Chapter 5 - Moonrise Canyon (Jacob)
Jacob had a spring to his step as hopped along the road. A gentle breeze made flowers sway while waves of sunlight rolled over the blades of grass. The weather was perfect for his and Leon's first adventure, and their second chance to get into the guild.
"This'll be easy!" Jacob cheered. "We'll be there and back just in time for a nice dessert, and a warm bed! Ooh, maybe a nice dessert in a warm bed!"
There was a short pause, then Leon opened his mouth to speak–
"Whoa, look at that!" Jacob pointed at an old, crumbly stone fort at the top of a small hill He scurried up the slope, then climbed onto a worn battlement that sank halfway into the ground. From there, he had an even better view of the ruins.
"Check this out! Wouldn't it be cool to look around in a place like this?" Jacob turned around, only to realize Leon wasn't beside him.
"Huh?" He cupped his hands around his mouth. "Leon? Where are you?"
"I'm coming," Leon answered half-heartedly. A moment later he walked up the slope, looking gloomy with his tail dragging behind him. "Don't run too far ahead, alright?"
"I didn't, I thought you were…" Jacob jumped off the stone pillar. "What's wrong?"
"I'm uh, fine," Leon answered. "I just wish we didn't have to, you know. Jump through these extra hoops."
"Yeah, I get it. But hey, this'll be fun!" Jacob ran a quick lap around his brother. "Say, you wanna race to the canyon?"
Leon shook his head."We should save our energy."
"Oh, okay," Jacob replied flatly. They walked along in silence for about half a minute, then Jacob spoke up again. "Hey, want to hear a joke?"
"…Yeah."
"One time," Jacob began, "there was this mon, a Swirlix, who said to his dad, 'I want some birthday cake today!' So then his dad gave him a funny look, and said, 'but son, it isn't your birthday today.' And then Swirlix said, 'the cake won't know that!'"
"Heh." Leon's mouth barely twitched.
Jacob frowned. "Hey, Leon? What's wrong?"
"Nothing, just trying to focus."
"Nah, something else is going on." Jacob patted Leon on the back. "Come on, bro, tell me."
They stopped walking. Leon let out a heavy sigh. "Sorry. It's just that… I don't like this."
"Oh, yeah, I know," Jacob nodded. "You already told me that. But at least we're helping someone–"
"Naw," Leon cut him off. "That's not it. We're doing someone's dirty work."
"Wha…?" Jacob's face scrunched up in confusion. "What are you talking about?"
"Think about it. That Corvo guy said someone stole from him. So why does he ask us– two guys he found in an alley– instead of, you know, the police?"
Jacob's flame dimmed as Leon's question weighed on him. "Umm, maybe he was just… in a hurry, and we were closer?" Though he was having trouble believing his own flimsy reasoning. "Nevermind, that doesn't make sense."
"I don't know what that Corvo guy is up to," Leon went on, "but it's raising red flags for me. In any case, it sounds like we're gonna be up against a thief. We better be careful."
The two kept walking, and Jacob's once energetic pace slowed to a cautious crawl beside Leon. As he tried wrapping his mind around what they were getting themselves into, a few questions bubbled up. He spoke one aloud.
"If this whole thing is really that shady, then… do you think Corvo is telling the truth? Like, will he actually give us that treasure if we get him his stuff back?"
"I don't know," Leon answered. "To be honest, I'm not sure if he's right about the guild wanting treasure, either."
That dimmed Jacob's confidence even more, and his tail drooped to match it. "So like, if we're doing something… bad, and it might not even work, why'd we agree to it?"
Leon glanced away from Jacob for a moment. "Cuz it's probably the only chance we got." He turned back to his brother. "I didn't want to agree to it. If I had it my way, we would've found some other way to deal with this. But, we're here now. Might as well see it through."
Jacob didn't have anything to add. He and Leon continued walking north, though Jacob had much less pep to his step. A solemn silence wedged itself between him and his brother, clouding his confidence even more. To fill the gap, he reached into his bag and pulled out his pocket watch, listening to its consistent, stable rhythm. In his head he idly counted steps and minutes, losing track and starting over many times.
The sun gradually sailed closer to the edge of the sky. A warm, orange hue shaded the landscape as evening drew closer. They reached the top of a hill, and Leon spoke up.
"Hey, what's that?" He put a hand over his eyes and stared ahead.
