Although they made camp within the relative safety of the adventurer's camp, they weren't foolish enough to sleep without having a lookout. Good fireside company they may be, but these were still treasure seekers looking to make a prince. For some, this justified crossing some boundaries.

  Their vigilance was rewarded when one of the adventurers from another group skulked around their tent, noticing David was up and alert and excusing himself as simply looking for a spot to relieve himself before padding off.

  Morning came early and humid, with the camp's inhabitants slowly stirring and freshening up. David and Karline hurried their own preparations and set out north-east, before most other people had even begun eating breakfast, towards the distant Brokenjaw mountain range.

  Manda and crew had told them the terrain in that direction turned broken and rocky, exactly the kind of environment they needed in hope of finding the plants they sought.

  Within a few bells, they began encountering several crisscrossing game trails.

  Manda had informed them that the 'Lower woods', or anything south of camp Freshmeat, was routinely frequented by adventurers, who tended to scare away prey animals, while the 'Higher woods' were much less so, opening the way for more skittish animals to roam.

  David had asked if this also meant it attracted more predators. Manda had only grinned.

  And so, they kept their senses sharp. The sounds of the deep forest accompanied their travel, regularly interrupted by distant roars and sounds of struggles, the forest alive and ruthless in equal parts.

  The game trails carried them around vestiges of settlements and humanoid occupation, some little more than mounds of rotting materials, others more substantial, with unsettling frequency. Ruindlands, indeed.

  This far out, alone, with no hope to receive help should a mishap befall them, existence took on a different tone. You were walking along the edge of a precipice, tantalizingly close to a catastrophe. Stressful it might be, it also had his body and mind present in ways only possible when your survival was threatened.

  He'd be dead on his feet by the time his expedition was over, but Saint's love was it electrifying.

  A tree creaked, too close.

  His head snapped toward the source of the sound. He unsheathed a dagger and held a hand up for Karline, who brought out her sabre.

  He glanced at her held weapon. “Sheath that. Dagger out. Easier to run away with a dagger, and you can throw it.” He whispered.

  She narrowed her eyes, but did as instructed and aligned her sabre's tip with its sheath.

  A bush vomited a Gorezilla, a three-meter-tall, four-limbed hulking reptile with forearms as thick as a man, armed with centimetres-long claws able to gouge rock. It bellowed a guttural hiss, charging at Karline.

  David flung his dagger at the thing's eyes. It brought a hand up to intercept, stumbling over its next step.

  David grabbed Karline and pulled-pushed her forward. “Run!”

  Sabre still in hand, its sheathing aborted, her first few steps halting, she found her footing and ran.

  The Gorezilla reared up and slammed its massive fists on his chest, a clear challenge levelled at David.

  He had zero intention to accept. Glancing between Karline and the beast, he decided she wasn't fast enough to outrun this thing.

  Time for a diversion.

  He picked up a rock and threw it at the Gorezilla. It roared, its eyes pin-pricking, and charged at David.

  He rolled to the side and under the beast's swipe. Righting up, he glanced at Karline, who'd stopped a few dozen meters ahead, looking back at him.

  “Go! I'll catch up!” He shouted. “GO!” When she hesitated.

  She silted a few steps, returning to a run and not looking back.

  David heard the beast step up to his back. He let himself fall to the side, his hands under him, coiled his legs like a frog, and willed, pushing hard on his feet, leaving a few motes of blue behind as he jetted forward, the beast crashing on the ground he'd occupied a second before.

  It sprang back up, claws and jaw full of dirt. It spat the crud out, slammed its fists on the ground, and roared once more in frustration and spun towards its prey.

  David was already darting between the trees away from it.

  It roared once more and swung forward on its arms, swinging itself around the trees and demolishing everything in its path.

  Karline was backed up against a tree, hands on her legs, still grasping her sabre, heaving great breaths.

  She stilled herself, forcing her lungs silent for a second. The drumming blood in her ears the only thing she heard. She narrowed her eyes and looked around.

  Nothing.

  She unfolded and rested her head on the tree, bringing her breathing back under control.

  She brought up her sabre and looked at it.

  A Gorezilla was a sizeable foe, but not the most agile. Between the two of them, she's certain they could have at the very least wounded it enough that it'd retreat.

  But David had made her run away, and now they were separated. She was alone in the middle of the Hungerwoods.

  Stolen novel; please report.

  The Stallion was far removed from the image she'd had of him. He was supposed to be a fearless adventurer, braving the darkest pits, facing the direst threats, in the name of completing the posting.

  Instead, he took as little risk as possible, sang the virtues of running away, and favoured the paths of least resistance.

  She'd almost have called him craven if she hadn't seen him bait the Gorezilla, allowing her to escape unhindered.

  She finally understood the meaning of never meeting your heroes. Maybe the donkey wasn't that bad of a nickname.

  And yet... He was knowledgeable. He was successful. He was... efficient.

  Oh.

  She guessed his courier record kind of made sense. It didn't abate her disappointment a single bit. She'd have to meditate on whether she wanted to be an efficient courier or a famous one that got songs written about.

  Or rather, maybe, a living courier that got to retire?

  Letting out a long sigh, having an existential crisis about her future wasn't helping. She had to figure out what to do next.

