Broken Glass - Taekook

67

The dawn brings rain, and a southern, colder wind. By the time we've begun to huddle around the fire for breakfast, the last remaining embers have died out, and they're far too wet to rekindle. So we end up having to eat a dry, colder breakfast. Then we begin to pack away our belongings, sheltering under one of the nearby trees to reduce the impact of the rain. We still have a long journey ahead of us, one we need to make before the winter truly hits. 

The Imbaka Forest is beautiful, and surprisingly peaceful for where it is in the kingdom. But we simply don't have the time to stay here any longer. There's definitely a danger of getting lost in time, and ignoring the constraints of our situation. We can't afford to do that, and so we must move on. 

The rain doesn't let up when we're ready to go, and so we just decide to begin the long trek southward, through the last part of the Imbaka Forest, into and beyond the Algaden Plains, in the direction of the Suojaka Caverns. The forest floor feels almost swamp-like underfoot, and I can hear the beating sound of the rain thumping on the hood of my cloak, slowly soaking through the treated material over the course of the day's journey. 

We leave the Pauzu Lake behind, taking a slightly curved route south through the remainder of the forest. Nearly three hours after we set off, we reach the edge of the forest, where the trees give way to flat grassland, aside from a few isolated thickets of trees that encroach on the territory of the plains. The sight feels almost too familiar, and an instinct makes me step back cautiously for a moment. Then I remember, and the action seems far more understandable than at first. 

Of course. We've passed through a similar area before, though that area was much warmer. Even so, the memory of danger makes us pause for a moment to investigate our surroundings and check for possible threats this time around. Experience has shown us that we can never be too careful. 

Jimin uses this time to attend to the horse, teasing out the knots that have already formed in her mane and tail, and clearing some of the accumulated mud from her lower legs and stomach. Left for too long, that kind of thing could be extremely painful for her, and maybe even life-threatening. 

Once we're convinced that the surrounding area is safe, we continue onto the Algaden Plains, trudging over grassland that slowly but surely gets more and more saturated with water as we keep going. By the time we pause for a midday snack, the water on the ground is seeping into my shoes, and a small pool forms every single time I step forward. 

Despite the weather, we make surprisingly good progress on that first day, much to our combined relief. It's been a difficult trek already, just because of how damp the day has been, and it's a far cry from the isolated drought of the Yarolian Plains. The struggle of the journey seems to come from an entirely different source, this far south, and the problem doesn't seem to improve over the next few days either. 

We make camp in a small hollow in the grass on the first night, but the indentation in the earth is not enough cover for us to consider setting up a proper fire. As we set up our tents, Yoongi begins the construction of his little portable shelter, creating a small space within which no rain can fall. He covers the top with dried grass, to make it harder to spot from above, and we hunker down underneath it, pulling damp supplies from our packs and laying them out on Taehyung's drying racks, trying to get some semblance of warmth back into our bodies. It's not particularly cold, but the damp and the wind is a potentially dangerous combination. 

Aphelia comes out of her pouch, and stays in the middle of us, as it's too dangerous to make a fire out here in the open. The warmth and light she offers helps us to dry off a little, and we eat a cold meal under her protection, wiping our faces and hair. Yoongi fills one of his metal cups with rainwater, and then holds it over Aphelia for a few minutes, until it warms up. Then he passes it round to all of us, and we all hold it for a few seconds each, trying to absorb the energy within it.