Jacob looked up and squinted. "Is that… a pair of old trees, wrapping around each other?"
The two walked closer, bringing the strange trees into focus.
"Wait a sec," Leon said. "It's not two trees– it's one big tree that split in half!"
Jacob walked to the side, observing it from another angle. He saw warped wood, charred and carved by zig-zag patterns. "Struck by lightning!" he exclaimed. "That's gotta be it!" The Charmander's heartbeat quickened and his flame brightened. Despite his mood dipping earlier, he couldn't deny how exciting this was. He and Leon hurried ahead toward the willow tree.
"Corvo said we'd find the canyon around here," Leon recalled.
"Right! So," Jacob glanced around. To the left was a wide, rolling hill. To the right, beyond the tree, was a dense overgrowth of bushes and brambles. And ahead of them the path bent slightly and continued, northwest. " …Uh, where's the canyon?"
"I dunno. All he said was 'at the tree,'" Leon said, sounding irritated. "You'd think he'd be a little more specific."
"Um," Jacob rubbed his chin. "Maybe we have toooooo…" Though he soon ran out of breath. "Okay, I have no idea."
Leon glanced at the darkening sky, looking anxious. "Well we can't waste time sitting around. Let's spread out a bit, we gotta–"
"Hold," a deep voice called out to them. Up ahead was a tall, bladed, maroon-colored mon, approaching them from the north side of the road.
"Hold?" Jacob repeated. "Hold what?" He looked at his pocket watch, still in his hand.
"He means 'don't move,'" Leon explained, tensing up.
The Bisharp's metal plates clattered as he walked toward the two, staring down Jacob with a sinister, piercing gaze. Upon his chest was a piece of metal not naturally a part of his body: a badge. "Afternoon… travelers," he stopped. "Out for a walk? Or heading north?"
"Hello officer," Leon replied. "My brother and I are just having a look around."
"Do you know if there are any canyons around here?" Jacob asked. "We're trying to find one."
"I do not," Bisharp answered shortly. "But I would like to know, as well. As I understand it, there is one near this road that serves as a popular hiding spot… for criminals."
Jacob's pulse quickened and he traded looks with his brother.
"So, you're on patrol for outlaws?" Leon asked.
"Outlaws, thugs, law-breakers, whatever you wish to call them." His gaze bore down on them, and his helmet's blade flashed in the evening sun. "Would you two happen to know anything about them?"
"No sir," Leon answered.
"Ah, actually," Jacob spoke up, "we might be looking for someone." Before he could react to Leon's nervous glance at him, Bisharp addressed Jacob.
"You might be looking for someone? And who would that be?"
"Well like," Jacob held out his hands, letting his watch dangle from its chain. "We have this friend, I mean, not actually a friend, we just met the guy– but he says someone stole from him, and he wanted our help getting it back. I mean, he could've gone to the police but he asked us, don't know why, so now we're looking for–"
"T-that's enough, Jacob!" Leon cut in.
Though it took him a second, a stone dropped in the pit of Jacob's stomach. He screwed up, didn't he? He made him and Leon look super suspicious just now. His body tensed up and his jaw locked. His gaze was glued to the menacing Bisharp in front of him, like feral prey caught in the open.
Gently, Leon pulled Jacob back. "We'll just be on our way now," he said.
"So soon?" Bisharp narrowed his eyes. "Yet it sounds like you know something I should, and have a guilty conscience."
"Guilty con–" Jacob repeated, and his eyes widened as his senses caught up with him. He held up his hands defensively. "No, no! It's not like that!" The chain of his watch rattled.
"If that is the case, then you will not mind if I search your items, and take you to my precinct for questioning." Bisharp traced his eyes over him. "Will you?"
Not knowing how to answer, Jacob looked to Leon. After a few seconds, his brother spoke. "We don't have time, sir. We're in a hurry. It's a long story–"
"Textbook excuses," Bisharp interrupted, raising his bladed arm. "We can do this the easy way, or the hard way. The next move is yours."
Jacob took a step back, his jaw hanging open. "Wha–" This was exactly what Leon was warning him about, wasn't it? "W-we didn't even do anything!"
"You certainly won't anymore." Bisharp raised his left arm, blade flashing in the sunlight as he began walking toward him.
A jolt shook Jacob to his core, as if his heart skipped a beat. This was nothing like how he imagined it. This was supposed to be an exciting adventure, and now they were going to get arrested?
