I awoke to someone patting my shoulder. My bleary eyes gradually adjusted, it was Windthrow.

  “Your turn to keep watch, try drinking this–” He handed me a warm mug. “Should help keep you alert.”

  I took a sip, bitter. Which meant…This. Was. Coffee!

  “You might be the greatest man to ever live! This is my favourite drink…maybe ever!” I said, before I took another long sip, enjoying the deep flavor as it danced over my taste buds.

  “Huh, that’s a surprise. I thought only scouts knew about this, what’d you call it? Coffee?” He didn’t wait for a response, he’d already climbed onto his bedroll. Not even 15 seconds later, Windthrow was breathing deeply.

  He was already asleep! This man was a professional.

  I finished the coffee, enjoying the first chemically induced buzz I’d had in a long time. Then to pass the time, I worked on learning my letters. While the syntax of “Low Common” was very similar to English, the actual letters were something like a cross between Greek and Japanese Katakana.

  Hours later, the symbols buzzed around the page as I struggled to keep my eyes open. Suddenly, I heard a rustling in the undergrowth, just outside the light of our camp. I grabbed Tanglewood and jumped to my feet. I heard the beating of wings, the sound of whispers, then giggles. It radiated from every direction.

  A flash of blue swooped from the canopy above, scratching my shoulder. Whatever it was, it was fast. Then a high pressure spray of water collided with my back, knocking me onto my chest.

  “Windthrow!” I shouted.

  He was already grabbing his bow and scanning for enemies. I rolled to my feet, still hearing the giggles and whispers from all around us.

  I activated my Action Surge. The vague shapes surrounding us came into focus. Small blue imp creatures with wings. Like little gargoyles. At least 3 of them around our camp, peeking from behind trees and trying to attack from our blind spots.

  Two of them were at my 3 o'clock. One unleashed a torrent of cutting water from its mouth at me, next to it, another of the implings was watching and laughing.

  I easily dodged the water and charged them. In slow motion, I watched their expressions morph into abject terror as they tried to fly away.

  In one smooth motion, I swooped the tip of Tanglewood through one impling, then into the second. Who’s laughing now? Each of them exploded into a burst of water.

  Meanwhile, the third imp was trying to swoop at Windthrow from behind.

  “Watch your back!” I shouted.

  He turned and kicked it out of the air, there was a sickening crunch. It wheezed pathetically on the ground. Windthrow finished it with a quick arrow stab, before he tossed the body away. A moment later, it exploded into water.

  Windthrow quickly notched another arrow, aiming it into the dark trees above us. It whizzed into a fourth imp which spiraled to the ground like a malfunctioning helicopter.

  “What the hell were those? Little explosive gremlins?” I said, still searching the surroundings for any we missed.

  “Water Mephits. Elemental implings, mischievous killer-fae. They sometimes manifest near bodies of water with high arcane density,” Windthrow replied.

  He put his bow down and climbed back onto his bedroll.

  “What? You’re going back to sleep? What if they come back?”

  “They’ll be too scared and I can fit in at least another hour of sleep.” He laid down, and was soon sound asleep…again.

  I, on the other hand, was still hyped up on adrenaline. I’d be pissed if we were attacked again!

  Soon the sun was rising and Windthrow was waking up –with only the aid of his impeccable internal clock. He was right, after the initial attack we were left alone for the rest of the night.

  Then, as if he hadn’t wooed me enough, he whipped up a damn good brekkie for us. After eating we set out towards the village of Tangle.

  It wasn’t long before we reached the final obstacle on the first leg of the journey: The destroyed bridge. This was where I’d had my battle with a giant octopus, which ended in my victory when I skewered it like oversized yakitori. Now that I was remembering…back then I was so concerned with retrieving Telar that I never harvested any of the octopus! What a missed opportunity…

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  While I was lost in thought, Windthrow was crouching in the foliage, scouting the bridge from afar. Despite his height he moved very silently, and the natural tones of his clothes provided excellent camouflage.

  “There’s only a couple giant alligators, as long as we don’t fall in we should be alright,” Windthrow said, while pointing at a dark black rock peeking above the river.

  Wait, that wasn’t a rock! It was a dark green snout, with two huge nostrils.

