Daryn once again found himself half-conscious in the back of a cart, headed for the slave pits. This time, however, instead of the harsh sun on his skin, it was something he'd not felt in a long while: rain.

"How do you feel?" asked the old healer as Daryn lifted his head.

"Like an old man just drained half my blood," Daryn

replied. "Did it work?"

As Daryn spoke, he noticed that the never-ending landscape of sand had almost entirely disappeared, and instead, he was surrounded by green grass, trees, and, to his pleasure, rain. Although he wondered how they'd travelled so far in a day.

"I do not know. One can only carry out the procedure and wait," answered the healer.

Juree was laid out in the middle of the cart between their legs, his bandaged arm still dripping with blood.

"This is the kingdom of Lorey, I'm sure of it. How have we travelled so fast?"

The old healer rummaged through his bag for replacement bandages, revealing strange glass figures of men and women. "We have travelled rather slow actually, four weeks to be precise."

Daryn's intrigue turned to confusion. He was sure that the previous night they were on the slave road out of old Gescae. "Four weeks? How can that be?" he said with a raised tone.

"As I said, the method is a new one. Most never awaken. I've been keeping you and your friend here fed and watered, but apart from that, all I could do is wait for you to open your eyes."

Daryn considered his situation for a moment before questioning the man once more.

"What's your name anyways? Will you return to old Gescae once we arrive in Leylen?" Daryn was curious about the man, he seemed to be more knowledgeable than the average healer. 

"It's Tolan if it pleases you. And that depends, us healers are sworn to aid our patients until his or her fate is clear, and your friend has yet to awaken". The old healer Tolan put up his hood as the rainfall began to get heavier, and handed Daryn a long roll of cloth from his bag to cover his head.

As the cart and the accompanying slavers' carriage travelled down the forest road, a great roar shook the ground beneath them. From the forest emerged four mooncats, who pounced at the horses and tore them in half with one rip.

"Don't move, friend," Daryn whispered to Tolan as the mooncats devoured their prey.

Just as it seemed they were done, the slaver shouted from his carriage, "KILL THE BEASTS YA FUCKERS! WHAT YA STANDING AROUND FOR!?" The remaining guards reluctantly challenged the four beasts, slashing and jabbing at them with their short swords.

Daryn quickly realized the men stood no chance and ran to the slavers' carriage. "Cut me loose! Quickly! Else we all die!" Daryn said in a frenzied voice.

The slaver, who had soiled his britches, cut him loose.

Daryn picked up a short sword laying beside a dead guard and ran to join the other fighters. After seeing only one guard remaining, Daryn realized he had no chance against them alone. Spotting a lone horse still strapped to their cart, he quickly ran over and cut it loose. The mooncats all rushed to chase their prey.

"Ya did it again!" the slaver shouted as he left the carriage. Daryn strode over to the man and quickly opened his throat, to Tolan's shock. The pouring rain washed away the slaver's blood as Tolan climbed out of the cart.

"They'll hang you for this! We should hide the body!" he said, his voice trembling from fear.

"Mooncats killed those guards clear as day. What reason would any man have to doubt the slaver suffered the same fate?" Daryn said. Tolan nodded in acceptance.

"What now then?" Tolan asked.

Daryn took a moment to think. "Did you see any settlements along the road? Any nearby?"

Tolan perked up as if he'd just figured out some grand experiment. "I did! Yes! About two miles east, I saw a small village up in the hills!"

It was welcome news to Daryn's ears. They had no horses, and an unconscious man to carry. The thought of that journey to the Lorey capital, Leylen, was unbearable.

"Well, I can't pull this cart up hills and across fields myself. Is it safe to carry Juree atop my shoulder?" Daryn asked.

"No safer than having him lying in a cart in the pouring rain," Tolan japed.

Daryn slung Juree across his shoulder and he and Tolan painstakingly started the journey to the village.

