It couldn't be said that anything really changed between the two adolescents. Castellar continued to lead the girls through the wilderness with a stern command. Ferris continued to snipe at him whenever she found the chance. They jumped into their daily, verbal spars without restraint.
Though, if there was one difference, it was that they regarded each other with a little more patience. Castellar didn't complain as often when they needed to slow down or stop for something to eat. Ferris didn't look for as many reasons to fight the young skeleton as she had before. Neither was as quick to anger as they'd had been.
This made their two-day march away from the miners' village the most peaceful they'd had on their journey. True, they still had to be vigilant, but the dangers that chased after them seemed to have finally lost their scent—for a little while at least. Changing the pattern of their movements and keeping to the cover of trees seemed to be working. They'd even made up a means to communicate despite their gaping paces.
The trio had begun moving back to a higher altitude. Although it was late summer, there was a small chill that tried to gnaw at them through their cloaks. Whether it was because they were so far up in the mountains or so close to Icefield was hard to say. Probably both, Ferris mused, pulling her collar a little more snuggly around her neck.
She looked down their current incline, stopping to search the unseen path behind her with her eyes. Soon enough, she located Castellar and Ciara deep within the lush foliage. From this distance, it was hard to see how they were doing, but Ferris was glad that she could see them at all. The long, barer sections of land made it difficult to stay within a close enough range to do so without potentially raising suspicion from unwanted gazes.
There was also enough space between them for pair to catch up a bit, so she took a small break to drink in the rest of the scenery. The girl was certain that they had to be far along Mt. Ebott's slopes. Now, standing near the heart of the Two Kingdoms... The horizon was vast. Even knowing her circumstances, it felt like the first taste of true freedom Ferris has experienced in a long time.
She thought she could see a white-capped plateau just above the tree-line: That had to be Icefield. From what Castellar had told her, besides the elevation, the monsters that lived there used the magic in the area to keep it cold year-round. The flattened peak wasn't a great ways off, but she didn't expect them to reach it before dark.
After double-checking the skies, the girl waited a little longer to talk to Castellar about their next action. He shrugged it off. "If we're this close, it would be better to keep going," he said, his shoulders dipping in noticeable relief, "This is our final sprint; no sense in lagging now."
Ciara moved over to Ferris' side, hugging her big sister at the waist. Ferris gave the child a reassuring pat, stroking her hair. She wasn't looking forward to the sleepless night ahead. Still, maybe it was best to arrive at Icefield under the cover of darkness, when there were less people to deal with. "Should I take my mask back?"
Castellar considered it for a moment, "Not yet. We'll regroup a little further on."
With that, their trek resumed with Ferris again moving several steps ahead of the other two. She burned the image of the plateau into her head and noted the sun's position. If it could be helped, she was determined not to stray from the path. While her legs ached, the knowledge that main bulk of their travels were soon over encouraged her to bear through her fatigue.
She was as nervous as Ciara about moving through a territory where humans were hated; however, Ferris also reminded herself that it wouldn't be for long and they would return to neutral grounds when they reached the Boroughs. She considered not for the first time how she and Ciara might pave out their futures if she failed to become a mage. The bounty of wild, magical herbs that grew at her feet made her hopeful that she could follow in their parents' steps.
For so long, the elder sister had done all she could to keep them both alive. Maybe now, she and Ciara could finally start to live again.
As she allowed herself to daydream just a bit, the sun fell faster than expected. The way became clearer and a paper-thin layer of frost suddenly began to coat the forest floor. Ferris drew her hood further around her face and was a little more careful with her steps. When it was almost completely dark, she mimicked a robin's whistle. After a few tries, she heard a whistle back; Castellar alerting her that her signal was received. It was shortly followed by a second, longer whistle that meant to her to stop. She waited under the cover of a nearby tree.
Dogs barked from somewhere afar. They could've been from Icefield or maybe they were wild dogs or wolves. The thought of the latter made her bristle. There were some areas, particularly after the fires, where wolves had gotten bolder. A lack of food pushed them to explore farms and villages, and many children were targeted in place of their usual prey. Ferris pulled out her dagger, just in case. For once, she was glad Ciara was by Castellar's side instead of her own.
She glanced into the branches over her head. She only had to wait a few minutes, but maybe it was best to climb up? If nothing happened, she might still satisfy her curiosity by catching a closer glimpse of Icefield.
Ferris shook her head at herself. No, if Castellar and Ciara couldn't spot her easily, one would get angry and the other would panic. This wasn't the time for an unnecessary fright. Where she stood wasn't exactly obvious, but it wasn't completely hidden either. Anyone looking would see her and one step placed her firmly back out into the open.
The quiet returned. A part of her wanted to keep whistling so the two might find her all the faster; however, that came with risks. Her mimicry wasn't perfect and, the later it got, the more obvious any call would be. She might invite trouble. Instead, she bit the inside of her cheek and directed her restlessness to a loose pebble—rolling it under her foot.