The Bisharp moved faster, and Jacob froze…
But then something blue blurred past him– Leon bolted at Bisharp, lunging towards his ankles. With a swift tackle he tripped the officer, forcing him to fall facefirst.
Bisharp crashed into the dirt path, then propped himself up. "Assault!" he bellowed.
"I'm not gonna let you hurt him!" Leon exclaimed. "Threatening a kid– what the hell is wrong with you?!"
A part of Jacob wanted to argue that he wasn't a kid, but there were more important things happening– Bisharp kicked Leon away. His brother rolled back onto his feet, but soon jumped aside as their attacker leaped at him with his blades flashing.
The ground where Leon stood a second ago erupted with dirt as Metal Claws struck the soil. Leon strafed and blasted back with Water Gun.
Bisharp held up his right arm, splitting Leon's stream with his blade until the torrent stopped. He then pivoted, turning towards Jacob again with his arm raised.
Jacob's heart hammered against his chest. His tail brightened and his body temperature rose, cooking up an Ember to defend himself… But as Bisharp ran toward him, his courage faltered and his legs wobbled. When he opened his mouth, only a few scattered fire flakes flew out, burning into nothing. His eyes squeezed shut…
Crunch!
A roar of pain followed, and Jacob forced his eyes open.
Leon's jaws locked around Bisharp's arm, teeth grinding against metal.
"Argh, off!" Bisharp yelled, flailing Leon up and down.
Leon hissed some kind of swear through his clenched teeth, tightening his jaw even as the officer tried to shake him off.
With his free hand Bisharp jabbed at Leon, leaving bruises over his blue scales and coaxing pained grunts out of him.
"L-Leon!" Jacob cried out, wanting to help but paralyzed by fear.
Finally Bisharp spun around, hurling the Totodile off of his arm. Leon spiraled through the air, then crashed into the fractured willow tree, falling between its two halves after the impact.
Fear shot down Jacob's spine like a cold chill… then it burst upwards, turning into something hot– anger. His hands curled into fists, and without thinking he threw his arms back and sprinted ahead.
As the officer looked back, Jacob gulped a deep breath, energizing his tailflame. He leaped forward, twisting his body around–
Fwosh!
Bisharp turned just in time for Jacob's flaming tail to collide with his face. As Jacob fell and awkwardly rolled to his feet, Bisharp clutched his head and stumbled away, groaning from his blistering burn.
"Jacob!" Leon hollered.
"I'm okay!" he answered, though he didn't dare take his eyes off of their foe. He couldn't believe he just did that!
"Over here," Leon urged. "Now!"
Afraid as he was, Jacob walked backwards toward Leon's voice, never tearing his gaze away from the threat. Bisharp slowly moved his hand away from his face, glaring at Jacob with an even more sinister stare.
Jacob's inner-flame burned hotter than ever. His mouth glowed, intense heat welled in his chest as he got ready to fire… But it grew too intense– his inner flame roasted itself. A moment later he hacked up blackened fumes, coating Bisharp in a Smokescreen.
"Ack!" Jacob fell back and scrambled away, afraid of getting grabbed. A few hurried steps later and he reached Leon, who pulled him into the split tree.
"Hang on!" Leon warned as they plummeted into a pit, and a loud thunk! sounded off as everything went dark.
Jacob squeezed his eyes shut. Two noises competed for his attention: his hammering heartbeat, and a rush of panicked thoughts. Were they outlaws now? Would they be hunted? A half-minute passed as he steadied his breathing, slowly calming himself. One thing at a time. One thing at a time…
"That was really close," Leon whispered.
At the sound of his brother's voice, Jacob opened his eyes, spotting Leon. He was still here. They were okay. He let go of a deep breath.
"Are you hurt?" Leon asked. "I heard you coughing."
Jacob shook his head. "I-I'm fine. I think." He glanced around, his tailflame providing a little bit of light. All around them was soil and roots, like a digger's burrow. Straight ahead was a tunnel with a small light at the end. "W-where are we, anyway?"
"Some kind of secret passage, I think," Leon answered. "I found a trap door in the middle of that tree. That must've been what Corvo meant."
"Secret passage, huh?" Though Jacob was too shaken to feel any excitement. While he wasn't panicked anymore, he couldn't take his mind off of that close-encounter they just had. "Why did that Bisharp go off on us like that?"