"You could be forgiven for forgetting there's a war going on," Tolan said as Daryn took in the breathtaking surroundings. 

Miles of yellow-gold wheat fields, tall green pines and crispy highland air surrounded them, and Daryn had felt the closest he'd been to home since he left. 

"You seem like you know how to handle a sword, are you a soldier? You don't look as though you're from here?" Tolan asked while Daryn put Juree down and took a breather. 

"No, not a soldier" Daryn answered with a hint of irritation in his voice. "I was born in Newstar, across the sea". 

Tolan lowered his hood as the rain calmed, his balding white hair sopping wet. "Newstar? I've been! Beautiful place" he said. 

Daryn was surprised to hear this, he knew most healers travelled to Beaconsfall to learn their craft, yet it was miles from Newstar. "What brought you there?" Daryn asked. 

"A rider came in the night from Newstar, he said the Lord of Newstar’s newborn son had come down with a terrible fever, and that their castle healer had exhausted all his options and declared the babe would not survive the week. Most in the healers guild agreed it was a foregone conclusion but, I disagreed. I returned with the rider to Newstar and tried a method some elder healers considered... dangerous. The child's mother sat with him day and night by his bedside, not even leaving for supper". The babe did recover, yet when the guild found out about my chosen method... well I've been in Assetie ever since".

A tear fell down Daryn's cheek as Tolan told his story, he remembered his father telling him the same story nearly a hundred times, how he and his mother did everything they could for him, ignoring their castle healer. "She sounds like a good woman, Lady Aynes". Daryn was reluctant to tell Tolan he was the newborn he healed. He liked the man, yet they were in Lorey now, allied with New Hyperiar, and he couldn't yet trust the man not to sell him out for a bag of gold. 

"She seemed so. It's a thing oft taken for granted, a good mother. Sometimes their love is more effective than any of my methods ". As Tolan finished speaking, the rain started to pick up again.

"Perhaps we should find a dry place to rest for a while? Still got a good stretch to walk yet" Tolan said. 

Daryn looked around for somewhere they could wait out the rain and noticed a small wooden shack at the edge of the field. "That shack across the way, looks abandoned?" 

Tolan put his hood up as if ready to go. "Seems as good a place as any!". 

Daryn lifted Juree back on his shoulders and they set off for the shack. The dilapidated building sat on a small hill overlooking the small village below. 

Daryn pushed against the wood door with all his might, and with a loud creak, it swung open. A horde of rats, their fur matted and their bodies covered in sores, came rushing out in all directions. 

"I can smell death," Tolan said, covering his nose with his hand. He kicked away the rotting corpses of rats and pieces of broken wood, clearing a space on the floor for Juree. 

Daryn gently laid Juree down and pulled two wooden chairs off the floor for him and Tolan to sit on. "I'd rather be outside in the rain," Daryn joked, placing his sword beside him. Tolan, however, chose to stand by the window overlooking the village below. 

"The place looks abandoned, as if everyone just up and left all at once," he said, his voice filled with confusion. 

Daryn quickly got off his chair and joined Tolan by the window. He knew he wouldn't be able to carry Juree around much longer, especially without somewhere to rest long-term. 

Daryn peered out the window, taking in the desolate sight of the village below. Food carts were abandoned on the paths, their contents left to rot. Wooden houses stood in disrepair, their roofs caving in and purple-red vines creeping across the walls. 

"I'm not going down there" Tolan insisted, crossing his arms. 

"How many supplies do you have left? Bandages? Ointments? You know just as well as I that his arm needs serious attention. How long do you think he'll last with what you have left? Days? And I can't carry him around forever" Daryn stormed away from the window and back to his seat.

"You're the one who cut all the horses loose! We could've been halfway to Leylen by now!" Tolan exclaimed. 

"If I hadn't cut them loose we'd be warming a mooncats belly right now. Stay here then, best not leave Juree alone anyways. I'll go see myself". Daryn grabbed his sword and sheathed it in a piece of string he'd tied around his waist, and stormed out of the shack.

