"I can't believe they were really gone," Mikaya said in a stunned voice.
The group had traveled a few miles southeast of Merchan Town to the Harvest Lands (or rather, what use to be the Harvest Lands.) The woman ranting in the street had not been crazy after all.
"It just can't be. They can't be destroyed. They are the oldest, most powerful magic in the country," Elena said.
"I don't know about you guys, but I'm getting a bad feeling about the rumors we were sent to investigate," Yevad added.
Danny sat quietly on his horse and listened to the conversation as the travelers made their way back northwest and past Merchan Town. He didn't know how he could thank them for what they'd done for him in the tavern, but he figured that he should stick with them until he could find a way. Plus, he knew he'd be safer with them than on his own.
"Danny," Elena said uneasily. She'd noticed that the boy had been paying close attention to what they'd been saying, and it worried her. "Did he catch that part about the investigation?" she wondered.
"Hmm?" Danny responded.
Elena slowed her horse's pace so that she rode next to Danny, who lagged a bit behind the rest of the group.
"Danny. Why were those evil creatures chasing you?" she asked gently.
"I . . . Listen, I don't want to talk about it right now," Danny said as he kicked his horse lightly.
Danny's horse sped up to ride just behind Yevad.
Elena sighed. She had a bad feeling about what had happened in the tavern. Somehow, she couldn't help but think that the rumors they were investigating had something to do with this boy, and her intuition rarely led her astray.
Night had nearly fallen when the group arrived at the Death Woods. Everyone decided that it would be a bad idea to ride into the Death Woods after dark, so they set up camp where they were.
Mikaya gathered some wood and began trying to light a fire while Elena and Danny rolled out their blankets.
Yevad decided to look around for some wild game, but he only managed to bag a quail.
After the fire got going, Mikaya rolled out her own blanket next to it and sat down.
"This is all I could get," Yevad said as he threw the quail in front of her.
"You're sharing it, right?" she asked.
"Of course," he said sarcastically.
"Then why are you throwing it at me?"
"You made the fire. You sat next to it. I assumed you were designated cook tonight."
"It's called enjoying the heat of a fire, you dumbass," Mikaya responded.
"I guess humans are selfish," Elena said and shrugged. Then she pulled some bread and a ball of cheese out of a pouch that hung on her horse.
"Not all of us are . . ." Danny protested.
Yevad sighed. "Fine. It's for all of us," he said sincerely.
Mikaya had already started plucking it.
"It's a skeleton with feathers and skin . . . You probably should have let this one go," she said.
"Well if you don't want your bite, I'll eat it," Yevad said enthusiastically.
Elena sat on her blanket and began slicing the cheese. She made sure to cut nice, straight pieces.
Danny caught himself drooling and wiped his chin in embarrassment. Luckily, no one had seen him.
"You know," Elena said. "Yevad why don't you finish cutting this cheese. I have an idea."
"Okay . . ." Yevad responded.
"Can I help somehow?" Danny offered. He felt guilty about mooching off of them.
"As a matter of fact," Elena said as she handed the cheese ball, the cloth with the slices, and the knife she'd been using to Yevad. "Yes. You can."
Yevad sat down next to Mikaya and began cutting cheese slices. Elena remained sitting and unstrapped her flute from her back.
Mikaya looked up and smiled a knowing smile.
"Okay, Danny. Grab an empty sack and get ready to have some fun," Elena said.
Danny went to his horse and took an empty sack off of it. It had contained the carrots he'd brought along for the horses, but they had been eaten several miles earlier that day.
Elena took a deep breath and said, "Okay. Some fowls will be flying at you in a minute. Make sure to hold the sack wide open and catch them." Then, she began to play a beautiful tune on her flute.
"Yeah right," Yevad said as he sliced another awkward chunk out of the cheese ball. All of his slices were thick and deformed. They looked as if he'd simply ripped pieces off of the cheese ball instead of cutting them off.
Suddenly, a wild turkey came running out of the forest gobbling madly. It jumped at Danny, and he caught it in the sack. Then, three more birds came quickly out of the forest. All three were quail, and Danny had a bit of a tough time catching them when they jumped at him, mainly because he worried that the turkey would get loose.
Elena stopped playing and smiled.
"Nice trick," Yevad muttered as he put the cheese down.
Danny held the sack closed tightly. The birds inside had stopped struggling and lay perfectly still.
Yevad felt embarrassed and shook his head.
"You know. It would have been nice if you'd just said you could do that from the beginning," he said in an irritated voice.
Mikaya giggled. "I guess you can keep the whole thing now," she said handing him the plucked and cleaned quail. She threw its head into the fire and muttered a prayer for the release of its spirit.
Yevad took the quail and stood. He walked to his horse and grabbed his blanket with the other hand. After throwing it clumsily to the ground, and a mostly failed attempt at straightening it a bit, he sat down and grabbed a stick that wasn't burning.
"Yevad . . ." Elena said when she noticed the pile of cheese bits next to Mikaya.
Mikaya looked at them and started laughing.
Danny bit his bottom lip to smother his laughter and took the sack to Elena.
Yevad shoved the stick angrily through the quail, and leaned it toward the fire.