Shifters

Impasse

Josh groaned as he sluggishly flipped onto his side, trying to find a comfortable position. Struggling to re-enter the warm embrace of sleep, a slight tickle suddenly erupted at his nose. Eyes closed, he swatted at the annoyance lazily, however it continued to persist despite his efforts. Upset by the hindrance to his much needed rest, Josh opened his eyes partially to investigate the problem. Strewn casually in front of his face was a wild entanglement of tall grass and wilting leaves. 

'Just a bit of grass,' he thought, brushing the vegetation away before rolling over onto his back.

'Wait a minute, grass?' he thought, fully opening his eyes as realization struck. 

Sitting up abruptly, Josh soon remembered where he was as the ambience of the familiar setting enveloped him. As the roars of the waterfall quickly rose his alertness, he peered at Herman's spot only to see it empty. Just as in the earlier scenario before, Herman's pack was present yet he was nowhere to be seen. 

'Where is he?' Josh thought, panic beginning to set in, 'Is it possible Herman went after another skeleton on his own? No, now that he was aware of the situation, there was no need for Herman not to awaken him. Besides if the skeletons had truly returned I doubt they'd have stopped at simple observation rather than an all out assault. That aside, if the skeletal soldiers were unrelated to his disappearance, where was he?'

Just as he was about to decide whether or not he should go look for his companion a voice behind him said, "Good to see you awake."

Startled by the sudden words, Josh jumped to his feet immediately emulating a defensive stance.

"Easy there," Herman said, a huge grin plastered across his face, "I didn't mean to wind you up."

"Don't do that," Josh complained weakly, relieved that Herman was alive and well, "Where'd you run off too? I started thinking all sorts of things when I didn't see you after waking."

"Well after making sure the surroundings were safe, I went out to do some reconnaissance on the gorge," he replied. 

"Why didn't you wake me?" Josh asked, raising his arms upward as he carried out his morning stretch. 

"I wasn't planning on straying too far and like I said before, the area was relatively clear," Herman explained, "besides, after all of that nonstop travel you looked like you needed the rest."

"Fair enough," Josh said, changing the topic, "so did you find a way across?"

"Unfortunately, I haven't seen any natural or man-made bridges as far as the eye can see," he replied, digging in his pack before bringing out his flask, "Although I didn't get the chance to search the entire course, anything further than my vision is too far to traverse anyway.

"Have you tried looking behind the waterfall?" Josh questioned as Herman took a sip of water.

"Behind the waterfall?" he asked, furrowing his brow as he swallowed another sip, "May I ask why there in particular?"

Josh who was also equally confused by his suggestion responded, "I-I don't know, for some reason, it just felt right."

"Hmm," he said as he stroked his beard deep in thought, "Back in the day, the people associated with ancient civilization would often use natural formations to their advantage so your suggestion isn't bad. Considering the fact that the skeleton castle's structural design appeared to be rather outdated coupled with their primitive craftsmanship, your idea seems to have gained even more merit."

"It was just a random thought," Josh said sheepishly. 

"It's worth investigating," Herman said in response as he covered his flask before placing it back into his pack, "Certainly beats traversing miles of land if such a path truly exists."