With an early start to the day, Lucas and Fay made good progress on their trek to Helstrum. Without the threat of Direwolves lurking around, they were able to keep an easier pace and take some longer breaks and rests. But just because they were outside of the territory that the huge wolves called home, that didn't mean that they were entirely safe from threats.

  Fay made sure to explain that the Whisperwoods, the stretch of forest that the two were running through, were home to some dangerous creatures as well. Unlike the Direwolves, though, the worst predators of the Whisperwoods were nocturnal creatures. A group of feline-like beasts the size of small dogs that Fay called Prowlers. They hunted in groups and would only attack when their prey was relaxed or completely unaware. Being alert and cautious was a good way to keep them away.

  Besides the Prowlers, there were various bugs, snakes, birds, and more that all called the forest home. All of them were changed by magic, either made larger or given new tools to survive by magic. At one point, Fay even pointed out a small lizard that could turn invisible when it was in danger. Watching the creature scurry up a tree and immediately vanish from sight just made Lucas even more curious about magic.

  Of course, not everything was perfectly safe for the entire trip. Lucas got a big surprise when Fay suddenly hurled a knife his way while the two were resting to eat some lunch. He flinched and recoiled out of instinct, trying to move out of the way. Luckily, Lucas had never been the real target. The blade buried itself into the tree trunk behind him, and when Lucas turned to see it, he could see the blade impaling a large snake, easily longer and thicker than his arm.

  That had been a terrifying moment, knowing how close the huge creature had been to him. Fay was good, though, and used to being within the woods surrounding her home. She knew what to look out for and how to deal with them. The snakes were incredibly good at being quiet, but they didn't have any venom at their disposal.

  After thanking Fay profusely for once again saving his life, the pair moved on and kept making their way towards Helstrum. But part way through the trip, a thought came to Lucas’ mind that made him question things. They were heading towards Fay's home, but he'd never once seen the blonde pulling out a map or anything.

  “Hey, Fay? How do you know where you're going? Or how far away we are?” He asked at one point.

  “Oh! I guess I never told you about that.”

  Fay slowed to a stop so that she could explain. “My mom made this for me when I first started going on hunting trips,” She held her arm out towards Lucas, showing off what he'd originally thought to be a small watch strapped to her wrist. Instead, when he looked closer, the young man realized that it was actually a small, basic compass wrapped around her wrist. It was made from a dark metal, with a small, golden needle within and the four cardinal directions painted onto the metal’s surface.

  “This will always point me towards my home. It's enchanted so that it will always point towards the Heartstone back home. This way, no matter where I end up, I can always find my way back home.”

  It was another display of magic that seemed casual and ordinary to Fay, but for Lucas it was wildly interesting.

  “And stuff like that is common?” Lucas couldn’t help but ask. Having something like Fay’s compass would have made getting back home far easier, though he didn’t really have a ‘Heartstone’ to aim for waiting back at home.

  “Kind of,” Fay responded, shrugging her shoulders as she began to walk again. “They, and Heartstones, can be bought for a house. Usually, it’s only useful if you go beyond town and into the wilds. Heartstones can be pretty expensive, but the compasses aren’t so bad. My mom made me this one, though. She gave it to me as a gift before I left on my first solo hunt. ‘This way you can always get back home,’ she said. I’ve never left home without it.”

  Though he couldn’t see her face, Lucas could hear the nostalgic tone in his guide’s voice. She clearly seemed to love her parents, from what little bits and pieces he’d heard about them.

  “Do you think your mom can make me something like that to get me back home?”

  Fay seemed to think the question over for a minute as they jogged through the forest before she decided to answer.

  “Maybe. Mom has an affinity for Enchantment magic, so there’s a lot that she can do. But you don’t have anything that she can really ‘lock on’ to.”

  He’d been expecting something like that, but hearing it was still disheartening for Lucas. Fay was quick to notice and slowed her pace so that she was beside the dark-haired young man. She gave him a little nudge and grinned.

  “Don’t worry so much. Even if mom can’t make you a compass like mine, you have Dusk,” She explained, reaching out and poking the fox on the nose. Said fox tried, and failed, to nip at the offending finger.

  A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

  “Dusk, as a familiar, can lead you back to a particular Mirror if she recognizes it. Since it’s the only Mirror that you two have gone through, she can lead you back just fine. And just to be safe, I’ll ask mom and see if she can come up with something to try and help you on the way back.”

  The more that he learned about his helpful little friend, the more Lucas found himself appreciating Dusk’s presence beside him.

  … Even if the fox was pretty lazy.

  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  When the duo stopped for the night, Lucas chose to help out. While Fay went to gather enough kindling to last the night, Lucas worked to get the fire started. It wasn’t hard, since Fay had a fire starter in her bag.

