‘What are you whelps doing here?’ A gruff voice, definitely a man’s, growled from underneath the hooded cloak he was wearing.

  Vivian was shaking, her hands clenched into sweaty fists. She couldn’t think, couldn’t plan what to do next, her heart thumping in her chest like a war drum. Felix and Aiden seemed to be in a similar state of mind, with the former still sprawled on the floor where he was thrown. Aiden’s hand was gripped tightly around the hilt of his sword, ready to draw it at a moment’s notice. The man noticed this and turned to fix his brown eyed gaze on Aiden, causing the boy to stiffen up even more under the intense glare.

  ‘I’ll ask again.’ The man took one step forward and the three of them flinched. ‘What are you doing here?’ His gaze was still fixed on Aiden, seemingly considering him to be biggest threat amongst them. The man raised his sword, the tip pointing at Aiden. That was when Vivian finally found her voice, though it came out squeakier than she would’ve liked.

  ‘Nothing!’ she blurted out without thinking. ‘Just taking in the sights, seeing the sights! We’re sightseers!’

  Perhaps it was because of the stupidity of the statement she had just said, but the man stopped advancing towards Aiden and turned to fix a very confused look on Vivian. A look that very clearly said Is this girl right in the head?

  ‘You’re sightseeing…’ he said slowly. ‘In the middle of a forest filled with killer trees and bloodthirsty beasts?’

  ‘Um, yes?’ Vivian’s voice seemed to grow smaller as the man now focused his attention on her, even though his sword was still pointed at Aiden. ‘I heard… that it was beautiful in the Druscan woods this time of year.’

  ‘From whom?’ His sword dipped a bit, which was a welcome relief.

  Noticing the man’s lack of attention, Aiden slowly started pulling his out his own blade, careful not to make any noise. Meanwhile, from the corner of her eye Vivian noticed Felix slowly getting up behind the man, and pulling out a small vial of green liquid. The two boys made eye contact and nodded. Seemed like the two of them were planning something.

  Makes sense. They have more training in combat than me… right now, all I can do to help is keep his attention.

  ‘Um, I heard it from… from my cat.’ Vivian no longer had any idea what she was saying. ‘Yes! I heard it from my cat, Ebion.’

  ‘Your cat talks?’ The man’s tone was heavy with disbelief. ‘Are you sure that’s the lie you want to stick with?’

  Aiden’s sword was completely out of its sheath, the blade held firmly in both hands. Felix had crept closer to the man, the vial in his hand uncorked.

  ‘No, no, no it’s true! He’s about this big and has three tails!’ She gestured wildly with her hands, trying to conjure up a convincing visual but failing miserably. ‘And he’s magic! He’s magic so he can talk!’

  The man was quiet for a beat. ‘You’re new to the world of magic, aren’t you? Newly awakened?’

  The man still had his sword raised, ready to strike if anyone made any sudden moves. She had to get him to lower his guard somehow so that Aiden and Felix could make a move. But how was the question. Her lie was easily falling apart. Why wouldn’t it? She was claiming to know a talking cat who apparently went around giving tour spots recommendations. Since lying was out of the picture, she instead decided to try random, confusing truths instead.

  ‘Did you know, I once tried eating bird feed. It’s not that bad. I think it would pair well with some honey.’

  Confusion was the stranger’s constant companion now. ‘What?’

  ‘Also, if you’re being chased by dogs and you trip and fall, do not curl into yourself and try to protect your head. It will leave your behind exposed and they will bite. Sitting is an absolute pain after that.’

  The man glanced around as if trying to find an explanation for her behaviour scrawled on the cavern walls. He sniffed the air as if trying to see if there was something wrong with it and looked down at the river next to him with suspicion. Thankfully, during his quick investigation he did not look behind him, as Felix and Aiden were quite close now, their soft, leather boots not making a single sound as they snuck up on him.

  ‘You are not right in the head child.’ His sword swung forward, its tip now pointing at her instead of Aiden. ‘This will be a mercy then.’ He raised his sword ready to strike.

  ‘Wait! Did you know-’

  ‘I don’t want to know!’ The man’s blade came swinging down on her head and she instinctively flinched, raising her hands above her head to protect it.

  The sound of steel meeting steel echoed through the cavern as Aiden jumped in between the two them, holding his sword up to block the stranger’s descending blade. He struggled to remain standing as the weight of the blow caused his knees to buckle under him.

  The contact only lasted for a moment but that moment was plenty. Felix leapt on to the stranger’s back, pressing a rag soaked with the contents of the vial he was holding before over the man’s nose and mouth.