  “That’s…concerning. So how are we gonna get across? I could jump it with Tanglewood again,” I said. “But now I wish you didn’t point out the alligators!”

  “Don’t worry, I packed an extra tool for this occasion.” He dug around in his back and took out a 3 pronged grappling hook and a short bundle of rope. “With this it won’t be difficult for us to climb across.”

  “It’s a good idea but…” I held up my three-clawed hands. ”I’m terrible at gripping.”

  He paused for a moment, then he took out his blanket and started cutting long strips of fabric.

  “Windthrow! What are you doing?”

  “Hold on, this will work.”

  He gently took my hand and tied a strip of fabric around the sharp edges of my claws, giving my hand a playful squeeze after finishing each knot.

  “All done! This way you won’t cut the rope by mistake. And if you use those beautiful legs too, it shouldn’t be difficult for you to shimmy over!”

  I examined his handiwork; it wasn’t comfortable but it’d work. I gave Windthrow a quick hug, lingering on his irresistible toned back.

  Together we approached the collapsed bridge. It was a massive mossy stone slope, ending in a jagged break halfway across the river. Telar peered down at the rushing water and whistled.

  “Even the Imperials struggled to build like this, I wonder how old this thing is,” he said.

  “Me too, where’s Cleyre when you need her,” I replied.

  Windthrow attached about 15 feet of sturdy rope to the grappling hook. Then he rapidly swung it above his head, before throwing it to the other side of the bridge. It swung in a graceful arc and wedged itself behind a large broken stone. He gave it a few tentative tugs, it held taut. On our side he tied the rope to one of the stone pillars that ornamented the sides of the bridge. Our trapeze was ready!

  “You better go first, in case anything goes wrong,” Windthrow said.

  Despite my pride, I couldn’t disagree.

  “Makes sense, and this way you can help if I get attacked by a giant octopus again.”

  “A what!? A giant octopus? In fresh water?!”

  Oh I didn’t tell that story to Windthrow. My bad.

  “Yeah, like a really big octopus with tentacles and tons of teeth. It really wanted to eat me.”

  He gave the rope a few more tugs, and gestured for me to climb on.

  “Get on! Things like that should not live here, I’d rather not linger,” Windthrow said, a hint of panic leaking into his voice.

  I climbed onto the rope, leading with my hands, and using my legs for extra support. As I reached the halfway point, with the rushing water beneath me, I realized what I was doing: I was basically flashing Windthrow!

  Hope he enjoys the show. If it’s him, eh I’m fine with it.

  Despite the accidental flashing, getting across the bridge was uneventful. I reached the other side and was soon followed by Windthrow. A few of the alligators circled in the water, but they’d have to go elsewhere for their next meal. Tough luck, my fellow scale-havers.

  Windthrow and I followed the trail towards Tangle. The morning sun created beams of light that pierced through the tree tunnel, each looked like luminous crystal pillars.

  I felt Windthrow slowly brush up against my right hand as he walked besides me. Tentatively our hands intertwined; his hand felt much larger than mine, and –as expected– he was so warm. Neither of us spoke as we walked, hand in hand, through the serene wooded tunnel.

  Somehow being physically close to Windthrow calmed me down. I didn’t feel the instinctive need to protect. Is this what it’s like to have a boyfriend? Could I even call him that? This stuff was hard enough on Earth, it felt impossible on the Southern Continent.

  Windthrow broke the silence, “I don’t know much about Tangle, but I do know that it used to be a Dark Elf village.”

  Windthrow was correct; my vision all but confirmed that.

  “Is it possible that you’re related to them somehow?”

  He sighed. A stray beam of light briefly illuminated his face before we walked back into shadow.

  “I don’t know. There were other Dark Elf villages on the continent…but I never knew my parents.”

  I gripped his hand tighter.

  “We’ll see if there’s anything we can find in the village. Something I missed the first time.”

  “It’s not likely– but we can check. Thank you Vylet.”

  We passed the grove, with the fruit and the old bench. The wind chimes echoed down the final section of the path. Would we find anything about Windthrow here?

  Finally we arrived in Tangle, the village built around an ancient great tree.

  Map of the journey so far: