"I hear water that must be a river." Said Nephiah, twisting her head and pointing her ears towards the sound in order to hear better.
I don't hear anything..
"Ill trust you on this." I said to Nephiah.
"Let's move quickly." Said the dark elf.
We walked quickly in the darkening forest before I finally heard the sound of rushing water. Soon enough we came across the river and the stream's offshoot in a clearing.
"I see you were right. Lets move downriver." I suggested.
Nephiah seemed to think for sometime before she simply said "I agree.".
We both walked side by side down the river. The forest cleared up a bit and wasn't as dense now, I was in luck because it makes it easier to see in the dark.
Id probably trip over some tree roots or something….
I also wondered about Nephiah's biology, she was a dark elf and didnt they live underground or the Underdark? I think they had better eyesight in the dark if I'm correct.
I internally sighed at the thought. All these races get cool and OP traits and humans are just humans. No nightvision or immunity to poison or water breathing. And we live very short lives compared to literally any other race. That thought made me curious on Nephiah's age.
"Nephiah, how old are you?" I asked her in wonder.
Nephiah gave me a strange look and chuckled a bit at my words.
"You know its rude to ask a elf her age." Nephiah said in a teasing tone.
I felt a little embarrassed but I tried to hide it, I'm sure that was her goal anyways.
"Is that so? I apologize then I didn't mean to be rude." I said apologizing to the elf.
She chuckled a bit before she continued talking.
"I believe I'm around 2000 years old, give or take a few decades." She answered.
How do you even live that long and not go crazy…
"That's….. very interesting thank you." I said awkwardly to the elf. She seemed a bit interested in my thoughts.
"I'll have you know that 2000 years old is still young for an elf!!" She said a bit embarrassed.
"Haha… I'm sure it is, but to humans that is an extremely long time." I said to the elf.
Nephiah gave me a cold look before she continued to walk further and grumble to herself . Something along the lines of "damn humans". But something else bothered me. I mean seriously how fucking long have we been walking. I'm starting to get tired. I didn't express these thoughts however and continued to walk in the darkness.
The atomosphere was eerie and quiet almost too quiet...
... Nothing happened but I still have an uneasy feeling in my stomach. I dont think Nephiah had the same feeling however as she continued to walk no different than before.
I, however, stayed on edge and focused on my surroundings for the time being. Better to be safe than sorry.
I wonder if thats a saying in this world?
A thought for another time. I quietly reached into the pouch I had taken from the tent and pulled out a piece of some sort of dried meat.
The meat was tough but tasted pretty good, it had a nice smoky flavor along with a spice that tasted similar to pepper but not quite. Probably something to aide in the drying process.
I took a quick drink from my waterskin as I looked up into the night sky.
Wow…
On Earth there was only a few places you could see a sky that was this beautiful, however one thing caught my attention in particular.
Two moons…. It's beautiful.
You could see the entire galaxy!!! The stars were teeming and bright with an amazingly colorful background that was a blue-green color. It was beautiful.
However in the end they were just stars and my thoughts drifted elsewhere.
It seemed to be almost midnight by now and I had gotten more and more tired with each step. I wasn't insanely tired ot anything like that but I could use a bit of the rest. Though I doubt I could sleep….
"Dont you think its time we set up camp?" I asked Nephiah.
She seemed to think for a moment before her answer came.
"I suppose so, we should have traveled far but we should still be safe as much as possible. I'll find a suitable place to rest." She said.
"Right, I'll leave you to it." I said to her.
Nephiah's night vision was really helpful in finding a place to rest, it was dark and the bright night sky only helped me see so much. But to her im sure it was more than bright enough. She was soon enough able to spot a cave opening up ahead. I, however, saw nothing but darkness to where she pointed.
Together we walked to the cave and scouted it out. The cave opening was a small crack that was built into a large stone hill.
"Im not sure I'll fit…" I expressed my concerns to Nephiah.
"Just suck in your stomach, Reynard." Nephiah answered.
I could only audibly sigh before attempting to fit into the tight crevice. My armor was slightly scratched from scraping against the cave wall's opening but nothing that will significantly hurt the armor.
I couldn't see much in the cave but my other senses filled in other information. It was slightly damp and cold in the cave but not nearly as cold as the outside was. Plus there wasn't any windchill which was greatly appreciated. I heard some sounds of scurrying that freaked me the fuck out. Seriously, I'm going to have to sleep here? What if something crawls into my hair, or worse my ear!!! I tried my best to not freak out but it was hard not to.
Fucking bugs…
I heard Nephiah squeeze through the crevice before she stood next to me inside.
"Hmm, it's quite cozy in here." Nephiah said, her eyes surveying the cave.
"Thats one word to describe it." I said to the dark elf.
"We should build a fire. It's too cold to sleep without it." I said to Nephiah.
Nephiah seemed to think for a second before answering. "I suppose that would be the right action. It is quite chilly." She agreed.
I nodded my head and laid down my spear, shield, and pouch, only taking my sword and dagger in case of anything.
"I'll collect some firewood and some tinder. You do what you need to." I said to Nephiah. She nodded her head and looked around the cave.
I left to go get firewood for two reasons. One, I needed to take a shit and I wanted an excuse to go off on my own because I was too embarrassed to let her know that I had to shit. The other reason…..
I forgot.