  A rustling to her left, beyond a bush.

  She bolted off the tree, lowered her stance, and pointed her sabre at the sound.

  The bush vomited a... David.

  She blinked.

  He tittered a few steps before finding his balance, brushing a twig off his shoulder, and looking at her.

  “You all right?” He asked.

  Her mouth opened, she shut it back. “What? What about you?! Are you ok?”

  He inspected himself, twisting to look at the back of his legs. “Yeah, I'm fine. You can put that away, I'm pretty sure I lost the Gorezilla.” He said, pointing at Karline's sabre.

  She jolted, noticing her sabre still pointed at him, sheathing it with a slight blush.

  “Why didn't we fight it off?” She asked.

  “The Gorezilla? Why would we? It's big and dangerous, and we could have gotten hurt. We're couriers, we find things, and we run away from things that find us.” He explained.

  He held up a finger. “That's a lesson by the way.”

  “We just had to scare it away with a few cuts. We could have managed that without getting mangled.” She insisted.

  He sighed. “Yeah, true, we could have avoided injury. But running away means we are going to avoid injuries. It's safer.”

  “We have potions for healing.”

  “A limited amount.”

  She stared at him.

  “Ok, what is this about, really?” He asked, resting his hands on his belt.

  “...nothing.” She exhaled. “Let's keep going.”

  Karline turned around and resumed her trek to the north-east.

  David shrugged.

  They had a few more close encounters after that, but none as invigorating. Most of the beasts they crossed paths with had simply growled and huffed, warning them off to turn back. They obliged.

  The sun eventually finished its race across the sky, reds and oranges staining the clouds. They had started coming across the broken terrain Manda had informed them of. Hope was high that the morrow would bring them luck.

  They spent the last few drops of daylight finding a safe place to camp, happening upon a small bluff that jutted out from a gentle hill, overlooking a miniature valley with a small creek flowing along its floor.

  The tip of the bluff seemed to barely clear the top of the trees that grew at its feet, but it should be enough to afford them a far-ranging view of the area. As they walked up to it and crossed the last curtain of vegetation blocking sight, their eyes widened.

  Across the depression, up the other side, and as far as they could see, were singular towers that jutted out of the tree cover, built of horse-sized reddish-brown bricks, slightly ajar at their edges, covered in growing vines and swarmed by colourful birds of all kinds that had nestled along the cracks and ledges.

  At their top, a house-sized yellowed crystal lozenge, encased by a rim of deep bronze metal that appeared free of any blemish or rust.

  The crystal caught the sunlight and seemed to concentrate it, softly glowing from within with a rhythmic pulse akin to a heart.

  A wonder of the past, standing sentinel over the memories of the people who had inhabited these lands. Losing a bit more of themselves to the ravenous forest each passing season, to eventually crumble into insignificance. A few ruined towers barely poked out of the tree peaks, their massive crystal crown lost somewhere in the shadows of the trees.

  “This almost makes the whole trip worthwhile.” Karline eventually said.

  He raised an eyebrow. “My lessons and helping Niala didn't?”

  She gave him a side-eye. “Not really.”

  “... fine, I'll let you pick up one bauble to bring back. After I've vetted it's safe.”

  She smiled. “Deal!”

  He sighed.

  They looked around the bluff's tip and decided that just within the edge of the sparse trees that populated its top would be a good camping spot. Not in plain view of aerial predators, and with a limited enough access that land-based ones would have little interest in investigating.

  The camp was up before the daylight had finished its retreat. They had a quick dinner, gazed upon the clear night sky, chatting about tomorrow's plans, and tucked in, Karline taking the first shift.

  The crystals collected the moonlight, a silvery heart beat at their centre, like pulsing stars alighted atop a sea of green.

  The next morning, David brought out his secret weapon: an old woman. He followed Niala's instructions and boiled the two herb packets one after the other, pouring the result into a cup. He was left with a bitter-smelling hot beverage that was almost as prickly as the ones Niala made fresh.

  Karline eyed him and his cup.

  David noticed. “Want a taste?” He offered his cup.

  “What is it?” She asked, suspicious.

  “A bitter old woman.”

  She squinted at him.

  “Try it.” He tilted his cup forward.

  She carefully took the cup, keeping her eyes on him. Blowing on the steaming liquid, she took the smallest of sips.

  “Blech!” She grimaced, handing back the cup.

  David shook his head. “No, wait a few seconds and take another sip.”

  “Why would I do that?!”

  “Courier lesson. Take a second sip.”

  “That doesn't make any sense!”

  “Trust the Stallion on this, apprentice.” He tilted his head forward.

  She scowled, eyeing the offending drink. Haltingly, she brought the cup back to her lips, letting a minuscule amount of liquid pour through.

  “...” She frowned, looking at the liquid, smelling it.

  “What's going on?”

  David smiled knowingly.

  “No, seriously, what's going on? Why did I enjoy the second sip? It's bitter like concentrated unripe cranberries!” She asked, staring at the liquid in the cup, attempting to understand its secret.

  “You have acquired the taste,” David explained.

  A bead of sweat rolled down her brow.

  Why does it sound like I just joined a cult?