  Now, here’s where the difference in strength between an adult and a child becomes very obvious. The man let out a muffled shout before tearing Felix’s hand off his mouth and sending him sprawling on the ground once again. Felix skid on the ground coming to a stop next to Vivian, who immediately crouched down to help him to his feet. Aiden stepped in front of the two of them, his sword held in trembling hands that were still recovering from the previous blow. The man staggered a bit, clearly affected by whatever it was that Felix had forced him to inhale. He shook his head hoping to clear it, but it didn’t work. He swung his blade and Aiden barely managed to block it. He swung again and Aiden’s blade went flying out of his hands, his fingers no longer being able to hold onto the blade. The man grabbed him by the throat and lifted him into the air.

  ‘WHAT DID YOU BRATS DO TO ME?!’ he roared, futilely demanding an explanation from the boy he was choking. His eyelids were drooping and he was struggling to focus his vision on them.

  He raised sword ready to run Aiden through, when with a loud yell Felix tackled his legs, throwing his full weight against the man and bringing him down, causing the stranger to lose his grip on Aiden. Aiden coughed as the pressure around his throat was released and collapsed into a wheezing mess as he tried to breathe properly again. The man roared in anger and rolled over pinning Felix under him with one hand, the other hand holding his sword point dangerously close to his heart, the tip wavering as the man struggled to focus through the effect of the drug he had inhaled.

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  ‘You whelps should never have come here! Now, you’re going to- AARGH!’

  The man yelled in pain as Vivian joined the fray, pulling out the dagger that Peri had gifted her and plunging it down into the man’s exposed calf. The man’s sword jerked, slicing a shallow cut down Felix’s arm. However, the moment the blade punctured the skin, pain like nothing she had felt before shot up her right arm. Streams of lightning ran up her arm, burning her tunic sleeve and leaving behind the smell of charred skin. She screamed in pain. It was absolute agony which lasted only a moment and felt like an eternity. She pulled her blade out of the man’s leg and collapsed backward, cradling her hand against her chest, tears and snot streaming down her face.

  The stranger wasn’t faring any better. He stumbled sideways, freeing Felix from his grip, who immediately scrambled away, clutching his arm which was thankfully not bleeding too much. The man was trying to hold himself upright. Blood poured from his calf, as he half-crawled, half dragged himself away from them. He turned his head to glare at Vivian who lay vulnerable. Her arm was turning numb, pins and needles running up and down her skin.

  ‘You’ll pay for that,’ the stranger growled. ‘You’re-’

  The pommel of Aiden’s sword smashed into the man’s head, cutting him off. His eyes rolled into the back of his head and he keeled over, finally succumbing to the drug he had inhaled. Vivian, Aiden and Felix didn’t move, holding their breath, expecting the man to jump to his feet and start swinging his sword again. When after a minute the man remained still, they let out a collective sigh of relief.

  Vivian struggled to push herself up, which was much harder now that she only had one functioning arm. She took a deep breath to brace herself before she looked down to see the damage that was caused. There was a circular burn mark right in the middle of her palm, where the lightning had entered her body. Her entire arm was an angry red, blistered with a red lightning pattern that stretched right from her fingertips all the way up to her shoulder. But the worst part was the numbness. Her fingers wouldn’t even twitch no matter how much she focused.

  ‘That doesn’t look good.’ Felix crouched down next to her, stretching out his trembling hands to gingerly touch her arm. ‘Does that hurt?’

  ‘No. Which is worse. I can’t feel a thing!’ Vivian was trying hard to keep the panic from her voice, but she had a feeling she failed spectacularly. ‘What if it’s permanent?! What if I can never use it again?! I’ll never climb another tree, or-or ride a horse, or carry anything heavy.’ Vivian was definitely spiralling into panic now. ‘What if I find myself dangling off a cliff but can’t pull myself up because I don’t have two functioning arms. I’m just going to dangle and dangle until I get tired and let go. And then its squish. No more Vivian.’

  ‘Is that something that happens very often?’ Felix asked.

  Vivian let out a laugh that sounded more demented than happy. ‘More than you think.’

  Aiden was still standing, keeping a close eye on the unconscious stranger, though he glanced back at Vivian every now and again. He finally cleared his throat, cutting through Vivian’s spiel. ‘There’s no point worrying about it till we get it checked by a healer.’ His voice was hoarse, still recovering from when he was choked. ‘We need to leave. Now. For all we know, this man might not be here alone.’

  ‘You’re right.’ Felix clasped Vivian’s hand and dragged her to her feet. He bent down to grab her now bloodied knife, holding it away from himself as if it could bite. ‘Let’s get out here.’

  Vivian was just about to follow the other two when something shiny caught her attention from the corner of her eye. ‘What’s that?’ She pointed at something shiny on the ground next to the stranger.

  The firelight from the torch Felix had dropped earlier, flickered weakly as Vivian stepped towards the unconscious man, despite vehement protests from both Aiden and Felix. She bent down slowly, always keeping an eye on the man, and picked up the shiny object. It was a medallion attached to a chain around his neck. She ran her fingers over it. She could feel some sort of markings on it, but it was hard to make out in the dim light of the fire. She thought for a moment before she pulled it off and tucked it into her pocket.

