the things she's done." She did not elaborate, and Rye got to his feet.

"We should probably go." Ean nodded, getting to his feet, and there was a flash of movement below them, something brown. His eyes flashed to the spot, but there was nothing there.

"Did you guys see that?" He asked cautiously, drawing his claws. Rye looked where he pointed, but saw nothing.

"No, but…"

"I'm not sure what it was, but we need to go before it finds us. We can't really fight up here." Ean said, and they set off back down the mountain.

To the elf's relief, they made it down the mountain without further incident, and there was no sign of the shape that had been watching them.

"Maybe I was seeing things…" Ean muttered, and Iya put a hand on his arm.

"It's okay, Ean. Better to be cautious." They had backtracked slightly before finding a path that led to the south, but Ean was still on edge. Turning his mind inwards, he concentrated on finding the spirits within him.

"Vincent? Can you hear me?"

"Loud and clear."

"How does the beast spirit work? Where did it come from?" Vincent let out a sigh, and Amari chuckled.

"You're asking the wrong people, kid. We have no idea, I'm afraid. Vincent and I were both human at one point, I think, but we have no memory of our lives before that, or how this happened." Vincent agreed, and Ean frowned.

"Do you know how long it's been, at least? Like, since when you were turned, or cursed, or whatever?" The entities were silent for a moment.

"A long time. I remember that Eredar was still around when I was a human, and they were at the height of their power. After I changed, I remember little."

"I see. Thank you." Ean said.

"Don't thank me yet. We aren't very useful to you yet."

"Maybe, but…"

"He means well, Vincent." Amari interjected, and Ean felt a slight wave of guilt from the male spirit.

"Just one more question." He said, and the eyes looked at him.

"Yes?"

"How many of you are there?" There was a slight pause, and he knew they were trying to avoid telling him something.

"I think there was 7." They said no more, and Ean knew he had to leave them be for a little while.

He opened his eyes again, telling the others what he had learned from the spirits of the animals.

"That's interesting, that they don't remember." Iya said. "I wonder if we can get their memories back."

"I'm not sure." Ean said. "Perhaps with time, they will return. As long as I don't run out of time first." Suddenly, he heard a clicking sound from behind them, and they turned around to face the mist. It grew louder and louder, until it seemed to be all around them, echoing off the pass. They stood with their backs to each other, and it was Rye who saw it first.

"There!" He fired an arrow into the mist, but it struck nothing but stone, and the spider leapt from the mist, teeth and eyes flashing. Iya screamed, but Ean was already moving, his foot kicking out at the spider, launching it away from them. As it did, Rye fired another arrow forwards, crippling the spider's back legs, so that it flopped onto the ground. Ean smashed his foot down upon it, killing it instantly. He was breathing hard, and Rye chuckled.

"That scared me." Ean laughed as well, seeing the funny side of the matter. Iya looked at them as though they were insane, but did not say anything for the moment. Ean glanced at her.

"Oh… you don't like spiders, do you? I remember how scared you were when you were younger." The female elf merely nodded, her face pale. She took a few deep breaths and clenched her staff.

"I'm good now." Ean nodded, and they set off through the mountains once more.

It took them approximately 2 more hours to reach the edge of the mountains, having followed the pass south the whole way. They had been attacked several more times, and Rye had been bitten by a spider, which turned out to be poisonous. Luckily, Uthar had given them several herbs to alleviate poison, sickness, and other similar ailments, and they seemed to work well. Now, they were on a slope, looking down at the marsh that stretched out before them. It was hot and humid, and they could see several clouds of flies buzzing around the small shrubs and trees. The water was brown and murky, and several creatures moved along the bushes.

"Bogwood is on the eastern side, apparently." Ean said, pointing to a cloud of smoke rising above the trees. "I bet that's it."

"Hopefully the path goes all the way through." Rye said, looking to where the road disappeared in between the thick bushes. "Or else we might end up in the swamp." They began trudging down the hill, and Ean noticed that the ground was soft, almost muddy.

"I guess they don't call it the Toadstump Marsh for nothing." He said, lifting his boots that were covered in mud from the ground. "Gross."

Inside the swamp, however, was far less pleasant. The ground seemed to suck up their feet, yanking at their heels and slowing them down considerably. To make things worse, there seemed to be an endless supply of winged toads attacking from all sides, slowly wearing down their defenses.

"What… are these… stupid things?" Rye panted as he fired an arrow into the eye of one. Iya was similarly struggling, due to the fact that few of her spells had any effect. Even her new, more powerful spells had little effect on the winged creatures, as they were surprisingly nimble. Ean, who was able to draw a larger pool of stamina from the spirits, was the only one able to keep the toads off of them.

The toads also seemed able to cast magic, as their croaking cries drained stamina from those who heard it. Iya almost passed out, and Ean had to step in for a brief moment, covering his ears. As they retreated through the swamp, heading east, Ean saw an opportunity approaching, in the form of a dead tree. The flying toads merely hovered, and could not rise far off the ground. Thus, they were vulnerable from above.

"Iya!" He shouted, slicing through a toad and flinging it aside. Rye was covering the front as they retreated, firing arrows. She looked at him wildly, totally exhausted.

"Can you cast one more big spell?" He asked. "I think we can slow them down." He briefly explained the plan to her, and then the toads attacked once more. This time, however, there was a small, gelatinous creature behind them. It was viscous and goopy, and had no discernible body to attack.

