Forging Ties (Ties, Book 3) | ✓

Chapter 13

Skye's eyes were fixed on the glowing orb as it floated ahead of them. He had made a game out of chasing after it, determined to catch it no matter how many times it eluded him. Each time he thought he had it in his grasp, his hands passed right through it as if it were nothing more than a mirage.

"So, tell us about yourself," said Hamish, breaking the silence as they walked through the forest.

Skye ate the last leftover knub of his cucumber. "No."

Hamish laughed. "Fair enough. We're from the south, from a place called The Spire. We came out here looking for adventure, and I'd say we've found it."

As they continued their journey through the night, Skye couldn't help but continue to be drawn to the ball of light, stalking it from every angle and leaping at it with all the ferocity of a predator. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't seem to get a grip on it.

Slone chuckled. "You're a good hunter."

"Is this amusing or annoying for you?" Duran asked, noticing Skye's persistent pursuit of the ball of light. "If it's distracting, I can do this."

Skye watched as the orb rose higher, drifting towards the canopy. He dropped his weight and scrambled up a nearby tree, sprinting along a branch and leaping down onto the glowing sphere. It shot away from him, but he was quick on its heels, tumbling across the ground as he tried to capture it.

"Okay, definitely not that," Duran said. "I'll just keep it down here."

They continued to walk through the night, and once the sun started to come up, the ball of light went away. When they stopped for breakfast, Skye swiped a few pieces of food and then accepted more when it was offered to him. He ate half and stashed the remainder away in his bag with the rest of his food.

"So, Skye, how far are we from Saltwater?" Hamish asked.

Skye didn't know any measures of distance and he wasn't that great at time, either, so he didn't know how to answer that question. He looked up into the tree above them and watched a bird hop from branch to branch instead

"Should we get some sleep here, or you reckon we're close enough that it's worth pushing through?" Slone asked.

"Keep going," Skye said.

"We'll keep going, then," Hamish said.

Skye dropped his weight and scampered up the tree after the bird, but it saw him coming and flew away.

#

Saltwater was a port town built on a hilly landscape that curved around a large bay. Brightly-colored buildings and tall sails from ships were visible from a distance, and a cobbled road led the way into town as they approached.

Skye wasn't sure if he was being followed or if this new group he'd picked up just happened to be heading in the same direction as he was as they made their way down sloping paths towards the docks. It was still early enough in the morning to be fairly quiet out, but port towns never really slept. Fishermen were getting ready to head out to sea and drunks who probably should have called it a night hours ago on the streets.

"Is this some sort of an inn?" Hamish asked, pointing to a sign that depicted a cresting wave above the entrance to a building painted in blues and greens. Skye couldn't read the words on the sign, but he'd heard the place called The Wave Watcher. It was indeed an inn.

Skye nodded.

"Slone and Duran, do you two want to head in there and ask around about work?" Hamish asked. "I'm sure we'll need money if we want a room to rest in, and probably for passage on a ship as well. I'll head down to the docks and ask around about that."