The forest was completely quiet. Only the sound of leaves creaking under Sarah and Erin’s boots came to disturb the near-absolute silence of the Inner Ring. Whenever they took a light break, Erin could hear her own heart lightly thumping in her chest, as well as the sound of her breathing.

The world around them was utterly still, and, not for the first time, Erin wondered how the giant creatures and monsters that called this part of the forest home managed to move around with nary a sound.

Maybe they had some sort of magical ability that helped lessen the sounds they made, just like the special array Erin had cast around Sarah and herself. Or maybe the forest itself acted as a sound dampener, preventing even the loudest noises to carry in the distance. Erin believed that second theory to be more plausible, but that didn’t mean she would consider canceling her array anytime soon. It was simply too dangerous.

Unfortunately, sound was far from their biggest problem. Light was extremely scarce, and, had this been Erin’s first expedition into the Inner Ring, she would have been tempted to believe that there was something wrong with her watch. A thick black fog permeated the air, which made it seem like the world surrounding them slowly faded into an inscrutable void, from which no light escaped.

As they trudged through the darkness, Erin kept a trained eye on the trees around them. Here and there, she would occasionally find a deep cut in the bark of a tree, indicating a “safe” path through the Inner Ring.

Erin knew that straying from that path would have been suicide. Occasionally, Erin would spot strange plants in the distance, on the side of the path they followed. Exotic looking vines that grew along the bark of distant trees, or patches of translucent flowers that gave off a barely visible glow. One time she even thought she could see something writhing in the darkness, as the corner of her vision, but when she glanced at it, she couldn’t see anything amiss. Erin shuddered. Curious as she was, she wasn’t certain she wanted to know what lurked in the deep darkness of the Inner Ring, and so she dutifully followed the cuts.

She’d never really paid much attention to these before, as Becker was the one who would pick their path and destination. Now that she did, however, she could see how old these cuts were, some barely distinguishable anymore. If it weren’t for Becker’s map, she was certain she would have gotten lost ages ago.

Making sure to stay on the right path was often difficult, as Erin could only reliably see for a few meters. Thinking about it, she struggled to understand how she was able to see anything at all. There wasn’t a single source of light anywhere around them, and yet she could dimly perceive her surroundings, as if the moon, despite the large expanse of blackness blocking its rays of light, was still able to bathe her surroundings in a faint glow.

Strange, how Erin had never once questioned this before. She’d always been much more focused on other things, worried about what might emerge from the dark. Now, as she held tightly onto Sarah’s hand, the two of them too afraid of being separated to even consider letting go, she realized that she felt more guilt than worry.

While Erin intellectually knew that Sarah’s abilities brought forth a measure of safety that she and Becker had never had in the past, she couldn’t quell the feeling of shame that resonated in her chest. She thought about Sarah’s mother, who had probably found her daughter’s letter yesterday evening, when she came back from work. She couldn’t even begin to imagine what must have gone through her head when she opened the door, only to find the house empty, and her child missing. Erin didn’t want to think about how horrible her night must have been, as she waited for her to come home.

People were probably looking for them right now, meticulously going through Eriz and interrogating people, and yet they’d never find them. Lisa, Sarah’s mom, must hate her by now, for taking her daughter away from her. Erin had to keep herself from crying at that thought, shame and guilt flowing her veins, her grip on Sarah’s hand tightening ever so slightly.

Erin’s thoughts were interrupted by a hand on her shoulder. Biting back a scream, she glanced at Sarah, only to find her staring back, a serious expression plastered on her face, with a hint of fear in her eyes. Without a word, she pointed at the darkness straight ahead of them.

“Something’s there,” she mouthed.

Erin nodded, all previous thoughts forgotten, and called forth some of her magic, ready to shape it into a spell just in case. In the meantime, she saw Sarah close her eyes, scowling in concentration, before they opened again, staring at something only she could see. Gauging the look in her eyes, Erin was almost certain that she wasn’t going to like whatever this creature was.

Slowly, Sarah got closer to Erin, and whispered in her ear. “No eyes, covered in scales, circular mouth, walks on four legs, very tall, about a hundred meters away,”

Erin blanched. She didn’t know of any creature that had these features. The lack of eyes already considerably reduced the list, but combined with scales? This was something Erin had never heard of.

Her fear must have been visible on her face, as Sarah’s own worry seemed to grow by the second. Seeing this was apparently what Erin needed, however, as she snapped out of her shock and got to work.

Crouching on the leaf covered ground, Erin’s magic surged as she began to tear at the array surrounding them, twisting and shaping it into something new. The creature didn’t have eyes, and so Erin made sure to focus on dampening sound and smell.

Going against an unknown monster of the Inner Ring would be akin to suicide, and so Erin decided that their best bet was to hunker down and wait until it left. This way, Erin would also be able to further reinforce the magical protections around them, as stationary arrays were always easier to create and maintain.

It took Erin less than a minute to finish, and she felt immensely grateful to have raided Becker’s house. Without the study materials she’d borrowed from him, creating this kind of protection this fast would have been impossible.

Erin turned to Sarah, who had sat down next to her at some point and whispered “wait until it’s gone” in her ear. The other girl was pale as a sheet, but she nodded her approval nonetheless. Closing her eyes, Sarah did her best to control her respiration, near-silent breaths escaping her mouth.

And so they waited, sitting on the hard cold ground, in the dark, Erin occasionally checking the position of the creature, which seemed content to stay in their vicinity, yet always just outside of their field of view. Erin felt beyond nervous, all her muscles were tense, ready to bolt. Sarah didn’t seem to fare much better, if the way she gripped at Erin’s hand was any indication.

This went on for several minutes, Sarah and Erin pressed against one another, until they finally saw it. In front of them, a massive shape slowly detached itself from the distant shadows, tall enough that Erin had to crane her head upwards to see it in its entirety. Its head became visible as it approached, illuminated by the dull light around them, and Erin had to bite back a scream at the sight of all the sharp hook-like teeth covering the inside of its maw. Tremors spread through her spine as an unnaturally strong sense of fear and despair settled into her.

Erin gripped Sarah with all her might, unable to focus on anything but the abomination standing only dozens of meters before her, her entire body paralyzed by the panic running through her.

For what felt like an eternity, the creature approached, crawling closer and closer with barely a sound. Erin could only look as it neared their hiding spot, only her magic keeping it from discovering them, trembling against Sarah.

As it got near them, close enough that Erin could almost touch it if she wanted, Erin could only wonder if they’d been spotted. Was the creature toying with them, only pretending to not have noticed them so that they wouldn’t try to flee? Erin didn’t know. She didn’t know anything about the horror that was slowly walking past them, and whatever depths of darkness it must have crawled out of.

Erin had always known that she didn’t know everything about the forest near Eriz, but only now did she truly realize how significant her ignorance was. She’d gotten accustomed to the Outskirts and the Central Ring, which she almost knew like the back of her hand. Here, in the darkness, she felt almost as lost as Sarah must have, terrified by what terrible fate could await them.

Erin wasn’t certain how long she and Sarah sat there, petrified, even after the creature had long disappeared behind them, terrified at the idea that it might come back, or that it might be waiting for them to move, hidden somewhere they couldn’t see it. Finally, Sarah lightly shook Erin’s shoulder.

“It’s gone,” she whispered, breaking Erin out of her stupor. Sarah looked extremely pale, and her voice held a fragile quality to it, but she seemed to be slowly putting herself back together.

Erin nodded, and the two of them carefully stood up, reading their equipment and tearing the wards around them down. As they resumed their journey, none of the two girls could stop themselves from sometimes glancing back from where they came, peering into the darkness whence they came from.