  ‘You’re stealing?!’ Aiden hissed.

  ‘Did you forget that he tried to kill us? Theft seems a small crime compared to that.’ Vivian quickly scurried back to them, eager to put as much distance as possible between herself and the stranger. ‘Besides we need to figure out who he is and what he’s doing here. There’s some sort of markings on this thing. Maybe Peri or Sith might know what it means.’

  ‘Alright fine.’ Felix shifted from one foot to another. He had a hand clamped over his arm that was still bleeding. ‘Now can we leave? That potion I used on him was a cheap one. I don’t think it’ll last long.’

  Vivian nodded at the tunnel. ‘Let’s go.’

  The three of them slipped and slid their way back up the tunnel they had come. They were moving a lot faster than when they had come, occasionally tripping and falling on the moss-covered floor, gathering a variety of bruises in addition to the ones they already had. When sunlight finally broke through the darkness of the tunnel, they all let sighed in relief, the sound echoing the small, narrow space. The feeling of warm sunlight on their skin was a welcome sensation after spending so long in the dark. But even more welcoming was the sight of Irie, still dozing away on the rock where they had left him. He may be only six inches tall and somewhat irresponsible based on the short encounters they’ve had, but he was an adult, and they really needed an adult right now.

  ‘Holy Armoin!’ Felix swore, taking a good look at himself and then the others. ‘We look terrible!’

  ‘You didn’t expect to come out of that smelling like a basket of roses, did you?’ Vivian dusted off her clothes with her one good hand, though she was probably only making it worse. ‘And I just got these clothes. Sith is going to kill me. Peri is going to watch.’

  ‘Let’s just go.’ Aiden moved towards Irie to wake up the sleeping fairy. ‘I’ve had enough of this blasted forest.’

  To say Irie was surprised to see the state they were in was an understatement.

  ‘What- WHAT DID YOU DO?!’ he yelled in a voice surprisingly loud for someone of his stature. ‘How long was I asleep?!’

  ‘Not long,’ Felix said lightly. ‘About two hours.’

  ‘Two hours?! You managed to do this in two hours?!’ He gestured at them as he spoke. ‘What were you doing, wrestling a bear?!’

  ‘It’s a long story,’ Vivian said. ‘Can we tell you on the way?’

  ‘Right, right.’ Some kind of adult responsibility must have finally snapped into Irie’s head. ‘Let’s get you home.’

  The sun was already setting by the time they had made their way out of the cave, the last rays of light painting the sky in brilliant shades of orange. They had finished recounting their encounter in the cavern, with Felix doing most of the talking.

  ‘I need to warn Elder Dairin.’ For once, Irie looked alert and serious. ‘The village needs to keep an eye out for this intruder.’

  They slowly trudged their way back through the forest. Whispers once again filled her mind, the druscans around them make alarmed observations of their state. Vivian had neither the energy nor the state of mind to answer any of their questioning, so she ignored them and concentrated on putting one foot in front of the other. Irie flitted about them, worried that one of them would collapse before they got back to the cottage. The sun had fully set enveloping them in darkness, making it harder for them to navigate through the woods. Thankfully, the druscans moved out of their way to make a clear, straight path out of the forest. When the glimmer of firelight broke through the darkness, indicating that their destination was near, Vivian couldn’t help the happy sigh that escaped her lips. The group picked up their pace, eager to get home.

  ‘Good evening, Loher,’ Vivian greeted the druscan as she passed by him.

  Ah, Valorie. You made it back, peasant. And it’s Loherangrin Glendale the third, son of- WHAT IN THE NAME OF GLENDALE’S UNDERPANTS HAPPENED TO YOU?!

  ‘Long story,’ she replied back telepathically, too tired to correct Loher on her name. She didn’t slow down despite Loher’s loud demands for an explanation.

  ‘Well, I think I’ll leave you here,’ Irie said. ‘Get your wounds tended to and get some rest. I need to hurry back and talk to the elder before he goes to sleep.’

  They said their farewells and continued forward towards the cottage. The windows were open and they could hear people talking inside. Sith and Peri, as well as Cyrus and Dixie, who seemed to have dropped by for a visit today of all days. Vivian hesitated before knocking on the front door.

  How are we going to explain this? I know I will be the one they blame for this…

  She turned back to the other two, and was just about to suggest that they play a round of thumb wrestling to decide who gets to explain what happened, when the door was thrown open. A glaring Sith stood in the entrance, her arms crossed and lips pursed. She glanced at them, taking in their condition, before the glare returned full force to settle itself on a slightly cowering Vivian.

  ‘Explanation. Now.’

  Vivian gulped and let out a nervous chuckle. ‘Funny story…’