"I have no idea," Leon answered. "Maybe we were a little suspicious, but… he was way out of line. And he talked kinda weird, too."
"Is he gonna find us?" Jacob asked, his voice cracking. "Gah, this is my fault! I should've kept my mouth shut–"
"Hey. Hey." Leon spoke softly. "It's not your fault. We didn't know that guy was crazy. And if he was looking for us, he would've found us by now. We're safe."
Jacob took a moment to let that sink in. He blew out another sigh, dimming his flame. "For now, I guess. So, is this what you meant? About doing 'dirty-work'?"
Leon lowered his head. "I've gotta be honest, this is actually worse than what I imagined. I… wish I said 'no' to all this. I never wanted to put you in danger." He turned away, like he couldn't stand to look at him.
Jacob's face fell as he caught his brother's contagious sadness. Out of habit he opened his pocket watch– pop– then brought his tail around to read its face. It was just about fifteen minutes before seven o' clock. That gave them about four hours to find the Axew, head back, and wrap up this trip. And after all that, would it really work out in the end?
…Well, one thing was for sure. They ought to make the best of it.
Jacob felt a flash of inspiration and he stood up. "Hey, Leon?"
His brother gave him a curious look. "Yeah?"
"I dunno what's gonna happen next, but we've already made it this far, right? You know what they say, 'bad ideas lead to good stories.'"
Leon blinked. "I don't think anyone says that."
"Well I do!" Jacob proclaimed. "Starting now! And if we're going down, then let's finish this so we have a good story to tell in jail!"
Leon's eyes widened. "Jail?" he repeated.
"Yeah! If we can't get in the guild, then we'll make the toughest prison gang anyone's ever seen!" Jacob flexed his arms and his tailflame flared, though he couldn't hold back his laughter.
Leon cracked a smile. "Oh yeah, Mom and Dad will be really proud of us then." And he joined in with his own chuckling.
"Hah!" Jacob pointed ahead. "That guy said criminals hide out in the canyon, right? Let's go make an outlaw base!"
Leon stood up. "Sounds good. Lead on, gangster."
Jacob laughed even more giddily and jogged ahead, Leon by his side. Their footsteps echoed along with the sound of dripping water. Soon the dripping turned into a continuous hum of flowing water, like a river. The light ahead grew larger as they approached the exit.
Once Jacob stepped outside, his jaw hung open.
"Woah…"
Before them was a wide and open ravine, with beige stone walls carved from an ancient river. That river flowed gently through the middle, and its rippling water reflected the evening sky, taking on the color of raspberry lemonade. Early starlight beamed off the surface of the water, projecting rippling reflections off the smooth rocks.
Soft green moss grew around the edges of the water, and wildflowers bloomed on the ridges of canyon walls. At the top of the ridge laid a dense foliage that blocked the view of the gulch from any onlookers who would be up on the plains above.
"This is… beautiful!" Leon said, captivated. They looked at each other. "If we weren't busy, I'd honestly want to camp out here tonight."
"That'd be really fun! But yeah, we gotta find that Axew guy. This place is pretty big, you wanna split up?"
Leon shook his head. "Naw, we better stick together. No telling what we might find out here."
Jacob glanced around. The canyon seemed so peaceful, it was honestly hard to imagine ferals or outlaws lurking nearby.
"I think we should still spread out a little bit," Jacob suggested. "Cover more ground."
Leon's mouth curled a bit and he shrugged. "Alright. But stay in sight, okay?"
"Okay!" Jacob replied, giving a thumbs-up.
Leon approached the water. He looked over his shoulder at Jacob, giving a small smile before lowering himself in. He swam across, clambering onto another rock path on the right side of the stream.
Jacob, meanwhile, explored the left side. He took his time admiring the scenery: smooth rock formations, purple canyon flowers, marooned pieces of driftwood. He looked into small crevices, under rocks, and anywhere else he could stick his face in. Though some time had passed and he hadn't found any other mons.
"Any luck?" Leon called from the other side. He had climbed up a short ridge, glancing around from its height.
"Not yet!" Jacob replied.
As he kept searching, he daydreamed about getting back to Wolfhaven and joining the guild. Would they make it back in time for a meal? Did they actually have a meal-in-bed service, like he thought of earlier? At that thought Jacob's stomach rumbled lightly.