  Left alone with Dusk and Dove to keep him safe and help guard him, Lucas worked to gather some dry leaves and small sticks to get the fire started. Though, as he worked, Lucas wondered why they had stopped so much earlier than they had the previous night. When they’d stopped before, it had been getting too dark to continue, but as Lucas looked around, the area still looked fairly well lit, if a bit dim.

  The forest had become a bit less dense as they got closer to Helstrum. And Lucas had noticed more sun peeking through the tree cover above. Without any light pollution for miles, the night sky was probably incredibly bright, he imagined.

  Even if he hadn’t gone out camping in years, it was still trivially easy for Lucas to find some dry leaves and twigs. Digging a shallow pit to contain the blaze, he soon had a roaring fire illuminating the clearing that the two had chosen for the night.

  A couple minutes later, Fay came back, though she brought more than just firewood with her.

  While one arm carried a load of branches to use for the night, her other hand was holding some sort of creature, dangling it by its tail. Even in the dim light, Lucas could tell that the creature wasn’t moving.

  “You remember what I said about Prowlers?” Fay asked as she set down the firewood.

  “Yeah. That they’re opportunistic and dangerous if you aren’t careful.”

  “Yup. And this is what one looks like. It tried to jump me while I was grabbing some branches off the ground. Looks like it was pretty young, too.”

  As she dropped the Prowler to the ground, Lucas got his first good look at the dangerous creatures. It was clearly feline in shape, with short black fur and wide yellow-green eyes left open in death. It looked a lot like a small house cat, if not for some clear differences. While its body was roughly the size of a house cat, the legs of the Prowler were longer and thicker than normal with thick paws and sharp looking claws.

  “So, they get bigger than this?”

  “Oh yeah. About twice that size, sometimes a bit bigger.”

  Twice as large. So, a fully grown Prowler would be a bit larger than an average adult cat. That wasn’t too scary, until Lucas remembered that Fay had mentioned they hunted in groups. While he was pretty sure he’d be able to handle one or two just fine, three or more would be bad.

  “And you’re ok?” He asked, looking over Fay quickly for injuries.

  “I’m fine! It was young and on its own, so it was easy to deal with it.”

  Lucas chuckled as Fay flexed her arms in an exaggerated manner to show off.

  “I know, I know, you’re a major badass,” Lucas replied with a laugh, missing the way that Fay’s cheeks went a bit pink from the compliment.

  “And this badass is going to be teaching you everything she knows soon enough,” Fay joked. “Also, your body seems to be adapting to magic incredibly easily, so we might be able to pick up our pace tomorrow.”

  That was some news that got Lucas’ attention. “Do you think we’ll be able to make it to town tomorrow?”

  “Well… Let’s see,” Fay replied, reaching into her bag and pulling out something from within. As she placed it in her lap and unfurled it, Fay revealed a map, and a shockingly detailed one at that.

  “Helstrum is over here,” Fay mumbled, pointing at a rather large looking town on the map. “And we’re over here. I think we can definitely make it back tomorrow.”

  As she spoke, Fay dragged her finger west from Helstrum, stopping at a strange diamond marking on the map. It took Lucas a second to realize that it was exactly where they were.

  “Wait a second. Is that us?” He asked in shock.

  “Yup! Mom makes and sells enchanted maps in town. They update where you go and keep track of where you are.”

  It sounded and looked incredibly similar to a GPS from back home, but a more magical and simpler equivalent. It also explained how Fay had managed to make her way to where they had met, given that a portion of the map had been marked as ‘Direwolf Territory’.

  Lucas decided then and there that he really needed to learn more about enchanting and what it could do.

  “If I push you a bit, we might even make it home in time for my dad to make dinner. Oh! You’ll absolutely love his cooking. My dad makes the best steaks.”

  Lucas could swear he almost saw Fay drooling as she went on to ramble about her father’s cooking. It made his own thoughts drift back to his own family, and he couldn’t help but miss having dinner with his parents.

  “We should probably get to bed, then. If we wake up early, we can do the same thing we did today,” Lucas suggested, trying not to let his somber mood show.

  “That’s a good idea. I’ll wake you up early, then. Good night, Lucas. Good night Dusk.”

  “Good night, Fay.”

  Curling up on a soft patch of grass and using his torn sweatshirt as a pillow, Lucas smiled as he felt the soft, warm form of Dusk curling up against him once more.

  But even as he started to doze off, he couldn’t help but dread the coming month away from home. He worried about his family and how they were handling his disappearance. Getting to Helstrum couldn’t happen soon enough. Once he got there, he could send a message back home to tell his family that he was ok.

  He just hoped that they were alright as well…

  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  normal creatures on the magical side of things, as you'll all come to find out. Being constantly exposed to magic at all stages of life can lead to some interesting changes and even new species.