Twilight yawned as she slowly began to wake up. As she turned over, she spotted Rafe laying on the grass, still sleeping. She stared for a moment in confusion, half asleep.
Then it hit her. His face was covered in blood, all slowly drooping from his new eye.
'Must be part of the item. Nothing comes for free' she thought.
Slowly, she turned her gaze to the strange white ring that spiraled around her pinky then seemed to pierce it, locking the ring in place and bonding it to the pinky itself. It seemed to have been formed from some creature's horn.
'Indeed, nothing comes for free'
She swept that thought away. It was a new day, and time to continue on North.
"Morning, Twilight"
Jed was resting his head on the rock, somehow comfortable doing so, seemingly bored. He'd done nothing during his watch, simply stared at nothing, deep in his thoughts.
"Morning"
Twilight seemed to be stuck between asleep and awake. Noticing this, she summoned her waterskin and poured it on her face.
"Better" she said, water dripping from her delicate face.
Jed was suddenly jerked from his thoughts, hearing Twilight's voice jump out from nowhere.
After witnessing Rafe suffering last night, he'd been thinking a lot.
"I'll wake Rafe up" he said.
Now that the sun's rays were attacking with full force, it was time to go. Jed hadn't realised what little sleep Rafe had had, since he was so deep in thought, with no way to tell how much time had passed, he assumed it was simply time to wake up, and that Rafe had bathed in his four hours of sleep already.
"Huh" he groaned, "Wh…time is it?"
Jed looked confused. How would he know the time?
"It's morning. Wake up"
Rafe glared at Jed. Two hours sleep was a terrible idea. Right now, he felt like he'd be ran through a meat grinder and had to go straight back to work as if nothing happened.
'Oh hell' he cursed inwardly.
Gradually, bit by bit he managed to wake up. Twilight and Jed didn't mind the wait, they understood he'd just had his eye popped and replaced last night so a bit of lee way was earned.
A little bit later, they were all ready to continue this long, endless walk North to anything at this point. Their only hope now was to at least find something, or someone. All they wanted; all they desired was a sign of life; a sign of human life.
As time passed, there was more hunting, eating, more sleeping. Days flew by at an incredible pace. They struggled with a monster every now and again, Twilight being forced to use her ability, blinding the foul creature of hell, causing her to feel a little fatigued. On those occasions, they let Twilight rest for longer.
Her ability didn't take up too much energy, but she also expended a great amount helping to fight the creature after, pushing herself, exhausting a lot of stamina in the end.
It was more of an appreciation of her help than her truly needing it.
Soon, the passing of days turned to a week, and then another, and another. Now, a whole month had passed in what felt like no time at all.
Though, they were stronger now, used to their current lifestyle of walking, hunting, and sleeping. As they got used to the long walks, they were able to walk further each day, and soon enough they were covering almost double what they had done in a day at the very beginning.
Progressing. They were progressing. As the steady wheels of the journey began to turn, they had gained momentum. Now, the long and dreadful walks were commonplace. To the group, they were no longer hell, they were simply part of routine.
Now, after a month of this movement, this anything but lavish lifestyle they'd become so accustomed to…there it was. Hope.
Before them, in the distance, perhaps an hour's walk away, stood a large, elegant structure, surrounded by tall, sturdy walls that seemed even more impenetrable than the abandoned fortress. Anything behind these behemoths was hidden, out of sight for any onlookers.
Now, they'd found what they were looking for; the journey North didn't seem insane and pointless anymore. Well...that was if it wasn't abandoned. It was hard to tell with all the activity hidden behind the titan walls.
But even then, would they be let inside? What if the inhabitants were just like the rider? What if they were simply pure evil; hell spawn?
But to the group, that didn't matter. Hope was before them and they'd be stupid to turn away now.
It was either attempt to enter now…or die a pointless death elsewhere.
As they finished staring in disbelief, pinching at their skin to ensure this wasn't a dream, a glimmer of joy appeared in their eyes.
"We made it" Twilight spoke, excitement wrapped around her words.
Indeed. They had made it.
Slowly, they progressed towards the fine structure. Whilst they were indeed excitement, it would risky to waste energy running now, in case they found themselves in an altercation.
But that didn't stop small smiles fighting their way onto the group's faces.
"Not far now" Rafe spoke.
Jed nodded.
"Not far at all"
Compared to the previous month, Jed seemed like a different human being altogether. He was much stronger; strong both physically and mentally. The lifestyle they practiced on the journey North had molded him into a much more competent stranded.
Now, he could stand by Twilight and Rafe and not seem so weak in comparison. Now, he could be seen as a true member of the party, and not some pet they felt pity towards. Finally, Jed was able to live…truly live.
For the first time in a long time, he felt joy in this foreign land.
And it was then, in that moment, that they arrived at the colossal gates of the settlement.
"Are they trying to pretend they didn't see us?" Rafe asked.
"Perhaps" Twilight replied.