"Ugh," he put a hand over his belly. "We missed lunch, didn't we?"
He pushed on upstream, rounding a corner. Past the rocky bend he found a section where the river split into two. As if by luck, Jacob spotted a bush in an outcrop between the two streams. It had deep green leaves with blue, round berries.
He hurried over, thankful for the Oran bush's hardiness and ability to grow just about anywhere. The biggest berry caught his attention, and Jacob plucked it with ease. With a satisfying crunch! juice flowed onto his tongue.
"Found shum Oransh!" he called to Leon with his mouth full.
"Alright," Leon called. "I'll need a minute, gotta climb back down."
Jacob finished eating the first one in two more bites. Then he reached for a second and ate it as well. Then a third… But he saw another hand to his right also reaching for it.
"Oh, sorry," Jacob said. "You can have it."
"Nah, it's okay," said the other. "Help yourself, stranger. I've got plenty."
Wait a sec, who was Jacob talking to anyway?
He looked up and saw a grayish-green face with red eyes, two tusks sticking out of his mouth, and a large fin atop his head. Jacob blinked– was this really…?
"A-axew…!" he exclaimed.
"Um, yeah?" the dragon stated, puzzled. "That's what I am."
"Leon," Jacob turned and shouted, "I found him!"
"Found– oh, shoot!" The dragon dropped whatever berries he carried and turned tail, running away.
Jacob stepped to give chase–
Splash!
–but turned around, spotting Leon as he dove into the water. His brother breached the surface of the river, and swiftly swam with the current.
"Let's go!" Leon called from the stream.
Jacob started running as Leon paddled through the river beside him. He dashed his way through the zig-zagging canyon path, in hot pursuit of the Axew. Even though his heart was beating faster, he couldn't help but feel giddy. "We're doing this," he said, chuckling excitedly. "We're really doing this!"
"Stay focused!" Leon advised. Between the current and his swimming skills, he caught up beside the Axew within seconds. "We can make this easy– hand over the bottle!"
"Sorry, dunno what you're hollerin' about!" Axew called back.
"Have it your way!" Leon opened his maw, hosing down the Axew with a forceful Water Gun. The dragon stumbled closer to the wall as Leon's jet pushed him, but he leaped ahead and shot back with a purple and yellow fireball.
The Dragon Rage didn't hit Leon– it struck the water in front of him, and the river hissed as a geyser of steam erupted ahead of the Totodile.
"Leon!" Jacob called as his brother vanished in the sudden mist. "Two can play at that game!" Once again Jacob heated up and cooked his inner-flame, spitting out a Smokescreen. The smoke ball popped on the ground ahead of Axew, billowing into a big, dark cloud. But the dragon ran through anyway, not hesitating or even slowing down.
So Jacob ran ahead– he couldn't lose sight of Axew! Just as he set foot in his own smoke cloud he spotted a flashing spark ahead, along with the sound of scraping stones. The ground began to rumble, and rock fragments rained down.
"What the–!?" Jacob jumped back as a boulder crashed in front of him, pelting him with shattered pebbles. "How'd he do that?!"
"Rockfall!" Leon exclaimed, clambering back onto land. "He must've attacked some slate on the wall!"
Before Jacob could utter another sound another big rock plummeted and rattled the ground, forcing him further back. "Yikes!"
"Just wait for it to stop," Leon cautioned. "It won't last long."
Just as Leon said, the rockfall petered out after a few seconds. The smoke cloud dissipated too, along with the steam mist from earlier.
Jacob pointed ahead. "Look, there he is!"
The Axew was running up a slope that led into a tunnel. He turned around and called out. "C'mon! You want breakfast, you gotta catch it!"
Jacob made a puzzled face. "It's time for dinner, not breakfast…" He shook his head. "But that's not gonna stop us!"
"Wait," Leon put a hand on Jacob's shoulder.
"But he's gonna get away!" Jacob threw his hands up.
"No, don'tcha see?" Leon pointed ahead, tracing his finger up to the tunnel. "Wherever he's going, he's gonna have an advantage. A trap, or maybe backup."
"Oh." Jacob put a hand to his chin. That definitely made things trickier. If Axew juked them on-the-fly like that, who knew what he could do when he had time to set something up. "But… we can't just give up now!"
"Of course not," Leon replied. "We gotta be careful, though. I'll go first– watch my back."