"Oh well. Hopefully this will work out. If not, I'll transform again."

"I wouldn't." cautioned Vincent. "I'm not sure how many transformations you have left in you. Two, maybe three?" Ean cursed silently. As they passed the spot where the tree was, he shouted:

"Now!" The elf leapt forward, slicing his claws into the dead wood, tearing through it quickly. However, he knew that he needed time, which is why he had asked Iya to distract them. Her blue hair flying, she had turned, summoning her green song sphere into her hand. With a shout, she pushed outward, and a blast of flames and embers shot outwards, straight into the midst of the enemies. They scattered, moving away from the blast, but the slime in the back was caught full force in the inferno, and was vaporized on the spot.

Roaring in anger, Ean tore the tree free from its stump, and the structure swayed and fell upon the path with a resounding crash, crushing a toad beneath it. The rest were unable to climb over it, and they fled back down the road, flapping their wings rapidly. Ean made sure the ones surrounding them were dead before slumping down to sit on the tree trunk. Ean and Rye did the same.

"Good one, Iya." Rye said with a tired smile. "You really saved us there."

"It was Ean's idea." She said, reaching into her pack and pulling out a medical salve. "We'd better put this on our cuts before they get infected." They did so, doing their best to wipe away the dirt and slime on their wounds. Ean bent down and inspected the flying toad that had been crushed.

"These things are really ugly, huh?" The toad, upon closer inspection, had no legs, but had stubby arms that lay limply to the side. Its eyes were bulbous, and every inch was covered in a thick gray skin with warts all oved it. The wings, shaped like a dragonfly's, were closed, and a blue blood was leaking onto the ground.

"You said it." Rye said. "I think we'll be safe for a bit, but we should get moving soon. Bogwood can't be more than three or four miles. I think I saw a sign back there." He gestured behind the fallen tree trunk. With a sigh, Ean heaved himself to his feet.

"We really need another member in the party, to help watch our backs."

"Probably a good idea. But who?" Rye said.

"Someone we trust, for starters." Iya said. "And we should all be in agreement about taking them along. Maybe another magician would be helpful." Ean nodded.

"Agreed. Well, I suppose we can look around in Bogwood. We should probably go now, before any more of them come back." The others nodded and got to their feet. Tired, covered in slime and blood, the three of them were determined to reach their goal.

They managed to put some distance between themselves and the frogs, but another complication had arisen. The last few miles of swamp had no discernible path, and they had to stumble along a maze of rope bridges and small islands that seemed slightly randomized.

"What," Iya asked. "Is the point of something like this?" She was sweaty and slightly irritable, and Ean understood the feeling quite well.

"I'm not sure. Keeping people out, maybe? They are witches, after all." They had no choice but to keep going, working their way past dead ends and loops that seemed to serve no purpose. They had just reached another dead end when Ean spotted something, lying among the weeds near the edge of the swampy water.

"What's this?" He said, pulling the thin golden rod upwards. It had an end shaped like a star, and Iya looked at it curiously.

"It looks magical, but what's it doing out here?" The elf shrugged.

"I guess we should take it, then? It might come in handy later." He handed it to Iya, who could get the most use out of it, and she stowed it in her pack. They continued onwards, slogging through the mud and knee-high weeds. The swamp also had an unpleasant smell, one that lingered on the edge of their senses, never directly in front of them.

"You know… Had I known we would be doing this, I might have stayed in Ryva." Rye panted, and Ean laughed.

"The epic adventure not living up to your expectations?"

"To be honest? Not at the moment." Behind them, Iya smiled slightly at the friendly banter between the elf and man.

I'm glad they're getting along. I wish there was another female in the party, though. She kept walking, focused on the conversation between the two ahead of her, which was mostly focused on how terrible the swamp was. The complaints grew steadily more outrageous and humorous, and as a result, Iya nearly missed the small cave that jutted out of the ground to one side, covered in weeds and other plants.

"Hold on, guys. There's something here." The others turned around to see her pushing the foliage aside to reveal a small, circular cave. It stood maybe 5 or 6 feet tall, and Iya ducked her head inside to see another teleporter room.

"Well, at least we don't have to walk all the way back." Rye said with a grin. Iya returned the smile, relieved at the idea of being able to teleport back to Thais.

"It says here we can only teleport to the mountains, which we haven't activated yet, and the Green Weed Plains. I guess that's okay." Ean said, reading the piece of paper. "Come back later, then?" The others nodded, and they exited the cave, setting off through the swamp again. This time, however, the road appeared once more, and they could see the smoke from the village directly ahead of them, through the trees. Rye let out a tired laugh.

"Well, at least we made it."

"Don't jinx-" Ean began, but the flying toads exploded from the bushes and attacked. This time, the three travelers ran as fast as they could up the path, sprinting towards the safety to the village. It was still half a mile off, and they stumbled several times as the swamp did its best to trip them. As a result, their lower halves were covered in slime and mud. As they got closer, Ean could see a clearing with houses in it, and the toads began to retreat once more, evidently wary of approaching the village.

The three stumbled into the clearing, exhausted and covered in muck. The witch nearby looked up from her pot hung over a fire and cackled with laughter.

"Looks like the swamp got you, then? Ha!"