From the corner of her vision, a sudden flash of white darted through the bare undergrowth. Ferris spun on her heel and readied her weapon. Nothing… not a sound. Meanwhile, she was all too aware of the soft crunch of dry vegetation beneath her boots. It might as well have been a ghost—which, she hoped not, given how real she knew they truly were.
A familiar flash of red—
Ferris threw her body to the earth just as a stripe of golden energy followed after it. The attack was silent: The impact was not. It slammed into the tree that had shielded her, rattling it enough to somewhat uproot it and leave it at a slant. The countless cries of birds and other forest animals took to the air as they broke from their sleep and fled from the chaos.
There was something stuck in the bark. The girl looked back up from her position on the ground to watch a magic arrow dissolve in a twinkle of sparks. The only evidence of its presence left was a palm-sized burn mark in the wood.
Her assailant didn't even try to hide himself. A man's loud, deep laugh rippled over the area, "Nice! Very nice! I was wondering what the new blood would be like!"
Ferris twisted her body around to face him. It would've been difficult to distinguish the man in the dark were it not for the glowing bow in his hand. Like Castellar's, it was made from magic, but this one was a heavy-looking recurve and had a slight yellow aura that matched the arrow's. While not what one often described as 'old,' he was nevertheless in the latter half of his years. A touch of grey freckled through his brown hair.
Despite this, his golden eyes were as feisty as a brash young man's and as fierce as a lion's. He wore a simple, earthy tunic under light, leather chest armor. He was on the shorter side and somewhat stout, but his shape did nothing to hide the long-mastered strength the mage carried himself with. A long scar that ran horizontally across the bridge of his nose was also evidence to his veteran status. Moreover, He was undeniably human.
"What a find! You seers really are a special sort…" he continued with another guffaw, "Since you can see my movements in-advance, it's hard to hit you. And since only your type can track that particular spell, how am I supposed to cancel it out?"
His terrifying strike didn't match the rowdy, yet playful persona he carried himself with. It honestly worried her more that he wasn't taking it seriously—as if it was all meant in jest. Ferris' hood had fallen back and she pulled it over her head once again as she rose to her feet.
"Oh no—no point in hiding those rubies from me, kiddo! I've already seen 'em. Now, quit acting shy and introduce yourself properly."
She glowered, saying nothing as she held her ground. The mage wasn't fazed by her stubbornness. If anything, he seemed pleased.
A light flickered somewhere behind him. "Ferris!"
It was Castellar, Ciara running a couple meters behind him. He had his own bow drawn in his hands, skidding to a halt and firing it at the man as soon as he arrived to the scene. However, with a speed that Ferris could barely keep with, the latter pulled back his bow to and fired a much larger blast. The bolt electrified the air and devouring Castellar's arrow. The young skeleton barely had enough time to manifest his shield to defend himself and, even then, was forced to fall back from the sheer power behind the attack.
As he stared Castellar down, the mage's smile no longer reached his eyes. "We're starting to get really tired of your stunts here, you know that, boy? And unlike the others, I'm not so forgiving."
With his back turned to her, Ferris darted away, tiring to rejoin the others by weaving through the trees in a wide circle. The dogs had started barking again. Maybe they wouldn't have to beat him. They were making enough noise that if there was anything—a dog, a wolf, a sentry—nearby, they might hear it and come running. Then she, Ciara, and Castellar could escape as the multiple enemies fought each other.
There was a sharp pain in her left calf. Ferris collapsed with a mute cry, her teeth clacking together as she hit the dirt once more. She quickly glanced at her leg: A magic bullet had pierced it.
A genuine look of pity crossed the veteran mage's face as he lowered his hand. "If I thought I could talk you down, I wouldn't have to go this far. Don't try running and don't try to fight me."
A pattern of shimmering bones flew in his direction. The mage side-eyed the string of magic before lunging away in a deft roll. In the process of that swift movement, he charged up his counterattack: Landing in a crouch, he launched the biggest blast that Ferris has seen yet. She screamed as the ground erupted around Castellar and Ciara, unable to see if they'd avoided getting hit.
Finishing his sprint to her side, the man then wrapped a thick arm around Ferris' waist to carry her like a sack of flour. She recoiled at his grasp, swinging the dagger still clenched tightly in her fist. He hadn't noticed the small blade, so she managed to catch him off-guard enough to carve a long cut into the side of his face. A crimson line formed close to his eye, running up from his cheekbone to his temple, and began to drip.
He grabbed her wrist and gave it a harsh jerk, pain racing through her limb as she was forced to drop the weapon. Ferris kicked, stomped, shoved—fought like a wild animal to break free only for a second strike to land below her chin and make the world completely dark.