Jacob nodded, and followed Leon as he led the way down the path and up the slope. All the while, his heart beat faster than ever. His belly tingled as if it was full of Butterfree, and his tail was so bright it was like daylight in the tunnel. Despite the circumstances, he was having fun. But more importantly, he was in this with his brother. For good, or bad.
"Jacob," Leon glanced back at him. "Shoot a Smokescreen to the top, it'll cover us."
"You got it!" Once again he spat out a smoke bomb, blooming a dark cloud at the end of the tunnel. This was it– the stage was set for the climactic battle of their first adventure. What kind of ambush would Jacob and Leon face?
Only one way to find out.
"Go go go!" Leon urged, and they ran together, blitzing up the tunnel and into their smoke cloud. With no resistance the two burst through to the other side.
They arrived at a piece of wide, flat ground, halfway up the gorge. On the other side there was a tent set up near the canyon wall. Between them and the tent was a circle of rocks containing a pyramid of sticks. To the left was another stone wall, stretching higher than they could climb. And to the right was a cliffside with a view of the river below. A stack of firewood laid nearby, and small rocks were scattered across the plateau.
"He's gotta be in that tent," Jacob said.
As if on cue the the tent flap opened–
"Watch out!" Leon urged.
Whoosh!
Jacob ducked beside Leon as something flew past their heads. "Whoa!"
"Nice try," Leon called. "But you're cornered. Come on out!"
The tent flap opened again, and a pair of mons stepped out. On the right was the Axew from before, his back hunched and tusks freshly sharpened. And on the left was a brown, stocky mon with a white head… Wait a second.
Jacob did a double take, and his jaw dropped.
"William?!" Despite the confusion, his heart leaped.
"You two?" William remarked.
A whirring sound drew the brothers' attention to their right– William's Bonemerang sailed around in an arc, coming back for him to snatch it out of the air.
"What brings you out here, of all places?" William asked.
"I could ask you the exact same thing!" Leon replied.
"Hold up," Axew spoke. "You know these fellows?"
"Somewhat, yes. I think we can talk them down." He looked back toward the brothers and lowered his club. "Why are you hunting Andrew?" he asked calmly.
"Long story," Leon sighed, shaking his head. "We need something to get into the guild, and this guy called Corvo made a deal with us. He said he'd help us if we get something for him," he pointed at the Axew. "Something that he apparently stole."
"That snake again?" The Axew, Andrew, spat. "Shoulda known. If you two weren't chasin' me, I'd feel sorry for ya."
"So, did you actually steal something?" Jacob asked.
"It's… complicated," Andrew answered. "Kinduva pickle, this whole mess."
"What exactly is your deal with Corvo?" William asked.
"He said if we show them treasure," Jacob replied, "then the guild guys would be impressed and let us in! He has treasure, said he'd give it to us if we got some kinda bottle back for him."
"And we need to do it by tonight," Leon added, "because it's the last day that the guild is taking recruits."
"What did you take, anyway…?" Jacob wondered out loud.
Andrew glanced back at his tent. "It's… something for my Pa."
"Your dad?" Leon asked.
"How did you two meet, anyway?" Jacob added "Were you both in Wolfhaven?"
"It seems we all have plenty of questions," William replied. "Perhaps we should take things from the top. Come, why don't we all sit down and discuss this civilly?"
Leon leaned toward Jacob. "What time is it?" he asked quietly.
Jacob pulled out his watch and popped it open.
"…Seven."
Leon shrugged. "I guess we have time?"
Jacob's surging adrenaline gave him whiplash. They were about to fight, but now they were just gonna talk things out? Confused as he was, he didn't mind it that much, especially since they somehow got to see William again. It just felt… weird. He didn't think that their 'climactic battle' would end like this.
"Before you arrived," William began, "I was trying to light this kindling." He kneeled down beside the yet-to-be-lit campfire. "But I've had no such luck. So, Jacob? If you'd be so kind?"
Jacob gave him a warm smile. "Okay."
He warmed himself up and approached the wood. After a quick breath he exhaled some embers onto the logs. The wood caught fire, and with a few more embers it steadily grew into a healthy flame. They all sat down by the growing fire, taking in its warmth. Jacob relaxed, easing his shoulders.
"Phew, feels good to be off my feet," Jacob remarked.
"And it feels good to warm up," William added. "Thank you. So, let me start from the beginning."