Between the Veil and Crown

Kylin 43

When he returned to the camp, he found that Shaelren had taken the final watch. He entered the clearing and Shaelren made eye contact with him. Nothing was said in voice, but Kylin could detect the question in his eyes.

He turned his face way, hearing Shaelren give a quiet sigh.

Kylin set Vicious up for the last couple of hours. He himself curled up between two tree roots. As he was returning to the camp, he was convinced that he would be awake for the rest of the wee hours of early morning, but he fell asleep rather quickly.

In only a few short moments, everyone was woken up by Shaelren. Kylin wasn't sure if he was well rested, or if his body was just trying to convince itself that it was fine. He was somewhere between a daze and fully awake.

Shaelren laid out his plan to the crew about how they were going to proceed with the investigation. No stone was going to be left unturned and even the slightest thing that was off was to be carefully inspected. The area surrounding the sealed was broken into four sections. They were split into pairs, with each pair choosing a section to search. After darkness fell, they would reconvene at the sealed tree to share their findings and discuss the plan for the next day.

A Ranger named Ime accompanied Kylin. The two of them agreed to take a section that did not include the pond, northwest of the sealed pond. The section included the ankheg tunnel, which, as far as Kylin knew, had not yet been filled up. Ime and Kylin made plans to first check the entrance of the tunnel before searching around it.

Beyond their strategizing, they did not talk much on the way over. Both were slightly on edge, stopping every now and then as something caught their attention. When the source of the noise or the movement turned out to be harmless, they would exchange glances and carry on.

They arrived at the mouth of the tunnel. Ime volunteered to enter and dismounted. He pulled out his ball of light and began to head down. While he was doing that, Kylin kept a watch on what happened above ground. Once or twice he spun Vicious around slowly to get a full view of his surroundings.

Ime finally returned, shaking his head. He tucked his ball of light away and mounted again. For a moment they did nothing but observe. Kylin closed his eyes, focusing more on hearing things than seeing them. The forest was filled with the sound of slight rustling, a flutter of a bird that did not leave for the winter, and twigs breaking here and there. All the noises seemed innocent. Sighing, he opened his eyes and looked over to Ime, who shrugged helplessly.

Kylin suggested to move towards an area with a gesture. Ime responded by heading his horse that way. They carried on how they before reaching the tunnel.

It was not something Vicious was particularly keen on.

She began her usual bag of tricks. She fought with him about the pace they were going, attempted to veer off the direction he wanted her to go, and even gave him a couple of half-hearted bucks. Every time he corrected her, she tossed her head frustration, complying only long enough to try and lull him into a false sense of security.

Ime would glance at Kylin, eyebrow raised, but Kylin dismissed the silent inquiries with a shake of his head. Vicious wasn't being too much trouble. She was just being herself.

Until she skittered violently to the side, throwing her head into the air with her nostrils flared. Even Ime's horse came to a stop, taking a few steps back. Kylin could feel Vicious trembling under him and he tried to soothe her by stroking her neck and speaking quietly to her.