                                             ***

Daryn carefully approached the decrepit village, his short sword tightly clutched in his hand as he scanned his surroundings. The path ahead was teeming with flies and maggots swarming over a decomposing sheep carcass. The trees and houses all seemed to blend into a dull, uniform grey. Daryn's nose wrinkled at the putrid smell emanating from the carcass as he made his way through the village.

Suddenly, a voice called out from beside him. "You won't find what you're looking for here, stranger."

Startled, Daryn swung around, his sword at the ready as he searched for the source of the voice. "Who's there? Show yourself!" he shouted.

A man sitting on a rocking chair beside a tree answered him. "Over here, stranger!"

Daryn approached the man cautiously. He was wrinkled and old, but no bigger than a toddler. He sat hunched over, gripping a small wooden cane with both hands.

"What brings you to this place, stranger?" the man asked, his voice raspy and weak.

Daryn put away his sword seeing the man was no threat and answered him. "I had hoped to find a place to rest, and perhaps some horses"

The man tapped his cane on the ground and wriggled in his chair. "Oh, you won’t find any rest here, stranger. Nor and horses"

Daryn heard the man's words, but his mind was entirely occupied by the strange state of the village. "What happened here? Where is everyone?" he asked.

The man sighed and shook his head. "They're all gone now. A curse hangs heavy over this place, just as it does in the south. We shouldn't be here. This land isn't for humanity. The sands will cover us all eventually."

Daryn was lost for words at the man's ramblings, a feeling of existential dread washing over him. But before he could question the man further, a blood-curdling scream echoed through the village. Daryn turned, searching for the source of the sound, but he saw nothing, no movement or signs of any creature.

He cautiously looked around, his heart racing. "What was that?" he asked, turning back to the man. But when he looked, the man was gone, vanished without a trace.

Daryn quickly decided it was time to leave and started walking back the way he came. As he walked further, the whole sky above him seemed to be getting darker, and he started to wonder if he'd even make it out alive. Daryn picked up his pace as the doors of the village homes started flying open and shut as if a great wind had come upon them. He turned to look and saw disgusting creatures made entirely of worms shambling out of the houses as if sleepwalking. Daryn's pace quickly turned to a sprint. He ran as fast as he could, truly frightened for the first time in his adult life. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity of running, he reached the outskirts of the village. In an instant, the sky turned bright once more, and the cursed village behind him seemed to be back as it was.

After taking a moment to catch his breath, he continued running up the hill toward the shack, his sodden rags sticking to his skin. The wet mud beneath him made the journey painstaking, each step a battle against the slippery mud. Yet he was desperate to put as much distance between himself and the village as possible. Tolan, still by the window, saw Daryn and rushed out of the shack after him.

"Get your things, we're leaving!" Daryn shouted at Tolan from below.

"What? Why?" Tolan replied as he caught up to Daryn. "Did you not find anything?"

Daryn and Tolan met atop the hill, and Tolan covered Daryn in his hooded cloak. "What do you mean, why? Have you not been watching?" Daryn replied.

"Yes, I've been watching," Tolan said. "I just saw you standing talking to a tree and then running off as if you'd seen a ghost!"

Daryn did not like Tolan's answer. He was afraid to even begin to question what he saw, so he rushed back into the shack and began preparing Juree for travel.

"What happened? You know we could be miles from the next village. Do you want to risk that?" Tolan asked.

"Must've been the fumes from the sheep remains, maybe?" Daryn muttered to himself.

"Daryn!" Tolan shouted.

"Damn you, old man! I don't know! We'll head back to the slave road and wait for a travelling merchant, maybe," Daryn answered irately.

Tolan seemed to understand that Daryn couldn't be reasoned with, so he grabbed his things and prepared for travel. Daryn once again slung Juree over his shoulders, and the three set off into the rain.